Catherine Hickland, as Lindsay Rappaport in the One Life to Live opening sequence.
Lindsay Rappaport (née Farrell; previously Buchanan) was a fictional character from the American daytime drama One Life to Live, portrayed by Catherine Hickland from 1998-2009. She made a special appearance during the final weeks of the network finale in 2012.
Character history[]
Since birth, one might say Lindsay Rappaport has been "always a bridesmaid, never a bride". Lindsay me was born Lindsay Farrell to a stern and disapproving father, Dennis Farrell, who doted on her younger sister Melanie (affectionately known as "Lanie") while shunning Lindsay. Even after Lindsay fell for hotshot lawyer Sam Rappaport and raised two children with him, Lindsay found that Sam's passion was not for her but for the woman he had loved and lost, fellow legal eagle Nora Hanen. A series of desperate affairs followed for Lindsay, including one with brother-in-law Colin MacIver, and the loveless marriage of Sam and Lindsey finally ended as their two children reached adulthood.
But the story didn't end there; in fact, it was just beginning. In May 1998, Lindsay followed ex-husband Sam to Llanview, immediately sparking a rivalry with Nora Hanen. Much to everyone's surprise, Lindsay befriended and married Clint Buchanan suddenly in 1999; the marriage fell apart quickly as Clint tired of Lindsay's manipulative ways. Lindsay's broken-hearted obsession with Sam and Nora intensified as she destroyed Nora's marriage to Bo Buchanan and took Bo for herself, starting a private war between the two women that would last many years. In the meantime, however, Lindsay's business partnership with Dorian Lord blossomed into friendship, and Lindsay's uneasy partnership with Nora's former brother-in-law (and sometimes criminal) R.J. Gannon got her in (and out of) her share of trouble.
Sam and Lindsay's son Will arrived in 1998 and befriended his step-sister Jessica Buchanan, who later became pregnant with his child while involved with Cristian Vega. When Dr. Dorian Lord accidentally ran down Jessica with her car, Jessica survived but lost her unborn child (later named Megan).
Sam and Lindsay's rebellious daughter Jennifer appeared in 2001, becoming involved with Al Holden, being engaged to Cristian Vega and marrying Rex Balsom and Joey Buchanan. She had a tempestuous relationship with her mother Lindsay, but became close to her father's girlfriend Nora (and Nora's young son with Sam, Matthew).
Will left town in 2001, but would return briefly in 2003 and 2005 for two family tragedies. In 2003, an unstable and jilted Lindsay was manipulated by the evil Mitch Laurence, but instead of her intended target, former beau and ex-brother-in-law Troy MacIver, Lindsay shot and killed ex-husband Sam. Lindsay was institutionalized and later discharged, vowing to live a life that set a good example for troubled daughter Jen. Jennifer had somewhat settled down and started dating Riley Colson in 2005, but was murdered by Riley's father (and Nora's husband) Daniel Colson in his effort to cover up a murder he had committed (and his homosexuality). Lindsay was devastated by the loss, and became close to Jen's friend Marcie Walsh in the wake of her death.
Lindsay's relationship with R.J. had eventually blossomed into romance, and she helped him in his custody battle with Antonio Vega over R.J.'s granddaughter Jamie (after the death of R.J.'s daughter, Keri Reynolds). Lindsay became very attached to Jamie, but her relationship with R.J. ended in early 2007. Single again, Lindsay re-dedicated herself to her relationship with Marcie and Michael McBain, and their young foster son, "Tommy", doting on him just as she did Jamie and Jen. At the same time, she busied herself with numerous children's charities and advocacy groups for single mothers, and continued to showcase Cristian Vega's work in her art gallery. In summer 2007, Lindsay even helped design a "Real Americans" photo shoot, showcasing the victims of Llanview's mysterious racially-motivated arsonist (in actuality former pro ball player Tate Harmon) - a line-up that included former rivals Cristian and Nora herself.
