Written by DandTMartin4ever
Born: Dixie Cooney
Mother: Elizabeth "Bess" Cooney
Father: Seabone Hunkle
Siblings:
Will Cooney Cortlandt - brother Melanie "Lanie" Cortlandt Rampal - sister Del Henry - half brother (Seabone's son) Diana "Di" Henry - half sister (Seabone's daughter)
Married to: Adam Chandler - divorced Thaddeus "Tad" Martin - divorced 3 times Craig Lawson - divorced Brian Bodine - divorced Children: Adam "JR" Chandler, Jr. - son with Adam James "Jamie" Edward Martin - Godson and stepson with Tad Kate Martin - daughter with Tad Grandchildren: Adam Chandler III - JR's son with Babe Carey
Occupation: Former Administrative Assistant - Andrassy Foundation Former Patient Advocate - Pine Valley Hospital
Dixie Cooney came to Pine Valley in a truck with her brother, Will Cooney,
in search of their Uncle Pete Cooney who had made a “name” for himself
after leaving Pigeon Hallow years ago. Little did they know that “name”
was Palmer Cortlandt, one of the Valley’s richest 
men.
Dixie and Will found work at Cortlandt manor as a maid and stable-hand. They
did not realize the identity of their new employer until both saw a face they
had not seen in years, their sister: Della Cooney.
Della, now going by Melanie Cortlandt, explained to Palmer what had happened. As a child, she was fortunate to be sent away to live with a rich aunt. The Cooney's that were left behind in Pigeon Hallow had lived in poverty. Palmer took in the Cooney's and proclaimed no kin of his were going to suffer again.
Dixie watched as Will climbed the Cortlandt Electronics ladder. He
eventually took on the Cortlandt name as well. Dixie wanted to work on her own
and turned to her uncle’s rival, Adam Chandler, for employment. He needed
a nanny for his step-daughter, Laura Cudahy. While living in Chandler 
mansion,
Dixie became susceptible to Adam’s down home charm. The simple Dixie was
easily smitten by her new employer. They had an affair that left her pregnant
with Adam’s son. Adam offered to adopt Dixie’s child and raise him
with his wife, Brooke. Though at first Dixie agreed, when the child, Adam Chandler,
jr., was born she could not give the child away. Brooke Chandler had hired Tad
Martin to discover who fathered Dixie’s child. When the truth about Adam
came out, Brooke left Adam.
Afraid that Dixie was going to leave with their child, Adam married
Dixie. But, not soon afterwards, he began to gaslight her into thinking she
was going insane. He had planned all along to reconcile with Brooke and leave
Dixie in a Laurel Hill. Dixie went on the run with Junior, ending up on Tad’s
door. They tried to evade 
Adam’s
thugs as long as they could, but soon Dixie was in Laurel Hill. With the help
of Cecily Davidson and Nico Kelly, Tad broke Dixie 
out
of the insane asylum and implicated Adam in the crime. Tad stood by Dixie through
the custody and divorce battle. Slowly, they had fallen in love. Tad proposed
to Dixie in a chicken suit in homage to their favorite meal of chicken fingers.
They announced their wedding for all their family to attend. Later, Dixie won
shared-primary custody of Junior. That Christmas, they began their longstanding
tradition of wishing on a star.
But the newlyweds were challenged from all sides. Though Palmer on the outside was supportive of the union, he and Tad’s mother Opal Gardner plotted to tear them apart. He went so far as to enlist the help of Marian Colby to illustrate to Dixie the sins of Tad’s past. Dixie grew even more uncomfortable with Tad’s constant affiliation with some of Pine Valley’s most beautiful women like Skye Chandler and Brooke. Palmer hired a woman to claim she had slept with Tad. When Tad found evidence implicating Palmer, Dixie refused to believe her uncle would lie to her. Tad gave an ultimatum, either they left Pine Valley together or their marriage was over. Dixie moved into Cortlandt Manor the next day.
Dixie befriended town pariah Billy Clyde Tuggle. He grew infatuated
with her, but Dixie did not return his affections. In fact, she and Tad 
were
making strides at reconciliation. Billy Clyde kidnapped Dixie and threatened
that if he was not going to have her, no one was. Tad arrived with Derek Frye,
and were able to make a run from Billy’s cabin. Dixie realized how much
she loved Tad, and they planned to marry again.
On their second wedding day, Tad was late as usual. Dixie brushed it off until Lanie arrived with a somber face. She had just gotten the news: Billy Clyde and Tad got in a confrontation on a bridge when it exploded. Both men were dead. Dixie was a widow before she was a bride.
