Harley Cooper, played by Beth Ehlers, joined Guiding Light in 1987 but left in 1993. In 1997, she returned and has been with us ever since. Harley is the sister of Frank Cooper and daughter of Buzz and Nadine. When Harley appeared in Springfield, she befriended Dinah Marler. Harley was pregnant with Daisy at that time but when she gave birth, she decided to put her up for adoption. She later started dating Cameron Stewart but didn't tell him she had a baby out there somewhere. Cameron eventually found out that she had been lying to him and they broke up. Alan-Michael was dating Dinah at the time but when she started getting involved with Cameron's personal problems, they broke up too. Dinah and Cameron later left town and Harley and Alan-Michael started falling in love with each other. The rest of the Spauldings however didn't approve of Harley since she came from a poor family. Phillip though grew to like her in the end and soon Alan-Michael and Harley were married.

They tried to get Daisy back from her adopted parents but that didn't work out at all. Alan-Michael then told Daisy's parents that Dylan Lewis was really the baby's father and that made Harley furious. Alan-Michael then kidnapped Daisy but Harley later returned her. Harley then slept with Dylan, who actually was Daisy's father. She then found out that she was pregnant but when it turned out she wasn't, she and Alan-Michael got a divorce, finally. Harley then started working as Josh's nanny. After Reva was killed in Florida, Harley got involved with Josh who was naturally heartbroken after Reva's death. Harley then quit working for Josh and started working for Mindy, who sent her to New York on business. Josh later flew to New York and proposed, and of course Harley accepted. They were just ready to get married when Josh's brother Billy told him that he'd seen Reva on a TV show in Italy. Josh rushed to Italy leaving Harley all alone.

Halrey's next romance was A.C.Mallet. They were both working at the police academy and that brought them closer together. Mallet later asked Harley to be his wife and she accepted. They went to Washington to look for her father's name on the Vietnam Memorial. She couldn't find his name however. Nadine lied and said that she had been told that Buzz was dead. Buzz later turned up in Springfield and found out that Nadine was faking a pregnancy so he blackmailed her. Mallet later caught Buzz spying on Frank and Eleni and he forced him to tell Frank and Harley the truth. They didn't want anything to do with their father however and it took a long time for them to accept Buzz as their dad. Well, Mallet and Harley finally got married and went to the Keys on their honeymoon. Mallet then got a job offer and they decided to move to Florida. That was it for Harley until 1997, when she returned to Springfield divorced from Mallet.

Harley got involved with Phillip and they were very happy, for a while at least. Then Phillip's ex-wife, Beth, returned to town with his daughter Lizzie. Beth was determined to win back her ex and wasn't happy to find him now sharing his life with Harley. Phillip stuck by her despite Beth's attempts to break them up. They hit a temporary snag in the road when Lizzie shot Carl Stevens. Worried about Lizzie, Harley left him so that he could be with his daughter in her time of need. Phillip wouldn't have it that way and convinced Harley that he could be with her and be a part of his daughter's life at the same time. He proposed and she happily accepted. Harley married Phillip in New York and the blissful couple returned to Springfield as husband and wife. Trouble began to brew again when Harley's daughter "Daisy" arrived. Given the name Susan by her new family, she was in search of her real mother now that her adoptive mother had passed away. She was determined to have Harley to herself and Phillip was not part of the equation.

She made numerous attempts to destroy Harley and Phillip's relationship, as well as her adoptive father, Jim's budding relationship with Beth. She wanted her father and Harley to fall in love and give her a family again. However, her plane came to a quick halt when Harley announced that she was pregnant. A devastated Susan went back to living with her father. Harley eventually gave birth to a son. They named him Alan Cooper Spaulding after Phillips father who had just escaped death from a heart attack. Later, he was given the nickname "Zach". Things couldn't have been better when Harley and her new family agreed to join her best friend, Cassie Layne, and her new fiance, Prince Richard for a Thanksgiving celebration in San Cristobel. Phillip, Beth and Jim were forced to leave early for business reasons. Their plane crashed into the mountains. All three were o.k., but Jim opted to leave and brave the cold on his own in an attempt to bring help back.

Stranded and persuaded they were going to die, Phillip and Beth began to reminisce about the past and Lizzie. Overcome by emotions, the two made love. Eventually, they were saved and reunited with Harley and Jim and decided to keep what happened a secret. Things remained calm for a brief time. Eventually, however, all hell began to break loose again....most of it without Harley's knowledge. Since returning to Springfield, Phillip and Beth have not only found out that the evil Prince Edmund has a videotape of their tryst, but that Beth is pregnant with Phillip's baby. They have decided to stick to their plan and keep their secret by telling Jim that the baby is his. Then tragedy struck: Harley's stepdaughter, Lizzie, was stricken with leukemia. During the course of Lizzie's illness, Harley tried to be there for Philip but sensed that something was bothering him.

Harley was especially concerned about his antagonism toward Edmund and demanded to know the reason. When Rick told her that Edmund was blackmailing HIM, Harley, who was told to butt out, took it upon herself to investigate Rick's past and uncovered his dark secret: he wasn't really a doctor. That wasn't the only secret Harley would learn. With Lizzie's conditioning worsening, her only chance of surviving was a bone marrow transfusion from the baby Beth was carrying. When Jim refused to have his child delivered prematurely in order to save Lizzie, Philip blurted out the horrible truth: the child Beth was carrying wasn't Jim's; it was Philip's! Though relieved that the child could save Lizzie, Harley refused to forgive Philip and asked him for a divorce. Stay Tuned.

Last updated 03/15/00. E-mail me with any comments or suggestions at addip@isholf.is