{"id":1266,"date":"2025-10-24T07:41:37","date_gmt":"2025-10-24T07:41:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ifefe.com\/?p=1266"},"modified":"2025-10-24T07:41:38","modified_gmt":"2025-10-24T07:41:38","slug":"jane-elliot-reflects-on-60-years-in-soaps-and-life-on-gh-at-78-im-a-failed-retiree-exclusive","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ifefe.com\/?p=1266","title":{"rendered":"Jane Elliot Reflects on 60 Years in Soaps and Life on \u2018GH\u2019 at 78: \u2018I\u2019m a Failed Retiree!\u2019 (EXCLUSIVE)"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Daytime Emmy-winner and Gold Circle Honoree reflects on her epic run as Tracy Q<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"GH<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

At the 52nd Annual Daytime Emmys on Friday soap opera icon and 1981 Daytime Emmy-winner Jane Elliot was gifted a Gold Circle medal honoring her almost 50 years of stirring up trouble as General Hospital\u2019s <\/em>scheming Tracy Quartermaine and her six decades of soap operas drama.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Just moments after receiving the honor, Elliot talks to Woman\u2019s World<\/em> about what it feels like to have somehow grown into the role of General Hospital<\/em> matriarch\u2014not to mention, in the wake of the passing of Leslie Charleson and her character Monica, how it feels to be the last one standing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Plus, Elliott admits to one major failure (her retirement!) and we have the 52nd Annual Daytime Emmys soap opera winners\u2019 list.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jane Elliot says it\u2019s \u2018a privilege and honor\u2019 to still be on \u2018GH\u2019 and TV a 78<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

\u201cLovely Jane Elliot\u201d was first introduced on the big screen in Elvis Presley\u2019s last film, 1969\u2019s Change of Habit<\/em> with Mary Tyler Moore and Barbara McNair. But the beauty who also appeared on The Mod Squad<\/em>, Kojak,<\/em> and Law and Order<\/em>, not to mention soapy Knots Landing<\/em> and Broadway\u2019s The Impossible Years<\/em>, had already made her first mark on the soap scene by then.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Since her breakout soap role on A Flame in the Wind<\/em> in 1965, Elliot has caused drama on Guiding Light<\/em>, All My Children<\/em>, Days of Our Lives and Loving<\/em>\u2014and this weekend, she was honored by the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences (NATAS) for her incredible work on General Hospital<\/em>\u2019s Tracy Quartermaine, which started back in 1978 and included a stint on The City<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI started in daytime 60 years ago, and as a woman of 78 years old and a female actor, I\u2019m blessed,\u201d says Elliot. \u201cFirst of all, there are very very few us who are gainfully employed full-time as an actor, and I\u2019m one of them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt is such a privilege and honor to get to do what I do and keep doing it, that what I do is still wanted and still appreciated, and that they still keep giving me good work to do,\u201d she continues. \u201cI consider myself a really, really lucky woman.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jane Elliot on her most recent \u2018GH\u2019 run \u2013 \u2018I\u2019m a failed retiree!<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n

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\"JANE<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

ABC Photo Archives\/Disney General Entertainment Content via Getty
 <\/p>\n\n\n\n

As longtime General Hospital<\/em> viewers know, Elliot officially announced her retirement back in 2017.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI\u2019m a failed retiree,\u201d she cracks with a grin. \u201cI thought I needed a break. I was a single parent. I raised two children on my own, and I raised them exclusively on acting money. I no longer had children to raise, and I was 70. I had my pension and my Social Security. I thought, \u2018Oh, yay. I don\u2019t need this job anymore. I can retire.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Two years later, she quietly slipped back into Tracy\u2019s bossy, wise-cracking shoes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt wasn\u2019t what I thought it would be,\u201d she admits. \u201cI was like, \u2018But wait, I really like that job! And whether I need the money or not, I want to keep doing it,\u2019\u201d she recounts. \u201cI luckily had a wonderful boss who kept a place at the table for me and didn\u2019t replace me. Didn\u2019t hire someone else to play the part.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As if anyone else could play her role!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThere are a lot of wonderful actors out there that would bring something new to it,\u201d Ellliot insists. \u201cThey couldn\u2019t do me<\/em>, but they could do that.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jane Elliot on becoming Quartermaine matriarch \u2013 \u2018Who are you talking about?\u2019<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"John<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Disney General Entertainment Content via Getty<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

