--- name: "Finola Hughes" canonical: "https://film.one/person/finola-hughes" fi1m_id: "finola-hughes" imdb_id: "nm0001370" tmdb_id: 66881 wikidata_id: "Q261669" roles: ["Actor"] born: "29 October 1959" reviewed_on_fi1m: 1 average_as: "actor" average_over: 1 updated: "2026-10-04T18:13:56.241487+00:00" licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL." --- # Finola Hughes ## Identity Finola Hughes - **Canonical:** https://film.one/person/finola-hughes - **Type:** Person - **Fi1m ID:** finola-hughes - **IMDb ID:** nm0001370 - **TMDB ID:** 66881 - **Wikidata ID:** Q261669 - **Same entity:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Finola_Hughes, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q261669, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0001370/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/66881 Actor. Born 29 October 1959 in Kensington, London, England, UK. ## Details - **Work:** Actor - **Born:** 29 October 1959, Kensington, London, England, UK - **Elsewhere:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Finola_Hughes, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q261669, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0001370/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/66881 ## Fi1m on Finola Hughes > Finola Hughes brings a dancer’s assurance to women who expect to be taken seriously. Her long association with Anna Devane makes better use of that authority than *Staying Alive*, where the writing leaves her working too hard. In *Staying Alive* (1983), Finola Hughes’s Laura has to keep us interested while the film repeatedly turns back to Tony Manero. She makes an impression, but Sylvester Stallone gives her little convincing human behaviour to work with. We were frustrated watching Hughes and Cynthia Rhodes, as Jackie, struggle to sustain our interest in such a self-involved lead. Their effort is plain enough; the harder the film pushes its emotions, the more we notice how little the writing has given either woman. Laura is a dancer, and Hughes had already originated Victoria the White Cat in the London production of *Cats* (1981). That physical assurance helps explain her appeal: she can suggest a woman accustomed to attention without making her seem grateful for it. But her US feature debut also exposes the difficulty of turning an imposing presence into a person when the script offers so little assistance. We would not dismiss the performance, nor recommend the film on its strength. Anna Devane, the superspy she began playing in *General Hospital* in 1985, is the more useful place to look for Hughes’s appeal. The cool, authoritative manner fits the role, and her association with Anna has continued across multiple runs. Sustaining a lead character over that span asks something different of an actor from keeping a thinly written part interesting for one film. Her work in *All My Children*, which she joined in 1999, included both Anna and her twin Alex, giving her two versions of the commanding women she is often cast to play. Her move into directing includes *The Bet* (2013) and an episode of *Good Trouble* (2020), while her acting career has kept returning to Anna. There is no need to treat that recurring role as a failure to move on: a part that suits an actor is worth keeping. For Hughes, start with Anna Devane; *Staying Alive* is a poor introduction. ## Biography Finola Hughes is a British actress. Born on 29 October 1959 in Kensington, London, she trained in dance and performing arts at the Arts Educational Schools London. She originated the role of Victoria the White Cat in the 1981 London production of the musical Cats. Hughes is best known for playing Anna Devane on the soap operas General Hospital (from 1985) and All My Children, including the character's identical twin Alexandra Devane Marick on the latter. She appeared as Patty Halliwell on Charmed and made her feature film debut as Laura in the 1983 musical Staying Alive. Hughes won a Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series in 1991 for her work on General Hospital. *Sources: en.wikipedia.org, imdb.com.* ## On Fi1m (1) - *Staying Alive* (1983), Fi1m 38, as Laura — [page](https://film.one/film/staying-alive.md) ## Complete filmography (46) Every credit, newest first. Titles without a page can be requested for review on the HTML page. - *Darling* (2024), Director, Executive Producer - *Claude* (2024), Director - *Good Trouble* (2019), series, Director - *Dance-Off* (2014), as JoAnn - *Beware the Batman* (2013), series, as Lady Shiva (voice) - *Like Crazy* (2011), as Liz - *Scooby-Doo! Legend of the Phantosaur* (2011), as Professor Svankmajer (voice) - *All Star Superman* (2011), as Lilo (voice) - *Driving by Braille* (2011), as Beth Allen - *Special Ops* (2010), as Lilian - *Melissa & Joey* (2010), series, Actor - *General Hospital: Night Shift* (2007), series, Actor - *Intrepid* (2000), as Katherine Jessel - *Tycus* (1999), as Amy Lowe - *Charmed* (1998), series, as Patty Halliwell - *12 Bucks* (1998), Actor - *Pocahontas II: Journey to a New World* (1998), as Additional Voice Talents (voice) - *Love Boat: The Next Wave* (1998), series, as Alison Townsend / Hart-Williams - *Jekyll Island* (1998), as Ronnie Fredericks - *The Corporate Ladder* (1997), as Dr. Woodward (voice) - *Pacific Palisades* (1997), series, as Kate Russo - *Prison of Secrets* (1997), as Angie - *Sunset Beach* (1997), series, Actor - *Superman: The Last Son of Krypton* (1996), as Lara (voice) - *Superman: The Animated Series* (1996), series, as Lara (voice) - *E! True Hollywood Story* (1996), series, Actor - *The Crying Child* (1996), as Jo Parker - *Generation X* (1996), as Emma Frost - *Above Suspicion* (1995), as Iris - *Dark Side of Genius* (1994), as Jennifer Cole - *Burke's Law* (1994), series, as Rhonda - *Aspen Extreme* (1993), as Bryce - *Jack's Place* (1992), series, Actor - *The Bride in Black* (1990), as Cybil Cobb - *Dream On* (1990), series, as Laura North - *Blossom* (1990), series, as Carol Russo - *Haunted by Her Past* (1987), as Megan McGuire - *L.A. Law* (1986), series, as Lauren Sevilla - *The Master of Ballantrae* (1984), as Alison Graeme - *Staying Alive* (1983), as Laura — Fi1m 38, [page](https://film.one/film/staying-alive.md) - *The Hot Shoe Show* (1983), series, as Dancer - *Nutcracker* (1982), as Nadia Gargarin - *The Kenny Everett Television Show* (1982), series, as Various - *General Hospital* (1963), series, as Anna Devane - *Hallmark Hall of Fame* (1951), series, as Alison Graeme - *Byrd and the Bees*, Director ## Gallery - ![Finola Hughes](https://film.one/media/person/5543613/gallery-c0b6519208a2.jpg) Finola Hughes — Larry Richman, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d7/Finola_Hughes_October_2013_%28cropped%29.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail_unscaled) - ![Finola Hughes by Mingle Media TV and Red Carpet (2013)](https://film.one/media/person/5543613/gallery-b19b327c59b2.jpg) Finola Hughes by Mingle Media TV and Red Carpet (2013) — Mingle MediaTV, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://thumb.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/ed/Finola_Hughes_2013.jpg/1280px-Finola_Hughes_2013.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail) - ![Finola Hughes at the premiere for Earth](https://film.one/media/person/5543613/gallery-8387dc9f75a6.jpg) Finola Hughes at the premiere for Earth — Angela George at https://www.flickr.com/photos/sharongraphics/, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://thumb.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/cd/FinolaHughesApr09.jpg/1280px-FinolaHughesApr09.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail) ## Awards ### Other awards — 0 won, 2 nominated - Golden Raspberry Award for Worst New Star 1984: Golden Raspberry Award for Worst New Star (nominated), for *Staying Alive* - Golden Raspberry Award for Worst Supporting Actress 1984: Golden Raspberry Award for Worst Supporting Actress (nominated), for *Staying Alive* *From Wikidata, which records wins more completely than nominations.* --- © Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Canonical: https://film.one/person/finola-hughes