Francesca James is returning to All My Children -- but she won't be playing either of her two previous roles. Instead, the multiple Emmy winner will be playing the newly created role of Evelyn Johnson, the headmistress of a girls' school.
"And she has a big secret," James teased before adding an emphatic second "big!"
James made her debut on All My Children in 1973 as Kitty Shea. The character eventually succumbed to a brain tumor. Shortly after Kitty was written off, James tackled the role of Kelly Cole, Kitty's long-lost twin sister -- who also married her late sister's husband, Linc Tyler. James exited the show in 1980 but made special return appearances as Kelly in 1981, 1986, 2005, and 2008 for the funerals of loved ones.
During her on-screen tenure with AMC, James won an Outstanding Supporting Actress Daytime Emmy in 1980.
James' experience in daytime is not limited to acting. After exiting AMC in 1980, James pursued a career in directing. She directed for both All My Children and Loving. She later relocated to the West Coast and worked as a producer for Santa Barbara and as supervising producer on both Days of our Lives and General Hospital.
During her tenure with General Hospital, General Hospital won the Daytime Emmy for Outstanding Drama Series in 1994 and 1995.
James later returned to New York and to All My Children, and helmed the show as its executive producer from 1996 to 1998. In 1998, All My Children earned its second Daytime Emmy for Outstanding Daytime Drama.
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