Laura Webber was the illegitimate daughter of Lesley Webber and Gordon Gray. Gray had plotted with a nurse, Doris Roach, to convince Lesley that her daughter had died, switching Laura with a dead baby. Gordon then gave Laura to another family, the Vinings, to raise. Several years later Doris Roach confessed the plot on her death bed and Lesley discovered that her daughter was, in fact, alive. She managed to locate the Vinings and launched a custody suit. The judge put off making a decision until Laura and Lesley got to know each other and Laura could choose who she wanted to live with. Laura went to live with Lesley and her husband Cameron for a one-month trial period. Laura was fascinated with Lesley and Cameron's glamorous lifestyle, however Laura soon became ill and called out for Barbara Vining. Lesley returned Laura to the Vinings, but still remained obsessed with her daughter.
Laura became a troubled teenager, even running away to join a commune before Barbara Vining found her and brought her back home. Laura was mistrustful of all adults until Lesley's new husband, Rick Webber, managed to convince her that both Lesley and Barbara Vining loved her. She once again moved in with Lesley.
David Hamilton, a friend of Rick's moved in with the Webbers. David secretly hated Rick because his late wife had loved Rick. This caused David to try and seduce Lesley, but when she rejected him he turned to Laura. Laura became infatuated with the David the two began a love affair. Rick soon found out about it and ordered David to leave town. Laura begged him to take her with him, however she then overheard him tell Lesley that he had only used her to make Lesley jealous. Laura was horrified, she confronted David, throwing a statue at him and causing him to hit his head on the hearth. Laura then ran from the apartment. David was found dead by Lesley. In order to save her daughter from jail, Lesley confessed to murdering him. Laura blocked the whole death scene from her mind, but when she began to remember it, she was so overcome with guilt that she ran away to New York without testifying at her mother's trial, causing Lesley to be sent to prison. Scotty Baldwin, who had been in love with Laura before her affair with David went to New York to look for her. He found Laura involved in a drug and prostitution ring. Scotty managed to rescue her and bring her back to Port Charles. There, Laura confessed to killing David and Lesley was freed. Laura was sentenced to six months probation under her parents guardianship. She began to feel like a prisoner in her own home. Scotty was Laura's only source of comfort.
Nurse Bobbie Spencer was determined to marry Scotty. She enlisted the help of her older brother Luke to cause trouble between Scotty and Laura. Luke and Bobbie were born to poor parents, and while their mother had loved them immensely, their father was an alcoholic who thought only of himself. His mother died of appendicities when his father refused to take her to the doctors because they had no money. After their mother's death, their father ran off leaving Luke and Bobbie with the body. They then began living on the streets and eating out of garbage cans. They finally found their way to their Aunt Ruby's house. There Bobbie and Luke did what they could to keep themselves from starving, Bobbie began prostituting herself, while Luke became a gambler and a con man. Bobbie and Luke managed to eventually find their way off of the streets, with Bobbie becoming a nurse. Luke and Bobbie schemed to separate Laura and Scotty however, Luke soon began to fall in love with Laura. Laura married Scotty but soon realized that she was actually attracted to Luke Spencer.
Luke managed a Campus Disco for the Port Charles mob. Laura began waitressing there and became friends with Luke, who was becoming more and more obsessed with Laura.
Luke was soon hired by the mob to perform a hit on Mitch Williams, Tracy Quartermaine's new husband and a candidate for Senator promising to crack down on organized crime. Luke realized that he would soon die, if he didn't kill Mitch Williams, the mob would kill him. If he did kill Mitch, he would hang for it. One night in the Disco, a drunk Luke confessed his love to Laura and then raped her.
Laura was found and told the police that she had been raped. She did not, however, implicate Luke. She returned to work at the Disco and she and Luke managed to discuss the event and reach an understanding. In fact, on the day he was to assassinate Mitch Williams, Luke drove Laura to a cliff to apologize. There Luke explained his situation with the mob. Laura then threw Luke's car keys over the cliff, forcing someone else to perform the hit and saving Luke.
