Lizzie Spaulding

For other uses, see Spaulding.

Elizabeth Lillian "Lizzie" Spaulding (formerly Lizzie Randall) is a fictional character on the popular CBS daytime soap opera, Guiding Light. The character is the daughter of Phillip Spaulding and ex-wife, Beth Raines. Lizzie was born on-screen on Thanksgiving in 1990 but this was later revised to 1986 when she turned 18 in 2004. She is the third Elizabeth in her family; her paternal grandmother and mother's first names are Elizabeth as well.

The character of Lizzie Spaulding has been portrayed by five different actresses with Marcy Rylan currently playing the role since she was brought onto the show's canvas in 2006. Hayden Panettiere was the de facto originator of the role, which she portrayed from 1996 until 2001. For Lizzie's battle with leukemia in 2000, the show received a Special Recognition Award from the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society for bringing national awareness of the disease to the attention of daytime viewers. Crystal Hunt was also acclaimed for her portrayal of Lizzie and consequently received a Daytime Emmy nomination for "Outstanding Younger Actress" in 2005.

Family

Lizzie has had an unstable and difficult family life her entire life. The Spauldings are known for their immense wealth and wields great influence in Springfield. Thus, they are not without their enemies which is arguably justified given her father, uncle and grandfather's own misdeeds. Lizzie has also involved herself in a great amount of trouble in her young life leading her to have periods of mental disturbance like her father. Her scheming and manipulation finally culminated in her losing her daughter when Alan accidentally ran Tammy Winslow down in an attempt to kill Lizzie's ex-husband in January 2007.

The first-born child of Phillip Spaulding and Beth Raines, Lizzie has a younger brother, James Lemay Spaulding. She also has two younger paternal half-siblings, Alan Cooper "Zach" Spaulding and Emma Spencer-Lewis. Her mother, Beth, is currently expecting a daughter with her adoptive grandfather, Alan.

Lizzie has had numerous step-parents in her life. Her stepfather, Jim Lemay, was killed in a fire during Christmas when she was a child after saving her and James' lives. Lizzie was also once close to her former stepmother, Harley Cooper Aitoro and her former stepsister, Daisy Lemay.

Other relatives

• Justin Marler and Jacqueline "Jackie" Scott Marler (deceased) (paternal biological grandparents)
• Alan Spaulding (paternal adoptive grandfather/former stepfather) and Elizabeth Granville (paternal adoptive grandmother)
• Lillian Raines (maternal grandmother)
• Emily Marler and Emmet Scott (paternal biological great grandparents; deceased)
• Brandon Spaulding and Penelope Winthrop Spaulding (paternal adoptive great grandparents; deceased)
• Samantha Marler (paternal biological aunt)
• Augustus "Gus" Aitoro and Alan-Michael Spaulding (adoptive paternal uncles)
• Ross Marler (deceased), Lainie Marler and Ben Warren (deceased) (paternal biological great aunt and uncles)
• Alexandra Spaulding, Victoria Spaulding and Amanda Spaulding Thorpe (adoptive paternal great aunts)
• Calla Matthews (maternal great aunt)
• Rafe Rivera (adoptive paternal cousin)
• Dinah Marler Mallet, Kevin Marler, Jason Marler, Clarissa Marler and Drew Jacobs Blue (biological paternal first cousins once removed)
• Brandon "Lujack" Luvonaczek (deceased), Nick Spaulding and Vicky Spaulding (adoptive paternal first cousins once removed)
• Jessie Matthews Hall (maternal first cousin once removed)
• Max Jacobs (paternal biological adoptive second cousin)
• Brandon Hall (maternal second cousin)

Marriages, motherhood and significant relationships

Lizzie's first serious relationship was with Coop Bradshaw whom she was once engaged to. She had a one-night stand with Jonathan Randall after Coop and her briefly broke up which resulted in a pregnancy. Coop and Lizzie later married but this was later swiftly declared invalid since she married him under fraudulent reasons (Lizzie told him she was pregnant with his child). Jonathan and Lizzie later married in 2006 and she gave birth to their daughter, Sarah Elizabeth Randall, later that year. Their marriage was deeply troubled and one of convenience before it was annulled in January 2007 when Jonathan officially left her to marry his true love, Tammy Winslow Randall. Lizzie was brokenhearted by this development having truly fallen for Jonathan. This act consequently enraged her grandfather, Alan Spaulding, who attempted to kill his former grandson-in-law by running him over when Lizzie, panicked, told him to do whatever it took in order for her to retain custody of Sarah. Tragically, Tammy died instead when she pushed Jonathan out of the way. The latter subsequently retaliated by faking his and Sarah's deaths by seemingly driving off a cliff after following Alan's limousine in the countryside.

