Santa Barbara Classic Character Recap: Kelly Capwell

Victimized heroines are a dime a dozen. There’s literally been a score (or four) throughout soap opera history. But poor Kelly Capwell – the perennial-in-peril princess from Santa Barbara – tended to suffer everything in twos. She was menaced by two serial offenders, escaped the clutches of two mad doctors, and even tangled with two sets of Jekyll and Hyde twins.

Who Is Kelly Capwell?

Kelly – having barely reached the age of majority – had already experienced more heartache than most people would in a lifetime. On the eve of her engagement party, she witnessed her intended standing over the corpse of her recently slain brother and had to testify at his subsequent trial.

Five years later, Joe Perkins was released – the date ironically coinciding with Kelly’s engagement party to Peter Flint. Seeing Joe after so many years was difficult for Kelly, who believed in her heart of hearts that he was innocent of Channing’s murder.

After Joe was able to clear his name, Kelly accepted his marriage proposal but her careless tossing aside of Peter led him to suffer a psychotic break. As the Carnation Killer, he committed a string of homicides and then subsequently kidnapped and raped Kelly, who was on her honeymoon.

If Ever You’re In My Arms Again
She and Joe were able to weather the sturm and drang of early married life but Joe wouldn’t survive an attack launched by a murder-minded Peter. Her ex had escaped from police custody – and Kelly became a widow before the age of 30.

A distraught Kelly sought counseling from Marcello Armonti, unaware that he was harboring a vendetta against her entire family. It had to do with his obsession with his step-mother — former Capwell matriarch and Kelly’s biological mama, Sofia.

After nearly meeting her maker thanks to Marcello’s machinations, Kelly found herself falling for photographer Nick Harley. However, the burgeoning love birds soon found themselves on the run after rumbling an international conspiracy led by a man named Jerry Cooper. He had plastic surgery to alter his appearance to resemble his cousin Jack Lee, an advisor to the U.S. President.

Forget Me Not

Prior to their taking to the streets, Kelly had been injected with a mysterious substance that would subsequently erase her memory. So Nick had to not only find them a safe hiding spot, but he had to tend to an amnesiac partner. The two found shelter in an old ghost town and made a home for several weeks.

Upon returning to Santa Barbara, Kelly’s regained all her memories except the recently formed ones about her relationship with Nick, so the two got to rediscover their love for one another all over again.

Frame Job
Despite becoming engaged to Nick, Kelly found herself drawn to Dylan (her future brother-in-law) and just weeks before her wedding, she cheated on her fiancé. Riddled with guilt, Kelly confessed her dalliance to Nick, who called a halt to the ceremony.

When the two reconciled, an enraged Dylan came after Kelly with a gun. In the struggle that followed, Kelly shoved Dylan out of a window. Dylan died from his injuries, Kelly suffered a nervous breakdown and had to be committed to an institution.

Dr. Rawlings, Kelly’s new physician, proved to be a villain and she had to rescued by family friend Pearl Bradford who had infiltrated the asylum. When the authorities decided to arrest Kelly for her role in Dylan’s death, she fled the country fearing that she would spend the rest of her life in prison.

Marry Go Round

Kelly laid low in Switzerland until Jeffrey Conrad made contact with her and brought her back home. Despite attempts to keep her return to Santa Barbara a secret, Kelly was eventually found out and arrested.

However, a recording that showed the incident leading to Dylan’s death surfaced, courtesy of CC’s “new” wife Gina. She had used the tape as leverage for a reunion with her “favorite ex-husband.” It cleared Kelly’s name.

Kelly and Jeffrey wed but their union was fraught with obstacles. His possessive mother poisoned Kelly to get her out of the way. Not only that, but Kelly fell in love with another man – TJ Daniels – and broke both men’s hearts. Add to that Kelly nearly fell victim to the Video Rapist, and the marriage couldn’t survive and ended in divorce.

Double Trouble in Santa Barbara

Kelly’s next paramour – Robert Barr – wound up being an ex-lover of her older sister, Eden. His ties to organized crime ended the pairing for a time but he returned to find her being pursued by Craig Hunt. Kelly had a hard time deciding between the two men but eventually chose Robert, unaware that he was actually Robert’s evil twin brother Quinn!

Hoping to get his hands on Kelly’s fortune, Quinn duped her into marriage but his former lover, Flame, did everything in her power to end the union. First, she arranged a fall that paralyzed Kelly and then she began to drug her rival in hopes of driving her insane.

When Quinn was murdered, Kelly stood accused of the crime but was cleared. For a time Kelly became enamored with Cruz Castillo but eventually settled into a relationship with Connor McCabe.