From 1985 to 1992, she played Anna Devane on General Hospital. Hughes won a Daytime Emmy in 1991, for Outstanding Lead Actress on General Hospital. She was nominated for the same category in 1990 for Anna, in 2000 for All My Children as Alex, and, in 2002, as Anna. After establishing herself as a daytime television star, Hughes shot a feature film cameo as a soap opera Actress who loses an award to Sally Field in the satirical film Soapdish (1991). Two years later, she played a leading role in the film Aspen Extreme (1993). It was announced in April 2006 that Hughes would be returning to GH. In May 2006, as part of the May Sweeps period, three GH veterans would return. Finola Hughes would be reunited with Tristan Rogers (Robert Scorpio) and Emma Samms (Holly Sutton). Following a rise in ratings from her sweeps return, Hughes returned to General Hospital for a limited run through August 2006. She returned the following year on 13 July 2007 and once again on 15 April 2008.