While mourning Tad, Dixie learned he and Brooke had an affair while
they were on a break. Brooke was now pregnant with his child. Dixie reacted
well to the news. The women bonded, and Dixie was asked to be James Edward Martin’s
godmother. 
Just when it seemed like all was lost, Dixie met Craig Lawson, one of Tad’s old friends from his time in California. He had gotten a job at Cortlandt Electronics, and Dixie decided to talk him up to her uncle. Dixie thought she had found love again, and they eloped.
Will smelled a rat and began looking into his past. He discovered that Craig was a con-man, and even found his ex-fiancé, Gloria Marsh, to support his claims. But, Will was not the same man he was when he came to Pine Valley. When it was revealed that he had raped Gloria, and that Palmer had chosen Craig for a promotion over him, Dixie believed Will’s actions to be out of pettiness. Will responded by suing for custody of Junior, not wanting his nephew to be raised under Craig’s watch. But, his plans came to a startling end when Janet Green murdered him. During the murder investigation, Gloria came to Dixie with the truth about Craig. She rejected him, and slowly sunk into a depression.
Adam saw this as his time to strike. He filed yet another custody suit
against the fragile mother. Junior had 
befriended
a teen named Brian Bodine. Dixie found herself leaning more and more on the
young man. In an attempt to help give Junior a stable home, Brian proposed to
Dixie. But even with the marriage, Adam won out. The moment of truth came at
the year’s Christmas Pageant where Junior was supposed to sing “O,
Little Town of Bethlehem.” He refused to sing a note until he saw his
mother. Adam realized he could not keep his son away from his mother.
A shocking revelation hit Pine Valley when an amnesiac Tad Martin came
back to town as Ted Orsini. His love for Dixie helped him to remember his past
in Pine Valley. Though the lovers were drawn to each other, Tad felt obligated
to Brooke because she was the father of his son. They married, and 
attempted
to build a solid home for Jamie. Dixie instead began dating the real Ted Orsini,
all the while harboring feelings for Tad. They had an affair that ended Tad’s
marriage. When Ted found out, he kidnapped Dixie with the intent of luring Tad
into the woods and killing him. Dixie proved to be the hero this time around.
Ted fell into a freezing river and was swept away. Returning to town, Tad and
Dixie finally they got the second marriage they had been waiting so long for.
That day, Palmer asked for Dixie’s forgiveness for breaking up their first
union. He gave away the bride to show his approval.
Del Henry, a mysterious writer, came to Dixie’s home with a slue of questions. Soon, he revealed his true intentions: he was Dixie’s brother. Their father, Seabone Hunkle, had raised a second family away from the Cooney’s in Pigeon’s Hallow. He was on his deathbed and desperately needed a kidney. Dixie was quick to volunteer her own, but Tad was hesitant to allow anything to affect her health. After the surgery, complications sent Dixie into a coma. She awoke only to realize that the surgery had left her unable to carry a child to term. This would be the beginning of the undoing for Tad and Dixie’s marriage.
Janet was released from prison and began working for Tad as Jane Cox. When the truth came out, Dixie could not help but partly blame Tad. She teamed up with Trevor Dillon to put Janet away again. But, Janet was not going to beat, and hired a look-alike actor to haunt her as Will.
Tad survived the Martin family roof falling in on them. After a big family reunion, both were optimistic that their luck had changed. But, Dixie was growing restless. Tad was working long hours at Orsini Vineyards and WRCW. Dixie decided to go back to school. She befriended her professor Michael Delaney. Tad was worried that they were having an affair. In fact, Michael had confided in Dixie that he was gay.
The stress on their marriage met its breaking point when Liza Colby
became the studio manager at WRCW. Dixie knew of how much Tad 
had
loved Liza. Liza was coming on strong, and though Tad assured her otherwise,
Dixie knew she was a threat. After a falling out, Dixie threw Tad out of the
house. That night, he turned to Liza for comfort. Dixie and Tad reconciled,
but Marian had other plans. She played a tape of Tad and Liza admitting to their
affair. Ashamed and humiliated, Dixie ran home and packed her bags. Tad made
one last plea to Dixie. Dixie gave Tad one last ultimatum: he had to promise
that he would never lie to her again. Tad could not respond. In silence, Dixie
left their home. The next day, she and Junior left for Pigeon’s Hallow.