With one of Elliot\u2019s first storylines leading to the unforgettable scene where she withholds her father Edward\u2019s heart medicine, the seven-times-hitched Tracy Q has made some truly detestable moves over the decades.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Since her return, she\u2019s remained formidable. Just ask Cameron Mathison\u2019s Drew and Michael E. Knight\u2019s Martin Grey.<\/p>\n\n\n

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\"GENERAL<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n


Disney\/Christine Bartolucci
 <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Yet even as Tracy\u2019s remained tough, since running off with Anthony Geary\u2019s Luke and then losing him, she\u2019s also softened enough to become a wizened, loving head of family\u2014and not just to Wally Kurth\u2019s Ned and Amanda Setton\u2019s Brook Lynn. By the time Leslie Charleson\u2019s Monica Q passed last month, Tracy had even become her almost lifelong nemesis\u2019 fiercest protector!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cPeople say to me on the show, \u2018You\u2019re the matriarch of the Quartermaine family.\u2019 And I go, \u2018Who are you talking about?\u2019\u201d Elliot admits with a laugh. \u201cI still haven\u2019t taken it on board.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Elliot on being the oldest \u2018GH\u2019 player \u2013 \u2018It makes me sad sometimes\u2026 and proud\u2019<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n

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\"GH<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

While it\u2019s hard to believe she\u2019s all grown up, after 60 years in daytime and almost five decades on\u00a0General Hospital<\/em>, this soap opera diva who once worked alongside Elvis\u2014not to mention onscreen family John Ingle, Anna Lee, and Stuart Damon, Leslie Charleson, and Jacklyn Zeman\u2014can\u2019t ignore her place.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI look around and I realize that at this stage of the game, I\u2019m the oldest actor on the show,\u201d Elliot tells Woman\u2019s World. \u201cThere are all these photographs on the set of the characters on the show, and they\u2019ve all passed away, and I\u2019m still standing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt\u2019s daunting, it\u2019s overwhelming,\u201d the NATAS Gold Circle honoree admits. \u201cIt makes me sad sometimes, and it makes me enormously grateful and proud.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The 2025 Daytime Emmy winner\u2019s rundown!<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n

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\"2025<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n


Jill Johnson\/jpistudios.com
 <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In case you missed the rundown, General Hospital<\/em> took home many of the awards at the Daytime Emmy celebration, including Best Drama Series, Directing Team for a Drama, Writing Team for a Drama, and Costume Design\/Styling.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Here\u2019s a list of the actors who walked away with Daytime Emmys in 2025 \u2013 many of whom talked to Woman\u2019s World, so stay tuned or follow the link for more!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Outstanding Lead Performance in a Daytime Drama: Actress<\/strong>: Nancy Lee Grahn as Alexis Davis, General Hospital<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Outstanding Lead Performance in a Daytime Drama: Actor: <\/strong>Paul Telfer as Xander Kiriakis, Days of Our Lives<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Outstanding Supporting Performance in a Daytime Drama: Actress<\/strong>: Susan Walters as Diane Jenkins, The Young and the Restless<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Outstanding Supporting Performance in a Daytime Drama: Actor<\/strong>: Jonathan Jackson as Lucky Spencer, General Hospital<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Outstanding Emerging Talent in a Daytime Drama<\/strong>: Lisa Yamada as Luna Nozawa, The Bold and the Beautiful<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Outstanding Guest Performance in a Daytime Drama: <\/strong>Alley Mills as Heather Webber, General Hospital<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Daytime Emmy-winner and Gold Circle Honoree reflects on her epic run as Tracy Q At the 52nd Annual Daytime Emmys on Friday soap opera icon and 1981 Daytime Emmy-winner Jane Elliot … <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1266","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ifefe.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1266","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ifefe.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ifefe.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ifefe.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ifefe.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1266"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/ifefe.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1266\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1267,"href":"https:\/\/ifefe.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1266\/revisions\/1267"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ifefe.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1266"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ifefe.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1266"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ifefe.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1266"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}