Miranda Montgomery
Encyclopedia
Miranda Mona Montgomery (raised the first months of her life as Elizabeth Charlotte "Bess" Chandler) is a fictional character
Fictional character
A character is the representation of a person in a narrative work of art . Derived from the ancient Greek word kharaktêr , the earliest use in English, in this sense, dates from the Restoration, although it became widely used after its appearance in Tom Jones in 1749. From this, the sense of...

 from the American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 daytime drama All My Children
All My Children
All My Children is an American television soap opera that aired on ABC from January 5, 1970 to September 23, 2011. Created by Agnes Nixon, All My Children is set in Pine Valley, Pennsylvania, a fictitious suburb of Philadelphia. The show features Susan Lucci as Erica Kane, one of daytime's most...

. She is currently portrayed by Mackenzie Aladjem
Mackenzie Aladjem
Mackenzie Aladjem is an American child actress. She is currently co-starring in the Showtime series Nurse Jackie as the titular character's daughter Fiona Peyton, for which she won a Young Artist Award...

. As an infant, she was portrayed by twin boys, Joseph and Raymond Cartigiano and as a toddler by Haley Evans.

The character became the center of one of the most prominent and publicized storylines in soap opera history, detailing the struggle of a mother's fight to come to terms with the loss of her child and the joy of having that child returned to her.

Character history

Character Miranda Montgomery is written into the show All My Children
All My Children
All My Children is an American television soap opera that aired on ABC from January 5, 1970 to September 23, 2011. Created by Agnes Nixon, All My Children is set in Pine Valley, Pennsylvania, a fictitious suburb of Philadelphia. The show features Susan Lucci as Erica Kane, one of daytime's most...

as the daughter of Bianca Montgomery
Bianca Montgomery
Bianca Christine Montgomery is a fictional character from the American daytime drama All My Children. In June 2010, Christina Bennett Lind replaced Eden Riegel, who portrayed the role from July 2000 to January 2010. Until Riegel assumed the role, the character was portrayed solely by child...

, conceived after a brutal rape by Michael Cambias
Michael Cambias
Michael Cambias, formerly a brief resident of the fictional town of Pine Valley, appeared on the American daytime drama All My Children. He was portrayed by actor William deVry, from January 23, 2003 to August 2003, and later in a ghostly vision in 2004 and 2006.The character is one that lives in...

. The storyline begins when Michael Cambias wants revenge on Bianca's mother, Erica Kane
Erica Kane
Erica Kane is a fictional character from the American daytime drama All My Children.The character has been portrayed by actress Susan Lucci since the show first aired in January 1970, until the last broadcast television episode aired in September 2011. Erica is considered to be the most popular...

. He soon rapes her youngest daughter. The situation torments Erica, since she too had been raped and impregnated at a young age.

At first, Erica, fearful of what can happen with Bianca's psyche, urges her to have the child aborted
Abortion
Abortion is defined as the termination of pregnancy by the removal or expulsion from the uterus of a fetus or embryo prior to viability. An abortion can occur spontaneously, in which case it is usually called a miscarriage, or it can be purposely induced...

. Bianca agrees to this suggestion at first, but when her older half-sister, Kendall Hart, comes to the clinic, and Bianca tells her what has happened, Kendall is so touched that the sister she always scorned now understands what she went through in being a product of rape, that she throws her full support to Bianca. This solidifies a still unbreakable bond between the two sisters.

Erica finds out about the followed-through pregnancy and is furious that everyone kept her in the dark about it. She and Bianca have a vicious argument concerning this issue, and Bianca storms out of the house. This angers Kendall who unleashes her rage at Erica over her treatment of Bianca.

Miranda is born during a storm where her mother is stranded in a cabin with Babe Carey
Babe Carey
Arabella "Babe" Carey Chandler is a fictional character from the American daytime drama All My Children. She was originally portrayed by actress Alexa Havins, from October 13, 2003 to October 8, 2007, and then by actress Amanda Baker from October 8, 2007 to October 31, 2008...

, one of her mother's best friends. With Babe's help, Miranda is born. Her name is chosen because her mother loves the first name, and her middle name comes from her late great-grandmother, Mona Kane Tyler. Although her father is a Cambias, her mother uses her surname, Montgomery, for her daughter's last name.

Switched at birth

Miranda's first few months are hectic. Far more hectic than they should be. This begins with her mother believing her to be dead due to news from a man named Paul Cramer
Paul Cramer
Paul Cramer is a fictional character from the ABC daytime soap opera One Life to Live. Paul was originated on October 3, 2003 by Brock Cuchna, who played the role until March 10, 2004. The character was then recast with David Tom on March 11, 2004...

