All My Children Wayback: Remember Erica Kane

Eric Kane of All My Children fame was one of the most famous characters in soap opera history. She was a ravenous man-eater and a self-made millionaire. She was a devoted mother and a daughter who served her own mom equal helpings of misery and despair.

She fought with strong rivals like Brooke and Natalie but treasured the mother figures in her life like Myrtle and Opal. She fought like hell to save her brother Mark from addiction and obsessed over the love she felt denied by her father, Eric.

So how much do you remember about this spoiled rotten Pine Valley Princess and truly one of a kind diva who ruled the roost on ABC’s All My Children?

The Marry Go-Round
The biggest falsehood that ever escaped Erica’s lips had to be the line, “I do not need a man to be happy.” Even her devoted mother Mona knew that wasn’t the case — hence her pitch-perfect retort, “Well you certainly married enough of them.” Enough proved to be eight men in all. But only six of Erica’s 11 marriages were valid.

She walked down the aisle legally with Jeff Martin, Phillip Brent, Tom Cudahy, Adam Chandler, Dimitri Marick, and Jackson Montgomery. But thanks to some shenanigans perpetrated by Adam, Erica’s weddings to Mike Roy and Travis Montgomery were bigamous.

Entrepreneur
Decades before the phrase was coined, Erica was the living embodiment of a Lady Boss. From her early “menial labor” jobs — including stock purchaser for The Boutique and hostess of a chic little restaurant called the Chateau — to her executive board seat at Fusion Cosmetics, Erica has been there and done that.

Among her many other occupations, Erica could claim that she had been: an internationally known supermodel, Discotech owner, author of three bestselling autobiographies, editor and chief of Tempo magazine, and the host and executive producer of a daytime talk show called New Beginnings.

Doctor’s Visits
It’s a good thing …continue reading on the next page —>

Continue reading on the next page…

It’s a good thing that Erica’s beloved mother Mona was the secretary to the town’s top physician because she certainly racked up a large number of medical maladies. While still a young woman, Erica suffered a severe uterine infection brought on by an abortion — and it was feared she would never be able to carry another child.

The worry was justified when her next pregnancy ended in a miscarriage, and Erica suffered a nervous breakdown. Among her many other medical issues, Erica conquered an addiction to painkillers, had her face horrifically scarred in a car accident and, when she was finally able to carry a child to term, she developed pre-eclampsia and nearly died.

Painful Revelations
Although Erica has lived most of her adult life in the spotlight, there was one past trauma that even she couldn’t bring herself to face. In fact, she was subjected to such a harrowing experience that she blocked it from her memory for over 20 years.

At the age of 14, Erica had been raped by one of her father’s colleagues and the incident resulted in the birth of a baby girl, Kendall, whom Mona put up for adoption. In 1994, Erica recovered the memory and recounted the entire scene in open court. When asked by her lawyer how she felt during her violation, Erica responded, “I felt that my life was completely over.”

All In The Family
Despite how Kendall came into the world, the two eventually made their peace with each other. It was hard for Kendall at first, considering her jealousy at how Bianca was treated like her mother’s favorite. But when Bianca finally found the strength to tell her mother she was a lesbian on Christmas Eve, Erica reacted horribly to the news.

It took several months, but the two finally were able to repair their relationship. Erica came around to embrace both her daughters, showing she had come a long way from the insecure, self-centered little brat she was all those years ago.