Trina Robinson
Trina Robinson is a fictional character from General Hospital, an American soap opera on the ABC network. The role was originated played by Tiana Le from 2017 to 2018. Nearly a year later on February 20, 2019, Sydney Mikayla took over the role. Later that year, Mikayla began appearing as a series regular. She vacated the role in March 2022; Tabyana Ali replaced her later that month.
Introduced by executive producer Frank Valentini in 2017, Trina is created by co-head writers Jean Passanante and Shelly Altman as the party girl best friend of Josslyn Jacks. For the most part, Trina is mentioned in passing by her friends. With Mikayla in the role, Trina is integrated into the canvas as one of the four young teen characters within the series, along with Josslyn, Oscar Nero, and Cameron Webber. Trina also forges friendship with Ava Jerome when she interns at Ava's art gallery. Hailed as one of the show's young heroines, in 2020, Trina steps into a more central role with the reintroduction of established character Marcus Taggert as her father and the arrival of her mother, Portia Robinson. Trina struggles to cope with Taggert's presumed death and blames Portia's ex-boyfriend Curtis Ashford. In 2021, the writers developed Trina's first potential romance with the troubled Spencer Cassadine.
With Mikayla in the role, Trina becomes a favorite amongst fans and critics for her fierce loyalty and her smart and assertive personality. Mikayla received two consecutive nominations for the Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Younger Performer in a Drama Series for her portrayal of Trina in 2021 and 2022.
Storylines
In June 2017, Trina is enlisted by her best friend Josslyn Jacks to throw a party while her mom is out of town. After successfully arranging the party, Trina also invites Josslyn's crush Oscar. However, the party gets out of hand when the guests start drinking and Josslyn's grandmother Bobbie Spencer breaks up the party. While the character does not appear much, she is mentioned often by Joss and Oscar. In March 2018, Trina attends the alternative prom that Oscar and Joss have arranged to support a transgender student at school. However, an earthquake hits and Trina suffers minor injuries.Throughout 2019, Trina serves as a supportive friend to Joss and Cam. She accompanies them on a road trip with a terminally ill Oscar and comforts Cam as he struggles to accept his mother Elizabeth Webber's relationship with reformed serial killer Franco. Trina serves as moral support for Cameron when he goes to court after missing his mandatory community service thanks to the trip. As Oscar's health declines, Trina is determined to make sure everything is normal for Oscar and Joss. Despite her own grief over Oscar's passing, Trina does her best to support Joss and Cam, even participating in Joss's attempt at a séance. When Joss is too sad to attend, Trina accompanies Cam to Elizabeth and Franco's wedding reception. Trina and Cam are happy when Joss tags along at the last minute. In the summer Trina and Joss comfort Cam after he is abducted and Franco trades himself for Cam's freedom. She even talks Cam out of selling his car, as he blames the car for his abduction. Later, Cam realizes Trina likes Joss's "cousin" Dev Corbin and she ask for his help getting Dev to like her. As she starts school, Trina applies for an internship at Ava Jerome's gallery. While Ava hesitates due to her lack of experience, Trina makes an impression and lands the gig. Trina supports Cam as he struggles to cope with Franco's rejection as he doesn't remember their family. Meanwhile, Trina is concerned when Ava checks herself into a mental hospital as she feels she is being haunted by her late daughter, Kiki. During a school dance for Halloween, Trina kisses Dev but he just wants to be friends. While she isn't too broken up about it, Trina suspects that he is into Joss though Dev denies it. Trina then learns Joss and Cam have been drinking and tries to sneak them out of the dance but they are discovered by Cam's aunt Lulu Spencer and their teacher, Dustin Phillips. The teens are sentenced to Saturday detention where Dev admits that he is an illegal immigrant and that he is posing as Joss's cousin so he can stay in the country; they are sworn to secrecy. As Trina tries to get to the bottom of a recent break-in at the gallery, she is alarmed when Ava suddenly checks herself out of the hospital, claiming she is perfectly sane. On Christmas Eve, Trina tells Joss that Dev has a crush on her.
In 2020, Trina plans to attend the winter formal with Cam as friends, but tells Joss it's a date in an effort to make her face her feelings for Cam. Just before the dance, Trina is visited by her father Taggert and he gives his blessing for Cam to take Trina to the dance. However, the duo are abducted on their way to the dance by Taggert's enemies. While Taggert, Curtis and Jason Morgan rescue them, Taggert dies after surgery. Portia returns from her medical conference to comfort a distraught Trina as she blames Curtis for Taggert's demise. Meanwhile, Trina turns to Cam for comfort and they kiss. Trina is furious when Police Commissioner Jordan Ashford announces that Taggert and his DEA partners manufactured against the recently exonerated Cyrus Renault, an alleged drug lord. Cyrus confronts Trina and Portia and Curtis intervenes but Trina isn't interested in his help. As Jordan refuses to retract her story, Trina sets out to clear Taggert's name. She later confides in Joss about her kiss with Cam to avoid any awkwardness and assures Joss it means nothing, much to Cam's chagrin. To distract herself from her anxiety around her grief, homecoming, her feelings about Cam, Trina throws herself into her internship. When Cam admits that he has feelings for both Trina and Joss, they kiss again and decide they are better as friends. Dev suddenly lashes out at Joss and Trina after Joss rejects his romantic advances. Though he apologizes, Cam has to convince Trina not to end their friendship with Dev for good. Days later, Cam and Dev are caught in an explosion that kills Dev and leaves Cam blaming himself, despite Trina and Cam insisting otherwise. When Cyrus claims Taggert faked his death to protect Trina, she tries to access medical records with Joss & Cam's help but they are caught by nurse Epiphany Johnson. When Trina tells Portia about Cyrus's claims, Portia wants to file a complaint and they arrive at the police station as Taggert has been arrested. While she is happy he is alive, Trina is furious that he let her grieve and didn't trust her with the truth.
