The Cassadines are a fictional aristocratic family from the American soap operaGeneral Hospital. Created by executive producer Gloria Monty, the family was first introduced in February 1981, with the arrival of Tony Cassadine. Brothers Victor and Mikkos were introduced months later. The Cassadines are descendants of Russian royalty[1] and own their own private island in Greece. Various family members have been sometime residents of Port Charles, living in Wyndemere Castle on Spoon Island. The family is known for their longtime feud with the Spencer family. After the family's initial appearance in 1981, they were absent from the series until the arrival of Stavros Cassadine in 1983. The Cassadine family owns and operates the international conglomerate Cassadine Industries. The family is currently represented on canvas by Alexis, Nikolas, Kristina, Molly, Danny, Scout, and Ace.
Background
The Cassadine's are descendants of the Russian aristocracy, with connections to the royal Romanov family. They existed for hundreds of years in Russia until the Bolshevik Revolution forced them to flee to Greece. After that period, they built a large economic empire of power and wealth. The Cassadine's make their first appearance in the 1980s, when Mikkos Cassadine, the patriarch of the family, along with his brothers Victor and Tony, are involved in various nefarious plans, including the Ice Princess storyline,[2] a plot to freeze the world using a weather machine. When Luke Spencer foils their plan, the great feud between the Spencers and Cassadines begins.[3]Elizabeth Taylor originated the role of villain Helena Cassadine, Mikkos' wife, in this era. Her curse on Luke and Laura's wedding was watched by over 30 million viewers.[4]
Traditions
Cassadine line of succession The Cassadine title of "Prince" passes from eldest son to eldest son, and the authority that goes with it both symbolic and real. If a Cassadine Prince were to die without a male heir the title would die with him and the fortune he controlled would be scattered amongst the surviving family members.[5]
Cassadine Bacchanalia A traditional masquerade ball thrown in honor of a Cassadine engagement.[6]
Family members
Characters currently on the show are noted in bold; family members through marriage are in italics. Only current spouses or those married at the time of their death appear here.
Distant ancestors
Vladimir Cassadine - The First Cassadine said by Nikolas to be a warrior who founded the Cassadine Empire of Imperial Russia.
Ivan Cassadine - Based on Mikkos's middle name, which is "Ivanovich"—all of the children in the Cassadine family follow the Russian tradition of a patronymic.[12]
Irina Cassadine - According to Stefan, his grand aunt, making her Mikkos's aunt.[13]
In 1998 Nikolas was led to believe that he was not the Cassadine Prince. During this time Stefan attempted to convince him to try and hold on to control of the Cassadine Estate. Nikolas refused, stating that the Estate didn't belong to him if he was not the Prince, it belonged to "the Belgian Cassadines, and the Baron's children in Macao, and to Helena, Alexis and Cousin Mikhail who took Holy orders -- "[14]
Cassadine Industries
Owned by the Cassadines. Cassadine Industries is a large international conglomerate, which was founded by the Cassadine family in the late 1970s as a front to cover for their dirty dealings. But the business took off, being controlled by Mikkos Cassadine, Stavros Cassadine, Helena Cassadine, Stefan Cassadine and Nikolas Cassadine amongst others. In December 2005, a single Cassandine Industries account was estimated to be worth $15 million at the time. As of May 2009, Cassadine Industries was estimated to be worth over 20 billion dollars. Reportedly in 2015, Helena Cassadine and Victor Cassadine had liquidated most of Cassadine Industries in order to finance their personal "projects". In 2015, Nikolas Cassadine obtained control of ELQ in order to save his family empire. In 2016, following Nikolas Cassadine's death, it was revealed that Valentin Cassadine is the sole heir to the Cassadine empire. In 2020, this was reversed through a secret codicil to Mikkos' will that revealed Valentin is Helena's son and not a Cassadine at all. Thus, Nikolas was reinstated as sole heir. In October 2021, Victor Cassadine was not only revealed to be alive, but also Valentin's father.
On September 15, 2023, at the Invader, Alexis Davis and Spencer Cassadine go over the legal codicil for CI. The Cassadine estate is about to be handed over to him as it's been six months since his father split, but he has no idea how to translate the legal jargon in the document he was sent. Alexis is happy to look over the document, noting it's very complicated, and she'll need time to get back to him. Spencer is grateful to her, and for having family helping him with this.
