Trivia

Unlike anybody else, Ames is the only soap opera actress to have retired her role on television.

Her General Hospital (1963) co-star, Peter Hansen, was one of the stars in her motion picture debut, When Worlds Collide (1951).

After her long career on General Hospital (1963), Ames had retired from acting at the age of 77, but made guest appearances, sporadically.

Is a lifelong friend of the late John Beradino, and attended his funeral on May 24, 1996. She co-starred opposite Beradino on General Hospital (1963).

Acting mentor and friends of: Anthony Geary, Genie Francis, Jacklyn Zeman and Lynn Herring.

Her contract on General Hospital (1963) wasn't renewed, in 2003, her appearances at that time, has been dropped.

Despite not being an original cast member, during her 43 year tenure, she appeared in nearly every season of General Hospital (1963)--with one exception, when she took a medical leave, in December 1970, that she was pregnant with her daughter, consequently Maura McGiveney filled in for her. Afterwards, Ames returned to her role in early 1971.

She had played the same character (Audrey [March] Hardy) in two different television series: General Hospital (1963) and Port Charles (1997).

Best known by the public for her starring role as Chief Nurse Audrey March Hardy, R.N. on General Hospital (1963).

On General Hospital (1963), her character had divorced her on-screen husband, in real-life, she left the show temporarily, because she was pregnant with her second child, but returned to her role, on the show, in 1971.

Her co-star John Beradino, who played his wife on General Hospital (1963), was 13 yrs. Ames's senior.

Is the only actress to not have addressed a death character in the storyline of a soap opera.

After the death of fellow soap opera actress Jeanne Cooper on May 8, 2013, Ames is the last surviving mature Daytime Television soap opera star and the only actress, whose storyline didn't feature a death character on the soap opera.

Had appeared in every General Hospital (1963) Anniversary Specials, with the exception of the show's 45th and 55th.

After the death of Susan Brown, on August 31, 2018, Ames is the last surviving mature former cast member of General Hospital (1963).

Began using the the stage name 'Judith Ames' in 1950. Paramount Studios renamed her when she was one of a dozen young performers signed in the early fifties for their Golden Circle, a group being groomed for stardom. She later went back to her real name, Rachel, but kept Ames.

Compared to fellow soap opera actress Frances Reid, Ames was the second soap opera actress on Daytime Television ever to have lost her on-screen husband, both on the soap opera and in real-life.

Had auditioned for the co-starring role of Audrey (March) Hardy on General Hospital (1963), for 26 weeks, total, and became a regular for over 4 decades.

Until Ames's dropping in 2007, she was the only actress to appear in nearly every season of General Hospital (1963), longer than anybody else.

Daughter of the late Byron Foulger and the late Dorothy Adams. Rachel Ames's father, Byron Foulger (died April 4, 1970), was a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (Mormons). He was of English descent and a native of Utah, while Rachel's North Dakotan mother, Dorothy Adams (died March 16, 1988), was of Canadian descent. Rachel moved with her parents to Los Angeles, California in 1935, after spending her early life in Portland, Oregon, so her parents could perform and teach at the famed Pasadena Playhouse. Rachel's almost 12 years younger sister and only sibling, Mary Foulger, was born in Los Angeles.

Was honored with a Lifetime Achievement Award. [2004].

Like fellow soap opera actress Jeanne Cooper, Ames was the second soap opera star ever to have guest-starred or starred in Westerns.

She has 5 hobbies, over her long life: playing tennis, gardening, spending time with her family, traveling and cooking.

Had attended and graduated from University High School, in Los Angeles, California, in 1947, at only 17.

Has been nominated three times for a Daytime Emmy Award as "Outstanding Actress in a Daytime Drama" for her role on General Hospital (1963).

When Ames moved to California, she went on stage, acting for the very 1st time, she didn't want to do anything else.

Began acting professionally at age 19.

She rarely grants interviews.

Her husband, Barry Cahill, passed away on April 9, 2012, aged 90.

To date, as of 2015, she has been the longest-running cast member of General Hospital (1963).

Met a young, unfamiliar movie actor Peter Hansen, in 1950, when the two were under contract at Paramount Pictures, where they encounter on a lifelong friendship, until Hansen's passing in 2017. Then, some 15 years later, they would both co-star together on General Hospital (1963), where Ames played the head nurse and Hansen played the attorney.

Had debuted professionally in 1949, in Pilgrimage Play, and she joined her parents in acting in One Foot in Heaven at the Pasadena Playhouse in Pasadena, California. At the time, she was 19.

Ames's parents, Dorothy Adams and Byron Foulger, were married on April 13, 1926. They welcomed Rachel three and a half years later. Their second and last child, Mary Amanda Foulger, Ames's sister, was born almost thirteen years later, on May 16, 1942.

Her aunt, Jessie Elizabeth Jamieson Adams James, passed away on September 3, 1985. She lived to be 83, just 7 months after her uncle-in-law, Edwin Telford James, who passed away on January 20, 1985, and lived to be 86.

Widow of Barry Cahill. The couple had two daughters: Christine Cahill (who, at age 3, guest-starred on General Hospital (1963)) and Susan Thomas, and two grandchildren: Jocelyn and Mark Thomas.