General Hospital's Kelly Monaco officially exits soap after 21 years

While news broke in August that Kelly Monaco had been let go from General Hospital, the actress's last airdate was the November 1, 2024 episode.

Kelly Monaco's final days as Sam

Sam McCall died on the October 30 episode, but for two more days, viewers got to watch the three people closest to Sam say their goodbyes. First, Alexis (Nancy Lee Grahn) cradled her daughter in her arms to keep her body warm as she told her about the night she was born.

We later saw Jason (Steve Burton) bid her farewell in tears as she kissed her on the forehead. Finally, Sam's fiance Dante (Dominic Zamprogna) got to say goodbye, kissing her on the lips one last time as he sobbed.

Through it all, Monaco had the arduous task of remaining still through a bevy of heartbreaking and emotional scenes. Her last words of dialogue on October 30 were joyous ones, as Sam showed off her new engagement ring to Alexis and asked for a celebration of life as she looked toward her future knowing she had saved Lulu.

On the October 24 episode, Sam was wheeled into surgery, with Monaco offering the "I love you" sign with her fingers, an unscripted moment that was signature Sam McCall.

Monaco celebrated a General Hospital milestone

Just a year ago, Monaco marked 20 years of bringing Samantha McCall to life. Sam was a role created for her after the cancelation of the GH spinoff series, Port Charles, in which she played Livvie Locke.

"They told me loosely that she would be sort of a con artist, a grifter, rough and tumble," Monaco told Soap Opera Digest in 2023. "And I was like, ‘Perfect, that’s me to a T!’ Like, ‘That’s not gonna be that hard to pull off!’ I thought, ‘How fun! I get to play a badass chick."

In the same interview, Monaco assessed the evolution of the character she played for two decades.

"Sam came on to the canvas only having herself and her brother, always taking care of someone and never being taken care of," Monaco said. "I think the biggest evolution for her is starting from being a really lonely, scared woman and becoming a woman who is still really independent but is protected by family and friends and love and relationships and loyalty, and she never had that before. Now she has a family and kids."

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Monaco taped her last scenes as Sam on September 27, just days before marking her 21st anniversary with GH on October 1. The actress has said that she plans on making an official statement about her exit, but has yet to do so.

Catch all-new episodes of General Hospital weekdays on ABC and Hulu.

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