Eleni Andros Cooper

Eleni Cooper (maiden name Andros; previously Spaulding) is a fictional character on the soap opera Guiding Light. She was originally portrayed by actress Melina Kanakaredes from April 19, 1991 to March 1, 1995. She was temporarily replaced by actress Wendy Kaplan from December 1994 to January 1995 on a recurring basis. She was then portrayed by Jennifer Roszell from March 6, 1995 to September 22, 1999. Roszell returned to the role from Dec 2001 to Spring 2002, in October 2006, and finally in December 2008, which marked the character's last appearance on the show.

History

Eleni is the ex-wife of Alan-Michael Spaulding and Frank Cooper and mother to Marina Cooper.

1991-1999

Eleni Andros came to Springfield in 1991 for one reason: to get married. Originally from a small village in Greece, on the island Creta, Eleni was sought out by Stavros Kouperakis to be a wife to his American nephew, Frank. Though she loved Greece, Eleni knew America would offer her a better life and she arrived in Springfield with Stavros. Unfortunately, Stavros had neglected to inform Frank of the arrangement and he ended up laughing in Eleni's face. Though put off by Frank’s arrogance and stubbornness, she decided to make the most of her life and started working at the diner. She then began dating Dylan Lewis but immediately broke it off when she learned about his illegitimate daughter, Susan Lemay, since she felt it was scandalous. Meanwhile, though they bickered constantly, Eleni started to develop feelings for Frank, while, at the same time, being courted by the wealthy Alan-Michael Spaulding. One night, when Eleni planned an intimate dinner with Frank, he ended up having it with Blake Thorpe. Alan-Michael took advantage of the situation and offered to whisk Eleni away to Greece on the Spaulding Yacht. It was then that Frank realized his mistake and wanted to make it up to Eleni so, without her knowledge, he hired an immigration lawyer. He also confessed his love for Eleni to his friend Mallet. Eleni, however, was still under the mistaken impression that Frank was dating Blake so she continued to date Alan-Michael, who was continuing to sleep with Blake despite the fact that his feelings for Eleni were growing.

In the meantime, Eleni was given a three-month extension on her visa thanks to the lawyer that Frank hired but Eleni was under the wrong impression that Alan-Michael had hired the lawyer. Later, Eleni learned that Frank was in Paris on business with Alan-Michael's aunt Alexandra. Wanting to surprise Frank, she asked Alan-Michael to take her to Paris. Going to Frank's motel room, she found a woman named Musette in his bed who claimed that they'd slept together. Heartbroken, Eleni returned to the United States but was refused admittance because she was an illegal alien. Alan-Michael offered to marry her right there in the customs office and make her his legal wife. Although Eleni didn't feel right about continuing this sham of a marriage, she was certain that Frank didn't love her, so she later officially married Alan-Michael in a beautiful church wedding in Greece, in February 1992, with her family by her side.

Though she cared deeply about her new husband, Eleni refused to start a family with him since she still wasn't 100% committed to the marriage. Later, Frank saved Eleni and Stavros when they were caught in a fire at the diner. During the blackout, he joined Alan-Michael in a search to find Eleni and they eventually found her in the cooler. Afterwards, Frank told Eleni that he loved her. Though she still had feelings for Frank, Eleni was grateful when Frank told Eleni that he would not interfere in their marriage. Meanwhile Musette came to Springfield and threatened Alan-Michael that she'd reveal the truth to Eleni—that Alan-Michael set up Eleni to find Musette in a drugged Frank’s bed. Scared of losing Eleni, Alan-Michael hired a man named Pierre to get rid of Musette. Unfortunately, Pierre went too far and planted a bomb in Musette's car that injured both her and Mallet. Meanwhile, Stavros gave Frank a letter from Musette detailing how Alan-Michael had used her to break up him and Eleni. Frank confronted Alan-Michael but decided not to show the letter to Eleni after he saw that she really loved Alan-Michael. In the meantime, doubtful that Eleni would stay with him, Alan-Michael switched Eleni’s birth control pills with placebos knowing that she would never leave him if she were pregnant. Finally, one day, when Eleni went to visit Frank, she saw him through the window trying to burn a letter. When Frank went outside, Eleni went in and read the letter from Musette detailing what Alan-Michael had done. When Frank came in, he realized that Eleni read the letter and comforted her. Eleni was so devastated that she made love to Frank and was ready to leave Alan-Michael.