In August, Lindsay was shocked to discover that she had won Llanview's famed "Woman Of The Year" award for her good works. Ironically, it was at the first "WOTY" awards ceremony almost a decade prior that Lindsay had drunkenly revealed Sam and Nora's one night stand (which she had personally orchestrated) and destroyed Bo and Nora's marriage; a ceremony where Nora had been the honoree. Nora soldiered through to give a kind speech on Lindsay's behalf at the Palace ballroom, but when it was Lindsay's turn on the podium to accept her award, she became extremely emotional while talking about Jen and her love for her and Marcie. She explained that Marcie was like a second daughter to her. Lindsay tearfully told the packed audience that she would do anything to keep mothers and their children together, and in fact already had, and so could not accept the award. Marcie struggled to calm Lindsay, who became hysterical. Just then, John McBain arrived. Michael and Marcie thought he was there to arrest Marcie for the murder of Spencer Truman, but everyone was shocked when Lindsay stepped down from the podium and said he was there to arrest her for the crime.
On January 3, 2008, Lindsay was deemed "fit to stand trial," but also "determined to have been insane" at the time of the murder. With both Bo and R.J. offering to be her legal guardian, Lindsay is returned to St. Anne's sanitarium. [1] Several weeks later, the judge rules that Bo is now Lindsay's legal guardian, and a delighted Bo and Lindsay head "home" together arm in arm. On January 6,2012 Lindsay returns to Llanview during the Statesville prison break.
Crimes and misdemeanors[]
Over the years, Lindsay has twisted and broken the law to achieve her goals, which have been alternately selfish and to protect her family. Besides Sam's killing, she helped Colin MacIver kidnap and drug Nora to erase her memory, and later faked a breakdown to avoid prosecution. In Lindsay's opening salvo against Nora in 1998, she altered Bo Buchanan's fertility test results to make him appear sterile, driving his wife, Nora, to go to Sam to make a child and save a suicidal Bo's life. Later, Lindsay tampered with DNA test results determining Matthew's paternity (between Bo and Sam) and even changed her daughter Jen's pregnancy test results to make Jen believe she was pregnant. Unhappy with Jen's relationship with Cristian Vega, Lindsay paid a woman to say she'd slept with Cristian, and set up a secret webcam in Cristian's loft in the hopes of framing him as an Internet porn star. As part of his devious "sting operation" to prove Lindsay was guilty of Nora's abduction and drugging in 2000, Troy MacIver seduced Lindsay and broke her heart - in response, Lindsay imprisoned him in an abandoned funhouse and chained him to an old carnival wheel, leaving him there to die if not for the heroic efforts of little Starr Manning. One of the few times Lindsay stood trial was for Jessica Buchanan's hit-and-run, for which she was later found innocent.
Lindsay did once save Nora's life from a fire, and over the years has softened and become less manipulative. Lindsay's many failures and the loss of her daughter changed her outlook on life.
In August 2007, it was revealed that Lindsay murdered Spencer Truman. During her arraignment, Lindsay gave an emotional account of the circumstances and events that led her to kill Spencer. Lindsay then collapsed into a catatonic state. The judge ordered that she be remanded to St. Anne's psychiatric hospital for evaluation. Lindsay awakened from catatonia thanks to a hard slap from Dorian, and began to make progress. After learning of visits from several friends, such as Bo Buchanan and R.J. Gannon, D.A. Nora Hanen arranged to have criminal proceedings reconvened, convinced that Lindsay has been feigning mental illness to avoid prosecution. Once in court, a judge found that Linday was insane at the time of the crime.
Recently Lindsay confided in R.J. that she indeed faked a breakdown to avoid prosecution for Spencer's murder. R.J. wrote Lindsay a letter thanking her for confiding in him. The letter got mixed up with Nora's papers and on July 7, 2008, in the middle of Lindsay and Bo Buchanan's wedding, Nora had Lindsay reveal her secret. The wedding was stopped, and the next day Nora showed up at Lindsay's gallery with the police and had her arrested. At the hearing on July 11, 2008, after her lawyer failed to get the charges dropped as Double Jeopardy, Lindsay pled guilty and asked Rex Balsom to "take care of Bo" for her.
Crimes Committed[]
- Slapped Colin Maclver [Jul 5, 2000]
- Hit Troy Maclver with a crowbar, knocking him unconscious [Feb 18, 2002]
- Handcuffed Troy to a wheel [Feb 19, 2002]
- Slapped Troy [Feb 19, 2002]
- Slapped Troy [Mar 11, 2002]
- Hit Nora Hanen over the head with an object [Mar 12, 2002]
- Shot and killed Sam Rappaport, mistakenly believing he was Troy [Mar 12, 2003]
- Slapped David Vickers [Nov 4, 2003]
- Murdered Spencer Truman by stabbing him with a pair of scissors [Jan 26, 2007]