Erika Slezak has another life to live.

The legendary soap star known for her extensive work on One Life to Live will appear on the long-running ABC sudser General Hospital this fall, executive producer Frank Valentini confirmed on social media Thursday.

“I am thrilled to confirm that my dear friend and former ‘One Life to Live’ colleague, Erika Slezak, will appear on @GeneralHospital this Fall,” the Emmy-winning producer wrote. “Stay tuned as we prepare to introduce another daytime legend to Port Charles.”

Valentini worked with Slezak on One Life to Live from the 1980s until the series’ conclusion in 2012.

Walter Miller first reported the news on Slezak’s fan site. “Erika has just informed me she has signed a short-term contract with ABC’s GENERAL HOSPITAL,” he wrote. “At this time, Erika does not know which character she will be playing or when her scenes will air, but is excited to be working again with Executive Producer Frank Valentini and the cast of GH!”

The daughter of Tony winner Walter Slezak, Erika Slezak joined One Life to Live in 1971 as Victoria “Viki” Lord after graduating from the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London and launching a career on stage. 

Viki Lord was first played by Gillian Spencer when One Life to Live premiered in 1968, and was also portrayed by Joanne Dorian before Slezak’s casting. In a 2020 interview, Slezak said she thought she was auditioning for a “new role” on the soap opera, only to discover after completing the audition that she would replace Dorian, with whom she shared an agent. 

Slezak ultimately played Viki for more than 2,600 episodes across five decades, charting her progression from the young manager of the Banner newspaper to the series’ foremost matriarch. She won six Daytime Emmy Awards for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series — the most by any actress in any category at the Daytime Emmys. Slezak won the award in 1984, 1986, 1992, 1995, 1996, and 2002, and received additional nominations in 1983, 1988, and 2012.

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Outside of One Life to Live, Slezak starred in the 1996 TV movie Full Circle and the 2019 independent drama film Guest Artist (opposite Jeff Daniels). She also guest-starred in two episodes of Blue Bloods as Donna Duvall, the neighbor of Henry Reagan (Len Cariou), and acted in one episode of The Residence.

Slezak is set to appear in Craig Brewer’s musical film Song Sung Blue at the end of this year. The film stars Hugh Jackman and Kate Hudson as members of a Neil Diamond tribute band.

Erika Girardi is speaking out after her estranged husband Tom Girardi was sentenced to seven years in prison.

During an appearance on Diamonds in the Rough podcast, the Real Housewives of Beverly Hills star, 53, recalled learning of Girardi’s sentencing in London earlier this month following his August 2024 conviction.

The disbarred personal injury lawyer was convicted of four counts of wire fraud following a 13-day trial after embezzling more than $15 million from his clients over 10 years, from 2010 to 2020.

Before the sentencing, she recalled, “My London shows were probably better than any sex you could ever have, very good. I had the best time of my life. Well, the best part was that I felt completely free and just like I was three years old, and I was just really in a great place.”

However, that all changed when “ten minutes before the second show, I get the news that Tom is being sent to prison,” she said.

She explained that learning her ex’s fate “reopens old healing wounds,” adding, “It is something that I had a sold-out crowd in a theater just for me, and I was so grateful. My happiest place in the whole world to be is on stage. So while I was happy … there’s a little piece [of me] that was like, ‘Ugh.’ ”

The television personality detailed how her mindset shifted due to the sentencing.

“I was very disappointed because those people [in the audience] were there for me, and I felt like 5% of myself was feeling sorry for myself,” she recalled. “I was 95% there, and 5% of myself was feeling sorry for myself.” 

When asked what day this occurred, she explained, “This was the day that he got sentenced, my second show. My first show was flawless. And my second show was great, don’t get me wrong. But there was that 5% I could have given the audience, and instead I was feeling sorry for myself.”

Despite her personal struggles, Erika noted that “people loved it,” but she knew that she was “fighting back thoughts and emotions” while performing.

Following her ex’s conviction, Erica admitted she “never saw this coming” on season 14 of The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills.

“Tom was loved, he was admired, he was accomplished,” she said. “And this is how his story ended. I don’t know that I’ll ever get over that.”

When Kyle Richards stopped by to see how Erika was handling the news, she admitted that she felt “terrible.”

“Right before this verdict, I was doing so good, I was feeling good, I was excited,” she said. “And then the next day, I became tired. I started to want to sleep a lot. I just didn’t want to slide back into that terrible place.”

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Erika filed for divorce from the attorney —  who was previously diagnosed with dementia and late-onset Alzheimer’s — in 2020, after 22 years of marriage. Less than a year later, news of his legal troubles began making headlines, leaving fans speculating about Erika’s involvement, although she has maintained she had no knowledge of the crimes and has not faced any indictments.

“When I found out about the verdict, the wall started to close in — it immediately took me back a couple of years when everything was just out of control,” she admitted. “My drinking, my medication, it was just all of this pressure. And I thought, ‘Oh, my God. It’s happening again. It’s happening again.’ I literally felt like I was being dragged down, like I was being dragged under the ground.”