• Finola Hughes is a British actress, TV host, dancer and author, best known for her role in the long-running series “General Hospital”.
• She has appeared in over 50 movies and TV series, including “Soapdish”, “Nutcracker”, “Charmed”, “Jack’s Place” and “All My Children”.
• She has also produced and directed the movie “The Bet” and directed an episode of “Good Trouble”.
• Finola has won five awards, including a Daytime Emmy and a La Femme International Film Festival Filmmaker Award.
• She has a net worth of over $8 million.
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Who is Finola Hughes?
Finola Hughes was born in London, England, on 29 October 1959 – her zodiac sign is Scorpio and she holds British nationality. She’s an actress, TV host, dancer and an author, who’s probably known best for her portrayal of Anna Devane in the long-running romantic crime drama series “General Hospital”, created by Frank Hursley and Doris Hursley, and which has been airing since 1963. It currently stars Maurice Benard, Laura Wright and Steve Burton, and follows the lives of various people living in Port Charles, New York State. The series has won 295 awards of the 916 for which it has been nominated, including a Golden Globe nomination.
Early life and education
Finola was raised in London by her parents, about whom nothing’s known as they prefer to be left out of media. She hasn’t spoken about having any siblings, and is thus believed to be an only child.
Finola became interested in acting and dancing while attending a local high school while she was also into several other activities, including playing soccer, running track, and singing. Upon matriculating in 1977, she enrolled at the Arts Educational Schools London, from which she obtained her Bachelor of Arts degree in 1980.
Finola launched her acting career with her portrayal of Victoria the White Cat, in the musical play “Cats” in 1981.
Roles in movies
Finola has been credited with appearing in over 50 movies and TV series, and we’re about to mention some of her other most notable performances.
In 1980 she made her debut film appearance in the science fiction musical drama “The Apple”, but which received poor reviews, then in 1982, Finola portrayed Nadia Gargarin in the musical drama “Nutcracker”. The following years saw her play supporting characters in many mediocre movies, while she gained recognition in 1991 with her appearance in the romantic comedy “Soapdish”, written and directed by Michael Hoffman, and which starred Sally Field, Kevin Kline and Cathy Moriarty. It follows a soap opera actress who starts dating her producer; the movie won Kevin a nomination for a Golden Globe Award for Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture – Comedy or Musical. Some of Finola’s following roles were in the 1993 romantic sports drama “Aspen Extreme”, the 1994 romantic thriller “Dark Side of Genius”, and the 1995 thriller drama “Above Suspicion”.
Throwback to the time I recreated @finolahughes cover pose while working on a Cats dance in Theatrical class. #InternationalDanceDay pic.twitter.com/oSd18wwsK9
— Jenna (@jennadance29) April 29, 2021
She made her debut voicing performance in the 1996 animated action adventure “Superman: The Last Son of Krypton”, then in 1998, Finola voiced Queen Anne in the animated adventure drama “Pocahontas 2: Journey to a New World”, which follows Pocahontas on her trip to England with Flit, Percy and Meeko. Her following notable performance was in 2010, when she played Liz in the romantic drama “Like Crazy” written and directed by Drake Doremus, and which stared Felicity Jones, Anton Yelchin and Jennifer Lawrence. It follows a British and an American college student who have fallen in love – the British girl has now been banned from the US because she has overstayed her visa. The movie won nine of the 16 awards for which it was nominated.
Three of Finola’s most recent roles in movies have been in the 2011 animated family comedy “Scooby-Doo! Legend of the Phantosaur” (voice role), the 2011 romantic drama “Driving by Braille”, and the 2014 musical comedy “Dance-Off”.
Roles in TV series
Finola made her debut TV series appearance in a 1982 episode of the musical comedy “The Kenny Everett Television Show”, and the following years saw her appear in an episode or two of various series, such as the drama “L. A. Law”, the comedy “It’s Garry Shandling’s Show”, and the mystery crime drama “Burke’s Law”.
She gained recognition in 1992 with her portrayal of Chelsea Duffy, one of the lead characters in the drama “Jack’s Place”, which also starred Hal Linden and John Dye, and follows a former jazz musician Jack Evans who has just opened his own restaurant. Between 1993 and 1995, Finola played the supporting character Carol in the hit family comedy “Blossom”, and in 1996, she voiced Lara in three episodes of the award-winning animated action adventure “Superman: The Animated Series”.
