Jonathan Frakes (\u201cStar Trek: The Next Generation\u201d) is set to present Genie Francis (\u201cGeneral Hospital\u201d) with this year\u2019s Lifetime Achievement Honor during \u201cThe 53rd Annual Daytime Emmy Awards,\u201d taking place on Friday, October 30, at the historic Hollywood Palladium in Los Angeles, CA.<\/p>\n
Frakes, who has been married to Francis since May 1988, and with whom he shares two children, is best known for his portrayal of William Riker in several \u201cStar Trek\u201d shows and movies, including the Paramount+ original \u201cStar Trek: Picard,\u201d a follow-up series to \u201cStar Trek: The Next Generation,\u201d which starred Patrick Stewart in his return as Captain (now Admiral) Jean-Luc Picard.<\/p>\n
Earlier this year, Frakes launched a new podcast series alongside his former castmate Brent Spiner, titled \u201cDropping Names with Brent and Jonny.\u201d In a recent episode, the two discussed with guest Michelle Hurd (\u201cStar Trek: Picard\u201d) how her first day on set at \u201cAnother World,\u201d where she portrayed the role of Dana Kramer, was \u201cabsolutely terrifying,\u201d while calling soaps a \u201ctraining ground,\u201d to which Frakes agreed, noting, \u201cIt\u2019s the best. It\u2019s the hardest job in the business. What you\u2019re expected to do\u2026 and they get one take, and you\u2019re done.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
Winning the Daytime Emmy for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series in 2007 for her portrayal of Laura Spencer, Francis, who joined the soap in 1977 as a teenage Laura Vining, will mark 50 years since making her daytime television debut in February 2027. The on-screen wedding between her character and Luke Spencer, portrayed by the late\u00a0Anthony Geary, drew an average of 30 million viewers on November 16, 1981, and remains the most-watched and highest-rated single episode of a regularly scheduled daytime program. The episode featured a cameo by the late\u00a0Elizabeth Taylor\u00a0(\u201cCleopatra\u201d), who originated the role of Helena Cassadine.<\/p>\n
In addition to \u201cGeneral Hospital,\u201d Francis has starred on other daytime soap operas over the years, including her portrayal of Ceara Connor on \u201cAll My Children,\u201d Diana Colville on \u201cDays of Our Lives,\u201d and Genevieve Atkinson on \u201cThe Young and the Restless.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI want to offer my deepest gratitude to the leadership of NATAS for honoring me with this year\u2019s Lifetime Achievement Award,\u201d said Francis last month upon learning she was receiving the recognition. \u201cThis February marks 50 years since I first portrayed Laura on \u2018General Hospital.\u2019 Stepping onto that set at just 14, I could never have imagined the extraordinary journey that lay ahead. I am deeply grateful to have been welcomed onto your television screens and into your homes for five decades; for the love, support, and loyalty I\u2019ve been given; and for the privilege of being a small part of your lives.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThank you to NATAS, my colleagues, the daytime community and, most of all, the viewers,\u201d continued Francis. \u201cMy career in daytime television has truly been the adventure of a lifetime, and I am deeply honored by this recognition.\u201d<\/p>\n
Outside of daytime, Francis made her television acting debut in 1976, appearing in two episodes of the primetime series \u201cFamily\u201d when she was just 13 years old. Throughout the 1980s, she starred in several miniseries, including the \u201cNorth & South\u201d and \u201cBare Essence\u201d series of TV movies, while appearing as a guest star in numerous television shows, including \u201cHotel,\u201d \u201cMurder, She Wrote,\u201d \u201cGlitter,\u201d and \u201cThe New Mike Hammer.\u201d In the 1990s, she appeared in several popular primetime comedies such as \u201cRoseanne,\u201d \u201cCybill,\u201d and \u201c3rd Rock from the Sun,\u201d among others. Her other credits include \u201cRoswell,\u201d \u201cOh, Baby,\u201d \u201cPretty Little Liars,\u201d and the Hallmark movies \u201cThe Note\u201d and \u201cNotes from the Heart Healer,\u201d among others.<\/p>\n
Stage work includes productions of \u201cCrimes of the Heart,\u201d the world premiere of \u201cDefying Gravity\u201d at the Williamstown Theatre Festival, and the off-Broadway production of \u201cThe Baby Dance\u201d at the Lucille Lortel Theatre, which marked her New York City stage debut.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe 53rd Annual Daytime Emmy Awards\u201d is scheduled to begin at 8:00 p.m. ET\/5:00 p.m. PT on October 30 and will encompass all categories, including creative arts, with \u201cThe Young and the Restless\u201d\u00a0leading all shows<\/a>\u00a0with 18 nominations, followed by \u201cBeyond the Gates\u201d with 15, \u201cGeneral Hospital\u201d with 13, \u201cDays of our Lives\u201d with eight, and \u201cThe Bold and the Beautiful\u201d with seven.<\/p>\n As\u00a0previously reported<\/a>, this year\u2019s ceremony will stream live on the NATAS YouTube channel at\u00a0YouTube.com\/@theemmys<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0watch.TheEmmys.tv<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Jonathan Frakes (\u201cStar Trek: The Next Generation\u201d) is set to present Genie Francis (\u201cGeneral Hospital\u201d) with this year\u2019s…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":894021,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[57],"tags":[236,129546,88,21033,374870,374871,137966,374872],"class_list":["post-894020","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-celebrities","tag-celebrities","tag-daytime-emmy-awards","tag-entertainment","tag-general-hospital","tag-genie-francis","tag-jonathan-frakes","tag-star-trek-the-next-generation","tag-the-53rd-annual-daytime-emmy-awards"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/894020","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=894020"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/894020\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/894021"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=894020"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=894020"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=894020"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}