General Hospital’s Ronnie Raves About Jane’s Masterclass Acting
Mystery solved: Erika Slezak is General Hospital’s Veronica Ronnie Bard, the never-before-mentioned younger sister of Monica, dropping a family bombshell on Port Charles. She’s already saluting Jane Elliot’s powerhouse turn as Tracy, a true masterclass.
After months of guessing games, we finally know who Erika Slezak is playing on General Hospital. And yes, it is one of those soap-only twists: she is Veronica 'Ronnie' Bard, Monica Quartermaine's younger sister… a sibling the show has literally never mentioned until now. Retcon city. I kind of love the audacity.
So who is Ronnie, exactly?
Ronnie is Veronica Bard, Monica's younger sister. The character has zero prior footprint in GH history, which means the writers are building her backstory from scratch. Slezak said the team essentially handed her Ronnie's history because there was nothing to pull from onscreen.
Slezak on working with Jane Elliot (Tracy)
Slezak is sharing a lot of scenes with Jane Elliot, which is a smart matchup if you like sharp, thorny Quartermaine drama. She could not be more complimentary of Elliot's work ethic and presence — running lines, rehearsing, all of it.
'Jane is a master class in acting.'
Slezak says Elliot shows up ready, nails it, and forces everyone around her to bring their A-game. And if you are wondering why the pairing feels so natural, here is the inside baseball: GH executive producer Frank Valentini used to be Slezak's boss on One Life to Live. He told her going in that she'd be opposite Elliot a lot. Her response was basically, sign me up.
Building Ronnie from scratch (and why Tracy is all over her)
Because Ronnie is brand-new, Slezak leaned on the writers to get the character's background straight before filming. On the story side, she teased that Tracy is not letting Ronnie breathe — constant confrontations, no quarter. Quartermaine turbulence ahead, basically.
A quick recap
- Erika Slezak is playing Veronica 'Ronnie' Bard, Monica's younger sister — a never-before-mentioned character now suddenly part of the GH canvas.
- Slezak and Jane Elliot (Tracy) are paired frequently; Slezak calls working with Elliot a bring-your-A-game situation.
- Slezak is a daytime legend from One Life to Live (Viki Lord for 40+ years). GH EP Frank Valentini also ran OLTL, which is how all these worlds connect.
- Story tease: Tracy keeps pressing Ronnie, and she does not let up.
One more note from Slezak herself
On September 25, Slezak posted an update on her official site thanking the GH team and giving Elliot special credit — calling her wonderful to work with, delightfully demanding in the best way, and flat-out brilliant. Sounds like the mutual respect is strong, which usually translates to good TV.