Kelly Monaco is set to leave “General Hospital” after more than two decades on the ABC soap opera, Variety confirmed.
Monaco, who has played Sam McCall on “General Hospital” since 2003, will make his final appearance in Port Charles this fall due to the storyline.
Monaco joined the soap opera in 2003 after working on the spin-off series “Port Charles,” in which she played Livvie Locke from 2000 to 2003. “General Hospital” introduced Sam, played by Monaco, as a con artist trying to reverse her family’s misfortune. The character is the biological daughter of mob boss Julian Jerome (William deVry) and attorney Alexis Davis (Nancy Lee Grahn), as well as the illegal adopted daughter of Cody McCall (Stanley Kamel) and Evelyn Bass.
Monaco filmed more than 2,200 episodes of “General Hospital” and in 2006, she received a Daytime Emmy nomination for her portrayal of Sam.
In August 2020, Monaco was briefly recast and Lindsay Hartley temporarily played the role. Hartley then reappeared as the character in February 2020, and again in several episodes this year in January and again earlier this month.
Monaco’s departure comes as several “General Hospital” veterans are returning, including Jonathan Jackson as Lucky Spencer, who returned to the long-running soap opera on Friday. Rick Hearst also returned as Ric Lansing.
In July, Variety It was exclusively announced that Emma Samms will reprise her role as Holly Sutton in early September. Her return coincides with Jackson’s.
Soap Opera Network was the first to report the news of Monaco’s departure.