In Pigeon’s Hallow, Dixie became a schoolteacher. She even met
a man, Jonas, to whom she was engaged. The only link she had to Pine Valley
was Gloria. She assured Tad that Dixie was doing well. One day, Adam showed
up with paper to reclaim Junior, now going by JR. Lee Hawkins had threatened
to hurt all the Chandlers. Dixie refused to let JR go back to Pine Valley without
her. Lee’s diabolical plan came to fruition at the 
Holiday’s
explosion. That night while helping search for survivors, Dixie finally came
face to face with Tad.
Saving JR brought Tad and Dixie back together. Both were too stubborn to admit that they still loved each other. They embarked on a trip to New York together, chasing Palmer who was on the run with some Nazi paintings. There, they decided to have “An Affair to Remember,” where if they decided they wanted to be together, they would meet at midnight at the top of the Empire State Building. That night, Tad was alone.
Dixie had collapsed in her hotel room from a heart palpitation caused
by her weakened immune system. Palmer and his new assistant, Braden Lavery,
had found her and brought her to the hospital. In the hospital, Dixie admitted
to Braden 
that
she loved Tad, but refused to allow him to be burdened with her if she was in
fact dying. Dixie taped a living will for JR and Jamie in case anything went
wrong during her surgery. She awoke to the site of her doctor, David Hayward,
and the good news that she was going to make it. Tad misconstrued Braden and
Dixie’s closeness as flirtation.
JR found the tape and turned to Tad for comfort. Even without a formal
union, it was clear that Dixie 
and
Tad were linked forever. Dixie stood by Braden after he admitted to raping Kit
Montgomery. But, she too would see his real colors when he attempted to attack
her. Tad and Ryan Lavery intervened and sent Braden out of town.
With nothing standing between them, Tad pursued Dixie again. Both admitted their love for each other and remarried in front of their blended families. Not soon afterwards, Dixie was pregnant. But, her heart condition coupled with her affected immune system caused her to miscarried. Tad made it clear they would never try to have children again.
Again, domestic life was paying its toll on Dixie. She decided to start working at the Andrassy Foundation under David and Dr. Alex Marick. She was always suspicious of David, but her curiosity was peaked when he discovered a mysterious file. She realized he was treating Dimitri Marick, Alex’s presumed dead husband. Dixie and Dimitri had known each other before. She pressured him to reveal the truth about his condition to his brother, Edmund Grey, and his wife. David found Dixie’s supportive nature appealing. They worked long hours together to find a cure for Dimitri’s disease. When he had a clean bill of health, he returned to Alex.
Tad told Dixie that he and Liza were planning a hostile takeover of
Chandler enterprises. Their close working conditions again worried Dixie. This
made her ripe for the picking for David. David found out that Martin family
attorney Leslie Coulson had a long unrequited crush on Tad. He poisoned Tad
into sleeping with a willing Leslie. When Dixie found out, she began an 
affair
with David. Tad worked to regain Dixie’s trust, but their marriage was
crumbling. Leslie had attempted to throw Dixie off the roof of the Chandler
tower. Knowing this, Tad still brought Leslie back to town to implicate David
as the mastermind of the scheme. Dixie left David when she found out the truth.
He professed his love for her, but she would have nothing of it. But, she also
surprised Tad by divorcing him again for putting her life in danger again.
Tad and Dixie pulled together to protect JR from the growing Proteus
drug ring in Pine Valley. JR was arrested for buying drugs, and Tad was arrested
for murdering his supplier. Dixie found out that she was 
pregnant
with Tad’s child. She knew only one person could help her. She turned
to David. He arranged for her to go to a high-risk pregnancy center in Switzerland.
She left her family claiming that she had a chance to teach a seminar and that
she would be home soon. She left JR with the star necklace Tad gave her to wish
upon whenever he missed her.
In Switzerland, Dixie’s pregnancy was going well. Lanie, who was living in France with her husband David Rampal, made constant visits to see her sister. On what would be her last, she was faced with a heavy burden. Dixie, in her third trimester, went out driving after a storm. Her car careened off a cliff into the abyss. Dixie was presumed dead, and Lanie called Pine Valley to share the devastating news. Tad was already on his way to see Dixie as she had just sent him a letter telling him about his daughter, Kate Martin.
Somehow, Dixie survived. She remained in Europe until one Christmas four years later when her half-sister Di Henry arrived at her home. Di was the only person who knew Dixie was alive. Di pleaded with Dixie to come home, but she was afraid about how her family would react to the fact that she had stayed away from Pine Valley for so long. Di left her a present, a current picture of Tad, her children, and her new grandson. Dixie found the courage to come home, just in time for the Mardi Gras masquerade ball.
Portrayed by:
Kari Gibson (1989) Cady McClain (1989-1996; 1998-2002; 2005-present)