Unfortunately, at that point, she learned that her mother had a stroke. She rushed to Greece, forgetting her birth control pills while Alan-Michael followed her and arranged doctors to save her mother. Eleni talked to the priest and to her grandmother, Ya-Ya, about Alan-Michael's schemes but both advised her to stay with him. When Eleni took Ya-Ya's sleeping pills, she was zoned out and dreamt of sleeping with Frank but when she awoke she realized that she has slept with Alan-Michael instead. She decided that she needed some time alone and went to a remote island where Frank tracked her down and they made love again. Later, Eleni learned she was pregnant and, believing Alan-Michael was the father, she and Frank decided to hide the truth from him and run away together. Unfortunately, thanks to Dr. Margaret Sedwick, Alan-Michael learned about the baby and, fearing that he would take her baby away after its birth, Eleni decided to stay with Alan-Michael. Finally, one day in February 1993, Eleni found the placebos in Alan-Michael's office had them analyzed. She was shocked to discover the truth and later was delighted to learn that the baby she was carrying was in fact Frank's! Eleni flew to Malaysia where Frank was searching for a missing Alexandra. When Alan-Michael tracked them down together and refused to let her go, Eleni threatened to sue him for adultery since she found him in bed with Blake weeks earlier. Later, when Ed confirmed to Alan-Michael the baby's true paternity, Alan-Michael let Eleni go. Now free, Frank and Eleni made plans to marry but financial troubles hampered Frank's plans for a large wedding. Luckily, a mysterious donor arranged for a lavish wedding to be held at 5th Street. That donor was Frank's estranged father, Buzz. Thanks to Buzz, Eleni had a perfect wedding that ended in the birth of her daughter, Marina.

Though very much in love, Frank and Eleni's marriage would have its share of difficulties. It all began when Julie Camaletti moved in with them and became infatuated with Frank in 1994. Julie tricked Eleni into thinking that Frank was attracted to her and set up Eleni to find her naked in Frank's bed. Enraged, Eleni left Frank and turned to Alan-Michael for comfort. As she became closer to her ex-husband, Alan-Michael confessed that he had intercepted Frank's letter to Eleni. After learning that Frank was never interested in Julie, Eleni and Frank reconciled. About this time, Eleni made a deal with the Willows Nursing Home and opened her own catering business. She soon became "Businesswoman of the Year" and, though proud of her success, Frank was put out, not only by the amount of time she spent working, but also that he was no longer the main breadwinner. Luckily, they found a way to settle their differences and their marriage remained solid.

In 1995, Frank and Eleni lost their house to the second 5th Street fire. In addition, Eleni learned that her family in Greece was arguing with the Temos family since Eleni had been promised to Christos Temos in childhood. Eleni went to Creta to stop the family feud but ended up being kidnapped by Christos. Frank then followed to save her. When Christos attempted to kill Frank, Christos's sister rescued him, ending the family feud. The couple then returned to their life in Springfield. After that adventure, Eleni spent most of her time running the diner and her catering business, and also helped out the Coopers when they were in trouble, mainly when Lucy was raped by psycho Brent Lawrence as well as when Nadine's was found dead in early 1996. By the end of the year, Jenna Bradshaw returned to town and Eleni gave her some advice regarding her relationship with Buzz.

