When the nominations were revealed for the 49th Annual Daytime Emmy Awards, General Hospital mainstay, Nancy Lee Grahn (Alexis Davis), was recognized for her stunning work in the Alexis-centric standalone episode which honored her 25th anniversary with the ABC daytime drama series.
Grahn, is already a two-time Daytime Emmy winner. She won back in 1989 in a tie for Outstanding Supporting Actress for her work as Julia Wainwright on Santa Barbara along with All My Children’s Debbi Morgan, and again received the honors in that category in 2012 for her work on General Hospital.
Now. she is vying for the gold in 2022 in the Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series category against other formidable actresses including: B&B’s Kimberlin Brown, DAYS Stacy Haiduk, Y&R’s Melissa Ordway, and her GH castmate, Kelly Thiebaud.
Michael Fairman TV caught up with Nancy to talk about her decision to enter the Emmy race this year, her powerful and moving scenes, why this nomination is significant and important to her, and her take on some very important social issues of our time.
Always candid, insightful, combined with great humor and wit, here’s what Nancy had to share below, and make sure to check out GH this week when sparks fly between Alexis and Gregory (Gregory Harrison). Will he turn out to be the new beau in Alexis’ life? Stay tuned.

Courtesy/ABC
Congratulations on the Emmy nomination. How do you feel about being in the running again, especially with the material from your 25th anniversary episode?
NANCY: You know, I don’t submit myself if I don’t think I have something, and I didn’t last year. This year, I had the one show, and the first reason I submitted myself was I had the episode that was worthy of the competition. These judges have to sit, and watch this stuff, and very often, it’s hard to watch soap opera scenes. It really is, unless you’re in it. It’s a different kind of material that most primetime people aren’t used to watching. So, it’s tricky business. I don’t want to put them through anything too awful. I don’t want to torture them and I’ve judged before. It can be a bit tedious. So, for me to submit myself, I thought, it has to be something that isn’t going to torture another human being. The second thing is, older women get marginalized the older they get, and they get diminished very often, and every time we get nominated, it means something different to me. This time, to me, I want it to somehow be symbolic, or a shoutout to women who are still producing, who have been doing their job for a long time and are still doing it good enough, and that it’s still worthy of respect and recognition.
When we were at the GH Convention back in March, I played the scene on-stage for the fans in attendance of when Alexis goes over to the corner of Kevin’s office and heals her younger self. You saw the reaction just from the fans. It’s such a beautiful moment within the story. What did you think about how the standalone episode was crafted?
NANCY: It was a different experience for me because GH co-head writers Chris Van Etten and Dan O’Connor, and script writer, Scott Sickles gave it the attention, but even more to that, they allowed me to participate in the creation of it. They allowed the director, Phideaux Xavier, to participate. We all sat in a room. They said, “You know what? Make it how you’re comfortable with it.” There were so many people who gave it time and effort, and Phideaux gets a lot of credit because he came up with a lot of ideas. So, the little girl in the therapy room wasn’t initially a part of it. That was Phideaux’s idea, and they let us alter things, and they allowed me to write some words that meant something to me with the character. Our producers, Michelle Henry and M.K Weir, who I both adore, were also a part of this.

Courtesy/ABC
That is great to hear that you were involved in the collaborative process of the creation of the episode.
NANCY: We read through the whole script, and we worked it like you would on primetime. We went through it like, “Does this moment work? Does that moment work? Does this make sense? Does that make sense?” We never do that in soaps. We don’t get to that. So, it was a gift to me. It really was. Chris and Dan, and Scott and Phideaux, and the two producers, generosity in gifting me that experience and making sure that it was to everybody’s liking, was really very special to me, and it meant a lot.
Did you come up with the key lines which summarized Alexis as a person and her journey: “I’m Alexis Davis, and I’m a fighter, and an idealist and an advocate?”
NANCY: No. They designed it, but we were allowed to enhance and contribute creatively to it, and, we don’t normally have the time to do that. They don’t have the time to – and you can’t allow people to do that with every episode, to be creatively participating, because it would turn into madness with everybody.
Then, when it came down to choosing the scenes from your anniversary episode to include for your Emmy submission, was that a challenging process of which moments to go with?
NANCY: I just told a little story with it with the time that I had, and so, I edited it with a friend of mine. I did a sort of pre-edit on it, I’m good at that, and handed the timeline to our editor, who nicely put it together. It took very little effort.
In my humble opinion, I think that episode featured one of your all-time best performances.