Laura soon became more involved in the activities of the Port Charles mob. She was spotted overhearing a conversation between mob boss Frank Smith and his henchmen. The mob began watching Laura. At the same time, Frank Smith's daughter Jennifer was attracted to Luke. Under pressure from Frank, Luke and Jennifer became engaged. Laura decided to work on her marriage with Scotty. However, on the day of Luke and Jennifer's wedding aboard Frank Smith's yacht, Scotty found a letter Laura had written to Luke and found out who Laura's rapist was. Scotty went to the yacht and beat up Luke, minutes before the ceremony. Luke fell overboard and was presumed drowned.
Later, while walking on the dock, Luke emerged from the water and grabbed Laura's leg, begging her to help him. Luke and Laura stole Frank Smith's little black book, which told the criminal activities of Frank and his organization, and fled Port Charles. Frank Smith found out that the two had stolen his book and sent a hit man, Hutch, after the two of them. Luke and Laura began running for their lives, and although Luke wanted to become lovers,but Laura still wanted to uphold her marriage vows. Meanwhile, Hutch found Luke and Laura and befriended them, waiting for the right moment to kill the two. The three of them got jobs in a local tavern, not realizing the the tavern owner, Sally, was a hit man in drag, sent by Smith to kill all three of them. Luke managed to decode the black book, with the goods on Frank Smith they could return to Port Charles. However, Laura was then kidnapped by Sally. A shootout erupted in which Hutch was critically wounded and Sally killed. The book was turned over to the police, the organization broken up and Frank Smith was jailed.
Luke and Laura returned to a farm where they had spent their happiest moments in hiding. There, the two made love and Luke gave Laura a make-shift ring and pledged his love for her. They returned to Port Charles, however once there the questioning reporters brought back memories of Laura's affair with David Hamilton. Laura panicked and blurted out that she was still Mrs. Scott Baldwin and had secretly slipped the ring off of her finger. Laura regretted this statement and was ready to ask Scotty for a divorce, but Luke was destroyed and decided to leave Laura.
Edward Quartermaine's neice Alexandria arrived in town to work on a business deal with her uncle. Alexandria, however, was really interested in locating a statue known as the Ice Princess and she hired Luke to find it. Meanwhile Laura began working as a receptionist at ELQ, however, Luke was not ready to resume their affair. Luke's attempts to find information on the Ice Princess were thwarted by Tony Cassadine and Robert Scorpio. Robert was actually a World Security Bureau agent and soon became good friends with Luke. He told Luke that the Ice Princess was actually the world's largest uncut diamond and contained a formula for synthesizing diamonds. If the Cassadines gained control of this statue they could take over the world. Luke also discovered that Alexandria Quartermaine had been working with the Cassadines. Meanwhile, Victor Cassadine came to Port Charles and left with the statue.
Robert found out the Cassadines were about to set sail with the Ice Princess. He and Luke stowed away on their yacht, the Haunted Star, but once on board they discovered another stow-away; Laura. She refused to be parted from Luke. The yacht finally docked at the Cassadine's private island. Victor and Tony Cassadine and their guests were living in a huge underground cave where they were joined by their older brother, Mikkos Cassadine. Mikkos revealed why he need the Ice Princess, with the formula for synthesizing diamonds now in his possession he could make a substance with the ability to change the climate of the world.
Luke, Laura, and Robert had found a hiding place on the island and while Luke and Laura were enjoying a romantic vacation Robert found his way into the cave with the help of Victor's mistress, Tiffany Hill. Tiffany was horrified by Mikkos' plan and promised to help the three save the world. The four came up with a plan to stop the Cassadines while Mikkos contacted the head of the WSB stating that if the WSB didn't surrender he would begin freezing the world, starting with Port Charles.
Mikkos had invented a freezing machine. When Tony and Alexandria tried to stop Mikkos, they were pushed into the freezing chamber and froze to death. Finally, Luke and Mikkos ended up in a fight where Mikkos fell into the freezing machine and froze to death. Luke managed to stop the freezing machine by typing in the code word, "Ice Princess". Victor Cassadine was jailed and the world was now safe from the Cassadines.
