Children: Rachel
Gannon (with Hank Gannon), Matthew Rappaport (with Bo Buchanan)
Siblings: Susannah Hanan
Significant Romantic Relationships: Hank Gannon (1st husband/divorced),
Bo Buchanan (2nd husband/divorced), Sam Rappaport, Troy MacIver
Nora, a sharp attorney, arrived in Llanview in 1992, following her ex-husband
Hank and estranged daughter Rachel. After trying to convince Rachel to return to
Chicago and attend college, Nora resigned herself to staying in Llanview in an
effort to rebuild her relationship with her daughter, which strengthened over
time. Nora met Bo Buchanan and the two shared an instant connection. Nora helped
Bo during his depression following the death of his fiancée Sarah and agreed to
help him find the hit and run driver that killed her. The two grew closer and
slowly started to fall in love. Nora had been plagued by severe migraine
headaches and occasional blackouts, and slowly she began to suspect that SHE was
responsible for killing Sarah, as she had been on the same road that night and
blacked out. Just as Bo was about to propose, Nora confessed that she believed
she was responsible for killing Sarah. Bo refused to believe it and set about to
prove Nora's innocence. He managed to do so and the two were engaged.
Nora defended Todd Manning when he was accused of raping Marty Saybrooke, but
Nora threw the case when she learned of Todd's guilt. Todd vowed revenge. Soon
after Nora learned that a brain tumor was causing her migraines and blackouts.
Nora prepared to have surgery, but refused to tell Bo about it. Bo learned about
it while Nora was in recovery and vowed to stand by her, declaring his love. As
an aftereffect of the surgery, Nora lost her sight while staying alone at a
beach house. A vengeful Todd terrorized her and nearly raped her, but Bo managed
to rescue Nora. Soon after her blindness was corrected in an operation.
As Nora and Bo planned their wedding, a thorn in Nora's side arrived in the form
of RJ Gannon, her former brother in law. Nora feared Bo's reaction when RJ
revealed to Hank that RJ and Nora had slept together during Nora's marriage with
Hank. When he learned the truth Bo only told Nora he wished she had felt
comfortable enough to be honest upfront. In 1995 Bo and Nora married in a
ceremony presided over by Little Richard.
When Rachel became addicted to drugs, Nora worked tirelessly to help her
daughter beat her addiction. Nora and Bo's marriage entered a rocky patch soon
after, as domestic squabbles and Nora's struggles with the possibility of
pre-menopause plagued their marriage. A new struggle arrived in the form of
Nora's assistant, Georgie Phillips. Georgie developed a crush on Bo, and did
everything she could to increase the strain on Bo and Nora's marriage. After Bo
rejected her, a vengeful Georgie doctored photographs to make it appear as if
she was having an affair with him. Nora found the pictures and went to confront
Georgie, whom she found kissing an unidentified man. Nora assumed it was Bo,
further widening the gap between them. Georgie was murdered and Bo was arrested.
Nora stood by her husband, who was proven innocent. Rachel was revealed as the
true culprit, and Nora went on the run with her daughter. Eventually Rachel
turned herself in and was sent to prison.
Bo and Nora's marriage was back on track when Nora's former love Sam Rappaport
came to Llanview. Sam admitted he was still in love with Nora, but Nora was
committed to Bo. Nora wanted to have a child, and learned she was still capable
of carrying to term. Bo agreed to undergo a test for his sperm count. Lindsay
Rappaport, Sam's ex-wife who hated Nora, changed Bo's test results so it
appeared he was incapable of fathering a child. Nora and Bo were devastated by
the news.
After Bo's son Drew was killed, Nora found herself faced with an assault of
questions about a possible pregnancy. Worried about Bo's depression over losing
a son, her own intense desire for a baby, as well as an overwhelming desire to
make those she loved happy, Nora blurted that she was pregnant. Bo and everyone
else was ecstatic. Stuck in a lie, a desperate Nora turned to Sam and asked him
to father a child for her, one that would be raised by Bo. Sam eventually agreed
and slept with Nora. Lindsay discovered and spilled the truth to Bo, who left
Nora. The two began divorce proceedings.
Nora and Sam began seeing each other and she soon gave birth to a boy, Matthew.
Nora learned from Bo's doctor that Bo was indeed capable of fathering a child.