NANCY: Thank you. There was a nice effort from everybody, from the lighting to everybody else, and all the effort Phideaux put into it. He worked so hard on that! It was fun for us. It was like the old days where you really got to work something out.

Photo: ABC
It truly harkened back to everything we knew up to that point about Alexis and her past as well, and included a montage of scenes over the years.
NANCY: I think it was M.K. who put that together, but when you’re working at the pace we’re working now, to have to sit and put together a montage of twenty-five years, that’s not an easy feat. Nobody has time for that anymore, but they did it, and like I said, it was really, really appreciated. My only thought with it is that I wanted it to be relatable to other people. I didn’t want it to just be some, you know, self-indulgent Alexis episode. I knew that by bringing in the little girl and talking about people being hurt in their childhood and how that makes somebody feel that it was probably relatable to many people, and so it became meaningful to other people and not just me.
Do you think you’ll attend the Daytime Emmys? I know the last time you won you were not present.
NANCY: Yeah, I’m planning on it. I mean, barring anything happening! (Laughs)
Does it feel nice to be recognized by your peers?
NANCY: Of course, it does. It always does, and way too often, women who are still producing well in their jobs, don’t get the respect and the acknowledgment for it. So, that’s why I’m saying, this is no small thing, and that I want other women to know that I know that, and that I wish for them the same thing.
What was the reaction of your daughter, Kate and your fiancé, Richard, when you told them you were Emmy-nominated?
NANCY: Richie goes, “What is this? Your 18th nomination?” (Laughs). You know what I mean? It was just kind of like, “Yeah, sure, why wouldn’t you be?” It wasn’t like, “Oh, my God!” It was like they kind of expected that. That was nice! I’m glad they feel that way. I’m glad they weren’t surprised. They were like, “Sure! Of course, you would be. Why wouldn’t you be?” I said, “You know, it doesn’t always work like that!”

Photo: JPI
Now comes the part of having to find a dress and all that goes with it for the red carpet. Do you enjoy that part?
NANCY: No, I hate that part. That is my… oh ‘boohoo’, you know? I mean, I have to find something to wear. Also, the older you get, that becomes so much less important, and the more makeup, and the more hair, and the more foofy, the more ridiculous I look. I start looking like Whatever Happened to Baby Jane. You’ve just got to keep it simple.
You were talking about women and ageism. Do you not feel that also exists for men?
NANCY: It exists for men, but it’s not at all on the same par as women. I mean, men still get paid more than women, and men still are valued more than women. I mean, there are exceptions, but if you look in any place of employment, even the soaps, you will typically find the men making more money than the women, and the older the women get, the less they get. Life’s not fair right now. It’s fairer than it was, but still the equality game is not won yet.

Photo: JPI
I know how much all of this means to you in terms of equality for women, and people being run out of their jobs because of their age.
NANCY: It’s just a reality. It’s not something that I’m hopeless about, but I have a story to tell. I’ll tell it when the time is right. It’s life! It happens in every field everywhere. When my mom was 70, she was still producing the exact same way she was producing when she was 30, and she got run out, and was replaced by a man who was 40 or something, and there was no particular reason for it. It was just, “You’re done. We decided you’re done,” but like I said, it happens everywhere, in every line of work, and that’s why I just wanted to give a shout-out, when you still, after 36 years, can be recognized or shown respect or acknowledgment for what your do. It’s a very big deal that I am appreciative of and grateful for.
So, rooting for Nancy to win the Outstanding Supporting Actress prize? Happy she was nominated for her work in the the milestone episode devoted to Alexis? Share your thoughts in the comment section below, and to tune-in to the 49th annual Daytime Emmy Awards on CBS and streaming on Paramount+ on Friday night, June 24th.
How old is she to be hangin’ with Molly and TJ??
She looks much older .
Ummm my thoughts exactly.
I hope she performs her scenes in a swimsuit high heels and tiara.
Pray her talent is acting. Or I fear GH Will get their very own Summer Newman
At least Hunter king, can act. She is a wonderful actress and has won 2 emmys, back to back. Torqumada who sound bitter of Summer Newman lol
Josh, I kind of think Hunter King is getting a bad rap.
Sure, I have no use for the character because she is written as a whiny, self absorbed narcissist with a sense of entitlement. But every now and then, when Summer is allowed to show some concern for other people, something shines through.
They just need to give the girl a story which doesn’t revolve around The Newmans and The Abbotts. I mean, what is this young girl doing with her life? Is she even going to college?
