The Jacks family is a fictional family on the ABC soap opera General Hospital.
Background[]
The Jacks family made their debut in Port Charles in 1996, with the arrival of former corporate raider Jasper "Jax" Jacks, who assisted Lois Cerullo in reclaiming her company from Edward Quartermaine. Soon after, the family expanded with Jax's parents, John Jacks and Lady Jane Jacks, joining him. Originally hailing from Australia, the Jacks had moved to Alaska during Jax and his older brother Jerard "Jerry" Jacks's childhood.
In 1998, Jerry, the family's black sheep, came to town. Despite a tumultuous relationship, Jax and Jerry cared for each other as brothers. Jerry was involved in various illegal activities, which he kept secret from his mother. Eventually, in 1999, Jerry departed from Port Charles.
In 2003, Dr. Ewen Keenan killed John in retaliation for the theft of a card collection known as the Dead Man's Hand, which belonged to Ewen's father. Following John's demise, Jane moved to Australia but frequently visited Port Charles to see Jax.
In 2005, Jax and his new wife, Courtney Matthews, were under constant scrutiny by Jax's longtime rival and Courtney's brother, Sonny Corinthos. Family friend, Elizabeth Webber, became a surrogate and egg donor when they discovered Courtney couldn't conceive. While Jax and Elizabeth seemed to get closer during the pregnancy, Courtney had an affair with Nikolas Cassadine. This resulted in a son, Spencer Cassadine; at the same time Elizabeth unfortunately miscarried. Courtney died immediately after childbirth due to the Encephalitis Virus, and Jax and Carly raised Spencer as John Michael Jacks, knowing he was Nikolas' son. They gave him to Nikolas when the deception was discovered.
In 2007, Jerry, having undergone facial plastic surgery, returned to town under the alias James Craig. As a mercenary, he led a group of masked men in taking the Metro Court Hotel hostage to steal a briefcase from the vault. Jerry managed to avoid prosecution after the hostage situation ended.
Jerry's subsequent visits to Port Charles have been marked by chaos. Despite this, he has consistently protected his brother Jax and his niece from the repercussions of his actions on the town's residents.
Jax has a daughter, Josslyn John Jacks, born in 2009 to his then-wife, Carly Spencer. Her middle name, John, is for both parent's late fathers; Josslyn represents a blend of both families.
In 2011, Jax and Carly's divorce led to a bitter custody dispute over Josslyn, culminating in Jax's departure after losing custody. However, they later reached an amicable custody agreement. Jax resided in Australia, near his mother Jane, and Josslyn frequently visits him, sometimes staying for extended periods.
The year 2017 brought sorrow to Jax and Josslyn with the passing of Jane. Josslyn also had her first boyfriend, Oscar Nero-Quartermaine, son of Drew Cain.
In 2019, Jax returned to town, purchased a mansion on Shoreline Road close to Greystone Manor, and renovated it. During this period, he allowed a presumed-deceased Nikolas Cassadine to take refuge there until he chose to reveal himself. Josslyn took comfort in her father being town, as Oscar died from a brain tumor.
In late 2021, Jax relocated back to Australia and sold the mansion to the Ashford family, a few months afterward. Josslyn stayed in town, now dating Cameron Webber, Elizabeth's son and Oscar's best friend.
In 2022, the villainous Esme Prince secretly filmed Josslyn and Cameron's first time together, releasing it to the public and framing their best friend, Trina Robinson. Joss and Cam's romance broke down while Joss was falling for newly minted mob lieutenant, Dex Heller. They went to bed together, after which she broke up with Cameron, and a month later, her relationship with Dex became public.
Josslyn remains in town, now attending PCU as a premed along with Trina, an art major; and broke up with Dex in 2024.
Jacks family tree[]
Descendants[]
1. John Jacks (died 2003) Jane Jacks (died 2017) 2. Jerry Jacks 2. Jasper Jacks Elizabeth Webber (1981-present) 3. Baby Girl Webber-Jacks (2006; miscarriage) (surrogate; donated egg) Carly Spencer (1973-present) 3. Josslyn Jacks (2002-present) 3. Baby Girl Spencer-Jacks (2008; miscarriage)
Tree[]
| John Jacks |
| Lady Jane Jacks | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Jerry Jacks |
| Jax Jacks |
| Carly Spencer | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Josslyn Jacks | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Gallery[]
| v - e
Families |
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| Main families |
| Ashford · Baldwin · Cassadine · Chase · Corinthos · Hardy · Jacks · Jerome · Jones · Quartermaine · Scorpio · Spencer · Webber · Westbourne |
| Minor families |
| Barrett · Barrington · Bauer · Benson · Brewer · Byrne · Campbell · Cerullo · Clay · Collins · Davis · Devane · Drake · Durban · Eckert · Faison · Falconeri · Giambetti · Juarez · Lansing · McCall · Moore · Morgan · Ramirez · Rivera/Santiago · Romanov · Stanton · Taylor · Ward |
| Mob families |
| Five Families |
| Alcazar · Balkan · Corinthos · Jerome · Lavery/McKay · Novak · Rosco · Ruiz · Scully · Smith · Trujillo · Wu · Zacchara |
| Outside Port Charles |
| Chandler · Cramer · Lord · Manning |
| v - e
Jacks family | ||||||||||||
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