Jamie Martin is the loyal son of Tad Martin and Brooke English. When the machinations of Dixie Martin's Uncle Palmer separated Dixie and Tad in 1990, Tad slept with - and impregnated - Brooke English. Then Tad was presumed killed in an explosive fall from a bridge during a scuffle with demented redneck Billy Clyde Tuggle.
Brooke and Erica Kane locked horns over Jackson Montgomery, the handsome lawyer-brother of Erica's two-time husband, Travis, in 1991. By now, Brooke had given birth to Jamie, her son by Tad. Brooke nearly lost the child in a violent collision with a car driven by alcoholic Arlene Vaughan and her passenger, Hayley.
In 1992, Tad returned to Pine Valley an amnesiac. For months he believed he was vineyard heir Ted Orsini. Upon regaining his memory - and learning that Dixie had married twice in his absence - he wed Brooke, the mother of his son. But Tad couldn't stay away from Dixie, and before long, he ended his marriage to Brooke.
Brooke, who was pregnant once again with Tad's baby, vowed that Tad would never see Jamie or their unborn child. During the children's custody hearing, Brooke lied and claimed that Edmund was the father of her unborn child. Edmund refused to back up Brooke's claim due to his newfound love for Dr. Maria Santos. When Brooke's lie was exposed in court, the judge awarded temporary custody of Jamie to Tad.
Brooke learned that her pregnancy was ectopic and that it would have to be terminated. A devastated Brooke refused to accept this fact and went on the run with Jamie. Tad and Dixie were aware of Brooke's serious medical condition and begged her to return home. A plea from Edmund convinced Brooke to return to Pine Valley. Her pregnancy was terminated and eventually, Brooke was able to make peace with Tad and Dixie.
Brooke was named Pine Valley Woman of the Year in 1995, but what should have been a wonderful tribute to her was ruined by the appearance of Laura, a young homeless girl. After having been attacked at the Brooke English House (a homeless shelter founded by Brooke) Laura publicly accused Brooke of doing nothing to help others and then fled into the night. Brooke was deeply moved by this young girl and vowed to turn the shelter around. Brooke took a leave of absence from Tempo and moved into the shelter to oversee its operation, all the while thinking about Laura. Brooke ended up adopting Laura and Jamie welcomed his new big sister.
Jamie was often the sole source of support for his mother, and was her driving force when it came to moving past her various failed relationships with men like Pierce Riley, Jim Thomasen, and Eliot Freeman. Meanwhile Jamie devloped a close bond with stepbrother JR Chandler, and pal Amanda Dillon.
Jamie supported Brooke again in 2001 when Laura fell ill with a heart condition and needed a transplant. Fortunately, Laura got her transplant in the nick of time, and survived.
Jamie was traumatized when mentally ill Vanessa Cortlandt accosted him at Pine Valley Hospital in 2001, hallucinating that Jamie was her son. Jamie stopped talking entirely, and the situation was not helped by news of his mother's engagement to Edmund Grey. Jamie's problems with Brooke and Edmund's engagement created more tension between Tad and Edmund over their roles in Jamie's life. Ultimately, Jamie came to accept Brooke and Edmund's relationship and even gave Brooke away on her wedding day.
Jamie leapt to his mother's defense in 2002 when she was accused of knowing Edmund's "dead" wife was really alive when she married him. Jamie had to come to terms with the truth that his mother was only human, when it was exposed that Brooke really had known that Edmund's wife was alive. Depressed, Brooke entered into an affair with the married Adam Chandler, which Jamie found out about.
Jamie attended a charity ball with his date, Joni Stafford, and decided to drink to forget about his mother's affair with the married host of the ball. A drunken Jamie caused a scene and exposed Brooke and Adam's affair.
Jamie, with Tad's help, came to forgive his mother for her mistakes, and apologized to Joni's parents for exposing her to alcohol.
Despite Jamie's apologies, Joni went on protesting against Jamie's advances. Joni's judgmental attitude proved too harsh for Jamie, who gave up pursuing her. Jamie found a kindred spirit in Laurie Lewis, JR's girlfriend, who was also dealing with a lot of troubling issues in her life. Jamie grew attracted to Laurie, and began to have problems with the kind of boyfriend JR was to her.
Laurie was stunned when Jamie kissed her! Joni spied the kiss and spilled the truth to JR! JR left town, and Jamie thought he finally had a real shot with Laurie. But Laurie felt guilty about the way things ended with JR, and wasn't sure about her feelings for Jamie.
Jamie helped Laurie to deal with her alcoholic father and the two kissed. Jamie eventually made his feelings known to Laurie, but she could only see him as a friend, and insisted she loved JR, who had just run away from home. Jamie was frustrated, but ultimately let Laurie go when she moved away from Pine Valley with her father.