Despite Ava's advice that keeping Taggert's secret would've been too hard on Trina, she wants nothing to do with her father in the New Year. Meanwhile, Trina and Cam comfort Joss after her stepfather Sonny Corinthos is presumed dead. Later, Cam and Trina agree to keep quiet about Dev stealing Joss's journal to avoid tainting her memories of their friend. As she struggles to accept Taggert's betrayal, Cam and Joss offer their support. She and Joss later comfort Cam when his stepfather Franco is stabbed to death. When Cam suspects Franco faked his death to spare their family the pain of watching him die from a brain tumor, the girls help Cam break into the hospital morgue to identify Franco's remains. Trina finally apologizes for how she treated Curtis and he encourages her to reconcile with Taggert. As he is arraigned on fraud charges, Trina encourages Taggert fight so they can mend their relationship. Trina is excited when she and Joss are both accepted to Port Charles University while Joss is sad to be waitlisted by her first choice. Despite Cam & Joss insisting that he go, Cam decides not to attend Stanford University as he wants to make sure Jason is held responsible for Franco's murder. Trina is relieved when Taggert is released into Jordan's custody and sentenced to house arrest as he awaits trial. Trina is saddened when Jordan reveals that she and Curtis are divorcing and Trina is wary of Curtis and Portia's growing closeness. Trina is later furious at Cam for pulling a gun on Jason and later Jordan and she admits that if he looked like her, his life could have ended in tragedy.
Development
Casting and creation
Le originated the role on June 23, 2017. She reprised the role on March 2, 2018. However, the return was short lived as Le last appeared on March 5, 2018. The actress only appeared for three episodes.Mikayla's casting was announced by Soap Opera Digest after her debut. In the summer of 2019, Mikayla was promoted to series regular. In late 2021, Mikayla was taken off contract with the series to accommodate her schedule as she started college. In a statement to Soap Opera Network, the actress said "Right now I’m getting into the swing of things at school and navigating the balancing act. ‘GH’ has been super supportive of all the teens going to school and I’m super happy about that. Team ‘GH’!
The genre was new to Mikayla. "When my agent called me about the audition, I was excited, but I’d never really watched soaps. I had a small role on a soap years before, but it wasn’t a genre I was familiar with." The actress auditioned twice for the role. In an essay for Backstage, Mikayla explained her journey: "As I researched the series, I wasn’t sure if my acting style could fit the cadence of the show. Could I do the dramatic looks or cry on cue? However, as I prepared for the audition and callback, I put all that aside." Instead, Mikayla set out to bring "authenticity" to the role. At the audition, Mikayla chose to make the character more like herself because "I can see how the writers want her to be portrayed as just a realistic girl." After a few weeks, Mikayla received a callback which she "felt really good about" and she even left an impression on Valentini and she booked the role later that day.
Mikayla said "Getting GH was definitely a breath of fresh air" as she had run into some difficulty booking roles because she was tall for her age. In an interview with Star-Kidz.net, Mikayla said "Joining the cast of General Hospital was a bit difficult at first but I love it so much." Mikayla felt recasting the role made it more complicated. "I’m the 2nd person to play this character, so unlike other roles I’ve done, Trina didn’t really get in introduced I just kinda jumped into the character so it felt like jumping in 12 feet of water." Mikayla said playing Trina "made me become a better actress." She continued, "I feel so honored to portray Trina." In 2020, Mikayla said "In the past I have often played the same type of comedic roles, so to be given a character with so much depth is the opportunity of a lifetime." In 2021, she stated "What I love about playing Trina is the versatility that she has on screen." She later said "This role has really allowed me to delve into my dramatic side, and I’ve enjoyed every second of it." Prior to her role as Trina, Mikayla struggled to find dramatic roles as a Black actress. "I felt like most of the time I was playing like a quicky one-liner or I had some sassy line. I was usually the punchline of some sort bringing the comedy, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing, but it definitely did get tiring after a while and I was really ready for a challenge. I think General Hospital came at the right time."
In March 2022, Mikayla announced her departure from the role, citing her decision focus on her academics; Tabyana Ali was subsequently announced as Mikayla's successor. Mikayla last appeared on March 17, 2022; while Ali first appeared on March 25, 2022.