Nora Buchanan
| Nora Hanen | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| One Life to Live character | |||||||||||||
| File:Nora-HillaryBaileySmith-2004.jpg Hillary Bailey Smith as Nora Hanen in the One Life to Live opening sequence | |||||||||||||
| Portrayed by | Hillary Bailey Smith (1992-present) Felicity LaFortune (2000) | ||||||||||||
| First appearance | September 1992 | ||||||||||||
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District Attorney Nora Hanen (formerly Nora Hanen Gannon Buchanan Colson) is a popular fictional character on the long-running American soap opera One Life To Live. The role was originated in September 1992 by Hillary B. Smith.
When Nora first debuted, she quickly made a connection with fans for her backstory (She was a Jewish attorney divorced from Hank Gannon (Nathan Purdee), an African-American attorney, with whom she had a biracial daughter, Rachel.) Nora's popularity continued to grow as she played a key role in some of the show's most popular storylines in the 1990s, most notably the rape trial of Marty Saybrooke in 1993. The character is also known for her supercouple romance with Bo Buchanan (Robert S. Woods), culminating in their popular 1995 rock 'n' roll-themed wedding.
In 1998, Bo was devastated when his son Drew, a police officer, was killed in the line of duty. Nora hoped to conceive a child to give Bo a reason to live; out of desperation she turned to former flame Sam Rappaport. The pregnancy pulled Bo back onto his feet, but he and Nora later divorced when it was revealed that Nora's son Matthew had been fathered by Sam. Sam died in 2003, and it was revealed that Matthew was, in fact, Bo Buchanan's son and that Sam had been aware of it.
In 2005, Nora's new husband Daniel Colson, who had been on the show since 2003, was revealed to be Paul Cramer's murderer. He first framed his son Riley's girlfriend (and Sam Rappaport's daughter) Jennifer for the crime, and then smothered her to death when she learned the truth. But the revelation that his killing spree was all to cover up his homosexuality proved controversial in the media. Shortly after, Nora had a stroke and was comatose for months. Eventually, her family's prayers were answered and Nora woke up, and headed down a long road of recovery.
Nora asked her friend, Evangeline Williamson, to be her ADA for the trial of Spencer Truman. Nora's house was set on fire by the anti-semitic Llanview arsonist, and Matthew nearly died in the fire. The aronist turned out to be baseball star Tate Harmon. Currently, Nora and Matthew live in the Buchanan mansion, with Renee, and Nigel; and were recently bequeathed the mansion in Asa's will.
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