Jamie met a captivating woman named Babe one night at the beach and lost his virginity to her. He was shocked when she was introduced to him the next day-as his step brother JR's wife! Jamie, who had developed feelings for Babe, struggled with whether to tell JR the truth.
Brooke and Tad soon found out what happened and did their best to counsel Jamie on this awkward situation. JR finally learned that there was a secret between Jamie and Babe-to which Babe responded that Jamie had tried to seduce her! Jamie told JR the truth, but JR chose to stand by his wife and cut ties with Jamie.
Babe soon announced she was pregnant, and Jamie was convinced that the child was his. He confronted JR and Babe, demanding a paternity test. Babe took the test, but unbeknownst to Jamie, had her ex-lover Paul Cramer ensure the results read that JR was the father. Paul never told JR whether the actual test results did name JR as the father, or whether he manipulated them. Therefore, there is a possibility that Jamie is the father of Babe's child.
With JR publicly announced as the father, Jamie backed off in his pursuit of Babe. Jamie and JR began to mend fences. Jamie moved in with his friend Maggie Stone and the two began a sexual relationship -- not dating, just "friends who hook up."
Jamie was thrilled to become an uncle when Babe gave birth to a baby girl, Bess. Unknown to Jamie, Babe and almost everyone else, Babe actually had a son, Ace, who is now being raised by Kelly Buchanan (of Llanview, Pennsylvania). This was all a plot devised by villainous Paul Cramer, who told Babe that she had given birth to a girl, Bess (actually Bianca Montgomery's biological daughter).
Krystal, Babe's mother, started to suspect that Paul Cramer lied and that Babe's child actually died. Tad Martin, whom Krystal was dating, had a similar suspicion and conducted a DNA test in secret on Bianca, Babe and Bess. Krystal secretly switched the DNA test results. When the results proved Babe and Bess were mother and daughter, only Krystal knew that Bess was actually Bianca's daughter, and Babe's child had died. After weeks of trying to keep the secret, Babe finally learned the truth.
Babe wanted to tell Bianca, but saw how much her husband loved Bess. The thought of taking Bess away from him, and telling him that their child had died, ripped Babe's heart in two. She loved JR. But Bianca was her best friend. Babe made the most difficult choice of her life -- she chose her husband's happiness over Bianca's.
What Babe didn't realize was that JR was secretly plotting against her. He had realized that Babe's marriage to Paul Cramer had never been annulled and Babe knowingly lied about it. JR swore to get Babe out of his life and keep Bess for himself. JR drugged Babe in an attempt to get her to sleep with his brother Jamie. It didn't succeed and Babe almost died. Eventually, Babe discovered JR's sins and realized he hated her. A guilt ridden Babe prepared to tell Bianca the truth about her daughter. Once again, fate intervened.
Babe ran into Kevin Buchanan and his son, Ace. Feeling a maternal draw to the child, Babe soon learned of Paul's connection to the baby and the mysterious circumstances of Ace's birth. Babe was convinced the baby was hers and soon got DNA test results that proved it. However, Babe couldn't come forward and reclaim him, because to do so would imply that she knew she had Bianca's child, and JR would use that information to gain sole custody. Babe knew that a child raised by the Chandlers would become emotionally corrupted, just as JR had been. Babe struggled with a way to tell Bianca the truth while protecting her own son's future.
Babe confessed everything to Jamie. Jamie suggested that they let Bianca know the truth and kidnap Ace from the Buchanans. Babe left notes for JR and Bianca explaining that Bess was Miranda, but omitting the part about JR's son being alive. Babe and Jamie then kidnapped Ace (who they renamed James) and went on the run. Feelings between the two deepened as they outran the authorities. Jamie swore to Babe that he would be a father to James, and protect mother and son from any harm.
JR burned Bianca's note, and she remained ignorant to the truth. Realizing that Bianca had not learned the full story, Babe made arrangements for Bianca to meet her in Florida, where she would tell Bianca face to face. There, Babe finally told Bianca that Bess was Miranda. She revealed how Paul Cramer had switched the babies, and she had kidnapped her son from Llanview. Furious, Bianca slapped Babe and ordered her out of her sight. Bianca planned to take Miranda and leave, but JR intervened and after a verbal spat, Bianca accidentally tripped and fell off a balcony. She slipped into unconsciousness.
Tad (who had learned everything after Krystal confessed, leading Tad to dump her) told Erica that Miranda was alive. Armed with the truth, Erica was determined to reunite Bianca with her daughter.
Jamie sometimes resides with his mother Brooke English at 774 Pine Rd., and sometimes with his father Tad Martin at 646 Holland Ave., in Pine Valley, Pennsylvania.
