# Emma Samms
**Emma Samms** (born 1960 in London; birth name Emma Elizabeth Wylie Samuelson) is a British actress best known for playing Holly Sutton on the ABC daytime soap *General Hospital* and Fallon Carrington Colby, replacing [Pamela Sue Martin](https://www.edgepedia.org/pamela-sue-martin), on the primetime soap *Dynasty* and its spin-off *The Colbys*[1](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/emma-samms/). She is also the co-founder of the Starlight Children's Foundation, a charity serving seriously ill children, for which she was appointed MBE in 2016[2](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0759924/bio/).
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Born | 1960, London, England, UK; birth name Emma Elizabeth Wylie Samuelson[1](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/emma-samms/) |
| Signature roles | Holly Sutton on *General Hospital* (credited 1982–2024, 411 episodes); the second Fallon Carrington Colby on *Dynasty* and *The Colbys*[3](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0759924/) |
| Film debut | Princess Zuleira in *Arabian Adventure* (1979)[4](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/emma_samms) |
| Charity | Co-founded Starlight with Peter Samuelson in 1986[5](https://www.starlight.org.uk/about-us); MBE in the 2016 Queen's Birthday Honours[2](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0759924/bio/) |
| Family | Brother Jamie died of aplastic anemia at age 8; her children are Cameron and Beatrice[2](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0759924/bio/) |
| Marriage | Married to broadcaster Simon McCoy since 9 October 2021; previously married to John Holloway, Tim Dillon, and Bansi Nagji[2](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0759924/bio/) |
## Early life and ballet
Samms was born into an affluent family in London and began studying at the Royal Ballet School as a child[6](https://www.soapcentral.com/theactors/samms_emma.php). Her childhood was marked by the death of her younger brother Jamie, who died of aplastic anemia, a rare blood disease, when she was about ten years old[6](https://www.soapcentral.com/theactors/samms_emma.php) • [1](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/emma-samms/).
Her dancing career ended through injury. An episode of bursitis ended all hopes of a ballet career, and after a brief stint studying to be a medical technician she became a model, signed by a Japanese cosmetics company[1](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/emma-samms/). She later worked as a certified emergency medical technician in Los Angeles[2](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0759924/bio/).
## Acting career
**Beginnings.** Tiring of modeling, Samms won the role of Princess Zuleira in the 1979 feature film *Arabian Adventure* on her first audition[1](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/emma-samms/) • [4](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/emma_samms). The miniseries *Goliath Awaits* (1981), opposite [Mark Harmon](https://www.edgepedia.org/mark-harmon), followed[1](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/emma-samms/).
**General Hospital.** In 1982 Samms joined *General Hospital* as Holly Sutton, later Holly Sutton Scorpio, at the time one of the hottest roles in daytime television[1](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/emma-samms/). Her character was introduced as a con artist who seduced Luke Spencer as part of an oil scam before becoming his close associate[7](https://www.soapoperadigest.com/content/five-minutes-emma-samms-0/). She left in 1985 via a plane-crash disappearance and returned repeatedly: 1992–93 (earning a Soap Opera Digest Award nomination in 1993), and further short arcs in 2006, 2009, 2012, 2013, 2022, 2023, and 2024[3](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0759924/) • [6](https://www.soapcentral.com/theactors/samms_emma.php). Commentators have treated Holly as effectively unrecastable, an unusual status for a legacy soap character[8](https://soapoperanews.net/performer-of-week-general-hospitals_20/).
**Dynasty and The Colbys.** In 1985 she moved to ABC primetime, replacing Pamela Sue Martin as Fallon Carrington Colby on *Dynasty*, and the character was key to the 1985–87 spin-off *The Colbys* before Samms returned to *Dynasty* until its cancellation in 1989[1](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/emma-samms/). She was on both *Dynasty* and *General Hospital* at the same time, finishing a *General Hospital* storyline before moving to *Dynasty* full-time[2](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0759924/bio/).
**Later work.** She appeared in the 1984 CBS miniseries *Ellis Island* and the 1986 TV movie *Murder in Three Acts*[1](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/emma-samms/). In the mid-1990s [Aaron Spelling](https://www.edgepedia.org/aaron-spelling) tapped her for the struggling Fox series *Models, Inc.*, which SoapCentral places in 1994 and TV Insider in 1995[1](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/emma-samms/) • [6](https://www.soapcentral.com/theactors/samms_emma.php). [Feature film](https://www.edgepedia.org/feature-film) credits include *Delirious* (1991), *The Shrimp on the Barbie* (1990), and *The Marksman* (2005)[4](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/emma_samms). She has also written and sold screenplays; her first was made by [USA Network](https://www.edgepedia.org/usa-network)[7](https://www.soapoperadigest.com/content/five-minutes-emma-samms-0/), and she is credited as screenwriter of the 1998 TV movie *His Bodyguard*[4](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/emma_samms). In 2013 she directed a music video for Hat Trick Productions, and in 2014 she wrote and directed the short film *The Law of Moments*, which premiered at the Vancouver International Film Festival; her 2015 BBC Radio Gloucestershire drama series *Visitors* won a bronze award at the New York Festivals International Radio Awards[9](https://thespeakersagency.com/speakers/emma-samms/).
