Blair Cramer is a fictional character from the American daytime drama series One Life to Live, played since 1993 by Kassie DePaiva. Introduced as the niece of lead antagonist Dr. Dorian Cramer Lord, the role was originated by Mia Korf from 1991 through 1993.
DePaiva played the role for nearly 20 years on ABC Daytime, from December 17, 1993, until the original OLTL finale episode January 13, 2012, and in several guest appearances on the last original ABC daytime serial General Hospital from March 2, 2012, through December 3, 2012.
DePaiva reprised the role when new regular episodes of OLTL debuted on Hulu, iTunes and FX Canada, via The Online Network from April 29, 2013, until August 19, 2013. In 2023, DePaiva again reprised the role on General Hospital, airing on September 15.
Background
Casting The role was originated by actress Mia Korf on October 10, 1991, who portrayed the character through January 29, 1993. Notably, Korf is a biracial actress of Japanese and Caucasian descent, while her successor DePaiva is Caucasian. References to the character's Asian cultural heritage disappeared once DePaiva assumed the role.Nearly two decades later, One Life to Live made an inside reference to the character's ethnicity change, and to Mia Korf's work in the role. A story arc involving a film biography of David Vickers Buchanan (Tuc Watkins) was crafted. In the July 28, 2011 episode, it was revealed an Asian-American actress portrayed Blair (now Caucasian) in the Vickers film, and that the actress was Korf.
On January 11, 2012, it was announced DePaiva would bring her character, Blair Cramer, over to ABC's sole remaining soap opera, General Hospital. DePaiva and her alter-ego will be joined by long-time on-screen flame, Todd Manning, played by Roger Howarth, their daughter Starr Manning, played by Kristen Alderson and John McBain played by Michael Easton. All characters debuted in Port Charles in early 2012. On her official website, DePaiva confirmed her stint on GH would only be for a few select appearances and she is not planning to relocate to Los Angeles for a full-time gig. On June 1, 2012, Frank Valentini confirmed that DePaiva would return for several episodes during the summer."Comings and Goings". Soap Opera Digest. July 30, 2012 (Vol. 37, No. 31). p. 11. On October 1, 2012, Kassie revealed in her blog that she would be returning to GH for few episodes, and later appeared for episodes from November 27 through December 3, 2012.
On August 28, 2023, TVLine announced DePaiva would return to General Hospital for a "brief stint"; returning on September 15.
Reception The initial 1994 pairing of actors Kassie DePaiva and Roger Howarth as Todd Manning and Blair Cramer on One Life to Live was met with fanfare and critical acclaim. This led production to focus on the actors and their character roles in front-burner storylines on the series through to the original television finale in 2012. Both DePaiva and Howarth, along with actress Kristen Alderson as their onscreen daughter Starr Manning, reprised the roles in-continuity on the ABC soap General Hospital in 2012, and DePaiva and Howarth again on One Life to Live upon its revival in 2013.
For her portrayal of Blair, DePaiva received a Daytime Emmy Award nomination for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series in 2005, losing her bid that year to fellow One Life to Live actress and onscreen sister-in-law Erika Slezak (Victoria Lord Davidson).
Storylines
1991–2004
On October 10, 1991, Blair Daimler (Mia Korf) comes to fictional Llanview with a secret — she is the daughter of Dr. Dorian Lord's (Elaine Princi) as-yet-unmentioned older sister Agatha "Addie" Cramer (Pamela Payton-Wright), conceived when Addie was raped. Blair keeps Addie, mentally ill and institutionalized for years, hidden in her loft, and blames her Aunt Dorian for her mother's illness. Seeking revenge, Blair tries to ruin Dorian by getting her aunt's signature on a document confessing to the murder of Victor Lord in 1976. As it turns out, Dorian had been told Addie had died by their parents, who had institutionalized her.
Just after midnight on New Year's Day 1992, Blair meets Max Holden (James DePaiva), and the two lonely individuals soon fall passionately in love. However, Blair seeks to marry billionaire Asa Buchanan (Phil Carey) to gain the financial security and power she needs to care for her mother and destroy Dorian. A persistent Max woos Blair into having sex with him hours before her wedding to Asa on June 16, 1992 — literally on top of her wedding dress. Nevertheless, Blair marries Asa anyway. The union is a loveless one, and the marriage is clearly doomed when Blair feigns being pregnant to get her share of the Buchanan money. On Christmas Eve 1992, the argument that follows after he discovers Blair's deception, Asa has a heart attack and Blair leaves him on the floor to die (He is soon discovered by his ex-wife Renee Divine (Patricia Elliott) and recovers). During a divorce hearing in January 1993, Asa paid off a maid named Sunny to say she witnessed Max and Blair having sex in Blair's bedroom and as a result she was given no financial settlement by the judge. She in turn took off with money from Dorian's safe and left town on January 29, 1993. By the time Blair's marriage to Asa falls apart, Max has moved on to the new love of his life, Luna Moody (Susan Batten).
On December 17, 1993, Blair (Kassie DePaiva) was immediately tracked down in Florida by Victoria "Viki" Lord (Erika Slezak) and Sloan Carpenter (Roy Thinnes) to admit she tricked Dorian into signing a confession for killing Victor Lord. In 1994, Blair tries to use Max's ever-increasing gambling habit to split him up from Luna. Blair and Max spend a wild weekend in Atlantic City. Later, Blair accidentally hits Luna with her car and paralyzes her. Realizing he loves Luna, a sobered Max faces his addiction and ends his relationship with Blair, seemingly for good. Cord Roberts (John Loprieno) consoles a devastated Blair, and they fall into a romance.
