Kate Howard

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Kate Howard

Megan Ward as Kate Howard
General Hospital
Portrayed by Megan Ward
First appearance May 4, 2007
Created by Robert Guza Jr.
Profile
Nickname(s) Connie (in Bensonhurst)
Gender Female
Occupation Editor in Chief of Crimson,[1]
Residence 124 Shoreline Road
Port Charles, New York

Kate Howard (born Constanza Louise Falconeri) is a fictional character on the ABC soap opera, General Hospital. The character was introduced to the show in May 2007, and has been portrayed by Megan Ward since the character's introduction.

Contents

[edit] Character background

[edit] History before the show

When the character of Kate Howard is first introduced, she is a grown woman in her 30s or 40s, famous for being the editor-in-chief of a high fashion magazine, similar to the character of Miranda Priestly in The Devil Wears Prada.[2] The history of the character of Kate Howard is told through bits of dialogue, primarily between her and the character of Sonny Corinthos (played by Maurice Benard). Through these glimpses, it is revealed that Kate Howard was born Constanza Louise Falconeri,[3] "Connie" Falconeri for short.[4] She was raised in the blue-collar neighborhood of Bensonhurst, New York to an Italian American family,[5] where she worked at a bakery and attended a catholic school called Sacred Heart in Brooklyn, New York (which may make reference to Sacred Heart School or Sacred heart School in Brooklyn).[6]

At the age of 18, wanting a better life for herself, she legally changed her name to Kate Howard, after Catherine Howard, the fifth wife of King Henry VIII. Her desire was to choose an easily recognizable name that alluded to someone with a good background and social standing.[7][6] She attended Princeton University,[7] on a full scholarship,[8] and worked her way up the ranks to become the editor of the fictional top fashion magazine, Couture. Since then, she has hid her past as Connie Falconeri, and tells people she is from Connecticut.[9]

She and mob boss Sonny Corinthos dated as teenagers, and had planned to run away together, but on the night they were to leave, she stood him up. She later explained to him that she had decided that she would rather pursue her dreams of having a career, something she could not do had she run away with Sonny.[7]

[edit] Living in Port Charles

The character was introduced to the show in May 2007 when she walked into Sonny's office unannounced and demanded the use of a phone because her car had broken down. She at first pretended that she did not know Sonny, but he eventually recognized her as Connie Falconeri from Bensonhurst. Diane Miller, Sonny's lawyer, later mentioned that Kate Howard is considered one of the "100 Most Powerful Women in America" in the fictional world of General Hospital.[9] She purchased a mansion next door to Sonny and proceeded to re-decorate to serve as her vacation residence, much to the annoyance of Carly Corinthos Jacks, Sonny's ex-wife. However, though Kate knows that Sonny is a mobster she is badly shaken when she witnessed Sonny physically threatening Jerry Jacks, and rethinks her desire to pursue a new relationship with him.

During a reception for a charity sponsored by the singer Eli Love, Kate was suffering from a headache and mistook a libido-enhancement pill for ibuprofen, which she found in her boss' jacket, Warren James. She then visited Sonny Corinthos, while she was under the effects of the drug, and seduced Sonny. On another occasion, Kate, who does not swim, rescued Morgan Corinthos from drowning in her pond. While she was in the pond, she was bitten by a snake and was hospitalized.

Kate Howard was arrested for reckless driving and for a hit and run.[10] She side swiped a police car and did not stop. She also has a prior traffic violation in which she also side swiped a parked car while she was in the Hamptons, but did not stop.[10] She received a six months suspended license for the first violation.[10] Kate cites this as one of the reasons why she moved to Port Charles.[10] Her lawyer had advised her to not visit the Hamptons for a while and thus, she bought the house in Port Charles. She was released into Sonny's custody on August 14, 2007, after spending the night in jail.[11] Diane Miller was attempting to work on a plea agreement for Kate. As a thank you for her work, Kate was going to reward her by scheduling her a fitting for a custom designer dress. The interim District Attorney, Ric Lansing, refused the plea agreement seeking to take revenge on Sonny through Kate.

Kate's friend and former lover was Trevor Lansing, Ric Lansing's father and he arrived in town on August 22, 2007.[12] He blackmailed Ric, unbeknownst to Kate, and threatened him with losing custody of his daughter Molly if he did not accept reducing the charges against Kate.[13] The charges were reduced and a plea agreement was reached with a fine and community service.[14]

Upon learning of Kate's close relationship with Sonny, Trevor contacted personal friends to remove advertisements from Couture. He wanted to blackmail Kate into choosing between him and her career or Sonny.[15] She chose her career. After a confrontation between her and Trevor, Kate was drugged and got into a car accident.[16] She was later arrested and tried for reckless driving. She received 6 months of community service and forced to wear an ankle monitor thanks to Sonny blackmailing the judge.[17] She is now doing community service as part of her 6-month community service sentence. Trevor had her fired from Coture magazine due to a breach of her contract. Kate has decided to become a fashion designer and start her own magazine. Jasper Jacks is financing the magazine.[18] Kate moved back to Manhattan trying to get away from Sonny. Warren offered her her job at Couture. Nevertheless, Sonny went to Manhattan looking for her.