Inconsolable, Lizzie initially refused to believe Sarah was dead when she discovered evidence that might have lead her to discover Jonathan was still alive but when she went to Reva Shayne and Cassie Winslow with this information, the latter threw her out of her home instead. Enraged, Lizzie plotted revenge against her grandfather with Remy Boudreau but thought it over when he was shot at his wedding to Doris Wolfe which led to a change in personality for Alan, who apologized profusely for causing Sarah's death.

Current storyline

Summer 2007

Trying to come to terms with her grief, Lizzie has been overly enthusiastic in helping her mother out after they found out she was pregnant. Beth finally confronted her in June 2007 regarding her behavior which offended her daughter who stormed out on her. She was also briefly kidnapped by Reva for two days who knocked her unconscious with chloroform. Reva was acting on instructions given by Jonathan who had called her. When Lizzie awoke in a drug-induced haze, she was shocked to find a tattoo of a butterfly on her hip. This same tattoo was later seen by Jeffrey O'Neill on Reva. Later, Alan had his ex-wife arrested for Lizzie's abduction just as she boarded a plane to presumably see Jonathan. The truth was revealed when Reva recalled what she did to Lizzie as she was being interrogated by Jeffrey who was disturbed when Lizzie revealed that the tattoo hurt right down to the bone. Reva, who had drugged Lizzie, had taken her bone marrow in order to help Sarah with her anemia. When Reva tried to escape from jail, Jeffrey asked her point blank if her son and Lizzie's daughter were still alive.

Notable events

Pre-adolescent years

Lizzie accidentally killed Carl Stevens in early 1998 when she saw him threatening her mother, Beth, with a gun. The gun fell, Lizzie picked it up and fatally shot Carl. She suffered nightmares and hallucinations and finally had a breakdown upon being questioned by her father after being stopped from fleeing the country with her mother who was determined to keep Lizzie's involvement in Carl's death a secret. She was sent to camp for therapy and returned somewhat better-adjusted.

In 1999, she was kidnapped by the Nursery Rhyme Stalker and was saved by Alan's old lover, Annie Dutton (also an escaped convict at the time). She befriended her rescuer and would run away with her when Lizzie overheard her father speaking of getting rid of Annie and took it literally. Though she was reassured by the latter that Phillip wasn't planning to kill her, the woman guessed that he was making plans to send her back to prison and made plans to run away. Lizzie begged Annie to take her along as she felt neglected by her mother and she agreed. Lizzie would later be saved by her grandfather and his then wife, India von Halkein. Upon her return to Springfield, Phillip and Beth vowed to their daughter that they would never make her feel unwanted again when she told her mother that she thought Beth wouldn't miss her if she was gone. Lizzie was devastated, though, when she learned that Annie was gone.

2000 wasn't an easy year for Lizzie either when she was diagnosed with leukemia after being in a car accident with her stepsister, Daisy Lemay. Though Daisy had witnessed signs of sickness in Lizzie before the accident, the latter swore her to secrecy as she wanted to witness her mother getting married to Daisy's father, Jim Lemay. Lizzie finally went into remission when she underwent a successful bone marrow transplant thanks to her new baby brother, James. Alan would later reveal to her that the baby was Phillip's and not Jim's. When she heard her mother and stepfather making plans to leave Springfield, Lizzie feigned sickness again but her godfather, Rick Bauer called her out and she confessed. Tragedy would strike again later in the year for the girl when Jim died in a fire after saving Lizzie and James a few days before Christmas.

In 2003, after dealing with issues involving her grandfather's faked heart attack and helping Marina Cooper frame her uncle Gus Aitoro, Lizzie pleaded with Beth and Phillip to let her go away to boarding school and they reluctantly agreed.