In late 1994, Blair bonds with town pariah Todd Manning (Roger Howarth). After several drinks, they fall into bed. She discovers in 1995 Todd is the "secret Lord heir" — son of deceased millionaire Victor Lord and half-brother to heiress Viki Lord Carpenter — and scrambles to marry him to secure the money she needs to pay for Addie's care. She pretends to be pregnant with his child. They wed.
Todd buys a tabloid, The Intruder, and renaming it The Sun, he immediately sets himself as the rival to Viki's newspaper, The Banner. Blair falls for Todd and really becomes pregnant with his baby, but she is mugged and miscarries. Max reveals to Todd that Blair wasn't pregnant when they married. A furious Todd nearly rapes her. Their marriage in shambles, Blair discovers she is pregnant again. Ultimately, Todd has their union annulled.
By November 1995, Todd and Blair reunite and marry again. Todd travels to the Irish island of Inishcrag to make amends with Marty Saybrooke (Susan Haskell), the woman he had raped years before. Todd helps Marty's love, Patrick Thornhart (Thorsten Kaye), evade a terrorist group, but is mistaken for Patrick, shot, and presumed dead.
On New Year's Day 1996, a vengeful Blair vows to destroy Marty for her part in Todd's death. Blair gives birth to Todd's daughter Starr, and then decides to seduce Patrick to punish Marty. By now, Marty is engaged to Luna's brother Dylan Moody (Christopher Douglas), but still in love with Patrick. He resists his attraction to Blair, even as Marty marries Dylan. When Marty insists on staying with a paralyzed Dylan despite her feelings, Patrick finally falls into Blair's arms. As they have sex on the floor of her penthouse on August 16, 1996, a man watches from the shadows: Todd.
Todd later reveals himself, delighted with daughter Starr but vowing to punish an "unfaithful" Blair. She is overjoyed Todd is alive, but he soon engages her in a fierce custody battle for Starr. Though considering reuniting with Blair, Todd's anger is fueled by the revelation she is pregnant with Patrick's child. Baby Starr is diagnosed with aplastic anemia and needs a bone marrow transplant. Blair's unborn child is a match, but she is soon in a car accident; her child with Patrick is stillborn, and she names him Brendan. Unbeknownst to Blair, the other driver had been her young cousin Kelly Cramer (Gina Tognoni); after Kelly's role in the accident is revealed, she and Blair are at odds for some time. Alex Olanov (Tonja Walker) turns out to be a suitable donor for Starr. By now Todd and Blair are at war, and divorce in 1997.
Todd pays lawyer Téa Delgado (Florencia Lozano) $5 million to marry him in a bid to defeat Blair in the custody battle over Starr. Téa and Blair are soon at each other's throats. When Téa falls through a window during an argument with Blair, Todd is temporarily awarded full custody of Starr. By 1998, Blair wins back visitation rights to her daughter. She renews her relationship with Max, but breaks it off when she discovers Asa has paid Max to get information on her. Blair falls into the arms of Sam Rappaport (Laurence Lau); in love with Blair, Max proposes, but she turns him down.
Todd comes back to town in 2000 and helps Blair cover up the fact that she shot Max in the back in a moment of rage. Through this teamwork, Todd proposes to Blair and she accepts. However, Max tricks Todd into thinking that he and Blair had sex right before their wedding, and during the ceremony, Todd reveals that Blair shot Max. Although he realized he was wrong, Blair couldn't forgive him for giving over the evidence to the police. In 2001, Blair realizes she is pregnant. She believes that the baby is Max's but then finds out it's really Todd's. Blair doesn't tell Todd the truth. Blair decides to marry Max when Todd won't let her see Starr. Todd takes Starr away from Blair and says she can never see her again if she marries Max. Blair goes to Mexico to have her baby alone since she doesn't get to see Starr. Todd comes down Blair goes into premature labor. Todd delivers the baby, later named Jack, but he still believes the baby is Max's. Todd gets rid of the baby and tells Blair the baby is dead when really he is in the other room. Blair finally tells Todd the baby was his, and he struggles to get baby Jack back. He gives Blair the baby as a Christmas present, but doesn't tell her it's Jack. They remarry after growing closer. When Blair finds out the truth, she reams Todd out and they separate. Todd leaves town for a little while.
After Starr's nanny is killed in 2002, Blair is forced to go into hiding due to death threats she has gotten. Todd allows her to stay and hide at the penthouse so she can still see the children. They soon grow close again and admit their feelings. Todd proposes again. In the middle of their wedding, Sam reveals the truth, that Todd was behind the death threats. Todd insisted he had done it to get her back, but Blair takes the children and leaves.
Mitch Lawrence then kidnaps Blair, and in an attempt to save her, Todd brings Natalie to switch places with her. Once Blair is back home, she tells Todd she needs space, and that he needs to leave. This is the last conversation between Roger Howarth's Todd and Blair until 2011.
2007–10
In 2007, Blair remarries Todd (Trevor St. John) for the fifth time (in exchange for a Téa-inspired $5 million) to help his bid to win custody of his biological son Sam Manning (then known as "Tommy McBain"). Todd's child with Margaret Cochran (Tari Signor), Sam had been kidnapped by Todd's nemesis Dr. Spencer Truman (Paul Satterfield) shortly after birth and had been presumed dead. His son's existence revealed, Todd is desperate to take him back from his adopted parents, Dr. Michael (Nathaniel Marston) and Marcie McBain (Kathy Brier). Todd is awarded custody, but Marcie flees Llanview with the child.