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Margaret Colin (July 1980 to October 1983)
Hillary B. Smith (November 1983 to December 15th, 1989)
Ellen Dolan (December 18th, 1989 to January 1993; June 17th, 1994 to Present)
Glynnis O'Connor (February 8th, 1993 to February 3rd, 1994)

Upon arriving in Oakdale, Margo Montgomery immediately became involved with the married James Stenbeck. When Margo confided in her friend, Jeff Ward, that James loved her and would marry her, Jeff told her she was a fool. Meanwhile, Margo was beginning continually perplexed at her mother, Lyla's, antagonism toward Dr. John Dixon and his likewise cold demeanor toward her (Lyla). Not long after, Margo's life changed forever during Dee Stewart's rape trial. Margo's mother, Lyla, was a witness and seemed to be protecting the accused, John Dixon. District Attorney Tom Hughes's questioning of Lyla brought out the truth: John Dixon was Margo's real father! After being exonerated, John ended up being a victim of a hit and run. John was in the hospital for a few days and started running his own investigation, despite the pleas of Lt. Savage not to. John would pretend that he was blind and asked Margo, to stay with her at the house she lived in on the Stenbeck estate. While John was supposedly recuperating but faking his blindness, John was dismayed to find out that Margo was carrying on an affair with James. John had started to suspect that James was involved somehow with John's nemesis, Dr. Rick Ryan. John was even more convinced of this, when he saw Rick and James having secret meetings and then when James set up Rick to date not only Margo, but also his good friend, Hayley Wilson. (Luckily Margo and Hayley both found Rick abhorrent and quickly dumped him.) James started to suspect that John was investigating him and wasn't really blind and went and threatened to kill John with a knife. Unfortunately for James, John recorded the whole meeting with James threatening him on a hidden audio tape. Then John discovered it was James who had attempted to kill him in the hit and run! Tom, who was dating Margo's Aunt Maggie, was trying to convince Margo that John was faking his blindness, but Margo didn't believe him.) Then one day in August 1981, John tried to play the blackmail tape for Margo, but the only thing on it was music from the rock group the Rolling Stones -- Margo's sister, Cricket had gotten her hands on the tape. John, however, had a duplicate tape in his safe deposit box. Margo though got angry at him and told John that she was no longer his nurse maid, Margo though would get miffed when instead John pled pity on his former wife Kim Andropolous and Margo's mother, Lyla, to be the nursemaid instead. Tom had obviously made Margo suspicious about John's "blindness", but it wasn't enough, because although Margo ordered John out of her house, she quickly took him back. Later, learning that James was having *another* affair with a woman named Connie Wilson, Margo realized that her relationship with James as going nowhere and she ended it. It was her break-up with James that led Margo to a career in law enforcement, and began working as an assistant for the law firm of Lowell, Colman, and Hughes for her Aunt Maggie. At the same time Maggie and Tom started drifting a way from each other. Meanwhile, one night, Margo accidentally got locked in "Fashions, Ltd.", unfortunately it was the night and James decided that there were too many people who suspected that he was drug and jewel running through there so he decided to have it torched, while Margo was locked inside! (Luckily Margo was saved by Ernie Ross and her sister, Cricket and all three got the fire out and saved, "Fashions.") But as she waited for Ernie and Cricket to save her, Margo stumbled across the cache of illegal drugs and jewels! Despite her having found the evidence, Tom read Margo the riot act, for almost having herself killed and he fired her. Despite this setback Margo still wanted to pursue a career in law enforcement and applied to the Police Academy. Meanwhile, Margo now working as Tom's assistant, was intrigued with the police investigation into Mr. Big's organization (so did John), she disguised herself as a hooker and ended up getting arrested on Valentine's Day, 1982. Tom bailed her out of jail and then fired her. However, Margo wouldn't be deterred, and when she learned about a connection between Stenbeck and Mr. Big. and followed James anyway to Paris to see what he was up to. To her surprise, Tom followed her. Then she spotted two thugs following James and Miranda Marlowe. Remembering what she had heard, about a connection between James and Mr. Big, she and Tom took off for the greenhouse. The meeting started, on March 4, 1982, just as Margo and Tom arrived with the FBI hot on their trail. Mr. Big accused James of being a spy and Miranda of being a traitor. Miranda pulled a gun, but Mr. Big had already removed its firing pin. Seeing the danger they were in, Tom started a fire. In the confusion, Tom and Margo managed to escape, and so did Mr. Big. Tom and Margo spotted a plane in the field, and with Margo at the controls (although not really aware how to pilot a plane), they took off. On March 9, 1982, Tom and Margo were horrified to learn that Mr. Big was hiding in the back, and before he jumped, he told them the tank was almost empty (he had siphoned off the gas of his plane.) As he parachuted, Mr. Big just started laughing in Tom and Margo's horrified faces. Margo somehow managed to land in a deserted area. For several days, in the south of France, Tom and Margo seemed lost not knowing where they were. When they approached the few cars, they saw, for directions, neither of them knew French fluently enough to ask for directions (Tom promised himself when he returned to the U.S. he was going to promptly learn the language) and so they wondered around from March 10 to March 12, 1982. Finally on March 15, 1982, Tom and Margo spotted a castle in a clearing. Upon entering, they found a kitchen stocked with pancake mix and brandy. The phone was dead. A sudden gust of wind slammed the door, and an unseen hand turned the key in the lock. Exhausted, Tom and Margo went to sleep, awakening to a gourmet meal. Tom wanted to run, but their path was blocked by a 400-pound mute. This silent man, whose name was Bruno (who had killed Connie Wilson back in September 1981), ushered them to the table, and to their horror, Mr. Big joined them. This was Mr. Big's castle and he was about to show Tom and Margo how horrifying it really was. Big blamed them for the downfall of his drug organization. Mr. Big proceeded to play games with his captives. Their only escape lay in figuring out clues from classic literature. If they failed, they would die. In the "room of love," (from March 17 - 19, 1982) Margo stepped on a painted heart and was shot by an arrow (with only a minor injury to her arm.) Tom found the clue in a Robert Browning sonnet, and they escaped. From March 22 - 25, 1982, they were locked in a room based on the tales of Mr. Toad from "Wind in the Willows" and almost got ran into by a train until Margo figured out the clue to their escape. Everyone though they were able to escape frustrating Mr. Big. The final room, from March 30 - April 2, 1982, just in time for April's Fools Day, was "Alice in Wonderland" with giant chess pieces strewn about. Margo and Tom became trapped on a spinning treadmill. When Margo grabbed onto a Cheshire cat, the floor opened up beneath her, but Tom pulled her out, and they escaped. Bruno thought Tom and Margo had more then earned their safety, and he did nothing. After locking Mr. Big in his office, Bruno led them to freedom. On April 7, 1982, once he managed to escape, Mr. Big shot and killed Bruno for his insolence in helping Tom and Margo escape.

