The actress, who played Dr. Lesley Webber for nearly five decades, passed away on Wednesday, March 5, from causes unknown, although her death was only announced on Friday, May 9.
General Hospital showrunner Frank Valentini shared the news of Denise’s passing on X, writing: “I am so very sorry to hear of Denise Alexander’s passing.
“She broke barriers on-screen and off, portraying Dr. Lesley Webber – one of the first female doctors on Daytime Television – for nearly five decades.”
He continued: “It meant so much to have her reprise her role in recent years and I am honored to have had the opportunity to work with her.
“On behalf of the entire General Hospital family, I extend my heartfelt sympathies to her family, friends, and longtime fans. May she rest in peace.”
Denise starred on the ABC soap opera from 1973 to 1984. She had a recurring role from 1996 to 2009 and then made guest appearances until 2021.
Denise’s on-screen daughter, Genie Francis, spoke to TV Insider about her relationship with the late actress.
“I loved her. She loved me,” she said. “I stole her good stuff. When I look at myself sometimes on television, which I don’t do often because I don’t really like to watch myself, but I have seen myself do stuff and been kind of taken aback because I realized I just did Denise.
“So, when I say I stole her good stuff, I’m saying I was so young, she imprinted on me. And some of my acting, some of my style of acting, was directly imprinted on me by Denise Alexander. And she was very, very good to me as I was growing up.”
Genie continued: “She actually gave me this lovely necklace. It’s like a little angel that’s standing on a cloud, and it’s on a pearl. It was a charm, and I wore it all the time.
“And then when my daughter wanted to become an actress when she was young, I said, ‘You’ve got to have your good luck charm.’ So I said, ‘I’m going to give you this little angel that’s been worn by two actresses, and now it’s yours.’
“And so [daughter] Eliza [Frakes] has that, and it’s important to her too. And when I told Denise that, she cried. She was so excited to hear that what she had given me, I gave to my daughter.”
Denise was born in New York City on November 11, 1939, and began working at a young age, starting as an actress on the radio at the age of six.
By age 10, she had a part in Perry Como’s Chesterfield Supper Club and landed roles in other primetime series, including Father Knows Best and The Twilight Zone. She made her first feature film, Crime in the Streets, at 14.
“There was television, there was radio, I did theater, I did everything there was to do, and it seemed natural,” Denise told We Love Soaps in 2010.
“Now, when I look back, I think, ‘How lucky was I?’ – because a lot of people didn’t have those experiences.”
She made her soap opera debut on The Clear Horizon in 1960. She got her big break starring as Susan Hunter Martin on Days of Our Lives from 1966 to 1973, before she left to join General Hospital.
