Laurel Banning

Infobox soap character
series = All My Children
name = Laurel Banning
alias = Carla Delaney (birth name)
Carla Benton (married name)
gender = Female
occupation = Con artist
first = December 1992
last = February 1996
cause = Shot and killed by Jason Sheffield
siblings = Michael Delaney (brother)
spouse = Denny Benton (divorced; deceased)
Jackson Montgomery (divorced)
Trevor Dillon (dissolved by her death)
children = Lily Montgomery (daughter)
occupation = Former fundraiser for the Mason Foundation.
Former Accountant/Office Assistant to cover for her embezzling.
Formerly at the Dillon home.
Formerly with Jackson at The Valley Inn and at their penthouse.

Laurel Dillon (née Banning; previously Benton and Montgomery) (birth name "Carla Delaney") was a fictional character of "All My Children". She is the mother of Lily Montgomery. She was portrayed by Kristen Jensen, from December 1992 to January 1993 and Felicity LaFortune, from January 1993 to February 1996.

Other names

*Carla Delaney (birth name)
*Carla Benton (former married name)
*Laurel Montgomery (former married name)

Brief character history

When Laurel first appears in Pine Valley on New Year's Eve 1992, she is seen as only a brief blur in the headlights of Jackson Montgomery's car, as the skid nearly kills her. Though he only sees her for a brief instance in this moment, Jack becomes transfixed on this mysterious blonde beauty and seeks her out all over town. Later, Laurel (now a brunette) becomes fast friends with Natalie Dillon, who is managing the Mason Foundation. When Laurel takes off with a hefty donation from Adam Chandler, Natalie realizes that she has been conned. She and Adam go after Laurel together, but they have a horrible car accident, that leaves Natalie brain dead and Adam paralyzed. Unable to see his "doll" like this, Trevor decides to take Natalie off life support.

Meanwhile, Laurel has managed to leave town, but Jack eventually catches up with her. The two return to Pine Valley, where Laurel has to face Adam and Trevor's wrath. On top of this, her ex-husband, Denny, comes back to torment her. She kills him in self-defense, and Jack helps her hide the body. They marry when they are on the run. They are soon caught by the authorities and are eventually found innocent of Denny's murder since it was self-defense. However, Jack's license to practice law is suspended for a few months and Laurel feels really guilty about it. Jack then has an affair with his past love, Erica Kane. Laurel is also the first one to discover that Jane Cox is really Janet Green. She almost loses her life trying to warn Trevor about his fiancée when Janet cuts the brakes on Laurel's car. She is then in a coma for a very long time, but manages to tell Jack the truth before Trevor and the "Planeteer" become husband and wife. Laurel and Jack amicably divorce, paving the way for Laurel to marry the man she truly loves — Trevor.

Laurel's life comes to an unexpected end as she is killed on the set of talk show The Cutting Edge; a drunken Jason Sheffield is aiming a gun at Michael with the hopes of killing him because he is gay. He misses his mark.

Lifeline

*Shot and killed on the set of "The Cutting Edge"

Crimes committed

*Stole money from the Mason Foundation to pay her daughter's high tuition at a private boarding school for autistic children.

*Killed her ex-husband Denny in self-defense and, with Jack's help, hid the body in the Marick mineshaft. (Arrested and charged, but found innocent)

*Embezzled money from various places where she worked to use for her autistic daughter's schooling