In June 1997, Eleni overheard Phillip, Harley, Jenna and Buzz discussing their plan to get rid of Jenna's husband Jeffrey Morgan. The plan included Phillip giving Jeffrey 25 million dollars. Eleni also helped them and lied to Frank that she was going to Greece to help her sick grandmother, while Buzz lied that he was leaving to visit a sick Vietnam War buddy. When Eleni refused to allow Frank to bring her to the airport, Frank became suspicious, especially since he had already seen that she had packed a sexy dress. While Phillip, Harley, Jenna and Jeffery were on a business trip in New York to get rid of Jeffery, Buzz and Eleni went to Switzerland and impersonated Jeffery and Jenna Morgan to get the evidence against Jenna from a safety deposit box in a bank. Once there, Buzz used Jeffrey's fingerprint to clear security. When the bank manager asked for the date of their last transaction, Eleni had to fake a fainting spell so that Buzz could sneak a peek at the date. It worked and they got in. The pair found the evidence that linked Jenna to Jeffrey’s crimes and destroyed it. Meanwhile, Frank called Ya-Ya in Greece to speak to Eleni and discovered she that she wasn’t there. When a concerned Ya-Ya warned him that his marriage could be in terrible trouble, Frank stormed out of the diner, intent on finding Eleni. He tracked them down in their hotel room in Switzerland and after they told him the truth, Frank handcuffed them together until Eleni calmed him down.

In 1998, Eleni met Frank's new partner, Det. Teri DeMarco, and although Selena Davis suspected that Teri was trouble, Eleni assured that she trusted Frank. In 1999, when Teri was exposed as the presumed dead Annie Dutton and was arrested, Frank was forced to confess during her trial that they had kissed one time. Dismayed, Eleni doubted Frank's love to her and was angry that he hadn't confessed the truth to her. Not long after, Frank and Eleni simply stopped communicating and separated to give each other space. At this point, Eleni focused on her career and eventually moved to California with Marina to cater Hollywood parties.

2000s

In 2000, Frank learned from Harley that Eleni had started dating another man in LA and after he returned from a visit at Eleni's, he announced that she and Marina were remaining in LA. He also announced that they were finally getting a divorce.

In December 2001, Eleni returned to Springfield and informed Frank that a teenaged Marina ran away. In January 2002, she and Frank hashed out the reasons for their breakup (Eleni felt she and Marina were being unappreciated by a workaholic husband). Eleni revealed that the man she'd left Frank for, Cain, had quickly begun neglecting her as much as Frank did, leading to their own breakup. She also expressed some regret over leaving Frank, but he didn't exactly welcome her back with open arms. After Marina was found, she was happy to see Frank again but was dismayed that her mother was still in town. To Marina's dismay, Frank invited Eleni to stay with him and they considered reuniting for Marina's sake while Marina continued to rebel. However, Frank and Eleni finally weren't able to resolve their problems and since Marina wanted to stay in Springfield, Eleni returned to her California home, leaving Marina to be raised by the Coopers.

In late 2006, Eleni surprised a grown Marina with a visit on the day that Marina was to become the youngest detective in Springfield PD history. Although happy for Marina, Eleni was concerned that Marina might only be in police work to make Frank happy and reminded Marina of her dreams of going to college and becoming an actress. Marina finally ended the argument by insisting that she made her choice. Later, Marina interrupted Eleni before she could suggest to Frank that Marina was just doing this to please him. That day, Marina went through with the ceremony since,by the end of the day, she knew that it was what she truly wanted to be. In October 2007, Marina was kidnapped by a criminal. Buzz told Frank that Eleni had called and offered to help but Frank didn't want her around since there was nothing she could do anyway. In the end, Marina was saved unharmed.

In late 2008, Mallet arranged for Eleni to come to Springfield to visit Marina. At this point, Mallet and Marina were living together—a situation that Eleni tried to keep an open mind about. Later, Mallet surprised Eleni with the news that he and Marina were getting married. Eleni wished Mallet the best of luck. Knowing that his previous injury left him unable to conceive children, Eleni urged Mallet to discuss it with Marina and make sure that she had no qualms about it. Eleni also discussed things with Marina and urged her to make sure that Mallet was the right guy for her. Soon after, Eleni visited Frank who gave the relationship his vote of confidence. Frank told Eleni that he believed the couple was planning on marrying in a small private ceremony and suggested that they throw them a big wedding at Company. Unfortunately, the wedding was disrupted by the arrival of Marina’s ex-boyfriend Shayne Lewis. In the end, Mallet and Marina ended up getting married at the courthouse with her family present. Before leaving town, Eleni learned about Frank’s interest in waitress Natalia Rivera and commented to Buzz that she seemed like a nice woman.

External links

• GL Character - Eleni Cooper
• Eleni Andros Cooper at soapcentral.com