Represented by: Brenda Dickson (2009-11; 2013; 2015; 2016; 2018; 2019-2024)
VITAL STATISTICS
Appearances: 2009-11; 2013; 2015; 2016; 2018; 2019-2024
Children: Philip Ragan (biological) and Spencer Ragan (adopted/raised)
Grandchildren: Peter Ragan
Relationships: Widowed by James (Robbins) Ragan
Occupation: Socialite
SUMMARY
After Molly Taylor hired Philip Ragan to photograph Objection Designs’s advertising campaign, she traveled home to New Hampshire with him, where she met his mother, socialite Loretta. As it turned out, Loretta was also the widow of James Robbins, who had lived a second life as James Ragan and raised two children with her — one of whom was his biological grandson, Spencer, whom he had switched at birth. James’s daughter, Claire, and Brent Taylor tracked Loretta down after identifying her as the mastermind behind Nick Moriani’s evil plots; she had long blamed Claire and the Fishers for James’s death.
Loretta went to prison for her assorted crimes, though she received visits from Spencer, Philip, and others over the years. She applied pressure from behind bars to get Molly Taylor charged with shooting and killing Philip after he was revealed to be the Footprint Killer. Later, it came out that Molly was covering for her own mother, Paula. Loretta was unwittingly roped into another scheme when she received a visit from nurse Sonja Kahele, who thought Loretta was paying her to keep Spencer from remembering details of his near-fatal fall; in fact, Natalie Bishop was paying Sonja but was posing as someone working for Loretta. Armed with this information, Loretta eventually exposed Natalie’s lies — including the fact that her son, Peter, had been fathered by Spencer — at her wedding to Jason Fisher. She also blackmailed Sonja into dumping Tim Fisher and leaving King’s Bay.
At the end of 2019, Loretta shocked Natalie and Spencer — who had married in order to maintain custody of Peter — by showing up at their doorstep, having been recently paroled. She used her leverage over Natalie to stay in their home and be close to Peter, whom she considers her grandson. The Fishers and her other victims wondered what Loretta was really up to. Hellbent on revenge against Molly and the Fishers, Loretta blackmailed a doctor into telling Molly and Brent that their child had died at birth. The baby had actually been dropped off at the police station and was being fostered by Travis Fisher and Rosie Jimenez, who planned to adopt little Gabrielle. Loretta hired disgraced attorney Eric Westin to kidnap Rosie and Gabrielle and hold them hostage in the old Moriani home; when the house exploded, Eric was killed, but Rosie and the baby survived. Loretta was arrested on suspicion of masterminding the kidnapping but managed to be released on bail. She had also been conspiring with Finn Campbell to oust Molly from Objection Designs, but the plot failed. Loretta crashed the gala Molly threw in honor of Objection’s 20th anniversary and blasted the Fishers publicly — but then dropped dead outside the party, mid-confrontation with Finn. Natalie, Finn, and Elly Vanderbilt were all suspects in the murder. The police determined that Loretta had been poisoned via a chemical added into her hair dye. After a vial of the chemical was found in his gym bag, Travis was arrested and placed on trial. He vowed his innocence but feared a life sentence in the face of damning evidence, so he planned to accept a plea deal — but Rosie realized that the actual killer had been Sonja and got her to confess in the nick of time.