In August 2023, Emmy® Award-winning actor Maurice Benard will
celebrate 30 years on “General Hospital” as the popular character
Michael “Sonny” Corinthos Jr. Complex, confident and wise, Sonny
Corinthos has taken his hard-earned experience as a street hustler and
transformed himself into one of the most powerful figures in the
fictional town of Port Charles. The character of Sonny was initially
written as only a six-month guest arc; however, Benard’s powerful
portrayal became wildly popular with fans and the celebrated actor
quickly took Sonny from a peripheral to central role. For his
portrayal of Sonny, Benard has received three Daytime Emmy Awards for
Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series, including nine nominations.
Additionally, Benard has won three Soap Opera Digest Awards, a Prism
Award and four Latino Media Arts Award nominations.

Sonny has long been on the forefront of socially relevant issues woven
into storylines like AIDS, Alzheimer’s awareness and bipolar
disorder. An advocate for mental health awareness, Benard himself was
diagnosed with bipolar disorder at age 22 and pushed for his
character, Sonny, to be diagnosed as bipolar so mental health
awareness can be front and center on a daily television platform.
Benard’s journey with mental illness has also been profiled on
“Oprah,” “Good Morning America,” “The View,” and magazines
including People LA Life and BP. He has also lent his face and voice
to numerous organizations to further the cause, including
International Bipolar Foundation (IBPF), the National Alliance of
Mental Illness (NAMI), Mental Health America (MHA) and Didi Hirsch
Mental Health Services, to name a few. For his contribution to mental
health awareness, Benard has received numerous awards and has
testified before Congress on mental health issues.

In 2020, HarperCollins published his New York Time’s bestselling
memoir about his mental health journey, “Nothing General About It:
How Love and Lithium Saved Me On and Off General Hospital.”
Currently, Benard continues to raise mental health awareness by
hosting his popular YouTube show, “State of Mind with Maurice
Benard,” where Benard interviews guests from all walks of life to
discuss their own journey with mental illness.

Benard’s multicultural upbringing began in San Francisco, where he
was born to parents from Nicaragua and San Salvador. Benard started
modeling jobs in his early 20s, and following that, he took up acting
in numerous theatrical productions in the Bay Area. After auditioning
for a role on the ABC daytime drama “All My Children,” Benard was
cast as Nico Kelly. Two years later, he struck out to find new
challenges and moved to Los Angeles, where he was soon cast as the
lead in the TV movie, “Lucy and Desi: Before the Laughter.” In
addition to “General Hospital,” Benard’s other film and
television credits include starring as John Gotti in Lifetime’s
acclaimed “Victoria Gotti: My Father’s Daughter,” David
O’Russell’s critically acclaimed “Joy,” “Ruby,” “Mi Vida
Loca,” “Hold On,” “Equal Standard,” “A Lover Betrayed,”
and the indie film “The Ghost and the Whale,” produced by
Benard’s wife, Paula.

Benard lives outside of Los Angeles and enjoys martial arts, working
out and playing host to a menagerie of dogs, cats and goats. He and
his wife, Paula, are the proud parents of daughters Cailey Sofia,
Cassidy Rose, Heather, and son Joshua James.
