Nora Hanen Gannon Buchanan is a high-powered and headstrong liberal defense attorney. She is funny, tense, driven, and proud of her jewish heritage.
Nora grew up in an affluent Chicago suburb, the daughter of a highly influental judge. She has a sister, Susannah, a psychiatrist, who came to Llanview in 1996 to treat Viki Carpenter's multiple personality disorder.
While in college at Midwestern University, she met and married Hank Gannon, a black student. For many years, Hank never knew that, while in school, Nora had an affair with his younger brother, R.J. After Nora gave birth to a daughter, Rachel, her marriage to Hank became strained as constraints on their time and money intensified. When Rachel was 5, Hank and Nora divorced. Hank was extremely bitter when Nora was granted full custody of their daughter.
Prior to coming to Llanview, Nora represented her brother-in-law, R.J. Gannon against charges of aggrivated assault and armed robbery. She lost the case, and a vengeful R.J. was sentenced to 10 years in jail. Years later, R.J. got even with both Hank and Nora when during Hank's wedding to Shiela Price, he blurted out their deep family secret that he had slept with Nora behind Hank's back while they were in college.
In 1992, Nora moved to Llanview and met her future husband, Bo Buchanan, and helped him in his search to find the hit-and-run driver responsible for the death of his wife, Sarah. Bo was about to propose when Nora admitted that she might have killed Sarah. Her fears were laid to rest (a drunk driver was the culprit) and she soon moved in with Bo and they became engaged in 1993. Marriage was postponed when Nora underwent surgery for a brain tumor that left her temporarily blind.
In 1993, Nora defended several fraternity brothers, including Viki's son, Kevin Buchanan (who was exonerated)and football hero Todd Manning against rape charges leveled by Marty Saybrooke. The trial ended in a mistrial, but Todd was eventually tricked into a confession and sentenced to jail.
During her recovery, Nora, temporarily blind, was stalked in her beach house by former client and convicted rapist Todd Manning. Todd threatened Nora with a knife and tried to rape her, but was momentarily thawarted when Nora hit him over the head with a lamp. Bo rescued Nora, brought her back to Llanview where she was operated on once again and her sight was restored.
In 1995, Nora and Bo married in a rock and roll wedding ceremony (presided over by Little Richard) and they settled into their new home at 912 Greenfield Avenue in Llanview, where Nora has proven to be absolutely useless in the kitchen -- she can't cook! A former tennis champ, Nora is very competitive and dances a mean jitterbug with her husband, Bo.
Nora often goes head-to-head in court with her former husband, district attorney Hank Gannon. In 1997, she successfully defended Antonio Vega against charges that he murdered Carlo Hesser.
Nora is prone to migraine headaches, which are sometimes accompanied by blackouts. The condition, which abated in 1994, returned in the spring of 1997. To combat her hard living ways, Nora pledged to take life a bit easier. She even became a health food nut, which meant no more ice cream sundaes to be shared with her beloved Bo!
From abc.com