1981: Liza Colby grew up determined to have everything the world could offer, including the very perfect Greg Nelson. But Greg had fallen in love with another woman, Jenny Gardner. Jenny was everything Liza was not: kind, loving, and most of all poor. Liza hoped Greg would come to his senses and dump Jenny.

1982: Liza needed to pull Jenny and Greg apart. She was publicly embarrassed when her plot to fix and win the Miss Pine Valley Homemaker pageant was revealed by Jenny’s mother, Opal Gardner. She looked like a fool. She needed to do the same to Jenny. She found articles of Ray Gardner’s reign of terror in the mid-seventies. The culmination of which was his raping Ruth Martin, Jenny's brother's adoptive-mother. Liza confronted Jenny with the news. After the shock set in, Liza told Jenny she was going to tell Greg everything. This was enough to run Jenny out of town.
Triumphant, Liza did not have much time to gloat. When Jesse Hubbard got news of Liza’s role in Jenny’s disappearance, he threatened her. Liza cried rape. With Jesse out of the way, no one stood between her and Greg.
When Jesse came back to Pine Valley to tell Greg why Jenny had left in the first place, he was put on trial for Liza’s rape. But Jenny had something else to say. She finally found enough courage to confront Liza. Liza was forced to admit to lying about what Jesse had done. In her shame and isolation, she had no one else to turn to but her friend and fellow schemer, Amanda Cousins.

1983: Though Greg and Jenny were engaged to marry, Liza was not about to let Greg go. After Ray almost blew up the Martin home, Liza pressured Jenny to leave Greg because of her family background.
But Liza’s view of the Gardner family changed when Jenny’s brother, Tad Martin, sauntered his way back to Pine Valley. The rising model easily mesmerized Liza. With her attentions on Tad, Liza gave up her pursuit of Greg.
Liza’s world crumbled around her when she discovered Tad was having an affair with an older woman. She pushed Tad to admit to his infidelity. But, he refused to tell her who the woman was. Tad’s other woman was her mother, Marian Colby. Liza went on a self-destructive rampage against her former lover and her mother. When her father, Larry Colby, learned the truth, he died of a sudden heart attack. This tragic event helped Liza to come terms with the betrayal from the two people she trusted most in her life.

1984: Liza was raped by an unknown assailant. In the hospital, she befriended her doctor, Cliff Warner.
Liza became an intern at WRCW, specifically working for Cliff’s medical TV show. Though she had a genuine interest in Broadcast work, she had her focus on other things. Liza was attracted to the single doctor, and did what she could to seduce him. Cliff admitted to the affair with the much younger intern, and asked her to leave the position for both their careers.
Hated by everyone in Pine Valley, Liza needed a new start. She left Pine Valley to continue her University work elsewhere.

1995: Liza returned to her old stomping grounds at WRCW. This time, she was the Station Manager. The only other person up for the job was producer Tad. Liza could not deny her feelings for him. Though he was happily married to Dixie Martin, Liza actively pursued Tad. During a late night onthe job, Liza and Tad shared a kiss.

1996: Liza and Tad hit network gold with the new direction of The Cutting Edge. It was now more of a tabloid show instead of focusing on hard-hitting journalism. Liza realized she had gone too far for ratings when Laurel Dillon was shot dead on the set because of a feature they were doing on her brother, homosexual Pine Valley High School teacher Michael Delaney.
Dixie had been good friends with Michael and blamed Laurel’s death on Tad and Liza. Tad turned to Liza thinking his marriage was over. In a vulnerable state, Tad succumbed to Liza’s charms, and they made love. Tad wanted to keep the affair a secret. But, Marian had other plans. She thought this would finally be Liza’s chance to be happy with the man she loved. She played a taped conversation between Tad and Liza where they confessed to their affair for everyone at the station to hear. Dixie left Tad. He blamed Liza for the end of their marriage.
Adam Chandler and Liza plotted to win the ones they loved. They faked a romance so as to make Tad and Brooke English jealous enough to begin dating them again. Adam and Liza planned a wedding. Only, no one was supposed to say, “I do.” Adam said his vows first. When no one arrived to interject, Adam was under the assumption that the plan was ruined. But Liza realized the monetary potential in being Mrs. Adam Chandler. She went threw with her vows, seemingly forcing Adam into a loveless marriage.
Liza knew she had to seduce Adam into bed if she was going to get any of his money. In the meanwhile, Liza’s ex-lover, Dr. Jonathan Kinder, had cheated Marian out of her fortune. Liza agreed to let Marian live at Chandler Mansion as long as she kept an eye on Adam and his plots to leave her with nothing.
Liza took a personal trip to a country cottage that Christmas. There, she met a handsome man on his way to Pine Valley. Liza did not realize that the young man was none other than Tad’s little brother, Dr. Jake Martin. They spent the night together.