Sonny, after a few days in Manhattan, had to leave the city because of a restriction order against him. The restriction order was filed after he assaulted a man at an art gallery show on New Year's Eve. Kate briefly worked as a collaborator for Couture but is again in charge of the magazine.[1][19] Sonny later came back to take Kate to Bensonhurst. They visited several memorable places from the youth and Sonny then proposed. Kate did not answer and ran away. She later went looking for Sonny in Port Charles and she told him that she did not accept his proposal because he does not lover her as what she is now, he loves the Connie from Bensonhurst. Megan Ward echoes her character's words; she stated that Kate "fears that Sonny is really in love with the girl she was and not the woman she has become."[20]

[edit] Kate Howard Unwrapped

An emotional Kate met with Jax. Megan Ward explains that her character was "feeling very lost" and that is "why she came clean to Jax."[21] She told him about her life as Connie in Bensonhurst. Jax questioned her about what her family thought about this. Before she could answer Carly interrupted. Sonny has asked the same question, which Kate has not answered. Fans and soap opera magazines speculate that the character of Kate Howard is keeping a secret which forces her to keep he real identity secret.[22]

Later, Kate met with Sonny in an attempt to reconcile with him and kissed him. Kate, while visiting a building she wanted as a based of operations for her new magazine,[23] was shot by Sonny's son, Michael Corinthos, by accident. Sonny found her and rushed her to the hospital. Kate survived the surgery but knows that the gunshot wound took some years off her life. She forgave Michael for what happened. [24]

[edit] Reception

Fans of General Hospital are still undecided as to the pairing of Sonny Corinthos and Kate Howard. Although they are among the Top 10 Couples, fans are divided as to whether they want to see them get married.[25][26]

[edit] Kate and Sonny

Kate and Sonny knew each other since growing up in the same area. Kate came to town and had to used Sonny's phone. Sonny did not know who she was until she return and he learn that it's was his flame in High school. They often talk about their past and wonder what who happen if Connie and Sonny ran off and got married. Kate and Sonny have been dating off and on since October 2007. Kate did not like Sonny's sons until they became part of the package of dating Sonny. She helped Sonny with getting his daughter in to a private school. Will they stay and become married? only time will tell.

[edit] Megan Ward on playing Kate Howard

Kate Howard is a woman full of contradictions. She is a character that is constantly trying to hide where she came from and who she really is, Connie Falconeri. Megan Ward says:[27]

“ I'm not just playing Kate, [...] [i]t's Kate and Connie and then the person who was in between in the arc of how she became Kate. There are a lot of contradictions with her because Kate comes on incredibly strong and incredibly dismissive[...] But, the reason she is that way is because she's concealing and hiding. She's projecting a persona to intimidate, but she's also putting up a wall to cover the truth of who she is and the emotion and vulnerability that she has. So I have to play all of it [...] Then I also have to play how she responds to being in the presence of Sonny [...] If I don't constantly think about what I need to cover, then I only tell half the story. I have a nice journey ahead of me, to unravel the pieces of her personality. ”

Megan Ward further adds:[28]

“ What's been challenging has been playing Kate — that person who is strong and flawed and one can be critical of — but maintaining the qualities of Connie, the girl Sonny fell in love with. She's still completely in there. I have to play the projection of Kate Howard, but it's all covering the Connie Falconeri underneath. Creatively, I've had to constantly balance being forceful and dominating in situations, but still let you see that the true girl doesn't mean to be that forceful and dominating. The true girl is someone you'd like to know. ”

Megan Ward stated in an interview with Soap Opera Weekly that "At least half the inspiration for the character is Anna Wintour, but she is an older woman who's had a long career. I'm not of that age yet, but I imagine Kate could become that person, eventually. I draw from Aerin Lauder, Estée Lauder's granddaughter, who runs the Estée Lauder company, and a well-known interior designer named Kelly Wearstler, who was one of the judges on Bravo's TOP DESIGN. What I loved about her was every week she had a completely different look."[28]

Megan Ward has also stated that she relates more to Connie than to Kate because:[28]

“ Connie is a smart girl. She knew what she wanted, but was still grounded in reality and capable of loving and letting someone know that she loves them. Kate is a creation, a manufactured identity. What's sad about Connie, and she's learning that as we go along, is that she might have been wrong that she had to be Kate Howard to get where she is. That's what Sonny represents for her. You have to be strong and ambitious to accomplish great tasks, but you don't necessarily have to be purely Kate Howard. As Megan, I've made choices to have children and be committed to my marriage, which may have gotten in the way of some of my career ambitions. But for me, life is all about balance. It's choices for good or bad. That's where Connie is now: discovering that some of the choices may not have been for the best. ”

