Kelly Monaco is leaving General Hospital after starring on the long-running soap opera for 21 years.
The 48-year-old actress, who has been playing Sam McCall for over two decades, will be exiting the daytime drama series sometime in the fall.
On Monday, Soap Opera Network reported that Monaco was ‘blindsided’ after she learned her longtime character will be ‘killed off’ the show.
She recently learned that her role on the show was terminated by the network and that she will be making her last appearance in Port Charles before the end of the year.
Previously, she was sidelined from the show back in 2020 but it was only a temporary replacement as she was suffering from a health problem at the time.
Kelly Monaco is leaving General Hospital after starring on the long-running soap opera for 21 years
The 48-year-old actress, who has been playing Sam McCall for over two decades, will be exiting the daytime drama series sometime in the fall and saying goodbye to Dominic Zamprogna’s character Dante Falconeri
Previously, Monaco portrayed Livvie Locke on spinoff series Port Charles.
She played the role for three years before the show was canceled and she was asked to join its long-running counterpart: General Hospital.
Monaco first joined the series in October 2003, and since then, she has appeared in more than 2,200 episodes of General Hospital.
She was also the first-ever winner of the Mirrorball Trophy after competing on Dancing with the Stars for its inaugural season in 2005.
In 2012, she returned for the show’s 15th season, the All Stars season.
That year, she came in third place with professional dance partner Val Chmerkovskiy.
He would later make a guest appearance on General Hospital as a boxer.
In 2017, Monaco once again returned to Dancing with the Stars for its 25th season.
On Monday, Soap Opera Network reported that Monaco was ‘blindsided’ after she learned her longtime character will be ‘killed off’ the show
Monaco first joined the series in October 2003, and since then, she has appeared in more than 2,200 episodes of General Hospital
For her acting performances, she has also been nominated for two Daytime Emmys throughout her career.
In 2003, she received a nod for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series for her role on Port Charles.
Three years later, she was nominated for Oustanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series for her work on General Hospital.
This comes on the heels of her co-star Steve Burton reprised his role as Jason Morgan in March after being fired in November 2021.
This comes after her co-star Steve Burton reprised his role as Jason Morgan in March after being fired in November 2021
Emma Samms will also be returning to the show as Holly Sutton-Scorpio in the fall.
News of Monaco’s departure comes shortly after it was revealed that co-head writer Patrick Mulcahey was leaving the show.
Earlier this month, it was also revealed that Chris Van Etten would be returning to run the writers room with Elizabeth Korte.
And as Monaco departs, Star Trek: Discovery star Sawandi Wilson will be joining the cast to play a character named Isaiah, who has a ‘connection’ to Jonathan Jackson’s Lucky.
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