The actress who plays Laura on TV soap opera “General Hospital” has signed a deal to serve as spokeswoman for Medifast and hopes to lose 35 pounds. Genie Francis (photo), who runs a home-furnishing shop in Belfast, Maine, said she has been trying to lose weight since having her second child. “I’ve tried different methods to lose weight for years but I really never got the weight off. I was so focused on my family and the day-to-day of my busy life that at some point, I just gave up on making my own health a priority,” she said. Francis, who’s up for a daytime Emmy next month, will participate in a marketing campaign that chronicles her weight loss on the Medifast program. On “General Hospital,” Francis played a teen, Laura Spencer, whose 1981 TV wedding drew the largest daytime audience in history. Fans were devastated when she left “General Hospital” to pursue other acting jobs, but a story line resurrected her character last year