Kate Mansi made her directorial debut on General Hospital. She directed the episode that aired on Tuesday, November 18, 2025. While she received support from her GH co-stars, she was apprehensive about directing Laura Wright.
Key Takeaways
- Mansi is best known for her role as Kristina Corinthos.
- She directed the November 18 episode after years of shadowing directors.
- Mansi got her start on Days of our Lives.
- She admitted that she requested not to direct Wright.
Making It In Salem
Mansi first explored directing during her time on Days of our Lives, when she played Abigail Deveraux. In an interview with TV Insider, Mansi explained how her journey started.
“I had a storyline with Ali Sweeney (Sami Brady) and James Scott (EJ DiMera), and I had been working with Ali quite a bit. We became good friends, and she started to observe the directors,” Mansi recalled. “I watched her go through that process, and then she directed her first episode that I was actually in.”
Alison Sweeney (who recently took on a new role in Hallmark’s Finding Mr. Christmas) evolved into her directorial role, which inspired Mansi to do the same. Sweeney’s directorial debut inspired Mansi to embark on her own journey, which included shadowing directors at DAYS.
Making Directorial Debut on GH
Her interest in directing continued at GH. When Mansi joined the cast in 2023, executive producer Frank Valentini allowed her to shadow him. Mansi made it clear that it was one of her passions, “and I spent the last year really working on shadowing as much as I possibly could.”
In September, Valentini informed Mansi that she was ready to direct her own episode. But there was one co-star she didn’t want to work with. “And I was scared sh**less, but I said to him, ‘OK, I think I’m ready, too, but please, the only person I don’t want to direct is Laura Wright [Carly Spencer].'”
The idea “intimidated” Mansi. She also had to direct Genie Francis (Laura Collins), Maurice Benard (Sonny Corinthos), and Steve Burton (Jason Morgan). No sweat. Mansi had a mini-freakout before reporting to work.
She immediately received support from her co-stars, especially Francis, who hugged her and told her there’s a need for more female directors in the entertainment industry. Now that she has her first episode behind her, Mansi is ready to take on more. She got over the first-day jitters.
“Frank mentored me through his experience, and I could not be more grateful for his generosity of time and belief in me,” Mansi said. “He gave me the most rewarding experience thus far in my professional career in trusting me with this opportunity.”
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