Let’s give this girl a chance. You must admit, Torqumada, gorgeous women have always been caricatured or given less respect than a plain Jane or an average looking woman ever has. That’s the story since ALWAYS…..until one opens her mouth. Looks do not always run parallel to one’s intelligence. Trust me. It is always taken for granted that a beautiful woman lacks wit/ wisdom/a brain. I suppose this is the way said women are portrayed, even in this, the 21st Century. That fact is perpetuated, without fail. My question is, why hire more characters? There must be a reason.. As… Read more »
GH already has a bloated cast. The last thing they need is another newbie much less a teen. Some long time characters already go missing for weeks.
Darby becomes the new wuv interest for Morgan only to learn they are half siblings-Brenda is her momma and Sonny her pappa!…he already has kids all over the place so why not…ok, she cant be…i just cant care for another newbie in an already bloated cast with several characters they dont even care to write for but yet bring in a newbie and can write for her?
Exactly, Jimmy. What happened to the Brad/Lucas/Rosalie storyline? I know that was so dumb to have Brad and Rosalie married….still, the storyline was just left hanging.
i already forgot that storyline but then again it was forgettable when i watched it..lol
@jimh.
Exactly my point, Jimh. Forgettable. Why? ….because ‘they’ are all over the map; yet, more characters are introduced.
Why can’t they work with the people that they have and write decent storylines for them? TJ and Molly are barely on anymore and when they are it’s lame. Not looking forward to this at all.
Amen! I want to see Felicia, Mac, Scotty, Lucy, “Doc”, Laura, Bobbie, etc. what hole did these characters fall through?
If you need to add someone, how about Jasper Jacks?
I believe the new writers said that the cast will be trimmed down (a bit).
How is adding trimming down? Is Ben Weston on his way to Port Charles?
i hope so…lol
Sigh!!! Nothing against Jesica but since when is the T.J./Molly story, if you even consider it a “story,” of big interest. I realize GH wants to attact the “preferred” demos, but so far they don’t have a great track record of giving the younger actors interesting storylines anyway. Sometimes you hear they go to school, but mainly they go to Kelly’s, and don’t appear to do anything except have parent and boyfriend/girlfriend problems. I truly believe there is more potential with things that can happen in their lives. There were a couple of promising stories where writers dropped the ball…Molly… Read more »
Oh dear Lord, why? This sinking ship needed to get rid of excess baggage NOT add to it and certainly not introduce new characters. Stupid, stupid move and she is not even an actress, she’s a beauty contestant. Great, just great.
Not only that, Harry; but, there is a ten year difference between Jesica ( what happened to the other ‘S’ in her name, anyway?????) and Haley/Molly. Are they supposed to be school friends? Even Tequan /TJ is older (22)….but, at least he could pass as a teen. This girl looks like she’s been around the block a few times. She is gorgeous, though. I just hope her acting is as outstanding as her looks.
Cee Cee:
It reminds me of all those movie from the 80’s when they had thirty year olds playing teenagers.
In the cult classic Napoleon Dynamite there is a blond man with a receding hairline playing a school bully who is supposed to be sixteen years old. I am sure he’s forty if he’s a day. Perhaps that was part of the joke?
In any case, Vote for Summer!
@Harry.
Yeah, Harry. What about 90210. I caught a few episodes of that show….most of the characters were in their late twenties or early thirties playing teen-agers.
I agree so much on this! why, why, why yet another character when there are so many we need to unload on this show?!
lol!
it’s about money..
the creator of the character get money, money for the character as long as it lives!
but-
stupid to create a young one..
c’mon, teens do not watch soaps. it’s the 21st century and what interests teens/younger people have in media are not their grandma stories/soaps. LOL
Damn, Su000, we are agreeing wayyyyyy too much these days.
teens are glued to their phones not watching soaps and adults aren’t interested in teens. agree!
I second that Harry! Just what we don’t need, a beauty contestant playing an actress. Lordie.
I’ll withhold judgment until we see where this is going as I have high hopes that Ms. Passanante and Ms. Altman will deliver the goods. While I’m here I’d like to renew my plea to Mr. Valentini to drop the actress who plays Kiki. Actually, go ahead and drop the character, too. I’d have much preferred that she was killed off versus Silas (or Duke, for that matter). In all of the years that I’ve watched this wonderful program I struggle to recall when I’ve fast forwarded through scenes but I fast forward through most of hers. They’re painful to… Read more »
Agree with you on Kiki 100% and to have this troll living with Franco & Nina is absurd. Wish Kiki would go away; neither actress has done much with the character but the current one really grates my every last nerve! Michelle Stafford deserves a better story than having this brat hanging around.
