Kirsten Storms rose to fame as Disney Channel’s Zenon in the ‘90s, but her time on General Hospital has cemented her as a soap star.
Storms began playing Maxie Jones on the beloved soap opera in May 2005. Her casting followed a series of child actors and Robyn Richards, who portrayed the character from 1993 to 2004.
In the two decades since, Storms has become a fan-favorite for her portrayal of Frisco Jones (Jack Wagner) and Felicia Cummings’ (Kristina Wagner) daughter. Her time on screen, however, hasn’t been without its ups and downs — much of which was affected by off-camera struggles.
Storms has taken several hiatuses from General Hospital for various health reasons. In July 2025, she announced a prolonged break while relocating from California to Tennessee. Three months later, she revealed she was undergoing brain surgery for an aneurysm following a similar procedure in 2021.
Storms took another hiatus from the show in late 2025 before coming back briefly in spring 2026.
Scroll down to see Storms history on General Hospital from day 1:
May 2005
Kirsten Storms and Jason Cook. Everett Collection
Storms made her General Hospital debut as Maxie. She became a series regular in January 2006.
September 2011
While Storms was battling endometriosis, she took a break from the show and was replaced by Jen Lilley.
September 2012
Heather Olson, Aaron Van Wagner, Jay Kenneth Johnson, Nadia Bjorlin, Jason Cook, Kirsten Storms, Kyle Lowder and Farah Fath. Everett Collection
After returning to the soap, Storms confessed she was surprised that Lilley had replaced her in her absence.
“I would be lying if I didn’t say that I was taken aback a bit by it,” she told Soap Opera Digest following her return. “I would prefer that someone play Maxie and be playing Maxie well to keep the character relevant and in the soap world still because it doesn’t take much for a character to die off and for somebody else to come in and be in a front-burner story line.”
Storms added: “I was very excited just to know that she was still going to be in Port Charles and doing lots of things.”
January 2014
The Zenon: Girl of the 21st Century star took maternity leave from General Hospital after welcoming her daughter, Harper, with then-husband Brandon Barash. Storms returned to the set in April 2014. (Storms and Barash, who is also part of the General Hospital family, called it quits in 2016.)
May 2016
Storms announced via Twitter that she was taking a leave of absence due to skin issues. She was temporarily replaced by Molly Burnett, who filmed for two months as Maxie. Storms returned to set in July of that year and fans saw her back on screen that August.
March 2017
The actress’ rep confirms to ABC Soaps In Depth that Storms was taking time off for personal reasons. In May 2017, Storms addressed her absence via Instagram, writing, “I try to keep my personal life private, however, I recently mentioned on my twitter that I suffer from SEVERE depression.”
According to the post, shared by Soap Opera Digest, Storms explained, “If you or someone you know has dealt with it then you know it can be a difficult time in life. I’m doing much better of late and look forward to returning to work soon.” She was back filming by June.
June 2018
When Storms was sidelined with the flu, Burnett once again stepped in.
June 2021
Storms revealed via Instagram that she underwent brain surgery and had to wear a neck brace to support the “lower portion of my brain.” She shared it was not cancer but said, “I had a very large cyst that had split into two, and the doctor said it was, like, so full the pressure was very noticeable when they opened up my skull. [It] sounds so weird.”
As a result of surgery, Storms said she would be “on the mend for the next several weeks” but would eventually return to work. During her recovery, Maxie was written out of the show, taking an extended trip to Texas.
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December 2023
Nicole Paggi took over the role of Maxie for one episode when Storms was otherwise unavailable. Paggi also played the character on a January 2024 episode.
May 2025
Greg Vaughan and Kirsten Storms. Scott Garfield/ABC/Everett Collection
After two decades on the series, Storms got real about Maxie’s romance with Lucky Spencer (Greg Vaughan) after knowing the actor since she was 14 or 15. “Back then, he was a grown-up. So, that was a very interesting experience,” Storms told Swoon in an interview, calling the on-screen connection “weird.”
Storms and Vaughan’s 10-year age gap threw the actress for a loop, even though their story lines began years prior. “Of course, I always thought Greg was a gorgeous guy, but that was a little strange for me,” she said. “And the story line was rough because of all the things Maxie was doing just to get him. So, that was a crazy time, and questionable choices were made.”
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After Maxie’s tumultuous relationship with Lucky, she romanced several other men, including Johnny, who was played by Storms’ now-ex husband Barash. Storms, however, wouldn’t change their on-screen romance for anything because it led to an off-screen relationship.
“I remember being super excited to have a make out scene with him. We were good buddies. Even still, our banter is unlike anything else in my life, and we always had that,” Storms recalled to Swoon of working with Barash. “If someone had told me then that I was going to have the most amazing, kind and beautiful girl [daughter, Harper] with him, I would have been like, ‘Shut up. No way that’s happening. Brandon? Really?’ I never would have guessed, and if I’m thankful for anything that came out of GH, obviously, it’s that I got Harper.”
