Janelle "Nelle" Benson was a fictional character and one of the newer primary antagonists on the ABC daytime soap opera General Hospital replacing Heather Webber after her imprisonment. She was thought to be the daughter of Frank Benson, however she was revealed to be the biological daughter of the late Dr. Silas Clay and Nina Reeves and the fraternal twin sister of Willow Tait.
She was replaced by her male counterpart Peter August in late 2020 after her death. Over a year later, both Peter and Nelle are deceased and later replaced by armed robbers Eric Watson and Harry DeFranco and later The Hook best known to conceal her face and identity for most of 2022 after the death of Jason Morgan on Cassadine Island via tunnel collapse until the identity of "The Hook" killer is revealed to be Heather Webber replacing Nelle back.
She was portrayed by actress Chloe Lanier from August 8, 2016 to September 1, 2020 before being replaced by Wes Ramsey as Peter August before the character's death as well over a year later in 2022 as well as Scott Hamm and an unknown actor as armed robbers Eric Watson and Harry DeFranco, an unknown actor as The Hook before she was revealed to be Heather Webber portrayed by Alley Mills when The Hook's identity is revealed before leaving for Arizona two years later on October 28, 2024.
Storylines[]
On June 13, 2019; Nelle met convicted serial killer Ryan Chamberlain who asked if he knew her from somewhere.
On June 14, Brad visited Nelle in prison. Nelle eventually gained Dawn of Day member Lorraine "Harmony" Miller as her cell mate.
On August 22, Nelle overheard a new inmate named Hank Archer aka Shiloh who bores a striking resemblance to Nathan West having a conversation with her male counterpart Peter August.
On September 30, a man named Martin Gray came to visit Nelle in prison as her lawyer and they discussed her case. Martin admitted it didn't look good for her and when Nelle insisted that she changed her ways and felt remorse for her crimes he agreed to represent her at her upcoming parole hearing after she left her out-of-state attorney Nora Buchanan who went back to Llanview.
On January 14, 2020; it was revealed that Nelle was somehow released from Pentonville and that her mystery husband was Shiloh all along, plus she had put together his memorial and invited Sam, Willow, Harmony, and even Michael. Her parole officer is Mitch Carson.
On February 3, Nelle arrived at the Quartermaine mansion and was expecting to get settled in but Brook Lynn tried several times to throw her out. Later, Nelle tried to appeal to Brook Lynn who said they will never be friends. Nelle called Michael and put Brook Lynn on the phone with him and Michael told Brook Lynn to give Nelle a room and he'd explain later. Brook Lynn decided to put Nelle into a room which was next to Tracy Quartermaine after nearly a week after three separate shootouts in revenge for Faison, Shiloh, and Cassandra after Nelle gained Cyrus Renault from Seattle in the Pacific Northwest as her new friend and ally as Cyrus' new henchwoman as well as Sam's parole officer Dolores Maloney as her new friend.
On January 29, 2021; Nina finally found her daughter's half of the heart necklace. Avery had given it to Lucy Coe to put on Sasha for luck during her interview with Jackie Templeton for GMA3. Nina and Sasha had come to an understanding and forgiveness, slowly rebuilding a friendly relationship with each other. The press had learned about Sasha's drug use as a model for Deception Cosmetics, so the team decided to have Sasha sit down for a live interview with Chase's famous journalist mother Jackie, to give their own narrative and tell the truth. Realizing Sasha was wearing the necklace, Carly attempted to stop the interview. Unfortunately, Nina had been watching from her office and came down to the restaurant to demand an explanation from Sasha. After the interview ended, Sasha was shocked, having no idea she wore the necklace, leading to Avery telling Nina it was hers and she had found it at the family cabin. Sasha gives her the necklace, and Nina is able to perfectly match them together. Michael is able to fill in the blanks for Nina, telling her that Avery found it at the family cabin, that Nelle had been there before with a kidnapped Wiley, and when Valentin mentioned Phyllis had taken her child to Florida, Michael noted that Nelle was from Florida. Nina demanded answers. Jax point blank admitted Nelle could be her child. Carly attempted to control her story by saying she figure it out last night and told Jax, but he cut her off, saying he was done lying and wanted to tell Nina the truth.
On February 1, Nina learned that Nelle was her daughter, and that Jax had known for months. Then after searching Nelle's belongings, Nina discovers a photo of young Nelle (from the April 2020 flashback) wearing the half-heart shaped necklace in her box of memories, she knew instantly that Nelle didn't stole the necklace, because she was wearing it the entire time.
On February 5, Nina laid into Jax for his lies, his lack of trust in her, and his constant need for validation from Carly. Also he and Carly had left out the knowledge that Wiley is her grandson and When Nelle lost custody of him lead her to kidnap Wiley and eventually her death. He pleaded with her, but she broke up with him and kicked him out of her office before Yuri Tamashevich came into Port Charles a month after the death of Franco Baldwin.On April 8, 2022; it was revealed by Neil Byrne's brother Brendon that he found the notes on Neil's sessions with Harmony Miller and learned that Willow Tait is the biological daughter of Silas Clay and Nina Reeves and she is Nelle's fraternal twin sister, who was illegally given up for adoption by her maternal grandmother Madeline Reeves, who sold her and Willow in the black market. Nelle ended up in Florida with the Bensons and Willow ended up with Harmony to be raised with her husband Douglas Miller.