1997: Liza could not deny her feelings for Jake. Adam took advantage of this by hiring him at WRCW as the medical consultant. Liza found herself falling in love with Jake. She finally agreed to Adam’s divorce. But on the night they were to sign the papers, Liza and Adam succumbed to their passion.
Liza learned she was pregnant with Adam’s child, ending any chance she had with Jake. Liza did not want to admit it, but she was beginning to have feelings for husband. Their happiness was not to be when Liza miscarried as a result of the stress from an emergency landing. To add insult to injury, Liza found out that Chandler Industries owned TransGlobal Airlines. Adam had ordered the cost cuts responsible for mechanical failures. Liza left him again.
Adam suffered a stroke from the stress of potential lawsuits. Liza wanted to help him recover. Liza became suspicious when Adam suffered a second stroke. Liza learned that he faked the second stroke so as to keep her by his side. They got in a heated argument at the Boathouse. He began to seize again. Liza thought Adam was faking it again. At the hospital, she served him divorce papers.

1998: Liza exonerated Jake, who was under investigation for supposedly trying to kill Adam after he had his stroke. They used a drugged up Stuart to illicit a confession from the true culprit, Dr. David Hayward.
During her time at Chandler Mansion, Liza had grown protective of the Chandlers. Liza recognized that Kelsey Jefferson and Gillian Andrassy were both trying to cash in on Scott Chandler’s inheritance. She sided with Kelsey only to have someone else to blame if Gillian was hurt. Then, she used her network contacts to get Kelsey a job in Milwaukee. But getting rid of Gillian was going to prove a bigger challenge. Liza caught one of her employees, Ryan Lavery, getting kickbacks from advertisers for airtime. She threatened to report Ryan if he did not seduce Gillian away from Scott.
All the while, Liza’s biological clock was ticking. At a sperm bank, she caught Ryan after he made his donation. Not wanting to put her child’s fate up to chance, she asked Jake if he would be her donor. He agreed and soon, Liza was pregnant.
After Adam and his family almost died at the hands of Lee Hawkins, Liza realized that she may still have feelings for him. She agreed to give Adam a second chance.

1999: Adam wanted to marry Liza before the birth of her child. But Liza wanted to take things slowly. She gave birth to Colby Marian Chandler with David's help. Liza surprisingly turned to Marian for motherly advice. Colby’s birth forced the women to come to amends with their broken relationship. Adam and Liza soon remarried. When Jake learned that Colby would be raised under Adam’s influence, he sued for custody.
Liza’s world was rocked when Adam confessed that he, and not Jake was Colby's father. Allie Doyle and Adam had switched Jake’s sample at the sperm bank. Liza rushed off to tell Jake. But, after seeing Colby in Jake’s arms, she could not bear to tell him the truth. When she came home, Marian revealed that she had trapped Adam in the Chandler safe room after she caught him making plans to run away with Colby. Stuart would pass as Adam until they could come up with another plan.
Adam bought WRCW from under Liza and Tad. Liza saw Adam's current trapped situaion as her opportunity to get back at her husband for all the wrongs he had committed.

