Di Henry
Encyclopedia
Diana "Di" Henry was a fictional character on ABC
's daytime drama All My Children
. She was portrayed by Kelli Giddish
from March 15, 2005 to September 19, 2007. From November 10 to 18, 2008, Di was portrayed by Heather Kenzie.
The character was a part of a major storyline within the soap opera medium, which spun intrigue, as well as outrage, having assumed the identity of legendary character Dixie Cooney Martin
for several months before the ruse was finally over. Di's actions and ties to other characters during the storyline was subsequently studied by Jeremy G. Butler in Television: Critical Methods and Applications.
.
After Di is released from prison, she is hired by Dr. David Hayward
to fool Tad and JR Chandler into thinking she is the late Dixie Cooney Martin
. After she is given the alias Diana Cole, she begins working as the new nanny to JR and Babe Chandler's infant son, Little Adam. Meanwhile, Hayward plants evidence in Switzerland
to make it look as though Dixie may have survived the car crash that killed her.
Eventually, a suspicious Tad takes Di's compact from her purse to compare her fingerprints to Dixie's, and they match. Confronted with these results, Di confesses to everyone that she is Dixie. Unknown to all of them, however, is that the compact is actually an old compact of Dixie's that David kept after she was killed. Not much is known about Di's past, except that she seems to have a heart problem similar to Dixie's, and she only has one kidney just like Dixie. She also has a scar on her neck that could have been caused by a car accident similar to the one Dixie was killed by.
Di (as Dixie) explains that after losing her unborn baby in the accident and a series of grueling surgeries, she fell into a deep depression and wanted to start a new life, but that she could not stay away from her family, so she decided to reappear incognito. The incognito decision was because she was not entirely sure she wanted to return to her old life.
JR immediately forgives his "mother" and accepts her into his life.
A DNA
test later reveals that Di's DNA does, in fact, match JR's, although it really only proves that they are close blood relatives. An actual DNA sample of Dixie before her accident was unavailable.
Di's past is revealed in October 2005 while Julia Santos
is being held captive. On December 23, 2005, it is revealed that Dixie is indeed still alive, and apparently Di has been in touch with her for some time. It is later revealed that Dixie purposely stayed away from Pine Valley and her family because she has been searching for her long-lost daughter, Kate, whom she was coerced into giving up for adoption
.
By the summer, 2006, Tad dumps Di for keeping the secret that Dixie was alive. And as Di helps Tad and Dixie search for Kate, she has a fling with Tad's investigative partner, Aidan Devane
, who had just been dumped by Erin Lavery
, a friend of Di's.
Di and Aidan start to become more serious about their relationship when Erin, along with Simone Torres
, are murdered by a serial killer
known as the Satin Slayer
. Di and Aidan come up with a plan to catch the killer, bringing them closer. During the holidays, Di asks Aidan to move into Wildwind with her. Aidan happily accepts. Yet, tragically, Di's life is turned upside down when Dixie is accidentally poisoned and killed with pancakes by the Satin Slayer (the pancakes were meant for her daughter-in-law Babe Carey Chandler
).
Di leaves Pine Valley to go to New York as a Fusion Cosmetics rep for the East Coast
. Deciding not to do the long-distance relationship with Aidan Devane
, they break up and he is currently involved with town pariah Greenlee Smythe
.
Di returns to the canvas in November 2008. Di is shown taking care of Emma in New York during Annie
's kidnapping scam. She is set to meet Annie with Emma in Pine Key within the next few days. Di does not know about the kidnapping scam and believes her watching Emma is a favor to Annie while she and Ryan work on their marriage. Di figures out that Annie is going to frame her and let her take the fall. Di pulls out a gun on Annie and they struggle over it and Di is shot. Greenlee, Ryan and Aidan enter and Annie tells them Di kidnapped Emma. Before she can tell them the truth, Di passes away. However, before dying, she accidentally shoots Aidan while shooting at Annie. She also never got the chance to tell them where Emma is.
American Broadcasting Company
The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...
's 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 was portrayed by Kelli Giddish
Kelli Giddish
Kelli Giddish is an American actress. She is known for her role as Diana Henry on the ABC's daytime drama All My Children . She is also known for her leading roles in the short-lived TV series Past Life and Chase...
from March 15, 2005 to September 19, 2007. From November 10 to 18, 2008, Di was portrayed by Heather Kenzie.
The character was a part of a major storyline within the soap opera medium, which spun intrigue, as well as outrage, having assumed the identity of legendary character Dixie Cooney Martin
Dixie Cooney Martin
Dixie Cooney Martin is a fictional character from the American daytime drama All My Children. The character's run lasted from July 1988 to June 1996, again from July 3, 1998 to February 26, 2002, from December 23, 2005 to January 31, 2007 with appearances from May to June 2008 and April 2010 before...
for several months before the ruse was finally over. Di's actions and ties to other characters during the storyline was subsequently studied by Jeremy G. Butler in Television: Critical Methods and Applications.
Pretender
Di first appears as a fellow inmate of Krystal Carey. She defends Krystal when other inmates are harassing her. Even though Di has never spoken about her past, she seems to know much about Tad MartinTad 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...
.
