Kelly Monaco, who has played Sam McCall since 2003 on General Hospital and evolved into one of the show’s most popular stars, is parting ways with the ABC soap opera. The news was first reported by SoapOperaNews.net.
A show rep could not be reached for comment; General Hospital is on production hiatus this week. Setside sources tell Digest that Monaco’s exit is storyline-dictated.
While the actress has had to be replaced several times over the last couple of years by veteran soap star Lindsay Hartley, airing as recently as last week, Digest has also learned that Hartley will not be named as a permanent replacement.
A Few Lives In Port Charles
Monaco first rose to fame when she was cast on GH’s sister show, Port Charles, as Kevin Collins’s surprise daughter, Livvie Locke, a role she played from 2000-2003.
On PC, she was paired most memorably with Michael Easton’s Caleb Morley. When PC went off the air, the actress was immediately scooped up by GH to play a con woman who followed Jax to Port Charles.
Reflecting on how she landed on the show on the occasion of her 20th anniversary in 2023, Monaco told Digest, “Probably within 30 minutes of finding out [PC] was canceled, I basically got an offer from every one of the networks. I had the pick of the litter.
Frank Valentini [GH’s executive producer, who was then EP of One Life To Live] was probably the most aggressive one that was seeking me out and called me personally, and I also met with All My Children, I think for the role of Babe. CBS and NBC were in there, as well.
But I was, like, a die-hard General Hospital fan. That was my dream; I was like, ‘General Hospital all the way!’ So, I was thrilled when [then-ABC Daytime President] Brian Frons said they would create a role for me.”
After her introduction, Sam soon caught the eye of Sonny Corinthos and became pregnant, and though their daughter, Lila, didn’t survive, the pregnancy helped define Sam’s future, as it brought Jason Morgan — who claimed to be the baby’s pop to safeguard the Sonny/Carly relationship — into her orbit.
Sam and Jason, known to their devotees as “JaSam”, became one of GH’s defining romances of the early 2000s. Sam’s significance to the canvas was further cemented with the 2006 reveal that she is the firstborn daughter of Alexis Davis, who had given her up for adoption (in 2013, Sam met her biological father, Julian Jerome).
Outside of her mega-popular love affair with Jason, Sam has also been in hit pairings with Jason’s twin, Drew, and her current romantic partner, Dante Falconeri and has two children, Danny (with Jason) and Scout (with Drew).
Upon hitting her milestone 20th anniversary on the show, Monaco mused to Digest, “It’s wild to me that I’ve been a part of ABC for twenty-something years and GH for 20 years.
I was in my early 20s when I started! GH is such a legendary show and I consider it my second home. Every day when I drive to the lot, I am just so honored to be a part of it.”
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