Eugenie Ann Francis Frakes (born May 26, 1962) is an American actress best known for her portrayal of Laura Spencer on the soap opera General Hospital.
Francis has appeared on numerous other daytime soaps. She starred on Days of Our Lives as Diana Colville and on All My Children as con artist and incest victim Ceara Connor Hunter. She reprised her role as Ceara on Loving in a crossover storyline in November 1991. Ceara was "killed off" when her character prepared to move to that soap's town of Corinth (although it was an unseen extra stepping off the bus into the line of fire), and years later, Genie was once again in Corinth on General Hospital when ex-husband Luke found her tied up in the Alden family basement. She then returned to General Hospital in 1993. In 1994, when Francis became pregnant with her first child, the pregnancy was written into the show and she took six weeks off for maternity leave. However, in early 1997, when she was pregnant again, she took a much longer absence from the show, staying away for nearly a year and a half. Francis abruptly left General Hospital in 2002 due to contract issues.
In June 2006, she began negotiating with the casting directors on the show to return to the role of Laura Spencer for a limited run through November. Francis returned with spectacular fanfare to commemorate the 25th anniversary of Luke and Laura's wedding. Though she reprised the role for only one month, Francis' stint garnered her a Daytime Emmy Nomination for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series, which she won in June 2007. Francis returned to General Hospital in August 2008 to reprise her role, appearing until November 12. In December 2007.
In March 2011, it was announced that Francis would join The Young and the Restless as Genevieve Atkinson. She received her second Daytime Emmy nomination in the category of Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series for her role as Genevieve in May 2012.
On September 13, 2012, it was announced that Francis had been let go from her role on The Young and the Restless due to budget cuts. On January 8, 2013, executive producer Frank Valentini confirmed that Francis would return to General Hospital, first airing on February 11. However, she remained with the series for only five months, as Laura departed for medical treatment in France, returning on June 5, 2015 as part of a storyline to help facilitate Anthony Geary's departure from the show and would later sign a contract to remain with the show. In January 2018, Francis was dropped to recurring status and in late July 2018 signed a contract to return to General Hospital full-time.