Isabella Santos

Infobox soap character
series = All My Children


caption1 =
name = Isabella Santos
first= March 1994
last= June 2004
cause = Moved to California
occupation = Homemaker
residence = California
portrayer = Socorro Santiago (1994-2004)
MaryAnn Urbano (June 2004)

Isabella Santos is a fictional character on the ABC daytime drama "All My Children". The character was portrayed by Socorro Santiago for most of the character's run on the show but was also played by MaryAnn Urbano.

Character history

Isabella Santos first came to Pine Valley in March of 1994 for her daughter Maria Santos' wedding to Edmund Grey. The character was established as a somewhat overbearing but loving mother who held strict conservative ideals. Prior to her arrival, Isabella had sent her second eldest daughter, Julia Santos to Pine Valley to be closer to Maria. Julia had gotten involved with an older man back home in San Antonio, Texas. Isabella hoped that Maria's good traits would rub off on Julia.

Isabella, her husband Hector, and their other children (Mateo Santos, Anita Santos, and Rosa Santos) all eventually moved to Pine Valley. Isabella appeared on and off over the years as a supporting role for her children. She did not approve of Julia dating Noah Keefer but eventually gave them her blessing when they wed in 1996. That same year Julia and Noah had to enter the witness protection program after an attempt on their lives resulted in Hector Santos' death.

In 1997 Isabella received word that her eldest daughter Maria had apparently died in a plane crash. She was devastated and overcome with grief. Isabella took comfort in involving herself in her grand children's lives and was pleased when Mateo decided to name his son Enzo "Hector" Santos. Isabella adored Mateo's wife Haley Vaughn. In 2001 Isabella was having trouble keeping tabs on her youngest daughter, Rosa, who was getting into trouble at school. Isabella decided that perhaps she was too overbearing and restrictive and decided to let Rosa go to Pine Valley's public highschool that year. In 2002, it was revealed that Maria Santos had survived the plane crash and had been living in Nevada for five years with amnesia. Isabella was beside herself with joy when she saw Maria for the first time again, but hurt that Maria did not remember her. Eventually, Maria regained her memory and remarried Edmund Grey, where Isabella acted as a witness.

Recast

In 2004 the role of Isabella was surprisingly recast with MaryAnn Urbano. ABC never issued a definitive reason as to why the role was recasted and many fans wondered why, as the role was just a recurring one. Shortly after MaryAnn Urbano took over the role, Isabella was not seen again on the show. Later it was mentioned that the character had moved to California to be closer to Mateo, Maria, and Haley.

Family

* Hector Santos (husband, deceased)
* Maria Santos Grey (daughter)
* Mateo Santos (son)
* Julia Santos (daughter, deceased)
* Anita Santos (daughter)
* Rosa Santos (daughter)
* Madeline "Maddie" Grey (granddaughter)
* Samuel "Sam" Grey (adoptive grandson)