Teenage years

Lizzie returned home boarding school after a fire destroyed her room which the headmaster believed she started. She soon developed a crush on Shayne Lewis. Jealous of his relationship with Marina Cooper, Lizzie decided to sabotage it by getting Marina's old boyfriend, Ben Reade, back in her life. Convincing Ben that Marina still cared for him, she arranged for him to meet with Marina at the high school prom. Though the latter rejected him, Lizzie persuaded him that she was lying and continually pushed him to go after Marina, first at the Bauer barbecue and later at the Bauer cabin where an unbalanced Ben would end up kidnapping Marina. Though she was returned uninjured, Ben ended up committing suicide.

Lizzie's jealousy didn't stop at Marina however; she was also very disturbed to learn that Olivia Spencer, Phillip's old lover, was pregnant with his baby. Resentful of having to share Phillip with Olivia and the baby on the way, she made plans to cause Olivia to lose her baby and thus release her father's obligation to her. Pointing out to Olivia a tear on the carpet on the Beacon staircase, she later pulled up the carpet after it had been fixed in an attempt to cause Olivia to fall down the stairs. Though she appeared to change her mind after a last minute talk with Beth, Lizzie was too late and Olivia took a horrible tumble. Though she and the baby turned out to be all right, Olivia was convinced that Lizzie (who'd been behaving maliciously toward her for weeks) purposely caused her fall. Not long after, a concerned Beth and Lillian would whisk Lizzie away to a cabin where Lillian confronted Lizzie with the same accusation. Cornered, Lizzie continually denied that she did anything wrong regarding Ben and Olivia and got exceedingly defensive. Finally, desperate, she grabbed a broken shard of glass and threatened to kill herself. Luckily, Harley arrived to diffuse the situation and drove a highly defensive and agitated Lizzie back to Springfield. The night of Olivia's baby shower, Lizzie snuck out of the house on the pretense of giving her a gift. When a frightened Olivia refused the gift and asked Lizzie to leave, she continued to push the gift on Olivia and finally was escorted home by her psychiatrist. That night, Olivia found something in her baby crib--a doll's head! Though Lizzie tried to deny it and pleaded with her family to believe her, she was unable to convince her family of her innocence. Distraught over her family's mistrust, Lizzie confided in Alan that she was only trying to be a good Spaulding by manipulating events to get what she wanted. She also finally admitted to Christopher that she needed help and she wanted to get back to being that happy girl she used to be. In an effort to make amends for the pain she caused, Lizzie apologized to Marina and Shayne for her part in Marina's kidnapping.

Later that year, Lizzie tried to go on with a normal teenaged existence by auditioning for a school play, a production of Romeo and Juliet. Wanting the part of Juliet, Lizzie was extremely jealous when Tammy was given the role instead. Late that year, Lizzie was unnerved when Olivia, who had left town after the crib incident, returned claiming to have lost her baby. Still very suspicious of Olivia, Lizzie was certain that she was out to hurt Phillip, who was now in a mental hospital following a nervous breakdown.

In 2004, Lizzie was convinced that Olivia was planning to kidnap Phillip. Although she turned out to be wrong, she and the other Spauldings learned something equally unsettling--Olivia married Phillip! Although no one in the family was happy with the hasty marriage, Beth tried to convince a disgusted Lizzie that, like it or not, she'd have to accept Olivia as her stepmother. Reeling from Phillip's new marriage, Lizzie tried to act out by drinking, but was caught by her new friend, Sandy Foster, who harshly instructed her to straighten up. Angry about the Olivia situation and about still being under a doctor's care, Lizzie found the perfect opportunity for some excitement when a kid name Blade invited her to a rave. Desperately wanting to get out from her family's watchful gaze, Lizzie sneaked out and went to the rave on Valentine's Day. Unfortunately, things would end up taking a terrifying turn. Knowing how dangerous those raves could be, Nico Costaña (who met Lizzie a few months prior at Christmastime), went to the rave to talk her into leaving and guzzled her untouched drink. Suddenly feeling the high, he pulled Lizzie into a sexy Latin dance. Realizing something was wrong with Nico, Lizzie called her limo, risking getting into trouble with her family, to get Nico to the hospital. At the hospital, Lizzie was startled to learn that Nico had ingested a drug called Delirium, since she realized her own drink must have been spiked with the drug. Although Lizzie tried to tell Lillian, who was on duty at the hospital, that she just happened upon Nico wandering around, it was apparent to Lillian that Lizzie was lying. Fortunately, Nico recovered and thanked Lizzie for talking care of him.

