ABC
After TV Insider reported that General Hospital was casting for a role that sounded an awful lot like Lulu, actress Emme Rylan, who last played Luke and Laura’s youngest child confirmed the news that she was not returning to the role she played from 2013-2020.
Rylan Speaks Out
On her Instagram Stories, Rylan shared Soaps In Depth’s story about the possible recast, and wrote, “Yes it is true. GH has decided to recast Lulu. Although I am very disappointed with their choice, I am glad to finally have closure. (And thank goodness GH brought all of you fabulous people into my life! Love you guys!)”
In 2020, Lulu was injured in a bombing at the Floating Rib, where the man she was dating, teacher Dustin, had asked her to marry him. He was killed in the blast. Lulu was thought to be okay and was about to tell her former husband Dante that she still loved him when she grabbed her head and collapsed. She fell into a coma and has lingered in one ever since. Her kids are being raised by their fathers — Rocco is with Dante and his new love, Sam, while Charlotte is on the run with her dad, Valentin.
Rylan played Lulu from 2013 until that tragic story twist in 2020. She assumed the role from two-time Daytime Emmy-winner Julie Marie Berman, who was Lulu from 2005-13. Rylan came to GH with two soaps under her belt: Guiding Light, where she played Lizzie Spaulding from 2006-09, and Young and Restless, where she portrayed Abby Newman from 2010-13.
Reflecting on her time in Port Charles, Rylan told Soap Opera Digest in 2023, “Getting to play the daughter of Luke and Laura was the most amazing opportunity.” The actress has been candid in stating that she would be willing to return if asked. In 2023, Dante and Charlotte’s visit to (an off-camera) Lulu at her long-term care facility sparked fan fervor about her possible comeback, which she addressed in an Instagram video, saying, “I am getting approximately one million messages asking if Lulu is waking up.” She went on to explain, “No matter what the Internet says, I have made it very clear to GH that I am always available to play Lulu should she ever want to wake up. It is my understanding that when they choose to wake her up, they would be calling me. That could always change. Who knows? But that is my understanding. When they want to wake her up, they will call me. That’s as much as I know and I have not heard from them.”
