Lillian Raines married Bradley Raines in the 1970s after the death of her first husband, and Beth's father, in the Vietnam War. Bradley adopted Beth. Unfortunately, he was a controlling and abusive man but Lillian was too scared to turn him to the police, unaware that Bradley was abusing Beth, too.

Arriving in Springfield in May 1983 with Beth and Bradley, Lillian soon became the head nurse at Cedars Hospital. About this time, Beth would fall in love with the rich Phillip Spaulding and though Lillian was happy about the relationship, Bradley wasn't and he finally raped Beth. Beth didn't tell Lillian about it, and instead opted to run off to New York. Phillip, as well as his friends, Rick Bauer and Mindy Lewis would follow. Luckily, in 1984, Lt. Jeff Saunders, of the Springfield Police, was able to find them and bought them back to their parents. When Alex Spaulding found out from Beth that Bradley had raped her, Alex had attorney Ross Marler and Lt. Saunders arrest the man. While Lillian and Beth were trying to escape the Bradley's abusiveness, Mike Bauer worked in his capacity as an attorney, to help keep Bradley away from them. Mike started accompanying Lillian to parties throughout Springfield and Lillian was attracted to Mike but she was still gun shy after dealing with Bradley. That spring, Ross prosecuted Bradley for raping Beth. Bradley was remanded to a psychiatric hospital, and a disgusted Lillian divorced him. After Bradley's incarceration, Lillian felt safer and realized she wasn't really in love with Mike and could also see that Mike was drifting towards a relationship with Alexandra Spaulding, so she let him go. Then Jeff Saunders asked the pretty nurse on dates. At first, Lillian was hesitant, but then seeing how handsome and caring he was, by the summer, Lillian caved-in and accepted Lt. Jeff Saunders's dates. As the year went on, their relationship blossomed while Lillian also found herself concerned with Beth's friendship with ex-con Lujack Luvonaczek and Beth's being blinded in an explosion.

In 1985, Lilian was horrified to find fellow nurse Charlotte Wheaton dead at Cedars! Not knowing her real patient had been moved, Lillian injected Charlotte with medication that she then thought had killed the nurse. Soon, it was learned that Charlotte was actually killed by a blow to the head and her murderer turned out to be her own sister, WSPR reporter Alicia Rhomer. Not long after, Lillian's tearfully bid Jeff goodbye when he decided to leave Springfield and move to Florida. About this time, Lillian's spoiled sister, Calla Matthews, arrived in Springfield with her teenage daughter Jessie. Calla reunited with Ross Marler and Jesse started dating Simon Hall. Unlike Calla, Lillian supported Jessie and Simon's relationship. In 1986, Lillian received the shock of her life when Beth was presumed dead after being kidnapped by psycho Professor Blackburn. It took Lillian a very long time to get over Beth's death. At the same time, Calla confided to Lillian that her ex-husband infected her with a venereal disease and Lillian and Ross stood by her through the whole thing. Not long after, Calla and Jessie left Lillian and Springfield.

In 1987, Lillian got involved with Hawk Shayne but their relationship was doomed when Hawk's ex-wife, Sarah Shayne, came to town. Though Hawk proposed to Lillian, in 1988 and she happily accepted, Lillian realized that Hawk and Sarah were getting closer so she and Hawk amicably ended their relationship. In 1989, Bradley was released from prison and, after landing in the hospital after an attack, he told Lillian and Phillip that Beth was the one who attacked him with a shovel.tjhat meant that she was alive after all. Though Lillian didn't believe him, Phillip did. Bradley turned out to be right when Beth reappeared alive! Thrilled that her daughter was alive, Lillian supported her and Phillip when he was accused of murder. When the pair left for Arizona in early 1991 to carry out their sentence for community service (for Phillip faking his death), Lillian began to lead a quiet, secluded life.

In December 1991, Lillian discovered a lump in her breast which was later found to be malignant. In early 1992, she told her friend, Ed Bauer, and Ed convinced her to have surgery to remove it. After the successful surgery, Lillian realized that she was attracted to Ed, even though he was married to her friend, Maureen. Ed also couldn't control his feelings and one night, during a citywide blackout, he and Lillian were trapped in the Towers parking garage and shared a tender kiss after admitting their love for each other. Afterwards, Lillian found another lump in her breast. Though she didn't tell Ed about it, but he found out anyway and was supportive. When they later found that the lump was benign, Lillian impulsively kissed Ed and they made love. Ed ended the affair while Maureen learned of Lillian's cancer. Disappointed at losing Ed, Lillian decided to leave town and wrote him a goodbye letter. However, Ed convinced her to stay and she agreed to remain as friends. Unfortunately, in January 1993, Maureen found Lillian's letter and read it. Hurt and betrayed, Maureen went off to the Bauer cabin. Ed followed her and after a furious confrontation, Maureen rushed out and was tragically killed in a car accident. Guilt-ridden, Lillian led a very secluded life after the tragedy.

