Blake Marler

Infobox soap character
series = Guiding Light
portrayer = Elizabeth Keifer
first = 1975
last =
cause =
creator =
name= Blake Marler
portrayer =


caption1 =
gender = Female
born =
death =
age =
occupation =
title =
residence =
parents = Roger Thorpe (father, deceased)
Holly Norris (mother)
siblings = Sebastian Hulce (paternal half-brother)
Hart Jessup (paternal half-brother, deceased)
Margaret "Meg" Reade (maternal half-sister)
spouse = Phillip Spaulding (divorced) [1989-1990]
Alan-Michael Spaulding (divorced) [1990]
Ross Marler (divorced; first time) [1994-1998]
Ross Marler (dissolved; second time) [2003-2005]
romances = Gary Swanson (lovers)
Alan Spaulding (lovers)
John "Johnny" Bauer (dated)
Alan-Michael Spaulding (affair/lovers)
Gary Swanson (affair/lovers)
Leo Flynn (dated)
Ross Marler (lovers, deceased)
Alan-Michael Spaulding (one night stand)
Frederick "Rick" Bauer (affair/lovers)
Benjamin "Ben" Warren(affair/lover, deceased)
Ronald "Ron" Steele (dated)
Jeffrey O'Neill (lovers)
children = Jason Marler (son, with Ross)
Kevin Marler (son, with Ross)
Clarissa Marler (daughter, with Ross)
grandchildren =
grandparents = Adam Thorpe (paternal grandfather)
Marjorie Thorpe (paternal grandmother, deceased)
Stanley Norris (maternal granfather, deceased)
Barbara Norris (maternal grandmother, deceased)
aunts/uncles = Andrew Norris (maternal uncle)
Ken Norris (maternal uncle)
cousins = Emily Norris (maternal cousin)
relatives = Peter Reardon (nephew)
Roger Joshua "R.J." Winslow (nephew)

Christina Blake Marler (née Thorpe; previously Spaulding) is a fictional character on CBS's daytime drama Guiding Light. Currently, she is being portrayed by Elizabeth Keifer since August 19th, 1992. Previous portrayers include Gina Foy (June 1975 to May 1978), Cheryl Lynn Brown (January 1979 to September 26th, 1980), Elizabeth Dennehy (May 1988 to June 27th, 1989) and Sherry Stringfield (July 21st, 1989 to August 3rd, 1992).

Character Information

Biography

Christina Blake Thorpe was raised as a Bauer, though she was the product of an affair between her mother and Roger Thorpe. When this was revealed, her mother divorced Ed Bauer, though he was very attached to young 'Chrissy'. Her mother then married her biological father with disastrous results that would force mother and child to flee the country. As an adult, she returned to Springfield as a spy for Alan. Soon, she was tied up in the circuit of double-crosses between Alan, Phillip and Alex where each of them tried to outdo the other. Things were worsened by the reappearance of her father, Roger, who had long been presumed dead.

Things became even more difficult after Phillip and Blake married and she tried to cover up the fact that his former wife, Beth, may still be alive. Insecure, she began an affair while searching out Beth herself and tried to hide her, going so far as having Phillip briefly committed when he searched. He eventually found her, ending the marriage, and she ran to former brother-in-law Alan-Michael in an attempt not to lose a hold on her share of the family fortune. Unfortunately for him, she faked a pregnancy so that he would marry her. Soon after, her ex-boyfriend kidnapped them and tried to kill him. When the couple was rescued by her father, Alan-Michael soon discovered her deceptions and left her. She spent some time trying to get him back and pulled him into her blackmailing schemes, but failed to shake his obsession with Eleni. She quickly dove into a relationship with District Attorney Ross Marler, much to the chagrin of her father who blackmailed Ross out of his political career.

Things got more complicated for the couple as Alan Spaulding began manipulating them and Ross' estranged daughter Dinah returned to tear them apart. Her suspicions of her step-daughter led her to bug her rooms and create distrust in the family. After a one-night stand with Rick Bauer, she discovered she was pregnant with twins. She tried desperately to hide her transgression from Ross, but it would eventually come out when the twins had to undergo an operation. Things got worse when his brother Ben came to town and began trying to blackmail her for sex. She eventually gave in, only to be caught by Ross. After accusing Ben of rape, Ross tried to shoot him and shot his wife by accident, paralyzing her. This didn't last because it was purely psychosomatic, yet she continued to charge Ben for rape, despite evidence that it was consensual. The proof fell into the hands of the mob and they were both blackmailed. Under the weight of guilt, she confessed the truth and Ross left her, suing for custody. She moved on with Ben and tried to help her mother when she learned that she was the Nursery Rhyme Stalker. She and Ross bonded over Holly's case and wound up making love.

Suffering through mental breakdowns, psychotic relatives and numerous affairs gave her plenty of fodder for her career as a romance novelist. This would often get her in trouble as her thinly veiled portraits of townspeople often led to their lives becoming endangered. Danger also stalked her when the crazed Tory came to town and attempted to steal Ross and the children away before trying to murder her. She would be constantly torn between loyalty and self-interest as she manipulated or went to ludicrous ends to protect her relationship with Ross, particularly from his daughter. As Ross returned to his political career, she switched through several careers of her own until his accidental death.

Devastated and insecure, she soon entered into a relationship with mayoral rival Jeffrey O'Neill and became the author of the infamous Springfield Burns blog which she used to destroy the lives of her rivals and friends. After sabotaging Jeffrey's campaign, she won the mayoralty race only to be poisoned (perhaps accidentally). The investigation quickly dug up the fact that she was the blogger. In her hospital bed she claimed that she had to lash out at everyone because they made her feel like she didn't exist. After lapsing into a coma for months, she has finally awoken and set her sights on Dinah and Mallet.Blakes schemes resulting in Dinah(who survived) being shot in the head by a man from Mallets past received backlash from viewers.In 2008 Blake began pursuing Coop Cooper much to the dismay of viewers.Numerous fans of both the show and the character of Blake Marler have expressed their dislike of how the character has been written in recent years and question why the character is slowly being ruined and is still on the show since all of Blake's family with the exception of her daughter Clarissa and nephew Rj have all been written out.