2000: It was clear that Liza was going to win custody of Colby from Jake. But it pained Liza to see Jake struggle for a child that was not even his. Before the judge could reveal the verdict, Liza told everyone what Adam had done. Jake left town, not knowing who he could trust anymore. Liza divorced Adam again, and they shared custody of Colby.
Liza learned of Adam’s plot to implicate Marian in an affair with a gigolo so as to break off her relationship with Stuart Chandler. Liza blackmailed Adam by threatening to tell Stuart. Liza got power of attorney and had Adam committed to Oak Haven. She and Tad completed their take over of Chandler Industries, culminating in the construction of their new headquarters, the ColMar Towers.
Adam was devastated when Stuart was presumed dead in a fire at their fishing cabin. Liza signed Adam’s release letter. Adam sunk into a deep depression. Liza still loved Adam and wanted to see him recover. He rashly married Arlene Vaughan, Hayley’s mother.
Adam plotted his revenge by setting the ColMar towers to sink on its own foundation. When Adam found out Liza was going to be at the building site, he ran to warn her. Adam was injured and admitted to the hospital. Liza admitted she was still in love with Adam. Adam wanted them to be a family again, but Arlene was now pregnant with his child.
Liza and Arlene were at odds with each other over Adam. In an altercation at Chandler Mansion, a pregnant Arlene stumbled down the stairs. Arlene had staged the whole incident. She had already miscarried Adam’s child, but wanted Liza to take the fall.

2001: Liza and Adam remarried in Chandler Mansion. They had their honeymoon at home as Adam was on house arrest for throwing Arlene overboard on Fidelity.
Their newest marriage hit an early hurdle when Adam slept with a judge to get the drug charges dropped against JR Chandler. Liza crawled into bed with a mourning Ryan who just learned Gillian had died. When Adam found out, he fired him from IncredibleDreams.com. Liza rehired Ryan at WRCW as a consolation. Soon, she learned she was pregnant. Adam and Liza got in a heated argument, and Liza slipped down the Chandler steps. She miscarried her baby. A test proved the child was Ryan’s and not Adam’s.
A young woman named Mia Saunders came to Liza with a bombshell: she was her sister. Marian corroborated Mia’s claim. Marian had kept Larry’s infidelity a secret for years to protect her daughter. Liza thought Mia was an opportunist and offered her money to take a DNA test. Mia took the DNA test. Before the results could be read, she ripped up Liza’s check.
Liza had trouble coming to terms with her miscarriage. Mia confided that she had put a child up for adoption. Liza began to accept Mia as her sister.

2002: Liza began acting erratically, going so far as to accuse JR of hurting Colby. Her behavior was explained by a brain tumor. Before going in for her life saving surgery, Liza told Mia to care for her daughter if anything happened to her.
Adam did not forgive Liza for her infidelity like he let on. After Lizas’s successful surgery, she suffered from bouts of anterograde amnesia. Adam was making it appear as if Liza’s insanity had resurfaced. Liza feared her tumor was back. Adam began to groom Mia to replace Liza. Liza wrongfully suspected Mia to be a willing accomplice. After uncovering Adam’s deception, Liza retaliated by pushing Mia out of a window.
Liza regretted what she did to her sister but did not know how to approach her. It took Colby’s Christmas time intervention to bring the sisters together.
Kendall Hart approached Adam about investing in her upstart cosmetics company. Liza made it her own pet project. She insisted Mia join in on the venture.

2003: Even after couple’s counseling, Liza decided to end her marriage to Adam.
Liza realized that she still had feelings for Tad. Liza hoped to rekindle their past romance. But, Tad had begun a relationship with her FUSION colleague, Simone Torres.

2004: Liza did not trust Krystal Carey, or her intentions for Tad. She originally teamed up with JR to get Krystal to leave town. But working with JR made Liza see a side of him she had never seen before. She realized JR had grown up in Adam’s image.
Afraid that Colby was facing the same fate, Liza turned to Tad for a huge favor. Liza was going to begin her life anew with Colby away from Pine Valley. But, she needed help so that Adam would never track them down. Tad created a new identity of "Ramona Beasley" for Liza and sent her to live in New Orleans. Liza said a hard goodbye to her family, and the place she had called home since she was a child.

2005: Liza found out Jamie and Babe had made their way to New Orleans with Adam Chandler, III. They also were trying to escape the Chandler reign of terror. Liza found them right before one of Adam’s goons was going to turn them in. She offered them a place to stay while Tad formulated a plan to send them into hiding. But Adam and JR put their own plan together faster than Tad had thought. Though Liza and Colby were able to allude Adam again, Jamie and Babe were not so lucky.

2006: Colby ran away to Pine Valley to be with Adam. Liza was not ready to come home. She agreed to let Adam care for Colby, but remained in close contact with Marian.