Michelle Alaine Kepler (October 5, 1958 – February 1, 2008), was an American television actress best known for her work on ''

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 ...

'' as "Nurse Amy Vining", from 1979 until 2002.

Early life

Kepler was born in Ohio, and her family moved to Arcadia, California when she was 10. She had one brother, Fred, who is named after their father.

Career

Kepler portrayed

busybody A busybody, do-gooder, meddler, or marplot is someone who meddles in the affairs of others. An early study of the type was made by the ancient Greek philosopher Theophrastus in his typology, ''Characters'', "In the proffered services of the bus ...

nurse Amy Vining, a "fan favorite" and sister of Laura Spencer's, on ''

'', from 1979 to 2002. She also appeared on the ''General Hospital'' spinoff ''

Port Charles ''Port Charles'' (commonly abbreviated as ''PC'') is an American television soap opera that aired on ABC from June 1, 1997, to October 3, 2003. It was a spin-off of the series ''General Hospital'', which has been running since 1963 and takes pl ...

'', other shows such as ''

CHiPs ''CHiPs'' is an American crime drama television series created by Rick Rosner and originally aired on NBC from September 15, 1977, to May 1, 1983. It follows the lives of two motorcycle officers of the California Highway Patrol (CHP). The serie ...

'' and ''

Three's Company ''Three's Company'' is an American sitcom television series that aired for eight seasons on ABC from March 15, 1977, to September 18, 1984. It is based on the British sitcom ''Man About the House''. The story revolves around three single roomma ...

'', and the movie ''Homework'' (1982) with

Joan Collins Dame Joan Henrietta Collins (born 23 May 1933) is an English actress, author and columnist. Collins is the recipient of several accolades, including a Golden Globe Award, a People's Choice Award, two Soap Opera Digest Awards and a Primetime ...

. Kepler was also a businesswoman, who marketed a line of clothing on the former

Home Shopping Club HSN, an initialism of its former name Home Shopping Network, is an American free-to-air television network owned by the Qurate Retail Group, which also owns catalog company Cornerstone Brands. Based in the Gateway area of St. Petersburg, Flor ...

. In a 1994

Associated Press The Associated Press (AP) is an American non-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association. It produces news reports that are distributed to its members, U.S. newspa ...

interview, she claimed that her "Lacy Afternoon" collection had earned more than $20 million in sales that year. After her TV career ended, she moved to

Portland, Oregon Portland (, ) is a port city in the Pacific Northwest and the largest city in the U.S. state of Oregon. Situated at the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers, Portland is the county seat of Multnomah County, the most populous co ...

and was active in charitable fundraising.

Personal life

Kepler married and divorced twice, and had no children. She and her ''

'' costar

Jacklyn Zeman Jacklyn Zeman (born March 6, 1953) is an American actress. She is known for her role as Barbara "Bobbie" Spencer on ''General Hospital''. She is sometimes credited as Jackie Zeman. Early life and education Zeman was born in Englewood, New Jersey ...

(who played Barbara Jean "Bobbie" Spencer) were close friends.

Death

Kepler died from

kidney failure Kidney failure, also known as end-stage kidney disease, is a medical condition in which the kidneys can no longer adequately filter waste products from the blood, functioning at less than 15% of normal levels. Kidney failure is classified as eit ...

, on February 1, 2008, at

Oregon Health & Science University Oregon Health & Science University (OHSU) is a public research university focusing primarily on health sciences with a main campus, including two hospitals, in Portland, Oregon. The institution was founded in 1887 as the University of Oregon Medi ...

. Her close friend and ''

'' costar,

, delivered a eulogy at her funeral. The February 26, 2008 episode of ''General Hospital'' was dedicated to Kepler, "In loving memory".

References

External links

*
Shell Kepler - Soapcentral.comShell Kepler at muchloved.comMichelle Kepler, under the nickname, "Shell" at remembered.com
1958 births 2008 deaths American soap opera actresses Deaths from kidney failure Actresses from Ohio People from Painesville, Ohio Actresses from Portland, Oregon 20th-century American actresses 21st-century American women {{US-tv-actor-1950s-stub