Lizzie was startled when while visiting Phillip at the hospital, he claimed that his baby girl was actually alive. Although Beth was convinced Phillip was merely in denial, Lizzie suspected Olivia was hiding something when she suddenly put a stop to their visit. Wanting to know what Olivia was hiding, Lizzie tried to sweet talk Olivia's brother, Sam Spencer, into letting her clear the air with Olivia at his place (convinced that she'd find what Olivia was hiding there) Although she wasn't totally successful with Sam, she was able to talk Tammy into getting her Sam's address. With the address in hand, Lizzie snuck off and discovered something amazing--a baby! Realizing that Olivia had lied all along about losing her baby, Lizzie took drastic measures and kidnapped her sister! After taking take of her sister, Emma, all night, Lizzie took the baby to Ravenwood and presented her to Phillip. Knowing what she did was wrong, Lizzie asked Phillip to forgive her and pointed out that she had taken good care of Emma. At that point, Olivia busted in demanding her daughter and threatening to lock Lizzie away. At the same time the rest of the Spauldings arrived. As Olivia continued to rant about Lizzie, Phillip tried to get her to calm down to no avail. Finally, Phillip saved Lizzie by stating that he'd asked her to bring the baby to him. when Lizzie confirmed the story, Gus ruled it a domestic dispute since Phillip was the baby's father. However, it was clear to Olivia, and even to Beth, that Phillip was covering for Lizzie. Later, Lizzie admitted to Phillip that, despite how she had thought she'd feel, she loved Emma.

Lizzie developed a crush on Joey Lupo who was in a relationship with Tammy. She succeeded in breaking them up, and admitted to Joey that she loved him. When Joey told her that he and Tammy had gotten back together, Lizzie feigned acceptance and offered Joey a celebratory drink, laced with the drug. As expected, Joey passed out. With him unconscious, Lizzie got him into bad and undressed. The next morning, Joey woke up in bed next to her who then lied and told him that they'd made love. Unfortunately, the plan would backfire. Mere days later, Joey overheard Lizzie talking to the drug dealer JB about a drug and put two and two together. His suspicions were confirmed when he looked into JB's bag and saw a vial with a drug. Incensed, Joey confronted Lizzie about what she'd done. Backed into a corner, Lizzie was forced to admit what she'd done, leading a disgusted Joey to announce that he could never love her and walk away. Unfortunately for Joey, Lizzie went straight to Phillip and told him everything. Immediately, Phillip summoned Joey and, to Lizzie's shock, blackmailed Joey into leaving town. That day, Joey left Springfield for Boston University. A few days later, as she was out driving, Lizzie spotted Tammy outside of a bar and, in a pique of anger, sped up to scare her. Suddenly, Sandy pushed Tammy out of the way and was sideswiped himself while Lizzie sped away without ever looking back. The experience left Lizzie deeply troubled, especially when she learned that Sandy was in critical condition with a damaged liver. Feeling enormously guilty, Lizzie confessed her problem to Phillip, who urged her to keep quiet while he took care of everything.

Meanwhile, Lizzie met two people, Marina's uncle (who wasn't much older than Marina) Coop, a man she instantly disliked. In the midst of this, Phillip was entrenched in his personal mission to destroy the Coop's family. After Phillip demolished Harley's house, Coop (who at this point had had many clashes with Lizzie) bulldozed through the Spaulding gate. Though faced with jail time, Phillip offered another form of punishment--he was to work as Lizzie's driver, despite Lizzie's protests. Over the course of the next few weeks, Lizzie and Coop's relationship became more combative, though there were times she lowered her guard and showed him another side of her.

