Kelly Monaco will leave “General Hospital” after more than two decades on the ABC soap opera. diversity has confirmed.

Monaco, who has played the role of Sam McCall on “General Hospital” since 2003, will make her final appearance in Port Charles this fall for storyline reasons.

Monaco joined “General Hospital” in 2003 after working on another ABC soap opera, “Port Charles.” From 2000 to 2003, she played Livvie Locke in the spinoff series “General Hospital.”

Monaco has directed more than 2,200 episodes of General Hospital, and in 2006 she received a Daytime Emmy nomination for her portrayal of Sam. In August 2020, Lindsay Hartley temporarily played the role of Sam while Monaco was on temporary leave. Hartley reappeared in the role in February 2020 and in January and August of this year.

Monaco’s exit comes amid the return of several “General Hospital” veterans, including Jonathan Jackson as Lucky Spencer, who rejoined the long-running soap opera on Friday.

In July diversity exclusively reported that Emma Samms will reprise her role as Holly Sutton in early September. Her return coincided with Jackson’s.

Soap Opera Network was the first network to report on Monaco’s exit.

More to follow …