Through the years, Francis has appeared on numerous other daytime soaps. She starred on "Days of Our Lives" as Diana Colville (a reporter who became involved with John Black, at the time believing himself to be Roman Brady) from 1987 to 1989 and on "All My Children" as con artist and incest victim Ceara Connor Hunter from 1990 to 1992. She reprised her role as Ceara on "Loving" in a crossover storyline in November 1991. Ceara was "killed off" when her character prepared to move to that soap's town of Corinth (although it was an unseen extra stepping off the bus into the line of fire), and years later, Laura also appeared in Corinth on "General Hospital" when ex-husband Luke found her tied up in the Alden family basement. She then returned to "General Hospital" in 1993. In 1994, when Francis became pregnant with her first child, the pregnancy was written into the show and she took six weeks off for maternity leave. However, in early 1997, when she was pregnant again, she took a much longer absence from the show, staying away for nearly a year and a half. Francis abruptly left "General Hospital" in 2002 due to contract issues.