David Hayward
Dr. David Hayward is a fictional character from the ABC daytime drama All My Children, as portrayed by Vincent Irizarry from: November 27, 1997 - March 2, 1998, July 8, 1998 - November 28, 2006, October 23, 2008 - September 13, 2010, and returned on November 22, 2010.The character has been a top...
to fool Tad and JR Chandler into thinking she is the late Dixie Cooney Martin
Dixie Cooney Martin
Dixie Cooney Martin is a fictional character from the American daytime drama All My Children. The character's run lasted from July 1988 to June 1996, again from July 3, 1998 to February 26, 2002, from December 23, 2005 to January 31, 2007 with appearances from May to June 2008 and April 2010 before...
. After she is given the alias Diana Cole, she begins working as the new nanny to JR and Babe Chandler's infant son, Little Adam. Meanwhile, Hayward plants evidence in Switzerland
Switzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
to make it look as though Dixie may have survived the car crash that killed her.
Eventually, a suspicious Tad takes Di's compact from her purse to compare her fingerprints to Dixie's, and they match. Confronted with these results, Di confesses to everyone that she is Dixie. Unknown to all of them, however, is that the compact is actually an old compact of Dixie's that David kept after she was killed. Not much is known about Di's past, except that she seems to have a heart problem similar to Dixie's, and she only has one kidney just like Dixie. She also has a scar on her neck that could have been caused by a car accident similar to the one Dixie was killed by.
Di (as Dixie) explains that after losing her unborn baby in the accident and a series of grueling surgeries, she fell into a deep depression and wanted to start a new life, but that she could not stay away from her family, so she decided to reappear incognito. The incognito decision was because she was not entirely sure she wanted to return to her old life.
JR immediately forgives his "mother" and accepts her into his life.
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 later reveals that Di's DNA does, in fact, match JR's, although it really only proves that they are close blood relatives. An actual DNA sample of Dixie before her accident was unavailable.
Truth and Dixie's return
Finally, in September 2005, with the return of Dixie's half-brother, Del Henry, (viewers and later) Pine Valley residents learn that Di is really Dixie's long-lost half-sister from their shared father's bigamous lifestyle.Di's past is revealed in October 2005 while 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...
is being held captive. On December 23, 2005, it is revealed that Dixie is indeed still alive, and apparently Di has been in touch with her for some time. It is later revealed that Dixie purposely stayed away from Pine Valley and her family because she has been searching for her long-lost daughter, Kate, whom she was coerced into giving up for adoption
Adoption
Adoption is a process whereby a person assumes the parenting for another and, in so doing, permanently transfers all rights and responsibilities from the original parent or parents...
.
By the summer, 2006, Tad dumps Di for keeping the secret that Dixie was alive. And as Di helps Tad and Dixie search for Kate, she has a fling with Tad's investigative partner, 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...
, who had just been dumped by Erin Lavery
Erin Lavery
Erin Lavery was a fictional character on the long-running soap opera All My Children, as portrayed by Connie Fletcher from August 8, 2005 to December 12, 2006.- Brief character history :...
, a friend of Di's.
Next chapter, return, and death
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...
, are murdered by a serial killer
Serial killer
A serial killer, as typically defined, is an individual who has murdered three or more people over a period of more than a month, with down time between the murders, and whose motivation for killing is usually based on psychological gratification...
known as the Satin Slayer
Alexander Cambias, Sr.
Alexander Cambias, Sr. is a fictional character from the ABC daytime drama All My Children, as portrayed by Ronald Guttman, from July 23, 2003 until August 2003. Guttman returned to the role on February 23, 2007 and left April 27, 2007...
. Di and Aidan come up with a plan to catch the killer, bringing them closer. During the holidays, Di asks Aidan to move into Wildwind with her. Aidan happily accepts. Yet, tragically, Di's life is turned upside down when Dixie is accidentally poisoned and killed with pancakes by the Satin Slayer (the pancakes were meant for her daughter-in-law Babe Carey Chandler
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...
).
Di leaves Pine Valley to go to New York as a Fusion Cosmetics rep for the East Coast
East Coast of the United States
The East Coast of the United States, also known as the Eastern Seaboard, refers to the easternmost coastal states in the United States, which touch the Atlantic Ocean and stretch up to Canada. The term includes the U.S...
. Deciding not to do the long-distance relationship with 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...
, they break up and he is currently involved with town pariah 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...
.
Di returns to the canvas in November 2008. Di is shown taking care of Emma in New York during Annie
Annie Lavery
Annie Novak, more commonly known as Annie Lavery , is a fictional character on ABC's daytime drama All My Children. She has been portrayed by Melissa Claire Egan since July 10, 2006...
's kidnapping scam. She is set to meet Annie with Emma in Pine Key within the next few days. Di does not know about the kidnapping scam and believes her watching Emma is a favor to Annie while she and Ryan work on their marriage. Di figures out that Annie is going to frame her and let her take the fall. Di pulls out a gun on Annie and they struggle over it and Di is shot. Greenlee, Ryan and Aidan enter and Annie tells them Di kidnapped Emma. Before she can tell them the truth, Di passes away. However, before dying, she accidentally shoots Aidan while shooting at Annie. She also never got the chance to tell them where Emma is.