Dark, petite beauty and man magnet Brenda Barrett began stirring up things in Port Charles in 1992, when Brenda arrived there to live with her sister Julia Barrett. Brenda dropped out of boarding school, and Julia would not give Brenda access to her trust fund until she finished her education. Brenda decided to move in with good-looking Jagger Cates. She grew increasingly jealous of Karen Wexler when it was obvious that Jagger was interested in her more than Brenda. In fact, he eventually split with Brenda and took up with Karen, despite Brenda's attempts to sabotage Karen's chances. Brenda moved in with the Quartermaine family; by then, her sister Julia had left Port Charles.
Brenda Meets Sonny Corinthos: Sparks Fly
Brenda Barrett met Sonny Corinthos in 1993. The attraction was instantaneous. When Sonny was shot trying to break Frank Smith out of prison, Brenda came to his aid. Everyone told Brenda that Sonny was married to the mob, but she didn't accept that. She finally wore a wire to disprove it. Lily Rivera found out about the wire and told Sonny. Sonny broke up with Brenda, throwing her out of his house, and said he never wanted to see her again. Brenda was shattered, but she was also determined to win Sonny back. By now Sonny was married to Lily, a strategic move on his part, since her father was a mobster. He did drift back to Brenda and agreed to leave Lily to be with her. They planned to move out of Port Charles. It never happened – Lily announced her pregnancy. Brenda knew that Sonny would never leave Lily under those circumstances.
Brenda Barrett and Jax Get Together
Brenda's next love was Jasper Jacks, who helped her pick up the pieces after her recent breakup with Sonny. She was standing in the rain, crying, when Jax came for her and took her to a yacht. There, they were married. Lily's father, however, knew that Sonny had been seeing Brenda. He had a bomb planted in Sonny's car. It was Lily and her unborn child who were the casualties, though,and not Sonny. The bomb went off at the same time Jax and Brenda were wed.
Brenda and Jax wanted to repeat their wedding in Port Charles so their friends could attend. On the day of that ceremony, Sonny appeared with Jax's first wife, Miranda, whom Jax believed dead. The wedding was canceled as Jax tried to work out his situation.
Sonny and Brenda are Trapped
Some time later, Sonny was framed for a drug rap. Brenda was kidnapped and brought to the catacombs so that Sonny would rescue her. An explosion trapped both of them in the cave. Brenda and Sonny, sure they were going to die, admitted that they were still in love and had sex. They were rescued by Jax. Brenda told Jax the truth, and also that until she worked out her feelings, they probably shouldn't be together. She and Jax separated, and Brenda and Sonny became a couple once more.
Lily's Father Seeks Revenge on Brenda and Sonny
When Dr. Pierce Dorman was murdered, Brenda was arrested for the crime. Both she and Sonny believed that Lily's father was dead, but he wasn't – still trying to get revenge against both Sonny and Brenda, he framed Brenda for the murder. Sonny killed Rivera in self-defense. Brenda was cleared of the murder. Sonny at last proposed, something Brenda had always wanted. Once they were married, Sonny intended to give up the mob, and the two of them would leave Port Charles.
Brenda Is Left at the Altar
The day of their wedding, Sonny realized that marrying Brenda would be a mistake. It would put her in too much danger. He dispatched Jason to the church to inform Brenda that he was leaving town without her. Brenda turned on Jason and continued to loathe him until the two of them were in a plane crash and needed one another to stay alive.
Brenda moved back into the Quartermaine mansion, and later with Jax, but only as a friend, as she tried to put her life together. Jax convinced Brenda's sister Julia to return to Port Charles, and though the sisters had some bad history, they finally began to get along. But Brenda wasn't well. She became paranoid, believing that Sonny was out to kill her. Jax and Julia had her institutionalized. When Brenda's mental health returned, she knew she belonged with Jax. They planned a November wedding. Sonny returned to Port Charles, and she and Sonny said a final goodbye.
Brenda's Mother Hits Town
Brenda's mother Veronica then arrived in Port Charles. She had a hereditary mental illness that was accompanied by suicidal tendencies. Brenda was tested for the illness, but before she saw the test results, her mother drove both of them off of a cliff and into the ocean. When Jax received the test results, he burned them without reading them. Brenda was dead.
Is It the Real Brenda or a Fake?
In August 2000, Stefan Cassadine managed to get Jax out of Port Charles by hiring someone who looked very much like Brenda and having her appear in magazines. Jax ran off to find her, but when he returned a year later, he informed both Ned Ashton and Sonny that Brenda was really gone.
Luis Alcazar, Brenda, Sonny, and Jax
In September 2002, the real Brenda was again in Port Charles, on the yacht of an arms dealer, Luis Alcazar. Luis was the man who saved her from a watery grave when her mother drove her car over a cliff. Alcazar made Brenda believe that she had indeed inherited her mother's mental illness and promised to take care of her. Alcazar, however, has a hidden agenda – the murders of both Sonny and Jax, the two men who stood in the way of his total possession of Brenda. She still had strong feelings for both men. Brenda was kept sedated, but one day she realized that the yacht had docked in Port Charles. However, she was not allowed to disembark.
Zander Smith was caught near the yacht and imprisoned on it. Brenda had her nurse question Zander about Sonny and Jax. She learned that Sonny married Carly Corinthos, and that Jax was engaged. When Brenda overheard Alcazar's plans of getting rid of both men, she fired a flare gun, causing a fire and an explosion. The yacht sunk, and Brenda swam to shore. She appealed to a stranger to call Sonny for her, without revealing her identity. The stranger attempted to convince Sonny to meet this mystery woman in a church. Sonny hesitated while Brenda sat in the church talking to the priest.
