Natalie Buchanan Banks
Actor History
Melissa Archer (July 16, 2001 to present)
Other Names
Nattie (nickname; usually from Rex)
Sparky (Jared's nickname for her)
Occupation
Executive at Buchanan Enterprises
Former forensic technician at Llanview Police Department
Former receptionist at Llanview Police Department
Former bartender at Rodi's Tavern
Former shampoo girl at Foxy Roxy's Hair Haven
Former college student
Former personal assistant to Viki
Resides At
Llanfair
Formerly a cottage purchased by Victoria Davidson [2003]
Formerly Atlantic City, New Jersey
Marital Status
Married to Jared Banks [Engaged: December 25, 2008; Married: May 13, 2009]
Past Marriages
Mitch Laurence [Married: November 2002; Annulled: March 2003]
Cristian Vega [Married: 2003; Divorced: 2005]
Relatives
Clint Buchanan (father)
Victoria Lord (mother)
Roxanne Balsom (foster mother)
Charlie Banks (father-in-law)
Kevin Buchanan Sr. (brother; via adoption / biological maternal half-brother)
Joseph Buchanan (brother; via adoption / biological maternal half-brother)
Cordero Roberts (paternal half-brother)
Megan Gordon (maternal half-sister; deceased)
Jessica Buchanan (adoptive sister / biological maternal half-sister; twin)
Rex Balsom (foster brother)
Victor Lord (grandfather; deceased)
Eugenia Randolph (grandmother; deceased)
Asa Buchanan (grandfather; deceased)
Olympia Buchanan (grandmother; deceased)
Bo Buchanan (paternal uncle)
Ben Davidson (paternal half-uncle; deceased)
Tony Lord (maternal half-uncle; deceased)
Tina Clayton Lord (maternal half-aunt)
Todd Manning (maternal half-uncle)
Meredith Lord (maternal half-aunt; deceased)
Drew Buchanan (paternal cousin; deceased)
David Vickers (paternal cousin)
Matthew Buchanan (paternal cousin)
Brian Kendall (maternal half-cousin; deceased)
Starr Manning (maternal half-cousin)
Jack Cramer Manning (maternal half-cousin)
Sam Manning (maternal half-cousin)
Daniel Wolek (maternal half-cousin)
Hope Manning Thornhart (maternal second half-cousin)
Clinton James Roberts (paternal half-nephew / maternal half-cousin)
Sarah Victoria Roberts (paternal half-niece / maternal half-cousin)
Demerest Buchanan (nephew; via adoption / biological maternal half-nephew; deceased)
Kevin Buchanan Jr. (nephew; via adoption / biological maternal half-nephew; deceased)
Megan Buchanan (niece; via adoption / biological maternal half-niece; deceased)
Brennan "Bree" Buchanan (niece; via adoption / biological maternal half-niece)
Zane Buchanan (great-nephew; via adoption / biological maternal great half-nephew)
Children
None
Flings & Affairs
Seth Anderson
Paul Cramer
Ron Walsh (dated)
John McBain
Vincent Jones (kissed)
Crimes Committed
Framed Seth for stealing [Spring 2002]
Conspired with Allison Perkins to expose herself as Victoria Lord's daughter
Conned Jessica Buchanan into becoming her friend so that she could infiltrate Llanfair
Blackmailed Al Holden into helping her break up Jessica and Seth
Threatened to kill Jessica
Conspired with Kevin to have Todd ousted as editor of The Banner/Sun
Assaulted Jennifer Rappaport
Conspired with Paul to steal the Santi millions
Held Paul Cramer at gunpoint
With Jared, defrauded Buchanan Enterprises
Withheld evidence while working as a forensic tech in the Spencer Truman case to cover for John McBain
Broke into hospital security room with Rex Balsom to view surveillance tapes from the night Chloe Brennan was born
With Jared, withheld true identity of Starr and Cole's child from them to protect Jessica
Brief Character History
Natalie arrived in Llanview in July 2001 and she hid the fact of who she was from everyone. She befriended Jessica and gained everyone's trust and then she surprised everyone with the news that she was Viki and Clint's biological daughter. When Allison Perkins had kidnapped Viki's baby, Jessica, when she was just a few weeks old, she switched babies and returned the wrong child to Viki. So Natalie, the real Buchanan heir, was raised by Roxanne Balsom in Atlantic City.