, but she is not. She has been switched by Paul as he has taken then-wife Babe's son, and passed him off to his sister, Kelly Cramer
Kelly Cramer
Kelly Cramer is a fictional character on the long-running daytime soap opera One Life to Live, most notably portrayed by Gina Tognoni, who first appeared in the role February 17, 1995 and left on August 24, 2011.-Casting:...

, back in Llanview, Pennsylvania
Llanview, Pennsylvania
Llanview, Pennsylvania is the fictional setting for the long-running American soap opera One Life to Live. The city exists in the same fictional universe as cities from other existing or defunct ABC daytime dramas, including Pine Valley from All My Children, Port Charles from General Hospital, and...

. He then presents Miranda to Babe and her husband at the time, J.R. Chandler
J.R. Chandler
Adam "JR" Chandler, Jr. is a fictional character from the daytime drama All My Children. He was portrayed by actor Jacob Young. Since his teenage years, the character has been commonly known by the nickname "JR", a variation of the suffix "Jr." The series has altered the character's birth date...

, as their own daughter. J.R. promptly names her Bess, short for Elizabeth Charlotte Chandler.

For months, Bianca is led to believe that her baby has died. In fact, it is Miranda's aunt, Kendall, who has to tell Bianca that Miranda is dead. All this time, she is being raised by J.R. and Babe. Bianca is so shaken by this, that she almost kidnaps her own daughter, not even knowing that the little girl is her child. J.R. wants Bianca in jail, but Babe intercedes on her behalf, having discovered that Bess is actually Bianca's biological daughter, though she does not tell this to Bianca due to her own personal reasons. She goes so far as to ask Bianca to be Bess' Godmother, a situation J.R. resents. Babe also changes Bess' middle name to Miranda to honor Bianca. J.R., on the other hand, is not so pleased about this, and even hires a nanny to watch Bianca when she makes a visit. J.R. is just as unaware of the truth regarding Bess as Bianca is.

Revealed as a Kane and Cambias heir

In 2004, Ethan Cambias
Ethan Cambias
Ethan Cambias is a fictional character on the long running ABC daytime soap opera All My Children. He was portrayed by James Scott from 2004 to 2006...

 comes to town. He is Miranda's biological cousin by virtue that Michael is Miranda's father. Ethan's father is Zach Slater
Zach Slater
Zachary "Zach" Slater is a fictional character from the American daytime drama All My Children. He was portrayed by actor Thorsten Kaye from May 20, 2004 to November 19, 2010; Thorsten returned to the role on August 5, 2011 to September 23, 2011...

, who is really Alexander Cambias, Jr. Ethan befriends Miranda's mother and aunt, and later on a DNA
DNA
Deoxyribonucleic acid is a nucleic acid that contains the genetic instructions used in the development and functioning of all known living organisms . The DNA segments that carry this genetic information are called genes, but other DNA sequences have structural purposes, or are involved in...

 test sampled from both Miranda and Ethan shows that they are indeed Cambias blood.

After the death of Paul Cramer, things go awry. It is becoming increasingly evident that people see that Bess Chandler is really Miranda. J.R. and Babe have split up romantically at this time, and Babe is growng closer to his brother, Jamie Martin. It is during a benefit in Florida
Florida
Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...

 that the truth about the baby switch comes out. Babe asks Bianca to come to Florida and she spills everything.

Bianca is clearly livid and slaps and denounces Babe as her friend for her actions. J.R., however, is more hell-bent on keeping Miranda away from Bianca than Babe is. He kidnaps Miranda, and while he and Bianca are arguing about the turn of events, she falls off of a second story balcony and is injured severely. Because of these events and the injuries that she suffered, both physical and emotional, J.R. and the normally compassionate Bianca, who were once close in childhood and adolescence, are now mortal enemies to this day.

J.R., hoping against hope that he is Bess's father, has Bianca taken back to Pine Valley, where she is admitted to the hospital. She remains in a coma
Coma
In medicine, a coma is a state of unconsciousness, lasting more than 6 hours in which a person cannot be awakened, fails to respond normally to painful stimuli, light or sound, lacks a normal sleep-wake cycle and does not initiate voluntary actions. A person in a state of coma is described as...

 for several days.

Meanwhile, Erica promptly storms over to J.R.'s father, Adam Chandler
Adam Chandler
Adam Chandler, Sr. is a fictional character from the daytime drama All My Children, portrayed by David Canary from December 1983 through his departure on April 23, 2010. Adam Chandler was one of the most devious and powerful individuals within the town of Pine Valley, Pennsylvania...

, who, incidentally, is one of her ex-husbands, and demands that he set up a DNA test to prove who Bess/Miranda is once and for all. She punctuates this demand by pointedly telling Adam, "Because you will not raise any Kane children in this house!"

Adam, to J.R.'s ire, does exactly what Erica has announced must be done. The results are conclusive and there is no shadow of a doubt. Bess is Miranda and has been very much alive all this time.