In spring 1995, Ed disconnected the life support machines of his deathly ill fiancée Eve Guthrie. Though he was sure that he would be tried for murder but Lillian and Rick covered up Ed's crime.

In 1997, Phillip, now divorced from Beth, started dating Harley Cooper so Lillian convinced Beth to return with Lizzie to win Phillip back. When Carl Stevens showed up in Springfield in 1998, thanks to Alan's ploy to get Beth out of Phillip's life, it was revealed that he was Beth's boyfriend in Arizona and that he was beating her. Carl ended up dead and Lillian thought the man she asked to scare Carl out of town had killed him, making her ultimately responsible for his death. When Alan found out, he blackmailed Lillian and forced her to take the blame for a missing letter of Beth's to Phillip that Alan had intercepted. Shortly after, Lizzie was revealed to be Carl's murderer. Lillian was shocked and once again fell into the background. She was basically an extra at the hospital and a baby-sitter for Lizzie.

In 2000, Lillian provided love and support to her family when Lizzie was diagnosed with leukemia. She also encouraged Beth to accept the love of Jim Lemay. Unfortunately, after Jim's death, Beth fell in love with Prince Edmund Winslow, in early 2001, and married him, to Lillian's chagrin. After the breakup of that marriage, Lillian was shocked by Bradley's demise as well as Beth's. Months later, Lillian was overjoyed at Beth's return but, unbeknownst to her and the rest of Springfield, her daughter was being impersonated by Lorelei Hills. When Lillian learned that Beth was Lorelei, in 2002, she refused to believe it at first and was then devastated at losing her daughter for a second time. Not knowing that Lorelei was actually a split personality of Beth's, she cut Lorelei out of her life as the rest of Springfield did. Weeks later, Lorelei showed up on the doorstep of the Spaulding mansion, deliriously ill. Phillip called Lillian to take care of her, and Lillian did, despite her anger. Lorelei asked Lillian to sing a special song that she always used to sing when Beth was sick as a little girl. Lillian was dumbfounded, as there was no way anyone but Beth could know of that song. Before any further progress could be made, Lorelei skipped town for a few weeks.

Afterwards, Lillian shared an emotional reunion with her daughter who had regained her memories and sense of self. Her joy was compounded by Beth and Phillip's reunion--a reconciliation Lillian had wanted to see for over six years. A few months after Beth returned safe and sound, Lillian's old love, Ed, also returned after a long absence. The pair was initially very awkward around each other and barely had contact for his first few months back in town. Not long after, Lillian was active on the Richard Winslow case, and discovered that his ventilator had been turned off. Since she had seen both Michelle and Rick's wife, Mel, near or in his room around the time of his death, Lillian kept quiet, still feeling guilty about the damage she had done to the Bauer family in the past. Finally, after speaking with Ed, she came forward to Charles Grant and due to her breach in ethics was suspended for a while. Later, Lillian was dismayed when Beth and Phillip broke off their relationship and was shocked when Beth started dating the younger Bill Lewis. Though still believing that Phillip and Beth belong together, she knew they had to live their own lives and supported their decision.

In addition to worrying about her daughter, Lillian also found herself worrying about Lizzie, who came back home after a fire broke out in her room at boarding school in early 2003. Lillian's belief that Lizzie may have set the fire herself was not welcomed by Beth. Months later, Lillian's fears were confirmed when she overheard Olivia Spencer telling Cassie Winslow that she thought Lizzie was responsible for her fall. Believing that she could be right, Lillian went to Beth. Though Beth was doubtful at first, Lillian convinced her that Lizzie was out of control and they needed to intervene on her behalf. Knowing the Spauldings would object, Beth and Lillian whisked Lizzie away to a cabin where Lillian confronted Lizzie with the same accusation. Cornered, Lizzie continually denied that she did anything wrong regarding Olivia and got exceedingly defensive. Finally, desperate, she grabbed a broken shard of glass and threatened to kill herself. Luckily, Harley arrived to diffuse the situation and drove a highly defensive and agitated Lizzie back to Springfield. In the end, Lizzie finally admitted that she needed help and she wanted to get back to being that happy girl she used to be. However, in 2004, Lillian learned that Lizzie was still a danger. On duty on Valentine's Day, Lillian was shocked when Lizzie, who was supposed to be with her mother at the Country Club, came to Cedars with a young man named Nico who was suffering from a drug overdose. Although Lizzie claimed that she just happened to come across Nico wandering the streets, Lillian was suspicious and her suspicions were confirmed when Lizzie was forced to admit that she brought Nico in from a rave that she was attending. Later that year, Springfield was rocked when Phillip was apparently murdered.

