Hope Bauer

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Hope Bauer is a fictional character on the CBS soap opera Guiding Light. The character is the daughter of noted Springfield attorney Mike Bauer; she is the former wife of wealthy businessman Alan Spaulding, and the mother of Alan-Michael Spaulding. Many actresses have played this character over the years: Jennifer Kirschner from 1963–65; Elissa Leeds in 1966 on Another World, then on Guiding Light from 1968 to 1973; Robin Mattson played the character during 1976-77; Katherine Justice in 1977; Elvera Roussel played Hope from 1979 until 1983, when the character left the show and was heard from through conversations on the phone with relatives while living in various places.

[edit] Childhood and early years

Hope's parents, Mike Bauer and neurotic Julie Contrad-Bauer, divorced when she was a small child. She spent much of her early childhood with her father and paternal grandmother Bert Bauer, though Bert became so overbearingly obsessed with her granddaughter that Mike eventually relocated with Hope to Bay City (and the characters moved to ATWT's sister soap Another World for two years). When Mike and Hope (now eight years old) returned to Springfield in 1968, Mike met and soon married self-centered Charlotte Waring. Charlotte, however, took little interest in her stepdaughter, resenting Mike's relationship with Hope, even going so far as to attempt to alienate them from one another. At one point, Hope ran away from home. Mike eventually realized how manipulative and cruel Charlotte really was and divorced her. In 1973, he married his former sister-in-law, Leslie Jackson-Bauer (who had recently divorced Mike's brother Ed, due largely to his alcoholism). Hope loved Leslie and was thrilled that her father had finally found happiness. A short time after Mike and Leslie were married, Hope enrolled in boarding school in Bay City.

In 1975, Hope (now SORASed to a college freshman) returned home at her father's insistence, when it was discovered that she had been dating one of her professors. Soon after her arrival in Sprinfield, she began dating artist Ben McFerren. Her father initially didn't approve of the relationship, however, largely due to the fact that Ben had a prison record. (It later came out that Ben was covering for his younger brother Jerry.) Hope later broke things off with Ben, when money they'd been saving together to purchase a home went missing (she would find that it was Jerry who stole the money). Disillusioned, Hope enrolled in college in New York to study interior design.

[edit] Relationship with Alan Spaulding

She returned to Springfield in 1979 to start a career as an interior designer, and after a brief fling with Gordon Middleton, she accepted a job decorating Alan Spaulding's house. Though she was initially not fond of Alan (Mike was falling for Alan's ex-wife Elizabeth, but Alan succeeded in poisoning his son Philip against him), after getting stranded on a deserted island in St. Lucia together for several weeks, they began an affair and would soon become engaged. Mike strongly disapproved of the relationship (he was also now investigating Alan's connections to fugitive Roger Thorpe, but Alan and Hope were married in early 1980. The marriage was fraught with difficulties. Alan had a torrid affair with Rita Stapleton (then married to Hope's uncle Ed) in 1980-81. His affair with Vanessa Chamberlain Reardon finally ended the marriage, and which led Hope to drink. Hope Bauer raised her son in New York until he came to Springfield to live with his father when he was 17 years old. Her battle with alcoholism continued throughout Alan-Michael's early years. In 1986 it would be mentioned that both Hope and Alan-Michael had attended Bert Bauer's memorial service in Washington DC. When Alan-Michael married Harley Cooper Aitoro in 1989, his mother refused to attend since Alan would be present at the wedding. In 1993, Dr. Ed Bauer (his great uncle)mentioned that Hope was now living in Washington DC near her father, Mike Bauer.In 1994 Alan-Michael told Eleni that he didn't have much contact with his mother because she spent most of her time traveling Europe. Later that Year Dr.Ed Bauer revealed that Hope was in a clinic in Switzerland after a drinking binge from which she recovered.

In 1997 her father Mike Bauer while visiting Springfield would mention Hope was now living in London, England.