Sophia Blakely

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Sophia Blakely is a fictional character, and the second lead character, in the English language telenovela (Soap Opera), Fashion House. She was played by television actress Morgan Fairchild.

[edit] Maria's arch-rival

Sophia was the widow of artist Charles Blakely, and the mother of William Chandler. She and fashion mogul Maria Gianni have been bitter rivals for many years.

Sophia discovered that Maria had slept with Charles, while he was married to her, (Charles and Maria had been old lovers); and when she left him for Antonio Gianni, whom she eventually married and built her fashion empire with, Charles was so despondent over this that he took his own life.

Sophia hated Maria for this, and other things for many years, including making her and William penniless. And she decided to help her son get even with Maria for all the things she had done to her and her family.

When the show premiered, Sophia was rarely seen, except for her mouth, but when Maria's wedding to William went asunder, Sophia was there, bedecked in a red outfit and hat, and laughing at her. She then revealed that it was a joint effort between her and William to set Maria up to make a huge fall.

The two women squabbled in Maria's home, and almost trashed the living room in a huge catfight. In fact, more apt as not, given their animosity, Sophia and Maria squabbled at a the drop of a hat.

Sophia was also known for her ability to fight with words. Her witticisms were equally as effective as a slap in the face. One of her notable quotes was "Well, if it isn't the woman who put the 'hor' back into horrible!"

Because the House of Gianni, the fashion house Maria owned, was so deep in debt, it seemed that William, who helped bail her out of debt; and Sophia owned it. However, that idea ended, when Maria wrote a check for 21 million (procured by mobster Eddie Zarouvian) to pay off the debt. This momentarily deflated William and Sophia, but they rebounded.

Also, Luke, Maria's son, discovered that he was Charles' son; which distresses Maria and pleases Sophia.

Although Sophia could be accused of some villainous deeds, and was, in fact, rather devious at times, she wasn't considered to be as evil or as monstrous as Maria. Sophia was considered a sympathetic villain or an Anti-Hero.

William aimed to become friends with his new half-brother, although Sophia felt that it would not fit into their plans. Yet, she felt sympathy for her deceased husband's son, since he wasn't aware of his mother's conniving and machinations and was also an innocent pawn of Maria. William's championing of Luke was also a means to finally break him away from his mother once and for all.

She saw people like Luke and Michelle Randall Miller as keys to bring down Maria, and she aimed to help them, while bringing down her biggest enemy, and anyone even remotely allied with her, such as arrogant model Tania Ford, in flames.

Sophia's motives, like her son's, were cloudy at worst, but at best, she meant well. She and William have helped Michelle get her new design business off the ground and helped her with her first line.

Although she didn't like her, she understood William's new relationship with Nikki Clark. Sophia later joyfully discovered that she is finally getting a grandchild, since Nikki was pregnant with William's child. Although Nikki and Sophia were busy bickering, the two women did tend to get along. Like Nikki, Sophia took it hard when she discovered that Nikki lost the child.

Sophia attended Maria's last fashion show, and was as shocked as anyone when her arch-rival was gunned down on the runway. She could well end up being a person of interest.

At her funeral, she used one of her famous witticisms to get the ball rolling, "It's time to put the 'Fun' back in funeral!" she said, as she was bedecked in a bright sunny yellow outfit.

Following her lead, everyone spoke about Maria. And even though, Sophia, William, Tania, Lexi, Harold and Hans described her in glowing terms, the words were hypocritical, since all of them had, at one time or another, had been betrayed by the hated Maria. Luke, still protective of his mother, to the end, was furious at all of this, and lashed out at everyone. It took Michelle, who had lost her parents herself, to help Luke through it, even though he also accused her of killing his mother. She realized that he spoke as he did in the heat of his grief.

Soon after, Sophia and William left on an extended vacation. However, their aim was complete. Maria Gianni was gone, and now, they felt vindicated. However, both Sophia and her arch-enemy, Maria, were on the same island. Maria, having faked her own death, lived under an assumed name. However, the two didn't realize they were on the same island.