Natalie had a difficult childhood, Roxanne was not a supportive or caring mother and they had little money, so when Allison told Natalie the truth about her parentage, Natalie was determined to get everything that she "deserved."
Natalie came up with a plan to get her former boyfriend Seth back from Jessica and blackmailed Al Holden into helping her. She had seen Al walking when he was supposed to be paralyzed (he was keeping his recovery a secret so he wouldn't lose Jen Rappaport) and used this information to convince him to help her. Al stole money from "Break Bar" and made it look as if Seth had taken it. Then Al pretended to be Seth while taking to Chad's sister, Katie, and said that he was only with his girlfriend Jessica because she was rich. Jessica heard about all of this and Natalie's plan began to work, Jessica started doubting Seth and told him she didn't want to see him anymore. In the meantime, Natalie was telling Seth that she believed in him and was trying to get closer to him again, but Seth was not ready to give up on loving Jessica, at least not yet.
Natalie's schemes against Seth and Jessica were quickly uncovered, and Natalie managed to alienate everyone yet again. The only person who was friendly to her was Cristian Vega, then on the outs with girlfriend Jennifer Rappaport. Guilt-ridden about her horrible behavior, Natalie told him that Al was faking his paralysis. Cristian became her friend and pointed out the good in her every time she would call herself trash. Slowly they began to fall for each other, but after nearly having sex at the Bayberry Inn, they decided to stay just friends, since he was reuniting with Jen and she still pined for Seth.
Unbeknownst to all, Viki's split personality Niki Smith had returned, and began acting in rude, hostile, very un-Viki ways to Natalie and her recently arrived brother, Rex Balsom. Natalie began to wonder what had happened to the mother she had just started building a strong relationship with. Niki decided to get Nat out of the way by making her think she had DID and her alter was violent. At one point she even drugged Natalie around the same time she had pushed Ben out a window. Niki framed Natalie for the crime. Al, still desperate to be with Jen, decided to make Jen distrustful of Cristian's feeling for Natalie, and made it look like Natalie had started a fire in Jen's room. The blaze got out of control and Jen nearly died. Jen, Jessica and Seth all blamed Natalie for both severe crimes, and once again Natalie had only Cristian to count on for support. He helped her uncover her mother's DID flare-up, and thanks in part to their efforts, Viki returned. Al also stepped forward as the firebug, and all charges were dropped against Natalie.
Natalie and Cris admitted their love for each other and were ready to tell the whole town. Unfortunately, Jen overheard them saying they had kept their feelings a secret for months, and decided to make them pay. She slept with Al, telling Cris he was the father of her baby. She repeatedly told her "friend" Natalie how hot Cristian was in bed, how in love they were, and even asked Natalie to throw her bridal shower. Natalie was devastated and had no one to confide in until she ran into a stranger on the street. His name was Michael Lazarus, and he was a source of comfort and strength. The day of Cris and Jen's wedding, Natalie decided she couldn't bear the pain of being this close to Cristian without having a life with him, and agreed to Michael's demands that they marry.
Soon after they arrived back in town, Cristian told Nat that Jen had miscarried around the time of the ceremony, and he wasn't going to go through with the marriage or anything else. Natalie and Cris then got into a car accident, and when Michael visited her in the hospital for her minor injuries, she tried to let him down gently. Michael refused to grant her an annulment of any kind. Within a few days Natalie realized Michael had set her up and was really Mitch Laurence, a long-presumed-dead cult leader and manipulator. Even worse, he had raped her mother, resulting in Jessica's conception! Jessica was his daughter, while Natalie was Clint and Viki's true child. Natalie learned that he had sent her to live with Roxy because he saw her as scum who deserved nothing but the worst in life. He boasted that she would be his wife and his possession until he could make inroads into Jessica's life. Natalie refused to be his pawn and helped Jessica flee Llanview. The efforts to annul her marriage and point out Mitch as a true menace were hampered when he manipulated Cristian into punching him in front of witnesses. He then had Jen lie in earshot of Judge Fitzwater that Cris was violent. As a result, Cristian was sentenced to a month in jail. Mitch warned Natalie that Cris was very vulnerable in jail. She stood up to his threats until poisoned cake meant for Cris was eaten by Carlotta, almost killing her. Then Natalie agreed to Mitch's demand that she consummate their marriage. At the last minute, she changed her mind, and Mitch was close to raping her when Cristian (who had been released after Jen confessed) and Viki barged into the hotel room. Mitch was arrested, but Bo, knowing no charges would be filed, could only hold him for a few hours. Viki sent Natalie and Cristian into hiding to keep them safe for a while. Not long after, Natalie and Cris were safe to marry.
