Maurice Benard (born March 1, 1963) is an American actor. In 1993, he was cast as

Sonny Corinthos Sonny Corinthos is a fictional character on the ABC soap opera ''General Hospital''. Maurice Benard has played the role of the manic depressive mob kingpin, living in Port Charles, since the character's storyline originated on August 13, 1993. S ...

on the

ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster ** Disney–ABC Television ...

soap opera A soap opera, or ''soap'' for short, is a typically long-running radio or television serial, frequently characterized by melodrama, ensemble casts, and sentimentality. The term "soap opera" originated from radio dramas originally being sponsored ...

General Hospital ''General Hospital'' (often abbreviated as ''GH'') is an American daytime television soap opera. It is listed in ''Guinness World Records'' as the list of longest-running television shows by category, longest-running American soap opera in pro ...

''.

Early life and career

Benard was born Mauricio José Morales in

Martinez, California Martinez (Spanish language, Spanish: ''Martínez'') is a city and the county seat of Contra Costa County, California, United States, in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area. Located on the southern shore of the Carquinez Strait, t ...

, the son of Martha, a bank employee, and Humberto Morales, a bakery superintendent. He grew up in

San Francisco, California San Francisco (; Spanish for " Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the fourth most populous in California and 17th ...

, and is of Nicaraguan ancestry. He started his acting career as Nico on the soap opera ''

All My Children ''All My Children'' (often shortened to ''AMC'') is an American television soap opera that aired on American Broadcasting Company, ABC from January 5, 1970, to September 23, 2011, and on The Online Network (TOLN) from April 29 to September 2, 20 ...

'', from 1987 to 1990. He then began appearing on ''General Hospital'', a daytime soap opera on ABC. His role on the show was the fictionalized

, a manic depressive mobster King pin. His first air date on ''GH'' was August 13, 1993. Benard has been nominated for several Daytime Emmy awards for his role of Sonny Corinthos,winning Outstanding Lead Actor in 2003, 2019, and 2021, as well as winning three

Soap Opera Digest Awards ''The Soap Opera Digest Awards'', originally known as ''The Soapy Awards'' when introduced in 1977, is an awards show held by the daytime television magazine ''Soap Opera Digest''. History 1977 until 1983 The Soapy Awards were an award presen ...

for Outstanding Lead Actor in 1996, 2003, and 2005. In addition to guest spots on several television series during the early 1990s, Benard appeared in television movies including the

CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS, the abbreviation of its former legal name Columbia Broadcasting System, is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainm ...

television movie '' Lucy & Desi: Before the Laughter'' (1991), in which he portrayed

Desi Arnaz Desiderio Alberto Arnaz y de Acha III (March 2, 1917 – December 2, 1986) was a Cuban-born American actor, bandleader, and film and television producer. He played Lucy and Ricky Ricardo, Ricky Ricardo on the American television sitcom ''I Lov ...

. He also starred in the independent film '' The Ghost and the Whale'', executive produced by his wife Paula.

Personal life

Benard married Paula Smith on August 11, 1990. They have four children: three daughters and one son. He and his wife adopted his wife's younger sister Heather, after their mother's death. His cousin,

Marvin Benard Marvin Larry Benard (born January 20, 1970) is a Nicaraguan former professional baseball outfielder. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the San Francisco Giants. Personal life Benard moved to Los Angeles with his mother and father wh ...

, played professional baseball. Benard was diagnosed with

bipolar disorder Bipolar disorder, previously known as manic depression, is a mental disorder characterized by periods of depression and periods of abnormally elevated mood that last from days to weeks each. If the elevated mood is severe or associated with ...

at age 22. He has become a spokesperson for treatment of the disorder with Mental Health America. He made the decision to have the ''General Hospital'' writers make his character, Sonny Corinthos, also have the disorder. Many of the struggles he faces on the show due to the disorder are ones he faced in his own life. Much praise has been given to the show for the realistic depiction.

Filmography

Awards and nominations

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Benard, Maurice 1963 births Living people 20th-century American male actors 21st-century American male actors American people of Nicaraguan descent American people of Salvadoran descent Hispanic and Latino American male actors American male film actors American male television actors American male soap opera actors Daytime Emmy Award winners Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series winners Male actors from San Francisco People from Temecula, California People with bipolar disorder Fictional teenage parents