[edit] References to popular culture

The character of Kate Howard is reminiscent of that of Miranda Priestly (portrayed by Meryl Streep) from The Devil Wears Prada and Anna Wintour, editor of Vogue.[28] Megan Ward has stated that she has also based her character on Aerin Lauder and Kelly Wearstler. Miranda Priestly's character is allegedly based on Vogue editor-in-chief Anna Wintour, although the author for The Devil Wears Prada, Lauren Weisberger, denies it.[29]

Anna Wintour and the character of Miranda Priestly share many similarities.[30] The character of Kate Howard shares many characteristics with them as well. Further, Howard's character has a similar haircut to Wintour's signature hairstyle.[6] This was unintentional; Megan Ward chose her haircut because she was looking for something practical.[31] In turn, the characters are different in that Wintour and Priestly are Londoners who did not attend college, whereas, Kate Howard is a New Yorker who attended Princeton University. Also, to date, she has no children, whereas Wintour and Priestly each have two.

Kate Howard's real name, Connie Falconeri, may also be allusive to The Godfather's Connie Corleone,[6] who is the sister of Michael Corleone and Santino "Sonny" Corleone (these names are in turn allusive to Michael "Sonny" Corinthos).

[edit] Employees

[edit] External links

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b General Hospital Happenings Two, Transcript January 11, 2008. "Clarice: Everyone realizes you're doing all this as a consultant. But it's only a matter of time before you're back at the helm... Word is, Warren's making the announcement at the museum party tonight."
  2. ^ The Devil (from Benson Hurst!) Wears Prada. - General Hospital Daily Updates - Soaps.com
  3. ^ General Hospital, May 15, 2007.
  4. ^ General Hospital Website Recap for May 8, 2007.
  5. ^ Soaps.com, Kate Howard.
  6. ^ a b c d Media Village: Savoring Soaps by Marlena De Lacroix, May 17, 2007.
  7. ^ a b c General Hospital May 8, 2007.
  8. ^ General Hospital July 16, 2007.
  9. ^ a b Soaps.com General Hospital Daily Updates: The Devil {from Bensonhurst!) Wears Prada, May 7, 2007.
  10. ^ a b c d General Hospital August 13, 2007.
  11. ^ General Hospital, August 14, 2007.
  12. ^ General Hospital, August 22, 2007.
  13. ^ General Hospital, August 28, 2007.
  14. ^ General Hospital, August 20, 2007.
  15. ^ Soap Opera Weekly, GH's Kate Crashes - and Burns Sonny, September 18, 2007.
  16. ^ ABC's Soap Opera's In Depth, Kate breaks up with Sonny, October 23, 2007.
  17. ^ General Hospital, September 27, 2007.
  18. ^ ABC's Soap Operas In Depth, October 23, 2007.
  19. ^ ABC's Soaps In Depth, Enagaged? Sonny pops the question to Kate. Issue of January 28, 2008.(Kate "blows up the giagantic announcement that she is back up to head Couture.)
  20. ^ Soap Opera Digest, Strangers in the Night, page 36. Issue of February 5, 2007.
  21. ^ Soap Opera Digest, Hot Plots Preview: Kate wants Sonny back, page 18. Issue of February 19, 2008.
  22. ^ ABC's Soaps in Depth, February Sweeps., page 4. Issue of February 11, 2008. (Jill Farren Phelps has stated that "Kate will reveal a well-hidden secret which explains why she is unable to embrace the woman she used to be and why she ran away from Sonny in Bensonhurst.")
  23. ^ General Hospital, February 15, 2008.
  24. ^ General Hospital, February 18, 2008.
  25. ^ ABC's Soaps in Depth, Reader's Poll. Pages 38-39. Issue of February 25, 2008. (Readers voted Sonny Corinthos and Kate Howard among the Top 10 couples. On a poll asking whether they should get married, 55% voted yes versus 45% that voted no.)
  26. ^ ABC's Soap Opera Digest, Message Board. Pages 66-67. Issue of February 11, 2008. (Fans e-mail their opinions about the pairing of Sonny and Kate).
  27. ^ Megan Ward Online, Interview with Megan Ward.
  28. ^ a b c d Soap Opera Digest, Megan Ward: Daytime Fashionista by Janet Di Lauro
  29. ^ Weisberger, Lauren; Q and A; randomhouse.com; retrieved September 3, 2006.
  30. ^ Miranda Priestly - Comparisons of the Character.
  31. ^ Soap Opera Weekly, Soap Opera Style, Megan Ward's Hairstory, October 9, 2007.
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General Hospital
General Hospital characters (Current contract cast only)
General Hospital characters (Recurring)
Important crew
Executive Producer: Jill Farren Phelps
Head Writer: Robert Guza, Jr.
Former Executive producers: Gloria Monty · H. Wesley Kenny · Wendy Riche
Former headwriters: Bridget and Jerome Dobson · Douglas Marland · Pat Falken Smith · Norma Monty · Gene Palumbo · Claire Labine · Richard Culliton · Megan McTavish · Charles Pratt, Jr. · Garin Wolf
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