Unfortunately, things would take a tragic turn with the arrival of John McBain. An FBI agent posing as a billiard scout for Flynn Laurence, McBain used Natalie and Cris to get the goods on the crime lord. The way to do that was to use Natalie's new found skills as a billards champion. Unfortunately, Natalie defied John's orders to throw the game for Flynn and as a result she was kidnapped by Flynn. Although Cris and John were able to rescue Natalie, Cris apparently lost his life in the attempt. At first angry at John's indirect role in Cris's death, Natalie soon developed a friendship with him. After Natalie was nearly murdered by the Music Box Killer, she and John finally admitted that their friendship was turning into something more. Just as things seemed to be going further, Kathryn Fitzgerald, the sister of John's dead fiancée Caitlin, came to town. Jealous of the connection between Kathryn and John, Natalie began spending more time with Paul Cramer. Natalie and John again confronted their feelings for each other and the two nearly made love, but John wasn't yet over Caitlin. Natalie then began seeing Paul.
Natalie ended things with Paul long before it got truly serious, and began falling back for John, who by this time was with Evangeline. Just as Natalie was making an active play for John, Cristian showed up back in her life again, alive and well. The two began trying to put their lives back together, although Cristian was plagued with gaps in his memory and often had angry outbursts. Natalie was so happy to have Cristian back she didn't care, although she was concerned when he joined forces with Antonio to bring down Tico Santi. After Cristian finally admitted that he was the one who killed Tico she was devastated, but not nearly as hurt as she was when he told her he wasn't Cristian at all, just a man who had plastic surgery to look like him. Despite her anger, though, she couldn't help but feel sorry for him the last time she saw him in jail, when he told her that his feelings for her were never a lie. She turned her back on him though, not realizing that he truly was Cristian, but had lied to her so that she would not be hurt.
Natalie and John finally began a romance, but it was short-lived. During the Statesville prison riot, Natalie learned that the man she believed was Cristian's imposter was in fact Cristian himself and, making matters worse, John had known all along. Natalie was furious with both men for lying to her and making her an adulteress. She immediately demanded a divorce from Cristian and attempted to cut John out of her life.
Over the course of 2006, however, Natalie reunited with John after working with him to prove her uncle Todd Manning innocent of the "murder" of Margaret Cochran, and helping him finger Spencer Truman as the man who killed John's father. Natalie took a job as receptionist for the Llanview Police Department and soon showed an interest in the forensics program. Working closely with John, her relationship with him deepened; Natalie began to hope for marriage. But after a horrifying car accident in which John was badly burned and thought dead, Natalie's bond with John began to fray. He became volatile and verbally abusive, unwilling to communicate. Thinking she was protecting John, Natalie tampered with evidence at the crime scene of Spencer Truman's murder; when the truth came out, she was dismissed from the forensics program. Her relationship with John disintegrated as well, but they ultimately parted as friends, with John admitting he should have treated her better.
Moving forward with her life, Natalie ventured into the family business Buchanan Enterprises. When the mysterious Jared Banks came to town in 2007, he and Natalie clashed at once. Jared sought revenge against Jessica for sending him to prison when she was under the control of her alter, Tess. Jared secured a job at BE alongside Natalie by blackmailing Jessica and Natalie with the knowledge of Tess' crimes. Although Jared was a skilled executive who revered Natalie's late grandfather Asa, his arrogant and abrasive personality caused then to butt heads constantly. However, the two were unable to fight their mutual attraction and, while both were in Texas for the reading of Asa's will, they admitted their feelings for each other and fell into a passionate embrace. That same night, however, Jared stumbled upon the opportunity to pose as Asa's long-lost son. Having idolized Asa since childhood, Jared could not resist and chose fortune and ambition over love. Now "related" as uncle and niece, Jared and Natalie struggled to distance themselves from each other. In March 2008 Jared revealed the truth to Natalie, who decided to keep the secret to protect the Buchanans from the real heir, greedy con artist David Vickers. Though at first disgusted with Jared for this plot against her family, Natalie ultimately gave in to her attraction and they made love for the first time in May 2008.
