What General Hospital Fans Need To Know About New Kristina Actor, Kate Mansi

Recasting is commonplace for soap operas, allowing a new actor or actress to step into a well-known role — either temporarily or indefinitely. One "General Hospital" character that has been recently recast is Kristina Corinthos-Davis, daughter of prominent mob boss Sonny Corinthos (Maurice Benard) and former Port Charles attorney Alexis Davis (Nancy Lee Grahn). Lexi Ainsworth played Kristina for many years, but now the role has been taken over by "Days of Our Lives" alum Kate Mansi.

Kristina was born in 2002 and was eventually aged up to be a teenager in 2009 when Ainsworth joined the show. The character was briefly recast once before by Lindsey Morgan from 2012 to 2013, but Ainsworth returned in 2015. Although Mansi is now taking her place, Ainsworth has hinted that her soap opera days are not over. 

Mansi's first episode as Kristina aired on May 23, 2023. Prior to this casting, she played the part of Abigail Deveraux DiMera on "Days of Our Lives" off and on since 2011, taking turns with actor Marci Miller. However, before television acting, Mansi had another performing arts passion.

More than just an actress, Kate Mansi also has experience as a dancer. Her mother was also a dancer and is the one that signed her up for classes (via AfterBuzz TV). Mansi started dancing with the Pacific Festival Ballet when she was 15 and dreamed of being a performer on Broadway. She caught the acting bug during her senior year of high school and knew that was what she wanted to focus on. In a 2015 interview with Life+Dog, Mansi said, "The idea of slipping into a character's skin and exploring the world through their eyes was, and still is, absolutely exhilarating."

Her mother warned Mansi against pursuing a career in acting and told her to only try it if that was the only thing she could see herself doing and being happy. Mansi studied film and public relations at Pepperdine University by day and took acting classes by night, and the hard work paid off.

Mansi's performance as Abigail on "Days of Our Lives" granted her a Daytime Emmy award in 2017 for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series. She has been nominated for a few other awards, including Favorite Days of Our Lives Actress at the Soap Hub Awards and Best Actress at the California Women's Film Festival for her performance in the TV film "Mother of All Secrets."

Kate Mansi plays Hunter Clarkman in Amazon Freevee's 2023 drama series "Casa Grande." The bilingual show is a Romeo-and-Juliet-esque story about two young adults from different worlds falling in love and the fallout as their parents and families try to keep it from happening. Mansi plays the adopted older sister of one of the protagonists. In an interview with MUSE TV Network at the premiere, Mansi said her character Hunter is "a dream to play." She also shared that "Casa Grande" was filmed in late 2020, so the fact that it is finally being released is exciting.

In addition to "Casa Grande," eagle-eyed fans may remember Mansi from Season 4, Episode 10 of "How I Met Your Mother," where she guest-starred as Amanda. She also played Abigail in the "Days of Our Lives" web series spin-off called "Chad & Abby in Paris" before the two characters returned to the main show. Now, she's starting a new journey on "General Hospital."