July 2025
Jane Elliot and Kirsten Storms. Disney/Christine Bartolucci
Storms surprised fans when she announced via Instagram that she was relocating from Los Angeles to Nashville with her and Borash’s daughter, Harper.
“I had a conversation with him about my reasons for wanting to move and my desire to not leave the show,” Storms said, explaining that producer Frank Valentini knew about the move in March 2025. “When you approach a job like this, they can always be like, ‘Forget it, I will let you out of your contract if you’re going to leave the state.’ GH did not do that, which was kind of amazing because I also asked for some time off.”
The actress noted that she already had her “final taping day for the year” and fans would continue to see her story play out starting in August 2025. (Maxie will briefly be played by Paggi from July to August 2025.)
“I’m very excited to be making Tennessee my home! I can’t wait to return to GH, once Harper and I are settled in our new town,” Storms added, hinting that her time as Maxie is not done.
She teased, “It’s possible I will be back in December, maybe November. I promise you the story line they have going on until my return to Port Charles is kind of incredible. You guys are gonna freak out actually.”
October 2025
Amid her hiatus from General Hospital, Storms revealed that she required another brain surgery for an aneurysm that was discovered earlier in the year. The actress shared via Instagram in October 2025 that her neurosurgeon had been monitoring a cyst that he “left on my brain when he removed the one that was causing me problems” in 2021.
When the aneurysm was found on the right side of Storms’ brain, she had a procedure to try to get it “coiled” that same weekend. However, Storms revealed that the aneurysm was a “slightly complex situation” and they couldn’t complete the procedure as planned.
Endovascular coiling is used to “block blood flow into an aneurysm,” according to Johns Hopkins, which describes an aneurysm as a “weakened area in the wall of an artery.”
Storms’ October announcement stated that the coiling procedure would be rescheduled for “sometime in the next two weeks.”
December 2025
After telling her fans in October 2025 that she was expecting to undergo another surgery, Storms gave an update on her procedure plan after seeing a new doctor.
“My last appointment was with a new Neurosurgeon in St Louis. He told me that I am in the ‘gray zone’ for the aneurysm procedure. It’s not super small, but it’s not at the mandatory surgery size,” she explained via Instagram in December 2025. “Basically, I can keep monitoring it — or have the coiling done, BUT he told me I wasn’t in immediate/‘OMG! it’s going to burst tomorrow!’ kind of danger. Obvi, great news.”
The actress noted that she’s not “eager to hop right on the operating table” after her 2021 craniotomy, but wasn’t sure how “comfortable” she was with the “wait and see if it gets worse” idea either.
“So, as I sit in this ‘gray zone,’ pondering my plan, I want you guys to know that I really do appreciate the messages and stories offered of your own experiences. I needed those,” Storms continued.
She then teased her future on General Hospital, writing, “And maaaaybe you will be seeing me back in Port Charles soon. ✨🎅🏼✨.”
February 2026
Storms made her long-awaited return to General Hospital on the February 12 episode. After her character, Maxi, was in a coma for the actress’ medical hiatus, she woke up suddenly as her family prepared to leave her bedside for the day.
During the pivotal scene, Maxie’s son, James (Gary James Fuller), was upset because his family decided they would go to the bookstore after their hospital instead of the ice rink that he had suggested.
“James Malcolm West, you are not going skating without a helmet,” Maxie declared as she woke from her slumber. As her family turned to see her awake, they were surprised to see Maxie was also standing in the doorway of her hospital room.
Storms has since appeared in several episodes of the soap this year between February and the end of March.
June 2026
Amid Storms’ health highs and lows, she shared in June 2026 that she has also been dealing with legal issues stemming from custody of her and ex-husband Barash’s daughter.
“I’m sure some of you guys have read the stories online regarding a situation involving something my ex-husband is currently trying to claim,” Storms wrote via Instagram in June 2026. “Because I did see one story online stating I reported the apartment break-in AFTER he filed something against me in court, I really need to address this entire issue.”
Storms went on to claim that her Tennessee home was broken into in November 2025, one month before Barash filed for custody of their daughter, Harper. (The apartment door was also tampered with in August 2025 and Storms reported in April 2026 that her phone was allegedly hacked as well.)
The actress explained, “It puts my safety in a dangerous position for anyone to try and shift focus away from the fact that there was a person regularly entering my residence while I was out of town for medical appts [sic] in St Louis.”
Storms noted she waited to publicly speak about her apartment break-in until she moved out and was safely in another space. She shared her story via social media in April 2026, shortly before Barash was granted a restraining order against Storms after he claimed he was concerned for her mental health.
“Moving to Tennessee, as a single mom who lives alone 50 [percent] of the time, with a newly discovered brain aneurysm … well, I don’t think I need to explain how upsetting this entire situation has been for me,” Storms added.
The TV star noted that amid her personal trauma — and ongoing custody dispute — she doesn’t plan to return to General Hospital soon.
“Given what’s been going on, I can’t say I will feel comfortable heading back to Los Angeles and returning to work,” she wrote via Instagram. “This has been an eye opening experience about the downside of my profession. My daughter is my entire life, she is (and always will be) my first priority.”
