General Hospital alum Chloe Lanier lands plum role as Mary Jo Buttafucco

At one time, General Hospital's Nelle could have been called the Port Charles Lolita as the young babysitter and pre-school teacher who tried to seduce older man Sonny, but did manage to seduce younger men Michael and Chase. Now, Chloe Lanier, the Emmy-winning actress who played Willow's twin sister, is starring in a movie about the Long Island Lolita's victim, Mary Jo Buttafucco.

General Hospital star in new TV flick

Nelle turned out to be Nina's daughter | Image: JPI

Lanier will star as Buttafucco in Lifetime's Ripped From the Headlines series. The latest installment, I Am Mary Jo Buttafucco, will air on January 17, 2026, with Buttafucco herself serving as executive producer.

In 1992, New York City and the nation were gripped by the story of 17-year-old Amy Fisher, who shot Mary Jo Buttafucco in the face outside her home after Fisher's affair with Mary Jo's husband, Joey. As the story unfolded, the public learned that Fisher was the Buttafuccos' babysitter, who had an affair with the family patriarch.

Joey was eventually charged with statutory rape of Fisher and served four months in prison. Fisher went to jail for seven years and was released in 1999. The Buttafoccos remained married while Fisher was in prison, but eventually divorced. Now, Mary Jo is telling her story with Lanier acting out her painful tale.

"It’s been 33 years since I was thrust into the true crime spotlight after surviving a near-fatal gunshot wound to the head at the hands of my husband’s teenage lover. In the years that followed, I endured extreme public scrutiny, relentless media coverage, and was often mocked and misunderstood in the public eye. What many didn’t see was the private toll it took—battling depression, suicidal thoughts, and addiction as I tried to make sense of a life that had been so violently and publicly shattered," Mary Jo Buttafucco said in a statement, according to Michael Fairman TV.

Lanier's GH legacy

Lanier and boyfriend Josh Kelly | Image: JPI

Lanier first appeared on General Hospital in 2015 in flashbacks as a young Pat Spencer, Luke (Tony Geary) and Bobbie's (Jacklyn Zeman) older sister. A little more than a year later, GH created the role of Nelle specifically for Lanier. Nelle started out as Josslyn's (Eden McCoy) sweet, anonymous kidney donor, but we eventually learned she was the adopted daughter of Frank Benson (James Patrick Stuart), Carly's adoptive dad.

Lanier won a Daytime Emmy in 2018 for playing one of Port Charles' most deranged villainesses, who was revealed to be Nina Reeves' (Cynthia Watros) long-lost daughter after Nelle's alleged 2020 death. She was also Wiley's biological mother. Lanier is also dating Josh Kelly, who plays Cody Bell.