She soon found herself pregnant by Quartermaine heir A.J.

(Sean Kanan) and leaning on her new friend Jason for support (viaSoapCentral).

The rest is, as they say, history.

Laura Wright smiling

(Good luck,Nina!)

Brown left significant shoes to fill when she exited the soap in 2001 (viaIMDb).

Wright has receivedsix Daytime Emmy nominationsfor her work portraying Carly, and won in 2011 for Outstanding Lead Actress.

Sarah Joy Brown

In her time on the show, Wright has brought Carly through an enormous amount of life changes.

Not to mention theeighteenon-air slaps she’s delivered (viaSoap Central).

Tamara Braun smiling

Carly and Lorenzo Alcazar

Carly smiling with her hair up