Nicole Paggi (“Hope & Faith”) was back in Port Charles as Maxie Jones on the Thursday, July 3 episode of “General Hospital.”
Reportedly, Paggi is stepping in for the character’s regular portrayer, Kirsten Storms, for at least three episodes due to the actress having a scheduling conflict, according to TV Insider, citing a show spokesperson who confirms the casting change is only temporary.
The outlet also notes that, due to the show’s taping schedule, which involves filming multiple episodes a day and sometimes out of order, the next episodes featuring Paggi as Maxie are set to air on Wednesday, July 30 and Wednesday, August 13. Storms will be back in the role sometime during the week of August 18-22, 2025.
The last time viewers saw Paggi on the show was in January 2024, when she filled in for Storms for two episodes, the first of which aired December 27, 2023 and the second airing January 5, 2024. Incidentally, confusion ensued during that time as Storms appeared in at least one episode in between
In a post on Instagram at the time, Paggi commented on her debut on the series, saying, “So fun playing Maxie Jones on ‘General Hospital!’” In addition to her post, she also shared several screenshots of her appearance on her Instagram Stories timeline.
On Thursday, Paggi also shared screenshots from her more recent appearance on the soap opera in a series of posts Instagram stories.
Paggi is the third actress to temporarily play Maxie Jones on the daytime drama series while Storms was unavailable. Jen Lilley (“Days of our Lives”) stepped in for several months from 2011-2012, and Molly Burnett (“Days of our Lives”) filled in for a couple of episodes in July 2016 and again in June 2018.
For those wondering where they might have seen Paggi before, the actress had roles on such shows as “Pasadena,” “Providence,” “Fastlane” and “Judging Amy” before making a name for herself in 2003 as the first Sydney Shanoweski on the Kell Ripa/Faith Ford starring sitcom “Hope & Faith.” Starting with season two of the series, the role of Sydney was recast with then relative newcomer Megan Fox taking over the role as the family’s eldest daughter.
In 2005, Paggi booked a series regular role in the fifth and final season of UPN’s “One on One.” Since then, Paggi has appeared in episodes of “90210,” “Rizzoli & Isles,” “9-1-1,” and more recently, “The Rookie: Feds.”
Check out a clip from Paggi’s appearance in the July 3 episode of “General Hospital” below.
#NuMaxie meet #NuMichael 😀😀 #GH #GeneralHospital pic.twitter.com/1qvh9uwRij
— soap guru (@soaptopias) July 3, 2025
