Report: Kelly Monaco to Exit General Hospital After 21 Years

Kelly Monaco, known for her role as Sam McCall in General Hospital, is reportedly leaving the ABC soap opera soon. At the time of her introduction, Sam was a con artist. But she has undergone remarkable character development over the years, becoming a respectable member of the community in Port Charles, a private investigator, and a successful entrepreneur. She is also considerably popular among the General Hospital viewers. Accordingly, the reports have caused quite a stir among the fanbase.

Kelly Monaco’s Sam McCall reportedly leaving General Hospital

According to Soap Opera Network, ABC has decided to terminate Kelly Monaco’s beloved character Sam McCall from General Hospital. It’s unclear why this decision was made. As per the publication, McCall’s character would be killed off this fall, though the exact air date of her final episode hasn’t been given. Their sources say Monaco was “blindsided” when she learned about the decision.

Monaco has portrayed Sam in well over 2,000 episodes for more than two decades, but not without any breaks. Lindsay Hartley temporarily replaced Monaco as Sam in August 2020 and February 2022. She once again joined the cast as Monaco’s replacement in January 2024 and this month.

For her performance in the show, Monaco was nominated for the Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series in 2006, before ultimately losing to Kim Zimmer, who won the award for her portrayal of Reva Lewis in Guiding Light.

Before General Hospital, Monaco was part of the cast of its spin-off series Port Charles from 2000 to 2003., though she portrayed a different character, Livvie Locke / Tess Ramsey. She earned her first Daytime Emmy nod (for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series) for this role in 2003. Aside from McCall, Monaco has portrayed McCall’s doppelgänger Alicia Montenegro in General Hospital back in August 2005.