Meanwhile, Tom and Margo realized they were in love, but once they met with Bob and then flew back to Oakdale they realized they had to keep their love for one another a secret, since Tom was still seeing Margo's aunt Maggie Crawford. But Maggie did figure it out, but since Margo did not want to hurt her aunt, she asked Tom to cool it between the two of them. Margo also decided to become a police officer. Then, in May 1982, she passed the police academy entrance exams, but everyone worried for her safety. The officer in charge, Captain Aaron Striker, made it clear that Margo would have to prove herself. In July 1982, she solved on of Striker's cases, and when he tried to take the credit, Margo called his bluff. Striker wanted her dismissed, but Margo caught him in the locker room with a shapely blond officer. Striker realized she'd make one hell of a policewoman and kept her on the force. Tom finally convinced Margo of his love for her, and she agreed to see him (but only slightly, knowing that Maggie still did not know or would accept the true nature of their relationship.) One night in June 1982, Mr. Big arrived at Margo's cottage and searched thoroughly for a hat. Margo had no idea of the hat's importance. She had given Tom the band from the hat, and Tom gave it to his younger half-sister, Frannie. Later, Mr. Big came back to the cottage, knife in hand, and found the hat. John finally convinced Margo that Mr. Big was in town and that he had spotted him. Margo agreed to follow John to a clearing, but Margo at first didn't see anything and doubted her father. But as she was getting ready to leave, Margo spotted Mr. Big with a henchman. Margo told John to lay low and not confront Mr. Big while she went to get help. Unfortunately, John wouldn't listen and confronted Mr. Big. Mr. Big held a gun on John and told him to stop following him or he'd be dead! Margo was duped, by another tape sent to her by one of Mr. Big's henchman, into going to a nightclub on Halloween evening, 1982. At the nightclub, there was a magic show. Mr. Big informed the magician that Margo would make a wonderful assistant. She was handcuffed and blindfolded and put in a box. When the box was opened, Margo was gone, as was a cougar. Mr. Big, in another isolated room away from the nightclub, said if she didn't tell him where the hatband was, he would release the cougar. Tom saved Margo in the nick of time, and she told Tom about the hatband, which Frannie had left at Fashions. Miranda told Margo that Mr. Big had said something about his fortune being locked up under his hat. They found a miniature audiotape sewed into the hatband, which computer genius Ernie Ross offered to decode. The only two words they could make out were "Bilan" and "Corsica." Miranda was shocked: Bilan was her daughter by Jacques. She was 17, and Miranda hadn't seen her in some time. After Mr. Big had killed Jacques, he had kidnapped Bilan, from a convent near Nice, France, and spirited her to his ranch in the east African island nation of Zanzibar. Mr. Big had actually nearly convinced Bilan that he was her biological father (very untrue, Jacques was.) Mr. Big was shocked to learn that Bilan knew the secrets to the fortune that he felt Jacques had kept for himself and quickly Mr. Big booked an airline flight to Zanzibar. Miranda feared for the daughter. Tom and Margo went to the convent in France, where Bilan was last seen. They figured out that Mr. Big had spirited Bilan to his ranch in Zanzibar. Big beat them to Zanzibar, though, and released Bilan into the care of a village of Bububu (Kiswahili's) tribe. By this time Bilan had fallen quite ill and the priest in a nearby village church told Mr. Big where to find Bilan. Tom and Margo weren't having as much luck, but were hot on Mr. Big's trail. But before they arrived near the village, they had to go on adventure on the