Crimes Committed[]
- Killed her ex-fiancé, Zachary Grant [pre-2016; revealed Jul 27, 2018; arrested on Aug 3, 2018; revealed to have been released on parole on Jan 14, 2020]
- Framed Avery Jerome-Corinthos' nanny for theft and in turn, the nanny was fired [Aug 22, 2016]
- Worked with Olivia Jerome [Oct 7, 2016-Mar 17, 2017]
- Theft; stole money from the Metro Court hotel [Nov 17, 2016]
- Drugged Sonny Corinthos and tricked him into thinking they slept together [Nov 28, 2016]
- Obstruction of justice; lied to Det. Dante Falconeri that Carly pushed her down a flight of stairs when in fact she fell [May 14, 2018; arrested on Aug 3, 2018; revealed to have been released on parole on Jan 14, 2020 and gained Sam McCall's parole officer Dolores Maloney as her new friend]
- Blackmailed Ava Jerome by threatening to tell Griffin Munro about her taking a photo of her female counterpart Peter August's DNA records if she didn't cooperate with her plans for Carly [May-Aug 7, 2018]
- Antagonized Sam McCall over one month after Cassandra Pierce's death [Dec 27, 2019; Cyrus Renault later returned the favor when Cyrus antagonized Sam's mother Alexis Davis]
- Indirectly worked with Cyrus Renault as Cyrus' henchwoman after gaining Sam's parole officer Dolores Maloney as her friend [Jan 7-Aug 28, 2020]
- Attempted kidnapping; was about to take "Wiley"/Jonah and skip town with a phony passport without Willow's permission (Michael and Det. Chase stopped her) [Feb 20, 2020; arrested]
- Perjury; claimed that Brad stole Jonah while she was unconscious when she was the one who gave him the baby [Feb 20, 2020]
- Contempt of court; threw an emotional outburst and yelled at Nina for her testimony about her being a bad mom [Aug 3, 2020]
- Kidnapped Wiley and trying to flee the country with him [Aug 24-27, 2020]
Health and Vitals[]
- Spent a year in a mental hospital [pre-2016; revealed Oct 24, 2017]
- Threatened by Sam McCall over one month after Cassandra Pierce's death [Dec 27, 2019]
- Manhandled by Michael after kidnapping their son and refusing to give him back [Aug 27, 2020]
Relationships[]
- Frank Benson - Nelle's adoptive father (deceased)
- Virginia Benson - Nelle's adoptive stepmother (deceased)
- Scout Cain - Nelle's step-granddaughter
- Silas Clay - Nelle's biological father (deceased)
- Stephen Clay - Nelle's uncle (deceased)
- Wiley Cooper-Jones - Nelle's nephew (deceased)
- Amelia Corinthos - Nelle's niece
- Carly Corinthos - Nelle's adoptive paternal half-sister
- Wiley Corinthos - Nelle's son with Michael
- Kiki Jerome - Nelle's paternal half-sister (deceased)
- Lucas Jones - Nelle's stepson
- Maxie Jones - Nelle's legal maternal aunt by marriage of Nathan/maternal cousin-in-law once removed
- Rafe Kovich, Jr. - Nelle's cousin (deceased)
- Liesl Obrecht - Nelle's great aunt
- Madeline Reeves - Nelle's biological grandmother (deceased)
- Mr. Reeves - Nelle's biological grandfather (deceased)
- Nina Reeves - Nelle's biological mother
- Willow Tait - Nelle's fraternal twin sister
- James West - Nelle's legal cousin
- Nathan West - Nelle's legal maternal uncle/maternal cousin once removed (deceased)
- Britt Westbourne - Nelle maternal cousin once removed (deceased)
- Günther Westbourne - Nelle's biological great-grandfather (deceased)
- Frank Anderson - The late Cesar Faison's former henchman (imprisoned)
- Zahra Amir - Nelle's former attorney
- Hank Archer - aka Shiloh (deceased)
- Peter August - Nelle's male counterpart and her late maternal cousin once removed Britt Westbourne's paternal half-brother (deceased)
- Greg Barnes - The late Cesar Faison's former henchman (imprisoned)
- Trent Beech - (deceased)
- David Black - (deceased)
- Linc Brown - Music producer and Nelle's new friend before her death and his arrest in 2023 (captured)
- Nora Buchanan - Nelle's former out-of-state attorney now living in Llanview
- Gabriel Burke - Nelle's friend and U.S. attorney who helped keep her and her late male counterpart Peter August out of prison
- Charlotte Cassadine
- Sienna Colby
- Gladys Corbin
- Suzanne Cottle
- Elijah Crowe - (captured)
- Russ Delvin - The late Cesar Faison's former henchman (hospitalized and later imprisoned)
- Hilda Dorsey - (imprisoned)