Luke, Laura, and Robert returned to Port Charles and received a hero's welcome. Luke and Laura decided to marry. After a struggle with Scotty to obtain a divorce, Laura finally flew to Mexico to end the marriage. Luke and Laura were married at the governors mansion in Port Charles with everyone attending. However, Scotty interrupted the marriage, catching the bouquet.
Once married, Laura began modeling for Miss Star Eyes. One day, Laura disappeared from the docks without a trace. Luke became frantic looking for Laura but was unable to find her. She was eventually considered dead.
While hiking in the mountains one day, Luke met Holly Sutton. Holly said that she was an orphan who had inhereted land in Port Charles. Luke and Holly appeared to find oil on the land and began urging people to invest. Luke and Robert didn't realize though that it was a scam set up by Holly and her family. Holly eventually felt too guilty and confessed the scam. Luke and Holly recovered the money that her family had stolen. Luke and Holly had a happy relationship for a short time before a fight separated them. Luke ran away to the mountains to think, there Luke was mugged and got caught in an avalanche. Luke was left paralyzed and once he realized the citizens of Port Charles assumed he was dead, Luke discovered this and didn't return to Port Charles for several months.
Once back in town, Luke ran for mayor and was elected. On the day of his inauguration, however, Laura returned. Laura had been kidnapped by the Cassadines and forced to wed Stavros Cassadine, Mikkos' son. She had managed to escape from the island after she discovered that Luke was not dead. Stavros managed to track Laura down in Port Charles, but met his death while trying to bring Laura back to the island with him. After Stavros' death Luke and Laura left town to start a new life.
Years later Luke and Laura reappeared in Canada where they were living a quiet life with their son Lucky. Frank Smith's henchmen had finally caught up with them and wanted revenge. Luke and Laura ran off and left Lucky to find his was to Port Charles. There he was taken in by Luke's Aunt Ruby until Luke and Laura followed soon after.
Luke managed to break Frank Smith out of jail with the help of a friend, Sonny Corinthos. Smith, however, didn't trust Luke. Meanwhile, Laura hoped that their family could remain in Port Charles. She convinced Luke to buy a deserted house in the woods and then returned to school and began working with Mary Mae Ward in the Ward House, a home for orphans.Luke and Laura went to Atlantic City to try and find something about Frank's daughter Jennifer that would force Frank to leave him alone. In Atlantic City, the two of them discovered that Jennifer was involved in larceny. They left with enough information to imprison Jennifer for years and give them leverage on Frank. Laura soon discovered that she was pregnant and gave birth to a daughter, Leslie Lu Spencer; but shortly after her birth Luke traveled to Puerto Rico, where he finally killed Frank Smith in a heated confrontation.
Luke opened a blues club called Luke's Place with Sonny as a partner. As the club was about to open Luke gave Laura and Lucky the grand tour. But as they were leaving, Luke's club was firebombed. Noone was injured, but Laura was afraid that mob violence had once again entered their life. Luke's partner Sonny had taken over Frank Smith's mob with Luke's enemy Damian Smith as his partner. Sonny quickly discovered that Frank Smith's lawyer, Phil Cusack had tried to take over part of the mob from Sonny. Phil was found dead shortly after. Harry, Sonny's second-in-command discovered that mobster Joe Scully had ordered Phil killed. Scully had been like a father to Sonny and Sonny felt he owed Scully. Scully, however wanted to take over Frank Smith's gang and Luke's Club. Sonny and Luke managed to stall Scully and Luke sent Laura and Lu Lu to Beechers Corner for their own protection.