Rufiji River and nearly drowned during a storm. On a nearby bank, while drying out from the storm, one evening Margo went skinny-dipping. Tom awoke and saw her, and they made love for the first time. Finally, Tom and Margo did meet some Bububu people who were willing to tell them where Bilan was. Unfortunately, Mr. Big met them and decided to kill them once and for all! Mr. Big arranged for Tom and Margo to be released into a pit of poisonous snakes that nearly killed them. Fortunately, when Mr. Big left to go retrieve his thought to be gold mine, Bilan, Margo was able to convince the chief of the village Bilan was staying in to let Tom and Margo go. Margo had no idea that she had promised the chief to be his perfect seventh wife, in a exchange for their freedom and not being killed! When the chief took Margo (his seventh wife) and Tom back to the village, Margo and Tom discovered a very ill Bilan. Margo nursed Bilan until her fever broke, but then Mr. Big kidnapped the girl, with Tom and Margo in pursuit. In a clearing tent, Mr. Big tried to get Bilan to decode the message, but a still delirious from the fever, Bilan just couldn't concentrate and Tom and Margo caught up with them. Mr. Big set fire to the tent, without Tom, Margo and Bilan realizing there was explosives in the tent! There was a huge explosion! Luckily Tom, Margo and Bilan were okay, but then Big went missing. He was presumed dead, although Margo had her doubts that Tom tried his best to relieve. A couple of days later, January 10, 1983, sure enough Margo was proven correct. During the wedding ceremony for Margo to be the chief's seventh wife (Tom and Margo were sill clueless what was happening about this and the chief was confused about the closeness between the friends Tom and Margo.) Mr. Big turned up alive! He again kidnapped Bilan and this time took him to his big boat waiting on the Rufiji River, to take them to his "Big" ranch. Mr. Big tried to get Bilan to decode the message (by this time, Bilan realized Tom and Margo were correct, Big was definitely not her father.) She reluctantly told the man, that was now making her angry, it was part of a poem her real father (Jacques) used to read to her. Meanwhile, Tom and Margo swam to Big's boat. (Confusing the chief who now lost his seventh wife!) They grabbed Bilan and tried to escape, but were caught and the fact that there were now crocodiles surrounding the boat didn't help. Margo begged Mr. Big to spare Bilan. Sure that their time was up, Tom and Margo asked Big, as captain of the boat, to marry them. Bilan then grabbed a hold of Mr. Big and struggled with him! Somehow Bilan was able to have Mr. Big thrown overboard! And Mr. Big met with his untimely death, when he was eaten by one of the crocodiles! After Tom and Margo returned to Oakdale, on January 24, 1983, they were thrown a grand surprise party (although Margo and Tom had some knowledge this wasn't a total surprise) by Maggie and Lyla. Tom and Margo had intended to tell, Maggie about their true feelings and they had made love in Zanzibar. But when they walked into the door, Margo collapsed very feverish! Margo was taken to Memorial Hospital and it was found out that she had been bitten by a mosquito. She recovered rather quickly, but was astounded a bit upset to learn that Tom had defended the woman who had supposedly killed her father John, Dee Stewart! Margo broke up with Tom. Later Margo would take Tom back, when she learned that John was still alive and they finally broke the news to a devastated Maggie. (Maggie did somehow recover.) Later Margo and Tom got engaged. But the marriage was postponed until September 1983, when Tom made Margo mad again when he defended someone else who tried to shoot and kill John, in April 1983, James' attorney, Mr. Hoyt! Finally The fall of 1983, Margo and Tom married in a impromptu ceremony in the park.