Nora told Bo, who had a DNA test performed to see whether he or Sam was the
father. Lindsay, who was dating Bo at the time, panicked and paid a lab
technician $500,000 to make sure the results stated Sam was the father. While
the results indeed stated Sam was the father, Lindsay never discovered whether
they had to be altered or not, as the technician fled the country. Nora and Bo
officially divorced as Nora began to see Sam more seriously.
Nora soon learned that Lindsay had tampered with Bo's original sperm count tests
and interrupted Bo and Lindsay's wedding to announce this. Disgusted with
Lindsay, Bo dumped her and Lindsay vowed revenge on Nora. Lindsay confessed to
Bo that she had altered the DNA tests, so there was a possibility he was
Matthew's father. Nora anxiously awaited the new as another paternity test was
done on Matthew. The results showed that Sam was the father.
After a train wreck which left Nora severely injured, Nora was rushed to a
hospital where she lay as an unidentified female. In her delirium, Nora called
Lindsay's name, so attending physician Colin MacIver called Lindsay to the
hospital. Vengeful and fearful that Nora's return would ruin any chance of
reuniting with Bo, Lindsay paid Colin to kidnap Nora and bring her to his home
and to tell no one she was alive. As Nora recovered, Lindsay realized that she
needed to act fast or Nora would eventually finger her for the kidnapping.
Lindsay injected Nora with a drug that erased her memory.
Nora was eventually rescued from Colin's, but her lack of memory didn't allow
her to bring charges against anyone. Nora struggled to remember her past
relationships with the men in her life, particularly Sam and Bo. Her
relationship with Sam fizzled as a result of her inability to remember their
past. Determined to prove that Lindsay was responsible for her kidnapping and
memory loss, Nora cozied up to Colin in an effort to get information on Lindsay.
Colin had developed an obsessive crush on Nora and began to display symptoms of
mental instability. Colin was soon killed, and Nora believed that Lindsay killed
him to protect herself. As Nora brutally cross-examined Lindsay for the murder
of Colin, she realized that she herself had killed Colin (who had tried to
attack her) and blocked it out! Due to the extenuating circumstances of the
case, no charges were filed against Nora. Sam and Nora also reunited.
Troy MacIver, Colin's twin brother, arrived in Llanview. His presence disturbed
Nora, but she eventually was able to see past his resemblance to his brother and
the two began a friendship, which did not make Sam happy. Wanting to atone for
his brother's sins, Troy told Nora that he wanted to prove that Lindsay was
responsible for her kidnapping and memory loss. Troy gave Nora a drug which
fully restored her memory-except for the traumatic events surrounding her
kidnapping and memory loss. Troy proposed the plan of seducing Lindsay and
getting her to confess through pillow talk. Nora agreed, although she kept her
alliance with Troy a secret from Sam. Nora also found herself developing
feelings for Troy and the two even kissed. Eventually Troy was able to get a
taped confession from Lindsay, and after she nearly killed him by holding him
hostage, Lindsay was placed in a mental institution. Nora came clean with Sam
about her plans with Troy and her developing feelings for him. Sam and Nora
broke things off, while Nora and Troy embarked on a relationship.
Troy and Nora were blissful, but Troy was keeping a secret from Nora. He feared
that Nora would discover that his first wife Joanna had died after a vicious
fight with Troy. To some, it might appear as if Troy had upset Joanna so much it
drove her to the accident which killed her (she fell off a cliff). Lindsay
(released from the mental institution) discovered this secret and threatened to
tell Troy. Troy began sleeping with her to keep her quiet, but soon their
relationship moved beyond blackmail into the realm of sexual addiction. Nora
discovered them in bed together and, disgusted, broke off with Troy.
Nora and Matthew were devastated when Sam was killed with a bullet meant for
Troy. Troy's mental state began to deteriorate rapidly. Nora suspected him of
killing the hospital administrator, Claire. Nora teamed up with Bo's girlfriend
Gabrielle to expose Troy's crime. Before his reign of terror was over, Troy took
Nora captive and nearly poisoned her in a bizarre suicide pact. Bo saved Nora,
while Troy was sent to a mental institution.
Bo and Nora were shocked when Gabrielle presented them with a letter from Sam,
mailed posthumously. Sam revealed that the second DNA tests to determine
Matthew's paternity underwent a clerical error, and Bo was actually Matthew's
father. Nora was shocked, but ultimately thrilled that Matthew would have the
benefit of knowing Bo as a father.
Bo and Nora have been growing closer recently, as both have shared in the joy of
raising their son.