Calla Matthews came to Springfield with her daughter, Jessie in 1985. The sister of Lillian Raines, Calla was a shallow social climber who shared a past with Ross Marler. Jealous of niece Beth's good fortune of being involved with a Spaulding, Calla decided Jessie had as much of a right to the good life and wormed her way into becoming Alexandra Spaulding's live-in assistant. Loving her new life, Calla was quick not to do anything to jeopardize it and refused Ross's advances, since Ross was an enemy of the Spauldings. However, in the end, Calla couldn't deny her true feelings and began dating him in earnest. Not long after arriving in town, Calla was distressed to learn that her ex-husband, Gordon, was marrying again. Worrying herself to the point of exhaustion, Calla ended up in the hospital where Jessie learned the ugly truth: Calla was made sterile because she'd contracted syphilis from Gordon while they were married! Horrified to learn the true reason behind her parents' divorce, Jessie ran away. Luckily she was found by Simon Hall, a man who claimed to be Alex's half-brother. Though she was thankful for Jessie's return, Calla didn't like her closeness to Simon since she believed he was a con man.

In 1986, Ross and his old lover, Vanessa, went on a search to find their teenage daughter, Dinah. Finding out that Gordon arranged the girl's adoption, they suspected the Jessie was theirs; however Calla and Gordon told them they were mistaken. However, Gordon did give Vanessa's baby to his sister and husband. Unfortunately, the couple died and the baby was placed in an orphanage. When Calla learned what really happened to the child, she kept the information secret because she was afraid Ross would leave her for Vanessa. In the end, however, Ross and Vanessa found their daughter. Unfortunately, when he learned that Calla had known the girl's identity and whereabouts all along, he grew disgusted with her dishonesty and broke off their engagement. After Jessie left town to attend college in North Carolina, Calla decided she had no reason to stay in town and departed. In 1990, Beth Mentioned that Lillian had gone out of town To North Carolina To Visit Calla because Jesse had recently married Simon. Lillian later went out of town to Visit Calla again in late 1991 after Calla's ex-Husband Gordon Matthews passed away. In 1995, Lillian Told Ross she was going to Visit her sister Calla who just became a grandmother. Jesse and Simon had a boy They named Brandon after Simon's Half-Brother Lujack.