At the same time, Damian smith asked Scully to help him exact revenge on Lucy Coe. Damian had Scully steal all of Lucy's incoming supplies and outgoing products from Lucy's cosmetics company, Deception. After weeks of her products getting stolen, Lucy called on Luke for help. Luke asked Sonny for help and Sonny discovered that Scully was behind Deception's sabotage. Luke and Lucy agreed to help Sonny nail Scully. Lucy tricked Scully, dropping hints about her shipments so that he could steal them. Then Luke planted drugs stolen from Scully on Lucy's truck and tipped off the police. The police then caught Scully with the load of drugs. Once out of jail on bail, Scully wanted revenge and kidnapped Lucy. Damian didn't want to see Lucy killed and he informed Luke and Sonny that Scully had kidnapped her. Luke rescued Lucy while Sonny shot Scully.
With Scully dead, Laura and Leslie Lu returned to Port Charles. However, soon afterwards, a rival organization machine gunned Luke's Club, Sonny's penthouse, and the Spencer home. After the shots were finished, Laura saw a hitman aim at Luke and shot him dead. Laura decide she couldn't raise her children in constant violence and asked Luke to leave. Luke and Laura were separated for months until Lucky decided to take matters into his own hands. He went on the run with his new friend Emily Quartermaine, bringing his parents back together as they searched for him.
Meanwhile, Damian Smith had been planning on developing the street where Ward House was located. One night Damian broke in and set Ward House on fire. However, Justus Ward, grand-son of Mary Mae Ward saw him and followed. Justus knocked Damian uncouscious and he eventually died. Ward house, however, still burnt down. Laura was charged with Damian's murder. Justus, an attorney, though he could defend Laura and avoid confessing. Although Laura was eventually acquitted, Luke discovered Justus' secret and ended their friendship.
Shortly afterwards, Lu Lu became ill. She was diagnosed with aplastic anemia and needed a bone marrow transplant, but no donor could be found. One day, however, Laura met with a mysterious caller only to discover that Stefan Cassadine was promising her help. Laura had actually given birth to a Cassadine son, Nikolas, while held captive on their island. She never told Luke about Nikolas and she hadn't seen the child since he was a baby. Stefan brought Nikolas to Port Charles with him and Nikolas proved to be a compatible donor.
Laura's news left Luke stunned and hurt, but he eventually forgave her. Luke felt that Stefan was the enemy, not Laura. Nikolas, however, felt abandoned by Laura. Laura truly loved Nikolas though, and tried to explain to him why she left. The two tried to find common ground and begin a relationship.
Stefan again gave Laura shocking news, her mother, whom Laura believed Helena Cassadine had killed was still alive. Stefan had kept her hidden away for years, drugged and barely conscious. When Luke and Laura discovered that Lesley was alive, they devised another scheme. They staged Lesley and Laura's death. Laura entered the building where her mother was held only to have it explode seconds later. All of Port Charles believed that Laura and Lesley were dead. After a final confrontation with Stefan, Luke, Lucky, and Lu Lu left Port Charles and went to join Laura and Lesley.
Luke and Laura later returned when Stefan framed Luke for a shooting accident. Luke was finally cleared of the crime, but Stefan felt hurt and betrayed. He gave Laura an ultimatum, leave, or he would tell Luke that he slept with Laura when she was a Cassadine prisoner, and that he might be the father or her son, Nikolas. Laura complied, telling Luke that she needed to take Leslie to Switzerland for treatment. Laura, Lesley, and Lu Lu left town.
Luke and Lucky were living alone in Port Charles when Lucky came upon his friend Elizabeth after she had been raped in the park. Lucky was greatly affected by Elizabeths recovery and discussed with Luke how much he wanted to kill any man who could rape a woman. Lucky later found out that his father raped his mother when Nikolas blurted it out in anger. At first Lucky didn't believe Nikolas, but after researching it, he confronted Luke, who admitted it. Lucky then left the house and Luke.
At the same time Stefan told Laura that she could return to Port Charles. But Laura remained away until Nikolas flew in and asked if Stefan had ever loved her, and she recieved a letter from Stefan telling her that he would now be giving Nikolas a new mother, his fiance, Katherine Bell. Laura returned to Port Charles at Stefan's engagement ball to confron Stefan.