Margo's first crisis came when Barbara Ryan decided she wanted Tom back. She set it up so that he would believe they slept together. When Tom told Margo about the "affair", she planned to divorce him. Luckily, she found out that there was no affair. She and Tom reconciled, and she became pregnant. Unfortunately, Margo miscarried the baby. Still despondent over the miscarriage, she was crushed when Tom went to Washington DC to work on the crime commission. During Tom's absence, Margo confided in her best friend, Hal. One night, thinking her marriage was over, they slept together. Right after, Tom returned and he and Margo put their marriage back together. When Margo learned that she was pregnant (with Hal's baby) she fled the country. Tom found her in Greece and ended up delivering her son, Adam. Tom agreed to raise Adam as his own.

A few years later, Margo became pregnant with Tom's child. At the same time, Margo's step-father, Casey Peretti, was terminally ill and made her promise to unplug the machines that he was hooked up to. Margo fulfilled her promise, but charges were brought up against her. The charges were dropped. Margo then gave birth to a son, Casey.

A few years later, Margo’s idyllic life would come crashing down in an instant. The night she, Tom and the boys returned home from vacation to Cape Cod, Margo went out to pick up a bottle of Tom’s favorite wine. Unfortunately, she stepped right in the middle of a hold-up. Margo chased the perpetrators into a dark alley in an effort to get their license plate number. Suddenly, the men grabbed her and pulled her into a car where one of the robbers viciously raped her. Afterwards, instead of dealing with her trauma, Margo pulled all her energies into catching the men—Fickett and the man who raped her, Elroy Nevins. When both men were apprehended, the Hughes family was horrified to learn that Nevins was HIV positive. That meant that Margo could be to. Although her initial test came back negative, Margo had to wait six months for final word on her prognosis. Meawhile, Nevins pleaded guilty to the rape but when Tom and Margo discovered that an unremorseful Nevins knew he was HIV positive, they pressed charges and tried him for attempted murder which led to a stiffer sentence. As the months went by, Tom lovingly supported Margo as she dealt with her rape. Finally, after six months the Hughes family was relieved to learn that Margo was HIV negative. The following year, Nevins escaped from prison and broke into the Hughes house to seek revenge. Tom confronted him using Margo’s gun and shot him when Nevins reached for his own gun. In the meantime, the Hughes took in Dawn Wheeler—another of Nevins’s victims—who was HIV positive. Dawn developed a harmless crush on Tom. However, Margo didn't find it so harmless and accepted Jason Benedict's offer to come to work with the F.B.I. on special investigation that agency was working on regarding the Grimaldi family. After spending a few months in Washington DC, Margo started getting homesick and returend to Oakdale to be with Tom and the boys.

A few years later, Margo became involved in a plane crash. Following the crash, she suffered from Post-traumatic stress disorder and had to be institutionalized. When she returned, her relationship with Tom and her sons was somewhat strained.