- Cesar Faison - Her late male counterpart Peter August and her late maternal cousins once removed Nathan West and Britt Westbourne's late father (deceased)
- Sonny Faison - The late Cesar Faison's son with an unknown woman
- Chris Gentry - Armed robber (imprisoned)
- Paul Gentry - Armed robber (imprisoned)
- Walter Hall
- Jim Harvey - (deceased)
- Bryce Henderson - Nelle Benson and her late male counterpart Peter August's former henchman (deceased)
- David Hopkins - (captured)
- Marie Hopkins - (deceased)
- Mary Pat Ingles - Nelle's late friend (deceased)
- Gabriel Jenkins
- Olivia Jerome - Nelle's former sister-in-law (deceased)
- Maggie Johns
- Richard Klein - The late Cesar Faison's former henchman
- Kurt Lazarus - Nelle's friend
- Janice Lomax - Former Mayor of Port Charles, Valentin and Charlotte's friend and supporter, and Ned's predecessor now receptionist at The Invader
- Dolores Maloney - Her former stepdaughter the late Sam McCall's former parole officer, Nelle's friend and ally, and Cyrus Renault's former henchwoman
- Jeffrey Maloney - (deceased)
- Harmony Miller - Former member of Dawn of Day and Nelle's former cellmate (deceased)
- Griffin Munro - Nelle's former doctor
- Cassandra Pierce - (deceased)
- Carl Pine - (deceased)
- Coleman Ratcliffe
- Natalie Rawles
- Cyrus Renault - Nelle's new friend from Seattle, Washington in the Pacific Northwest; former Chairman of the Board at General Hospital who bores an uncanny resemblance to the late Cesar Faison, and her former attorney Martin Grey's brother after her death (imprisoned)
- Roz Venta - Nelle Benson and the late Peter August's former African-American henchwoman, then the late Victor Cassadine's former African-American attorney/henchwoman before and after Victor's death
- Franco Walker - (deceased)
- Rupert Watson - Nelle's friend
- Heather Webber - The late Franco Baldwin's mother Now living in Sedona, Arizona
- Owen Anderson - The late Sam McCall's former parole officer
- Jennifer Arden - Assistant District Attorney
- Curtis Ashford
- Jordan Ashford - Former Commissioner of the Port Charles Police Department, current Deputy Mayor of Port Charles, and the late Eileen Ashby's successor
- T.J. Ashford
- Franco Baldwin - Heather's son with Scott (deceased)
- Scott Baldwin - Former District Attorney and the late Franco Baldwin's father
- Shawn Butler - Now living in San Francisco
- Drew Cain - Former Navy SEAL
- Joseph Campbell - Former District Attorney now living in Atlanta
- Mitch Carson - Nelle's former parole officer
- Spencer Cassadine - Ava's ex-stepson, Cyrus' great-nephew, and Sonny's nephew (presumed deceased)
- Dev Cerci - (deceased)
- Harrison Chase
- Laura Collins - Current Mayor of Port Charles, Cyrus and Martin's paternal-half sister
- Michael Corinthos
- Jessica Cruz - aka Green Lantern
- Alexis Davis - The late Sam McCall's mother and former District Attorney
- Margaux Dawson - Former District Attorney, Charlotte's grown-up counterpart, and Paul's predecessor now living in Seattle
- Anna Devane - Current Commissioner of the Port Charles Police Department
- Felix DuBois
- Dante Falconeri - Detective of the Port Charles Police Department
- Carol Ferris - aka Star Sapphire
- Betsy Frank
- Barbara Gordon - aka Batgirl
- Martin Grey - Nelle's former attorney
- Dick Grayson - aka Nightwing
- Wyatt Hoover
- Hal Jordan - aka Green Lantern
- Koriand'r - aka Starfire
- Molly Lansing-Davis - Assistant District Attorney
- Ric Lansing - Former District Attorney
- Sam McCall - Nelle's former stepdaughter (deceased)
- Jason Morgan
- Henry Pierce
- Diana Prince - aka Wonder Woman
- Brook Lynn Quartermaine
- Monica Quartermaine
- Ned Quartermaine - Former Mayor of Port Charles, Margaux's male counterpart, Janice's predecessor, and Laura's predecessor
- Tracy Quartermaine
- Zoe Raleigh
- Horace Sanchez
- Sabrina Santiago - (deceased)
- James Scorpio - Detective of the Port Charles Police Department
- Robert Scorpio - Former Commissioner of the Port Charles Police Department, former WSB agent, current District Attorney, and Margaux's predecessor
- Robin Scorpio-Drake - Now living in Berkeley
- Lulu Spencer - Cyrus' niece (hospitalized)
- Clyde Thompson
- David Walters
- Elizabeth Webber
- Mary Wells - Head Nurse at General Hospital