J.R. is not going to let a DNA test result stand in his way of being with his daughter. In his mind, Miranda is Bess and DNA or no DNA, he is the father, and nothing or nobody is going to stop that. One person, however, does eventually stop that — J.R.'s stepfather, Tad Martin
Tad Martin
Thaddeus James "Tad" Martin is a fictional character from the American daytime drama All My Children. Tad is portrayed by actor Michael E. Knight. Knight has portrayed the role on and off from 1982 until the series finale in 2011. Tad represents the good on the show All My Children, often butting...

.

Tad, along with Adam, Jackson Montgomery, Bianca's uncle, Aidan Devane
Aidan Devane
Aidan Devane is a resident of the fictional town of Pine Valley from the ABC soap opera All My Children. He has been portrayed by Aiden Turner, from June 6, 2002 to December 21, 2009...

, and Erica, take Miranda out of J.R.'s arms and returns her to the hospital. A truly depressed and furious J.R. denounces everyone for what has happened. He takes to drinking and mourns the loss of both his son and his daughter.

A very relieved Erica takes her granddaughter and brings her into Bianca's ICU
Intensive Care Unit
thumb|220px|ICU roomAn intensive-care unit , critical-care unit , intensive-therapy unit/intensive-treatment unit is a specialized department in a hospital that provides intensive-care medicine...

 room. Erica, along with Kendall, her uncle (and later stepfather), Jackson, her best friend (and later girlfriend), Maggie Stone
Maggie Stone
Mary Margaret "Maggie" Stone is a fictional character from the American daytime drama All My Children. She was portrayed by actress Elizabeth Hendrickson, who also portrayed Maggie's identical twin sister, Mary Frances "Frankie" Stone. The character comes to Pine Valley in early 2002 after the...

, and many people who love her, plead for her to come out of her coma.
When Erica puts Miranda into Bianca's arms, it is a Christmas
Christmas
Christmas or Christmas Day is an annual holiday generally celebrated on December 25 by billions of people around the world. It is a Christian feast that commemorates the birth of Jesus Christ, liturgically closing the Advent season and initiating the season of Christmastide, which lasts twelve days...

 miracle indeed. Bianca wakes up and holds her beautiful baby girl close to her heart. Ethan, who is there when she is brought in, meets his cousin as Bianca is already forming a bond with her.

Many weeks later, Miranda, along with her mother and Maggie, move to Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...

, where Bianca works at Cambias Industries' European Division. While there, Maggie becomes like a mother to Miranda and Miranda thinks of Maggie as a mother. It is inferred by Bianca to Julia Santos
Julia Santos
Julia Keefer is a fictional character from the ABC daytime drama All My Children. She was portrayed by actress Sydney Penny from 1993 to 1996 as a series regular, with guest appearances in 1997 and 2002, and from 2005 to 2008...

 that adoption papers have been drawn up, never signed, but that Miranda does not need the adoption papers to love Maggie as a mother.

Since she and her cousin, Ethan, are Cambias by blood, they stand to be heirs to the Cambias fortune at that time. Because of Miranda's age, however, Bianca votes Miranda's shares in Cambias Industries by proxy. Now that her cousin, Ethan, is dead, she will be the sole heir to the Cambias fortune. When she is of age, she will take her rightful place in the Cambias Empire. Though Ian Slater her paternal/maternal cousin and her maternal-sister/paternal cousin Gabrielle Montgomery is also heirs both through her uncle Zach Slater
Zach Slater
Zachary "Zach" Slater is a fictional character from the American daytime drama All My Children. He was portrayed by actor Thorsten Kaye from May 20, 2004 to November 19, 2010; Thorsten returned to the role on August 5, 2011 to September 23, 2011...

. As well as possibility of Spike Lavery
Spike Lavery
Spike Lavery is a fictional character from the daytime drama All My Children. He is the son of Kendall Hart and Ryan Lavery. Spike is the second grandchild of Erica Kane and her first grandson. His siblings are Emma Lavery, Ian Slater and Sara Lavery...

 maybe an heir because he is the stepson but raised by Zach Slater; and his father was the owner of Cambias Industries for a few years and still has part of the shares for Cambias Industries.

In 2006, Miranda returns alongside her mother to Pine Valley, where she meets her new half-uncle, Josh Madden
Josh Madden
Joshua "Josh" Madden is a fictional character from the American daytime drama All My Children. He first came to Pine Valley on June 17, 2005 and was originally portrayed by actor Scott Kinworthy until September 15, 2005...

. (It is revealed that Maggie has cheated on Bianca while in Paris.) At present, Miranda is a happy and healthy little girl, who has thrived, in spite of the drama that surrounded her when she was a baby. While back, she gains friends in Kathy Mershon and Emma Lavery
Emma Lavery
Emma Lavery is a fictional character on the soap opera All My Children. Emma was originally portrayed by Lucy Merriam, later by Emily Alyn Lind. Emma is currently being played by Danielle Parker since August 17, 2010...