Shortly after, Margo accidentally killed Eddie Silva's mother during a drug bust. Margo felt extremely guilty and asked Eddie to stay with her family. Tom (who was having his own problems) was adamantly against this. Eddie's presence helped put a strain on their marriage. Eddie had a crush on Margo and told her so. Unfortunately, unbeknownst to both, this conversation was filmed and broadcasted by Emily Stewart for Tom to see, in the hope that it would break Margo and Tom up. In the fall of 1998, Margo became pregnant with Tom's child. Hesitant at first, she decided that having a baby might be good for them. Unfortunately, Margo miscarried. The same night Margo lost her baby, Tom was having a one-night stand with Emily. When Margo found out about the affair, she threw Tom out. She relented though and took him back, only to learn that Emily was pregnant. Unable to deal with the fact that Emily was now a permanent part of their lives, Margo served Tom with separation papers. About this time, she met the mysterious Alec Wallace and became friends with him.

Soon Margo found herself drawn to this complicated and brooding man. Alec intrigued Margo and when he came under investigation by the police, Margo agreed to go undercover even though she was certain he was innocent of any wrongdoing. When evidence came forth that Alec might have been involved in several deaths, Margo was sure he was innocent and was determined to prove that everyone was wrong about Alec. Margo realized too late that SHE was wrong. When Margo found Alec in Tom's hospital room after he was attacked, she immediately knew that she made a mistake and was determined to send him to jail. Alec was on to her though, and drugged her. The next morning, Margo woke up with Alec dead and she had no memory of what happened. Subsequently, Margo was tried and convicted of his murder. Thankfully, Margo remembered who really killed Alec and the conviction was overturned. Margo's greatest supporter during this crisis was Tom, who never believed she killed Alec even when she had doubts. After a harrowing year, Tom and Margo renewed their wedding vows.

Since remarrying Tom, Margo spent her time dealing with her siblings' various schemes and crises. She cut all ties with Katie after learning Katie had lied about (among other things) Chris Hughes stalking her (Margo taking Katie's side had put yet another strain on Margo and Tom's relationship). Margo also had many an argument with Hal over his treatment of Craig. After decking Craig forced Hal to resign, Margo inherited his job as chief of detectives. Aside from scorn from other officers for "stealing" Hal's job, she had to agonize over her actions after arresting her brother for the boathouse explosion, which nearly killed Barbara Ryan.

Margo's rape of years ago came back to haunt her when she learned that she had Hepatitis C. Deathly ill, Margo's liver failed and she required a transplant. Fortunately Katie was able to donate part of her liver and Margo recovered. Instead of taking a break from police work, Margo threw herself into her job and became involved in several criminal investigations.

In 2004,the Hughes marriage would reach another crisis with the arrival of former football star, and new sports anchor for WOAK, Doc Reese. From the moment she laid eyes on him, Margo, inexplicably, found herself drawn to this man who tended to ooze with sex appeal. It soon became apparent that Doc was attracted to Margo as well and he wasted no time flirting with her, flirting that she participated it. Although her best friend, Jessica Griffin Harris, tried to warn Margo that she was playing with fire, Margo enjoyed the attention and saw nothing wrong with it. However, as the weeks went by, Margo started becoming more and more attracted to Reese who pursued her with a passion, making her feel desirable. Soon Margo's self-control started to crumble, especially after she found herself caught in a smoldering kiss with Doc in the club's sauna! After stopping things from going too far (only because an employee at the Club, Jill, walked in and interrupted), Margo couldn't stop thinking of Doc and began to consider that it might be best to sleep with him, thereby getting him out of her system. However, the night she was going to go through with it, Doc unexpectedly refused her and asked her to leave his hotel room. Doc's rejection though worked like a cold shower for Margo and the next morning she confided to Jessica that she was over him now. Unfortunately, Margo's lies and distracted behavior would come back to haunt her when Tom, learning she'd lied to him about working late the previous night, finally saw a pattern to her behavior and accused her of having an affair with Reese. Although Margo tried to tell Tom that nothing happened between her and Reese, he didn't believe her and was convinced she was holding something back. Trying to satisfy him, she admitted to the flirting but made it seem much more innocent than it actually was. Again, Tom didn't believe her. Soon, Margo found herself being blackmailed by Jill, who asked for a night with Doc in exchange for her silence. Although Margo pleaded with Doc to comply, he saw Jill as a troublemaker and refused to go through with it. True to her word, Jill went to Tom and told him about seeing Margo and Doc come out of the sauna together. Found out, Margo told Tom about the smoldering kisses she and Doc shared but insisted that nothing sexual occurred. Although he believed her, it was too late. Disgusted with the way she'd lied to him, Tom filed for a legal separation. At the same time, Margo learned that Doc did have an affair, with Jessica! That knowledge put a crimp in her friendship with Jessica. However, by year's end, Margo healed her relationship with not only Jess, but Tom as well.