Their duplicity was revealed to the family, however, when Dorian Lord revealed Jared as a fraud during a BE stakeholder meeting and announced she had bought controlling interest in the company. As a result of Jared and Natalie's lie, a deal Jessica's husband Nash had struck with Jared to buy his winery and save it from greedy investors also was doomed. Jared and Natalie subsequently got in a heated argument with Jessica and Nash, who accidentally fell to his death.
Jessica and Natalie's father Clint were furious at Natalie for keeping Jared's secret, and Natalie and Jared soon quickly found themselves on the outs with the family. Little did they know that Jessica, in her grief and rage, had reverted to her alter ego, Tess. To get back into Clint's good graces, Jared agreed to go to Columbia and retrieve Langston Wilde's uncle Ray Montez, who was serving time for murder, as part of a plan by Clint to regain ownership of BE. Natalie and Jared argued about this plan just before Jared departed but quickly made up. When Jared was out of the country, however, Natalie was drugged by Tess and locked up in a secret, soundproof room beneath Llanfair. Jessica forced Natalie to write Jared a "Dear John" letter saying that she was breaking up with him and had left town. Natalie was then forced to watch from a closed-circuit television as Tess attempted to make Jared forget about Natalie. Natalie then discovered that Tina knew she was locked up and was livid that her aunt did nothing to free her. Jared suspected that Tess was behind Natalie's disappearance, and finally got definitive proof when he ran into the contractor who built the secret room at Rodi's Tavern. Jared played dumb around Tess, hoping to get the better of her. Tina finally revealed to Jared that Natalie was in the basement and gave him the key to get into the room. But once Jared found the room and unlocked the door, reuniting with Natalie, Tess walked in and locked them both inside the glass cage. Then she set a bomb to go off, only she didn't let Natalie and Jared know how long they had until the bomb would explode. Tess began to experience abdominal pains, and Natalie tried to convince her to let them out so they could get her to the hospital. But once Natalie mentioned Nash's name, Tess reconsidered and left them to die. Natalie and Jared tried to make the most of the time they had left, even making love as the ticking time bomb waited to go off!
Natalie and Jared eventually were discovered by Viki and Charlie. Charlie managed to grab the bomb that Tess had set to go off and got it outside, just before it exploded, and Natalie and Jared were freed. Natalie confronted Tina and told her to leave town at once in exchange for keeping quiet about her role in keeping them captive. Tina admitted everything to Viki and was banished anyway. Natalie and Jared, meanwhile, tried to make peace with what Jessica's alter had done to them. They began caring for Bree and the new baby Jessica supposedly had given birth to, named Chloe Brennan, while Jessica committed herself to St. Anne's psychiatric hospital to get well. What they didn't realize was that Baby Chloe was in fact Starr and Cole's child, who had been switched with Jessica's stillborn baby by Jessica's alter Bess. Jared, meanwhile, proposed to Natalie on Christmas Day, and she accepted.
Jessica believed she had a breakthrough when she had a conversation with Bess, who told her that Jessica let Tess out all those months ago because she wanted Natalie and Jared to die. Jessica admitted this to Natalie and Jared, who were understandably upset. Jessica, no longer under the influence of Bess and Tess, was discharged from St. Anne's and returned to Llanfair to discover that Bree felt closer to Natalie than Jessica, since Natalie had been raising Bree and Chloe in Jessica's absence. Natalie challenged Jessica's ability to be a mother, but Jessica pushed back and told Natalie to back off. Natalie, however, got suspicious when she discovered a parking ticket in Jessica's wallet from the night of Chloe's birth that revealed that Tess had gone to Llanview Hospital. Based on the time stamp on the ticket, Natalie knew that the visit occurred after the baby had been born, which raised her suspicions even more. Enlisting Rex's help, Natalie and Rex found security camera footage from the hospital that revealed it was Bess, not Tess, who had visited the hospital.
