Soap star sorry for leaving show -- 25 years later

NEW YORK (AP) -- In case anyone is still carrying a grudge from 1982, Genie Francis would like her fans to know she's sorry.

The actress played Laura on the ABC daytime soap opera "General Hospital," and her fairy-tale wedding to Luke (played by Anthony Geary) riveted 30 million viewers in 1981 and landed the couple on the cover of Newsweek magazine.

Now Francis is apologizing for suddenly quitting the show the following year.

"I'm sorry for leaving you so abruptly, for not taking into account the feelings of the people who helped Laura truly take on a life of her own," the 45-year-old actress said in a statement Thursday from the Hallmark Channel. "It was the decision of a young, impetuous girl, and the woman she has become asks for your forgiveness."

Earlier this year, Francis won her first Daytime Emmy for supporting actress in a drama series. She had returned briefly to "General Hospital" as Laura, a role she began playing at age 14.

Francis said filming "The Note," a movie about reconciliation, prompted her to examine her past choices and apologize.

"The Note" premieres Saturday on the Hallmark Channel. E-mail to a friend

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