Meanwhile, Casey was growing into quite the teenager. Unlike Adam, who was always very responsible, Casey was somewhat of a slacker. During his senior year in high school, Casey was named the father of Gwen Norbeck’s baby. However, Casey denied it vehemently and although Tom had doubts Margo believed him. Months later, after Gwen learned that her baby had died, Casey would finally own up to his parents and admit that Gwen had been pregnant with his child. Margo was saddened not only at losing the grandchild that she never knew she had but also at Casey’s failure to own up to his responsibility. Because of his history, Margo was wary when Casey grew closer to young Maddie Coleman who ultimately became a good influence on him. In the meantime, Oakdale was saddened when Hal was killed in the line of duty. With her dear friend gone, Margo was promoted to Chief of Police. At the same time, Casey’s irresponsibility got him into trouble again—this time from gambling on-line. Casey racked up a huge debt and resorted to stealing from Lisa in order to pay it. However, when Casey revealed the truth to Adam, Adam convinced him to set Will Munson up for the crime. Now a music producer, Adam, unbeknownst to everyone, was obsessed with Will’s wife—Gwen. Finally, Casey went to his parents and confessed to what he had done. Meanwhile, Adam was nowhere to be found. Several weeks later, Margo would learn that Adam was on the lam after trying to rape Gwen. Still shocked by the actions of her older son, Margo was even more saddened when Casey was sent to jail. Though her family tried to assure her that she had been a good mother, Margo frequently had doubts.

Eight months later, Casey was finally released. Though Tom warned her to give Casey some time to adjust, Margo immediately began peppering him with questions about his future. Soon after his arrival, Margo returned home and thought she heard Adam’s. However, it wasn’t Adam—it was Casey’s friend, Matt O’Connor. Matt, who appeared to be a good kid, informed Margo that he met Casey at Oakdale University. Instantly taking a liking to Matt, Margo invited him into her home. As the weeks went by, Matt seemed to be a good influence on Casey—especially since Casey agreed to take some courses at Oakdale U. Then one day, Margo was shocked to find a note “I’ll be there when you least expect it.” That same night, Margo apparently got a call from Adam asking her to meet him at the church at Luther’s Corner. When Margo and Tom went, it wasn’t Adam they found—it was Matt who’d been shot! Matt told Margo that the man who shot him was Gray Girard, his employer. Meanwhile, Alison Stewart had seen Matt in conversation with Gray various times. Suspecting that Gray was bad news, Alison took her suspicions to Casey and the two found out something startling—Gray’s real name was Gerald Nevins! Casey called Margo with the news and Margo realized that it could not be a coincidence. Gray must be related to her rapist. Meanwhile, Matt quickly recovered and confessed that Gray hired him to infiltrate the Hughes home. He also admitted that the Hughes had been good to him and felt remorse. Since Gray was wanted for racketeering by the FBI, Matt was supposed to be taken into custody for questioning. Instead he was kidnapped by Gray and brought to the Hughes house while Casey and Alison were there. Gray held the group hostage and forced Casey to call his mother by threatening to kill Alison. When Margo arrived, Gray held her hostage as well and revealed that he was Roy Nevins’s brother. A cold Gray blamed Margo for his brother’s death and told Margo that he’d waited years to get his revenge. Gray then He then set a bomb and walked out. Luckily, the bomb was defective and failed to go off. That same night, Gray snuck into the Hughes home to finish what he started. Fortunately, Ali returned to get her cell phone and while talking with Margo spotted Gray with a gun. Alison shoved Margo out of the way. When Tom ran down to stop Gray, he was overpowered and Margo shot Gray to keep him from killing Tom. Though Margo assured Tom and everyone that she was alright, the incident rattled Margo to the core.