Meanwhile, Lizzie's guilt continued to gnaw at her and she confessed the truth to her Aunt Alex who urged her to confess to the police. Heeding Alex's advice, Lizzie went to the police station to confess. Although Phillip tried to stop her by demanding that she keep quiet, Lizzie openly defied her father and admitted the truth. After being released on bail, Lizzie was ordered by Phillip to meet him at the airport so they could flee town. Although she wanted to stay, Phillip told her that she wouldn't get a fair trial in Springfield and they had no choice but to leave everything behind. When Coop arrived to drive her to the airport, he saw how visibly upset she was and realized that she was running from something, Coop refused to take her anywhere lest he'd be an accomplice. Finally, he figured out that she was the one who hit Sandy Foster. When he lambasted her for running away instead of facing her punishment, Lizzie revealed that she had confessed but her father was forcing her to leave. Seeing how conflicted she was, Coop tried to convince her to do the right thing and stay. Afraid of jail time, Lizzie tried to offer Coop money to be her alibi, but he refused. Nonetheless he was able to convince Lizzie that if she didn't want to leave town, she shouldn't. Buoyed by Coop's encouragement, Lizzie then met with Phillip and shocked him by informing him that she wasn't going with him. That same day, Lizzie was shocked to learn that Phillip had kidnapped all of his other children! Realizing that her father was out of control, Lizzie, against Beth's wishes, decided to meet with Phillip to get him to tell her where the children were. Unfortunately, Phillip saw through her words and believed that she was betraying him. Believing he was protecting her, Phillip had Lizzie kidnapped but she was rescued by Coop and again she refused to go with Phillip. Not long after, Phillip ended up dead from a gunshot wound.

Not long after, Lizzie received a shock when she learned that Phillip had bequeathed Company to her. (Buzz had sold it to Phillip just prior to his death) Basking in her new role as restaurant owner, Lizzie re-named the place "Lizzie & Company" and lorded her position over the Coopers whom she retained on the payroll. While clashing with the Coopers at every turn, mostly Coop, Lizzie decided to get a measure of revenge by making Coop fall in love with her and then yanking the rug out from under him. However, despite her trying to "play" Coop, their relationship would continue to be antagonistic, though with periods of genuine closeness.

By 2005, however, the pair had grown tired of their little game and they both confessed that they'd been playing the other. By this point, Harley had been arrested and was awaiting trial for murdering Phillip. Convinced she was innocent, Gus investigated to see if someone else had killed Phillip--perhaps a Spaulding. Suspecting Lizzie, Gus grilled her about her father's death. Although Lizzie begged him to drop his investigation and let her father rest in peace, Gus was adamant that someone besides Harley had committed this crime. Later, Alan confused Lizzie by warning her not to speak to Gus because Gus was out to get the family in order to clear Harley. Later, when Coop starting to grill Lizzie, she decided to put some doubts in his head about Gus by scratching her own arms and then claiming that Gus did it. Days later, Lizzie repeated her accusation to Alan and Alex and showed them her bruises but Alan surprises everyone by remaining calm and insisting that Lizzie was overreacting. Later, Lizzie called Coop, determined to make him believe that Gus attacked her again but Coop remained suspicious. Soon after, Lizzie stuck Coop in the middle of the family feud when she demanded that he step up as a witness to Gus’s first attack on her. The night before Harley's trial, as the Coopers tried to rally around Harley, Coop had to contend with Lizzie who was intent on staying in Company. In an effort to get her out, Coop locked her in the potting shed. There a panicked became hysterical and struggled to get out, even trying to break a window. Finally Coop let her out but wondered why she was so hysterical. Afterwards, Lizzie held an impromptu press conference outside Company to express her confidence in Harley’s guilt. A horrified Coop grabbed her and took her to the spot where Harley’s house once stood to show her that she’s making an ugly situation worse. Later, they found themselves stuck in wet cement and things took a lighter turn...until Lizzie intercepted Coop’s call from the lab and learned that he’d betrayed her. Apparently, weeks earlier, when she found him in her room, he was there trying to get evidence that she'd killed Phillip. Upon learning that Coop had run tests on a shard of glass found in her room, Lizzie had it canceled. Finally at the trial, Gus called Lizzie on the stand and badgered her, accusing her of Phillip's murder. When Lizzie fainted, Coop came to her aid but when he told her he knew about the shard of glass and it was time to confess to what she’d done, she slapped him across the face. Recalled back to the stand Lizzie made her deep confession--the shard of glass was from when she killed Carl Stevens! Sympathetic and deeply ashamed for what he was accusing her of, Coop tried to apologize but Lizzie felt betrayed by him. As Harley was looking more and more guilty, Coop and Lizzie found themselves in a serious kiss after he kept her from accidentally falling off Company's roof.

To slight Coop, Lizzie attempted to make him jealous, but when Coop threatened to quit Company, Lizzie was forced to realize what she had in Coop and the two began a relationship which turned serious when they were determined to get married.