In 2005, Lillian was horrified when Beth told her that Alan proposed marriage. Though Lillian tried to convince Beth that this was a terrible mistake, Beth was adamant about marrying Alan in order to protect the interests of her children. Not able to change her mind, a distraught Lillian was forced to witness her daughter become Mrs. Alan Spaulding. In 2006, Lillian was on hand when a feverish Beth was brought into Cedars. Later, she was shocked to learn that Beth was pregnant. Not long after, Lizzie became pregnant herself. Although Beth thought Lizzie should marry Coop, Lillian knew Coop didn't love Lizzie and made no secret of her disapproval.. Soon after, the family was rocked with the news that Phillip was alive and in hiding. The revelation caused Beth to lose her baby. Although Beth refused to see Alan at first, she later decided to go along with their marriage for financial security.

On the day of Lizzie's wedding to Coop, Jonathan Randall announced that he was the father of her baby! Lillian was further shocked (and disappointed) to learn that Beth had known about it all along. Weeks later, Lillian dragged an unwilling Beth and Lizzie to the Bauer Barbecue. When Beth complained that she didn't want to see Rick and Lizzie complained about seeing Coop with his new girlfriend, Lillian told the pair to get over themselves and remember what Independence Day was all about. Weeks later, Alan called a family meeting and informed Beth, Alex, Alan-Michael and Lillian that Lizzie had lost touch with reality. During the meeting, Lizzie herself arrived and hysterically claimed that Alan wanted to steal her baby and threatened to kill Alan if he tried to take her baby away. Alan seemed to be correct when, that very night, Lizzie shot him with a gun (unbeknownst to her) full of blanks. Though Alan got the charges of attempted murder dropped, he did sue to have Lizzie declared an unfit mother. Meanwhile, at Thanksgiving, Lizzie gave birth to a baby girl whom she named Sarah. The new parents had a restraining order against Alan. Though Alan tried to persuade Lillian to let him see the baby while she was baby-sitting, she flat out refused and threatened to use some information she'd heard over the years to put Alan away if he didn't back off.

2007 was a tragic year for the Spaulding family with the death of Tammy Winslow and the apparent deaths of Jonathan and Sarah. Though Lizzie tried to be stoic in the face of her daughter's death, she finally broke down in Lillian's arms. Shortly after, Alan was implicated in Tammy's death, afer it was learned that he put a hit out on Jonathan. Shortly after being cleared, Alan shocked everyone by proposing to District Attorney Doris Wolfe right in front of the entire family. He then hurled hurtful words in a shocked Beth's direction, telling her that he intended to divorce her ever since he learned about her affair with Rick. The day of his wedding to Doris, Alan wound up being shot and remained in a coma while Beth tried to keep Doris from throwing them out of the Spaulding home. As she was being dragged out, Beth suddenly announced that she was pregnant with Alan's child. Not long after, Gus approached Lillian and began asking about Beth and Lizzie. Knowing he was fishing for information on the shooting, Lillian confessed that she was the one who brought the gun. Lillian stated that the day of Alan's wedding, Lillian confronted him in the elevator with a gun. Lillian meant to make Alan pay for hurting Beth but Alan was far from afraid. Alan told Lillian that he meant to get back together with Beth later and he and Lillian hid the gun in the elevator. Weeks later, Alan finally emerged from his coma. Very soon after, Beth mentioned to Lillian about being at the OBGYN for a pregnancy test Lillian figured out that Beth had faked her pregnancy and was now just trying to snag Alan back. Lillian blasted her daughter for being selfish and asked if Rick could be the father of her baby. Beth stated that in her mind, it was Alan's child.

In July, Lillian was not only shocked when Rick proclaimed his love for Beth at the Bauer BBQ but when they married on the spot! That same day, Beth asked Lillian to move in with her and Rick. The next day, while talking to Buzz Cooper about her dull life, Lillian impulsively asked him out on a date--no pressure, just a casual dinner. At dinner, Buzz poured his heart out about how relationships always ended badly for him which scared Lillian off; she just wanted a little romance, not a mess. Afterwards, Josh Lewis convinced Lillian to give Buzz another chance. From that point on, Lillian and Buzz went on some very enjoyable dates and grew closer. In the midst of this, Buzz decided to run for mayor against the DA, Doris Wolfe. After receiving a veiled threat from Doris, Buzz tried to cool things off with Lillian for a little while, but Lillian refused to back away from Buzz because of Doris. After months of helping Buzz with his campaign, Lillian was elated when he unexpectedly won. Later, she was dismayed when he hired Doris to work in his administration. Lillian made no secret of her disapproval and warned Doris that she would be watching her. Buzz's administration came into scandal, in 2008, when Buzz announced that the election was fixed without his knowledge. Having lost the election, Buzz wondered if he had lost her but Lillian assured him that she was tougher than she looked. Doris was quickly instated as mayor and offered Buzz a spot on her administration which didn't make Lillian very happy since she didn't trust Doris. In the meantime, Beth had her baby whom she named Bernadette. However, things got very complicated during Bernadette's baptism when it was revealed that Bernadette was Alan's daughter and not Rick's! Apparently Cassie Lewis changed the paternity tests—not only that but Rick knew about it. Conflicted, Beth told both men that she needed time to think.