, and she gets along wonderfully with her cousin, Spike Lavery
Spike Lavery
Spike Lavery is a fictional character from the daytime drama All My Children. He is the son of Kendall Hart and Ryan Lavery. Spike is the second grandchild of Erica Kane and her first grandson. His siblings are Emma Lavery, Ian Slater and Sara Lavery...

. She also makes friends with Zoe
Zoe (All My Children)
Zoe is a fictional character from the ABC daytime drama All My Children, and is credited as the first transgender character to appear on a soap opera at the beginning of a male to female gender transition. She was portrayed by actor Jeffrey Carlson in August 2006 and then again from November 29,...

, who happens to be her uncle Josh's roommate. She gets along well with her great uncle and surrogate grandfather, Jackson Montgomery, as well.

On April 26, 2007, Miranda moves back to Paris with her mother. Bianca cites the fact that Miranda has friends in Paris and that they had a life there that she wants them to get back to. This may bring about a reconciliation between Bianca and Maggie, who returned to Paris in February, both of whom considered themselves a family with Miranda prior to fall of 2006.

While away from Pine Valley, it is also discovered that Miranda's cousin, Greenlee Smythe
Greenlee Smythe
Greenlee Smythe is a fictional character from the daytime drama All My Children. She was originally portrayed by actress Rebecca Budig from August 11, 1999 to November 30, 2005, and was portrayed by actress Sabine Singh from April 20, 2007 to January 15, 2008...

, stole her Fusion Stock that she inherited from Simone Torres
Simone Torres
Simone Torres is a fictional character from the long-running American soap opera All My Children. The character was originated by actress Terri Ivens, from October 2001 to December 2006, and guest starred on June 8, 2007, June 20, 2007, and November 1, 2007 as a ghost.-Arrival:Simone Torres...

. (There is debate now concerning this, as Simone possibly willed only the actual Trust Fund left to her by her fiance, Ethan Cambias, to Miranda and possibly held out the Fusion shares to give to Greenlee. There is no proof that the shares were stolen from Miranda or if Miranda actually ever had control of the Fusion stock to begin with.)

Return

Bianca comes back to town on October 17, 2008 pregnant via sperm donation
Sperm donation
Sperm donation is the provision by a man, , of his sperm, with the intention that it be used to impregnate a woman who is not usually the man's sexual partner, in order to produce a child....

. However, Bianca had not informed her family and friends of the pregnancy. When caught up in a storm due to occasional tornado
Tornado
A tornado is a violent, dangerous, rotating column of air that is in contact with both the surface of the earth and a cumulonimbus cloud or, in rare cases, the base of a cumulus cloud. They are often referred to as a twister or a cyclone, although the word cyclone is used in meteorology in a wider...

s currently hitting Pine Valley, she reveals to Zach that he is the baby's father. Zach had agreed to father Bianca's child, but did not know that she had gone through with the procedure of artificial insemination
Artificial insemination
Artificial insemination, or AI, is the process by which sperm is placed into the reproductive tract of a female for the purpose of impregnating the female by using means other than sexual intercourse or natural insemination...

. Bianca soon gives birth to a baby girl during the storm. The child is biologically related to the Slater family, as well as the Montgomery/Kane family, therefore making her Miranda's half-sister and cousin.

Miranda was part of the wedding of her mother and Reese. Bianca and Reese allowed her to dance with them on their first dance. The marriage was later short lived after her mother learned that Reese kissed Zach drunk. Miranda said goodbye to Reese, Erica
Erica Kane
Erica Kane is a fictional character from the American daytime drama All My Children.The character has been portrayed by actress Susan Lucci since the show first aired in January 1970, until the last broadcast television episode aired in September 2011. Erica is considered to be the most popular...

, Kendall
Kendall Hart
Kendall Hart Slater is a fictional character from the American daytime drama All My Children. The character was portrayed by Sarah Michelle Gellar from 1993 to 1995, and by Alicia Minshew from 2002 to 2011....

, and Zach Slater
Zach Slater
Zachary "Zach" Slater is a fictional character from the American daytime drama All My Children. He was portrayed by actor Thorsten Kaye from May 20, 2004 to November 19, 2010; Thorsten returned to the role on August 5, 2011 to September 23, 2011...

. Miranda and her mother and sister headed back to Paris, France.

Second Return to Pine Valley

When her mother returned to Pine Valley, Bianca said that she did not bring her daughters back with her because of Erica being missing. Jackson Montgomery has Miranda and Gabrielle flown to Pine Valley after Erica is back. Miranda, Gabrielle, and Bianca are living at Wildwind along with Caleb Cooney, their late friend, Palmer Cortlandt's nephew.
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