When Natalie and Jared learned that Starr and Cole's baby hadn't died from RH disease as they had been told, they put the pieces together and figured out that a baby switch must have occurred. They gathered DNA evidence from Chloe (fingernail clippings) and Hope (the hair Starr kept in her locket) and had hospital lab technician Kyle Lewis run tests, which confirmed that Starr and Cole's baby was in fact Chloe. Natalie and Jared were torn over what to do, and at one point almost told Jessica the truth, but then they decided that the truth would be too much for Jessica to bear and resolved to keep the secret forever. Jessica seemed to be getting on with her life and was falling for Brody Lovett, but then everyone learned that Brody had slept with Gigi and Natalie went over to Brody's apartment and punched him in the stomach for hurting her sister.
Kyle Lewis figured out what was going on after Starr and Cole submitted their own samples and he concluded that the hair they submitted couldn't have been from their baby. He summoned Natalie and Jared to the hospital and told them to pony up $100,000 within 24 hours or he would tell everyone the truth. On the eve of their wedding, Natalie and Jared learned that Starr and Cole were having Hope's body exhumed so they could find out the true cause of her death. Realizing that the truth was about to come out, they decided to elope and got a priest at St. James to perform the midnight ceremony. When Natalie and Jared returned to Llanfair, they caught Brody Lovett coming out the front door of the house and confronted him. Jessica came to his defense and admitted that they were seeing each other, although she didn't tell Natalie the truth that Brody and Gigi had never slept together. All hell broke loose when Jessica realized Chloe had been kidnapped. Natalie and Jared, worried that Kyle might have kidnapped Chloe for ransom, told the family that he could have been behind it but didn't go into details at first. After Jessica and Brody left for the police station, where Kyle Lewis was being held, Natalie and Jared admitted to Viki, Clint and Charlie that the baby Jessica delivered had died and had been switched with Starr and Cole's baby. When Jessica and Chloe were reunited at the hospital, Bess emerged and escaped with Chloe before Jessica could learn that the baby wasn't hers. Natalie blamed herself for keeping the truth from Jessica, but Charlie said she and Jared did what they thought was best. They then revealed to Charlie, Clint and Viki that they had gotten married. Natalie was relieved when Jessica re-emerged and stood by her as Jessica gave the baby back to Starr and Cole.
Gigi admitted to Natalie and Jared that her sister had forced her to break up with Rex to supposedly save their son, and she asked them to drop the charges they had filed against Kyle so she could find out the identity of Shane's real blood donor. Natalie and Jared dropped the charges, pressuring Kyle to reveal the name of the donor. Kyle claimed to have forgotten the donor's name but took Natalie and Jared to the clinic where the donor was. When they arrived, they discovered Natalie's grandmother Renee in the room where the donor supposedly had been. Renee said she was getting cosmetic surgery and asked Natalie and Jared not to say anything to anyone. Natalie and Jared then learned that the donor had died several months ago, and Kyle admitted that he had drawn extra blood and given it to Roxy. But when they arrived at Roxy's hair salon, they found Roxy on the floor and the blood gone, stolen by a nurse from the clinic where the donor had been. Rex eventually retrieved the blood from Stacy.
Natalie began to worry when Jessica claimed she was being stalked by someone who appeared to be Nash. At Buchanan Enterprises, Natalie and Jared received a DVD that had images of the night that Nash fell through the skylight and died. They gave the DVD to Brody, and they all agreed that the person who sent the DVD was the same person stalking Jessica. The police determined that the delivery of the DVD was done by someone who worked at the company. Natalie and Jared then got a second DVD, this time of the stalker saying he was going to get revenge on them for killing Nash, although the stalker's voice was distorted and his image was masked. As Natalie was visiting Jessica and Brody at the hospital, Jared was jumped from behind in his office. He then showed up at the hospital, bloodied and bruised, having driven there after fighting off the attacker. Jared claimed he didn't see the person's face or any identifying features. When John McBain started questioning Jared as a suspect, rather than a victim, Natalie told John to back off, but John said he was just trying to figure out why Jared was attacked. John found an image of the stalker on footage from David Vickers' reality TV show and showed it to Natalie and Jared, but neither said they recognized him. Little did Natalie know that Jared had been in contact with the stalker, who it turned out had been in prison with Jared. Natalie was shocked to discover Jared leaning over the stalker's bloody body on the patio outside Llanfair.
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