From 1999 to 2003, Finola played Dr. Alex Devane Marick in 121 episodes of the long-running romantic mystery drama “All My Children”, created by Agnes Nixon, and which starred Susan Lucci, David Canary and Michael E. Knight. It aired from 1970 to 2011, and follows Erica Kane and her many husbands, while the series won 191 awards including a Primetime Emmy, and was nominated for 573 other awards. Finola played the supporting character Patty Halliwell in the hit fantasy mystery drama “Charmed” in 10 episodes from 1999-2006, and in 2013, she voiced Lady Shiva in seven episodes of the animated action adventure “Beware the Batman”.
Two of her most recent roles in TV series besides “General Hospital” for which she’s still shooting today, have been in the 2015 episode “The Threads That Were Spun Are Gathered” of the drama “Granite Falls”, and the 2016 episode “Pilot” of the drama “New Wall Street”.
Other credits
She received special thanks for the 2010 short movie “Pop Culture Punk Art: The Art of Russell Young”.
In 2013, Finola produced and directed the romantic comedy movie “The Bet”, and in 2020, she directed the episode “Daylight” of the romantic comedy series “Good Trouble”. It has recently been announced that Finola will direct the upcoming romantic comedy movie “Byrd and the Bees”.
She has been featured in many documentaries, such as the series “Intimate Portrait”, the mini-series “I Love the ‘80s”, and the movie “E! 101 Most Starlicious Makeovers”. Finola has also appeared in many TV specials, including “Live from the Red Carpet: The 2014 Daytime Emmy Awards”, “The 42nd Annual Daytime Emmy Awards”, and “The Story of Soaps”.
She has made a guest appearance in many talk-shows, such as “Oprah: Where Are They Now?”, “Entertainment Tonight” and “Live with Kelly and Ryan”.
Awards and nominations
Finola has been nominated for 21 awards, winning five; three Soap Opera Digest Awards: in 1990 for Outstanding Heroine: Daytime for “General Hospital”, in 1991 for Outstanding Lead Actress: Daytime for “General Hospital” as well and in 2000 for Favorite Return for “All My Children”. In 1991, Finola won a Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series for “General Hospital”, and in 2013, she won a La Femme International Film Festival Filmmaker Award for Best Feature for “The Bet”.
Some of the other awards she has been nominated for include eight Primetime Emmys, four Soap Opera Awards, and a Gold Derby Award.
Husband and children
Finola’s quite secretive when it comes to her love life but has still shared some details concerning it with the public.
She exchanged vows with her other half Russell Young in 1992, in a private ceremony attended by their closest friends and family members.
Russell’s a British-American artist, known for his paintings, sculptures and short movies. He obtained his Bachelor’s degree from the University of Chester, and his Master’s degree from Exeter College of Art and Design.
On 9 November 2000, Finola gave birth to their son Dylan Joseph, and in the second half of the 2000s, Finola and Russell adopted a boy born in 2005, and a girl born in December 2007.
Neither Finola nor Russell have spoken of any other people they have perhaps dated, sod as of April 2021, the family of five seems to be leading a happy life together.
Hobbies and other interests
Finola was physically very active in her 20s, 30s and 40s, and even in her 50s had two to three training sessions at the gym each week. She uses her Instagram account to encourage women to exercise and to lead a healthy life.
She’s a highly sociable woman – her best friends are the actor Ian Buchanan, and the actresses Kelly Ripa and Donna Rosenstein.
Finola’s a cat-lover, and has two pet cats which can be seen featured in a couple of her Instagram pictures.
She’s keen on travelling, and has been all around the US to shoot for her movies and TV series, while she has also been to various European countries. Finola’s dream travel destination is Miami in Florida.
In her spare time, she enjoys watching movies starring her favorite actor and actress – Ryan Reynolds and Meryl Streep – such as “The Notebook”, “Deadpool” and “Kramer vs. Kramer”.
Age, height and net worth
Finola’s age is 61. She has long brown hair and brown eyes, her height is 5ft 5ins (1.65m) and she weighs around 128lbs (58kgs).
As of April 2021, her net worth has been estimated at over $8 million.