Later, Beth changed the baby's name to Peyton Raines and told Lillian that she might give Alan a shot at raising her daughter. Though Lillian urged Beth to choose Rick, it was clear that Beth's heart laid with Alan. Later, that summer, Reva confided to Lillian that she found a mass and worried that her cancer had returned. Now engaged to Jeffrey O'Neill, Reva was nervous about telling him but quickly decided not to make the same mistake that she did with Joshua. Jeffrey decided to marry Reva immediately and Lillian and the Coopers were on hand to witness the nuptials. Days later, Reva and Jeffrey discovered that she was pregnant. Jeffrey discussed the situation with Lillian who admitted that there was a chance that her cancer could return. As everyone feared, Reva's cancer did come back and Lillian urged Jeffrey to get a second opinion since there was a possibility that this could end happily for Reva and the baby. Meanwhile, months later, Buzz informed Lillian that Beth was having an affair with a younger man. Lillian warned Beth to choose between Alan or this man because she was playing a dangerous game. At the end of the year, Buzz told Lillian that Beth's lover was his son-—Coop. Shocked, Lillian saw disaster and warned Beth again by suggesting that she was using Coop to relive what she had with Phillip.

Unfortunately, in 2009, Alan found out about Beth's affair and forced her to agree to marry him by threatening Coop's life. Though Lillian begged Beth not to do it, Beth was fully prepared to marry Alan. The ceremony was brought to a standstill by the arrival of Phillip! As if that wasn't enough, Phillip announced that he had taken a seriously injured Coop to the hospital. Later, Lillian was forced to tell Buzz that Coop, who had crashed his car speeding to stop the wedding, was brain dead. A distraught Buzz was forced to pull the plug on his son. Buzz blamed Alan for Coop's death and let himself be consumed by his need for vengeance. Finally, Buzz went to Grady Foley and convinced him to testify that Alan had hired him to kill Jonathan. Unfortunately, Grady failed to show up at the hearing and the case against Alan was dismissed. Desperate, Buzz decided to go find Grady. When Lillian implored Buzz to give up his vendetta, Buzz became rough and forcefully pushed Lillian away. Buzz's anger frightened Lillian and she warned Buzz that if he left, she might not be waiting for him. However, all that Buzz cared about was vengeance and he and Daisy set out to locate the missing Grady. Fortunately, Buzz saw the error of his ways and returned to town. Seeing that Buzz was at peace, Lillian reunited with him.

Meanwhile, Lillian was certain that Phillip and Beth would eventually find their way back to each other. Sadly, it looked as if things would meet a tragic end when Lillian learned that Phillip was dying of a rare disease. A distraught Lillian spoke to Phillip who implored her to keep his condition a secret from the rest of the family. At point, Phillip was trying to restore his relationship with his and Beth's teenaged son, James. Knowing that Phillip wanted James to go to the Bauer BBQ instead of going on a trip with Alan, Lillian impersonated Alan's assistant and convinced the pilot that Alan was cancelling the trip. Lillian spent the next several weeks trying to convince Phillip that he needed to tell the family about his condition. Afterwards, Phillip admitted to Lillian that he kissed Beth and worried he'd break Beth's heart. Several weeks later, Ed found a potential cure for Phillip's disorder. However, he deemed it too risky since it required a large, potentially fatal, amount of bone marrow from a donor. In the end, it was discovered that Alan was a match and Phillip eventually allowed his father to help him. The procedure worked and both Alan and Phillip came through alive.

Not long after, Billy and Vanessa had spontaneously gotten engaged. The day of their wedding, Buzz proposed to Lillian. A long time friend of Lillian and the Coopers, Billy invited the pair to join them in a joint marriage ceremony. Despite the fact that she had been Maureen's best friend, Vanessa happily invited the couple as well. Before the ceremony, Lillian went to Maureen's grave. A tearful Lillian admitted that Maureen's death changed the town forever and expressed regret at her part in causing it. Lillian admitted that for many years, guilt kept her from moving on with her life. However, at this point, she was ready and happily married Buzz. Meanwhile, by the following year, one of Lillian's fondest wishes was granted--Phillip and Beth were married.