She seems too old to be hanging with TJ and Molly? Okay, now that I got that out of the way, its time to be shallow! Can I please get a walk on role at GH and play her coffee mug! She is beautiful!
I like your humor, Timmm. She is striking, isn’t she?
My god!
I think she’s a female version of Nathan–all looks and no talent or substance. Nathan is so bad he manages to make the usually exciting Maxie seem dull.
I swear, it seems like Frank and the ABC suites are trying to sabotage GH.
Words from the wise; my husband. “You’re so smart, babe…but, with your looks, you don’t need smarts”. LOL. Nathan is good for my eyes and soul….very soothing, Harry. Seriously speaking, I will not pass judgement on this most beautiful girl. I can appreciate your temerity concerning her acting ability, but one can be as beautiful as she is talented. My concern is, how will the male cast members be able to flawlessly go through their lines. They will surely stumble over them. And, speaking of stumbling, do you think Sonny will try to bed her? I mean, he has sampled… Read more »
Harry – way to judge a book by its cover. “No talent or substance.” Wow. I hope people don’t judge you based on your looks. And by the way, it’s “suits” unless you’re talking about large rooms at the ABC offices.
Yes, AJ, I did mean to write suits. Thank you for correcting my minor typo with such angry, self-righteous indignation. (this blog site does not allow us to correct our mistakes after posting them). However, I stand by the thematic thrust of my comment. I have seen this actress in the shows mentioned above and her acting is barely sub par. In fact, she cannot act her way out of a paper bag. Moreover, she is a decade too old to be hanging out with the teenagers as if she were a peer. Finally, we do not need new characters… Read more »
Harry, Nathan and Kiki had a scene on Wednesday and it was so bad I was hoping Chloe would hop over from Y&R and mistake me for Adam and put me out of my misery!
First let me say she could be the worst character ever on GH. Or she can be the best character ever on GH. Who knows. Exactly! Who knows? You people are bashing this poor girl, even mocking the spelling of her name (CeeCee – I don’t know where the other “S” is, but maybe you can loan her a C or an E). Last I checked, GH was a soap. You know what soaps do? They add and subtract characters. A lot. There are also 2 new writers. There’s going to be upheaval. No doubt about it. There will be… Read more »
AJ,you are taking our comments way too personally. In fact, your responses seems rather shrill and hysterical.
The fact is GH does not need new characters–they need to get rid of the excess baggage. The timing could not be worst and you must understand this.
Folks are feeling that GH is guilty of self-sabotage and this idiotic casting choice is yet another example of this.. It’s nothing personal against Miss Alabama. It’s not about her but what she represents.
I am sure she can twirl a baton just brilliantly.
Yes, subject verb disagreement. I am guilty as charged.
So sue me.
Nope, not taking it personally and no hysterics either. I just hate to see such negative attitudes about a show that we all devote a great deal of time to and that we all supposedly love.
But as I said above, and maybe I missed it somewhere, but no where is there an indication that this is a contract role or even a “heavy recurring” role. She could be on for a few weeks and that’s it. Maybe she serves as a plot device for Tequan to leave the show to film his pilot.
I will try again, since the moderators did not like my response to you; nonetheless they have allowed your very offensive words to appear. Why? Why does my nickname bother you? My sibling has called me that as a small child. …..could not say Cecelia; so it stuck. Why are you bombarding me and Harry? I said nothing untoward about ‘Jesica’ whose name, I assumed was misspelled……it happens all the time. My question was rhetorical. She is gorgeous and I will wait to see if she WOWS us. I will not put the cart before the horse, per se. Additionally,… Read more »
UGH!!! I don’t want to bash anyone who’s just trying to earn a living, but I really don’t want any more new characters or returning characters for a long while. GH is so full of characters I like and only get to see once a month. There are so many story lines that are played the same way or left waiting in the wings forever. I am hopeful that his new writing regime ties up all those loose ends before moving into new stories. I’d like to know what’s going on with Brad/Lucas/Rosealee. What’s happening with Monica and the judge?… Read more »
If you look @ her long enough she could pass for a long lost Corinthos’
I think that Darby is Sonny and Sam’s daughter that died at birth why not they all end up dead and yet come back!!
I did some research on that back story, Ashleigh. How different was Sam back in the day?
That’s a very good assumption on your part……or, any of the other women Sonny ‘touched’; hither and yon.
I am very much looking forward to make Darby’s acquaintance. Take care of yourself, Ash.