## Starlight Children's Foundation
While fundraising for her young friend Sean, a boy with a brain tumor she met at a charity premiere, Samms helped arrange a [Disneyland](https://www.edgepedia.org/disneyland) visit and saw the effect it had on Sean and his whole family; she then decided to set up a children's charity so more families could have the same experience[5](https://www.starlight.org.uk/about-us). Starlight was founded in 1986 by Samms and Peter Samuelson[5](https://www.starlight.org.uk/about-us). One entertainment profile gives 1979 as the founding year[1](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/emma-samms/), and SoapCentral says she started the foundation with her cousin in honor of her brother Jamie[6](https://www.soapcentral.com/theactors/samms_emma.php); the charity's own history gives 1986 with Samuelson. Today Starlight describes itself as the UK's leading charity working to put play at the heart of every child's healthcare[5](https://www.starlight.org.uk/about-us). Her services to seriously and terminally ill children were recognized with an MBE in the 2016 Queen's Birthday Honours[2](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0759924/bio/). She remains involved with the charity and appears at its fundraisers, including a 2025 ball at [Blenheim Palace](https://www.edgepedia.org/blenheim-palace) that raised almost a million pounds[10](https://www.starlight.org.uk/blenheim-palace).
## Personal life and recent years
Samms reconnected with childhood friend John Holloway, married him in 1996, and moved to the English countryside, where they had son Cameron and daughter Beatrice[6](https://www.soapcentral.com/theactors/samms_emma.php). She has been married to [Simon McCoy](https://www.edgepedia.org/simon-mccoy), a former [BBC News](https://www.edgepedia.org/bbc-news) broadcaster and journalist, since 9 October 2021, and lives in the [Cotswolds](https://www.edgepedia.org/cotswolds) region of England[2](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0759924/bio/) • [11](https://www.soapoperadigest.com/content/emma-samms-on-her-return-to-gh/).
She has spoken publicly about living with long COVID, which she developed after a COVID-19 infection; tests found myocarditis had scarred her heart, and she has said that without the understanding and accommodation of the *General Hospital* production she would not be able to work as she does[12](https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/general-hospital-icon-emma-samms-160500679.html). It took her roughly two years to recover sufficiently to return as Holly[13](https://72dragons.media/pdf/5tzG20221111103248.pdf).
Her most recent major *General Hospital* arc began on 4 September 2024[14](https://www.soapoperanetwork.com/2024/08/return-date-set-emma-samms-general-hospital). It revealed that Sasha Gilmore was the secret daughter of Holly and Robert Scorpio[15](https://www.soapoperadigest.com/content/exclusive-emma-samms-is-enormously-grateful-for-robert-and-hollys-gh-happily-ever-after/), and on 12 November 2024 Holly departed the show alongside [Tristan Rogers](https://www.edgepedia.org/tristan-rogers)'s Robert in a Casablanca-inspired exit[15](https://www.soapoperadigest.com/content/exclusive-emma-samms-is-enormously-grateful-for-robert-and-hollys-gh-happily-ever-after/). Rogers, who died in 2025, had described the on-again, off-again Scorpio–Holly romance as a longtime fan favorite[16](https://apnews.com/article/1b143348f512a13452e57d6fee81ee59).
## References
1. [Emma Samms – Actress, Host, TV Insider](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/emma-samms/)
2. [Emma Samms – Biography, IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0759924/bio/)
3. [Emma Samms, IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0759924/)
4. [Emma Samms Movies & TV Shows List, Rotten Tomatoes](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/emma_samms)
5. [About Starlight, Starlight Children's Foundation](https://www.starlight.org.uk/about-us)
6. [About the Actors: Emma Samms, SoapCentral](https://www.soapcentral.com/theactors/samms_emma.php)
7. [Five Minutes With ... Emma Samms, Soap Opera Digest (2006)](https://www.soapoperadigest.com/content/five-minutes-emma-samms-0/)
8. [Performer of the Week: General Hospital's Emma Samms, Soap Opera News (2023)](https://soapoperanews.net/performer-of-week-general-hospitals_20/)
9. [Book Emma Samms, The Speakers Agency](https://thespeakersagency.com/speakers/emma-samms/)
10. [Blenheim Palace hosts star-studded Ball for Starlight, Starlight](https://www.starlight.org.uk/blenheim-palace)
11. [Emma Samms On Her Return To GH, Soap Opera Digest (2023)](https://www.soapoperadigest.com/content/emma-samms-on-her-return-to-gh/)
12. ['General Hospital' Icon Emma Samms Talks Latest Return to the Show Amid Her Battle With Long COVID, Yahoo Entertainment (2024)](https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/general-hospital-icon-emma-samms-160500679.html)
13. [How Emma Samms Copes, Channel Guide Magazine reprint (2022)](https://72dragons.media/pdf/5tzG20221111103248.pdf)
14. [Return Date Set for Emma Samms On 'General Hospital', Soap Opera Network (2024)](https://www.soapoperanetwork.com/2024/08/return-date-set-emma-samms-general-hospital)
15. [Exclusive: Emma Samms Is 'Enormously Grateful' For Robert And Holly's GH Happily Ever After, Soap Opera Digest (2024)](https://www.soapoperadigest.com/content/exclusive-emma-samms-is-enormously-grateful-for-robert-and-hollys-gh-happily-ever-after/)
16. [Tristan Rogers, who played super spy Robert Scorpio on 'General Hospital,' has died, AP News (2025)](https://apnews.com/article/1b143348f512a13452e57d6fee81ee59)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Screen people and creators › Screen actors of the Anglosphere and Europe › English actors: 1970s to 1990s › Surnames S to T*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 12, 2026; Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license