After overhearing a conversation between Buzz and Coop, Lizzie learned that Coop had been accepted to study at Oxford. She is heartbroken at the prospect of losing him, Lizzie made a secret phone call, fully determined to move ahead with the wedding. She then asked Coop to meet her since she’d planned a trip for them to Cancun. Coop was thrilled, unaware that Lizzie planned to bring him to the altar instead. Although Alex uncovered Lizzie’s plot, she ultimately gave Lizzie her blessing when Lizzie made it clear she was doing it all for love. To her chagrin, Coop didn’t show up at the airport on time, leading Lizzie to think he’d backed out. Finally, an injured Coop did arrive. Learning that Coop had a strange accident while he was working on his car (tires fell on him and he knocked over a gas pipe), Lizzie was sure that Beth and Alan were to blame for trying to keep Coop away from her. Later, Coop found out Lizzie was planning a wedding and confronted her. Lizzie apologized but reminded Coop he kept a secret from her too about his offer at Oxford. Coop apologized and they both resolve to trust each other more. Coop then decided to remain in Springfield rather than go to Oxford. Later, Lizzie received word that Alan was at the hospital and confronted him about sending someone after Coop. Realizing she needed to play hard ball, Lizzie had Beth’s plane rerouted so that she’d miss the Spaulding board meeting in which a new CEO was being elected. Without Beth to intervene a surprising new CEO was elected—Harley! Meanwhile, unable to answer to a boss, Lizzie quit her new job at the television station, but Coop stood up for her when Beth tried to stir up trouble between them. Later, a grateful Lizzie promised she’d find a way to solve their cash-flow problem.

Soon after, Lizzie met a young woman named Ava Peralta. During their conversation, Ava mentioned her recent problems with a dangerous loan shark. That gave Lizzie an idea and she approached the loan shark, Dean, who gave her money to buy a new dress. . She then kept the details of the new dress a secret from Coop, confident that she’d be able to pay back the loan when the time comes .Although Dean quickly began pressuring Lizzie to pay back the money, she was confident she’d find a way out of it. A new window opened when an old prep school friend, Quinn, entered the picture with a very fat wallet. Lizzie didn’t want to step on Coop’s toes, but when money became an issue for a dance that Lizzie wanted to go to, she became tempted. When she was pressured by the loan shark, Quinn gave Lizzie the money to cover her debt. The money, however, came with a price: Lizzie. Though she loved Coop, Lizzie was desperate for the money and began a secret affair with Quinn.

Meanwhile, continually jealous of Coop's friendship with Ava, Lizzie told Ava a sob story about how Coop was so busy right now, he really didn’t need yet another person leaning on him. Ava got the message and, when Coop invited her to the Cooper Christmas party the next day, she politely begged off. Things got sticky in 2006, when Coop narrowly missed a naked Quinn who was lounging about the penthouse. A few weeks later, Quinn started having qualms about letting her have his penthouse. To show her appreciation, Lizzie rewarded him with a kiss--which was witnessed by Ava. When confronted, Lizzie tried to convince Ava that it was nothing--that she and Quinn dated a long time ago. She then accused Ava of wanting Coop for herself. Both women were forced to lie when Coop came out to ask what they’re talking about. Things nearly blew up in Lizzie's face when Coop and Ava saw the owner of the store at CO2 and approached her. Luckily, Quinn saved Lizzie by paying the woman to rave about her best employee: Lizzie. Unfortunately, a vindictive Quinn betrayed Lizzie weeks later when he informed Coop that Lizzie didn't own the penthouse--he did! Confronted by an angry Coop, Lizzie confessed to Quinn funding her lifestyle. When Coop asked if Lizzie slept with Quinn, too, she denied it, insisting she only kissed him a couple of times, Lizzie tried to explain that she couldn't handle being poor but Coop was unsympathetic. He railed at her for all her lies and told her they were through.

Actress history

• Julie Levine (1990–1991) (As a Baby)
• Hayden Panettiere (1996–2000)
• Mackenzie Mauzy (2000–2002)
• Allison Hirschlag (2002–2003)
• Crystal Hunt (2003–2006)
• Marcy Rylan (2006–present)

External links

Lizzie Spaulding's profile at Soap Central