Casting and creation It was initially rumored that
Shirley Jones would play the mystery role but Jones's appearance on the series turned out to be a bit role. On January 17, 2014, executive producer
Frank Valentini teased "major casting news" on
Twitter. Shortly after,
Entertainment Weekly exclusively confirmed that
Donna Mills known for her legendary role as
Abby Cunningham on
Knots Landing had joined the cast of
General Hospital in a mystery role. Mills first airdate was slated for late February 2014. Mills later revealed that Valentini had asked her to keep the details of her character private. Valentini told
Soaps In Depth that the show's head writer
Ron Carlivati suggested Mills specifically. "I am thrilled out of my mind" Carlivati said of the casting decision. The writer admitted that it was just wishful thinking on his part and Valentini told him he'd look into it. Valentini and Carlivati contacted Mills' agent and offered her the role. Thanks to the phone conversation, Mills agreed to the role. She said "they really did a sell job on me!" However, head writer
Ron Carlivati said "she can stay as long as she wants." "It's not a way that I'm used to working" Mills said of her experience on set. "There's no time for anything. You just do it and it's done" she said of the rapid production style. Mills revealed to
Soaps In Depth that the quick pacing made it difficult for her but the show had agreed to accommodate her by allowing her to work a certain number of days and film a certain number of scenes whenever she returned. It made it easier for her to say yes to the returns. In May 2015 Mills said of her multiple returns, "When you play a fun character like this, you get hooked."
Characterization {{quote box
Introduction (2014) On March 10, 2014, ABC Daytime released a short promotional package for the character. On March 14, 2014, Mills made her debut as the mother of estranged mother-in-law of
Dr. Silas Clay (
Michael Easton), on a "mission to get Silas to give up that inheritance." Madeline has always believed Silas married her now comatose daughter Nina for money. As far as Madeline is concerned, "he wanted a scholarship fund." But now that he's found success as a doctor, Madeline figures he doesn't need the money. Madeline is also revealed to be the mother of
Nathan West (
Ryan Paevey). According to Mills, Madeline is "kind of paranoid" because her husband died leaving her (and Nathan) with nothing—everything belonged to the comatose Nina. As previously rumored, it is revealed that Madeline was responsible for her daughter's coma. She administered the drugs to kill Nina's unborn child to keep said child (and Silas) from inheriting the family's money. Madeline then kills the pharmacist to cover her tracks only to be caught and arrested by Nathan himself. On the April 9 episode, Madeline is revealed to be the long lost sister of the treacherous
Dr. Liesl Obrecht (
Kathleen Gati). Born Magda Westbourne in
Zürich,
Switzerland, she leaves home with bigger and better dreams. She ditches her accent, changes her name to Madeline West and marries a wealthy man. It is also revealed that Nathan is actually Liesl's biological son. According to Mills, "Madeline never liked Liesl much" and doesn't think she would have been a good mother to Nathan. As Madeline is written out on May 1, she informs Nathan that Nina is alive.
Michelle Stafford then made a surprise appearance as a very much alive Nina.
Returns (2014–15, 2018) During Madeline's first stint with the series, Ron Carlivati revealed that the writers had already planned out the character's return arc and were just waiting for Mills to jump on board. In July 2014, it was officially announced that Mills would return. In August 2014, Frank Valentini said "We're still working on the dates and the deals" but Madeline would definitely factor into Nina's storyline. Mills made her onscreen return in October 2014 as Madeline tries to get into her daughter Nina's good graces. During the confrontation, Madeline expresses her delight at seeing Ava finally paying for destroying Nina's life so many years ago. When Ava points out that her scheming has landed her in prison as well, Madeline shrugs it off assuming a judge will believe that she was truly scared for her life when she agreed to help Nina. Mills is last seen on January 29, 2015, as Madeline tries to avoid getting shot when Ava and several other prisoners escape from prison. In an interview with
Soaps In Depth, Mills confirmed that she would reprise the role of Madeline again and would start filming on April 27, the day after the
42nd Daytime Emmy Awards. She expected to start airing sometime in late May. In an interview featured in a June 2015 issue of
Soap Opera Digest, Mills looked forward to working opposite
Rick Hearst who played Madeline's new son-in-law
Ric Lansing. However, the actress admitted that she did not how long the return would last. Mills made her return on August 17, 2018. ==Reception==