General Hospital’s Nancy Lee Grahn: 2025 Daytime Emmy Nominee for Outstanding Lead Actress

Nancy Lee Grahn as General Hospital's Alexis Davis

Alexis holds Sam's lifeless body in their devastating final scenes on General Hospital | Image: ABC

On July 9, 2025, the National Academy for Television Arts & Sciences announced its nominees for the 52nd annual Daytime Emmys. This year’s ceremony is set to take place on October 17 in Pasadena, California.

Amongst the recognitions, General Hospital received a staggering 16 nominations for writing, directing, technical, acting, and Outstanding Drama Series. Nancy Lee Grahn received a nomination for Outstanding Lead Actress for her portrayal of Alexis Davis. She has 12 previous nominations and 2 wins for Outstanding Supporting Actress.

After the nominations were announced, Grahn took to her social media to show her gratitude and give a shout-out to daytime television. In her Instagram post, she wrote, “Always grateful for a sweet nod, however CHEERs to all my fellow actors nominated or not. This acting medium is not 4 sissies. Daytime television actors & crew work without a net. 130 pages of dialogue, 60 or more scenes with one quick rehearsal a day. We shoot sometimes up to 8 hr shows in 5 days. Proud to be a member of this community.”

Alexis Davis (birth name: Princess Natasha Alexandra Mikkosovna Cassadine) first came to Port Charles in 1996. She is the daughter of Mikkos Cassadine and his mistress, Kristin Bergman. When she was young, Mikkos’ wife, Helena Cassadine, slit Kristin’s throat in front of Alexis. She has survived the Cassadines, her arch-nemesis, Helena Cassadine (Constance Towers), explosions, attacks, accidents, being held hostage multiple times, losing her sister, lung cancer, encephalitis, kidnapping, druggings, extortion, alcoholism, disbarment, and so much more!

Though she is widely viewed as an upstanding citizen and lawyer with strong convictions, she has also committed more than her fair share of crimes. From illegally altering records to blackmail to killing Luis Alcazar and faking DID to get out of it, to killing Keifer Bauer in a hit-and-run to extortion, Alexis proves she can lean into her Cassadine roots when she needs to.

2024 was a particularly devastating year for Alexis as her two younger daughters, Kristina Corinthos-Davis (Kate Mansi) and Molly Lansing-Davis (Kristen Vaganos), were in a brutal battle over the devastating loss of their baby (Irene/Adela). Her life went from bad to worse when she unexpectedly lost her eldest daughter, Sam McCall (Kelly Monaco), who was murdered by Cyrus Renault (Jeff Kober) after she donated her kidney to Lulu Spencer (Alexa Havins).

Alexis’ final scenes, in which she held Sam’s lifeless body in her hospital bed, were heartbreakingly devastating. Grahn’s performance was emotionally raw and gut-wrenching to watch, but each moment served as a beautiful tribute to the many years she and Kelly Monaco played mother and daughter.

Nancy Lee Grahn has numerous TV credits to her name, but she began her daytime soap opera career as Beverly Wilkes on One Life to Live in 1980. In 1985, she joined the cast of Santa Barbara to portray Julia Wainwright Capwell, and, finally, she originated the role of Alexis Davis on General Hospital in 1996.

Alexis is intelligent with a sardonic wit and neurotic, yet still fiercely strong and resilient. Nancy Lee Grahn's powerful and nuanced portrayal of her is consistently authentic and pitch-perfect. Her thoughtful approach and exceptional performance have made Alexis Davis one of General Hospital’s most important and enduring characters.

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