LOS ANGELES (CelebrityAccess) – Actress Sonya Eddy, best known for her role in the soap opera General Hospital, died at 55. Her death was confirmed via social media by her producing partner Tyler Ford from Eddy Ford Entertainment. “She left an indelible imprint in every person that she touched, through the screen and off,” said Ford. No cause of death was given.
Eddy was a California native (Concord), born in June 1967 and began acting in college while studying dance and theatre at the University of California. She received her degree in 1992. Her career started on the stage playing The Witch in Stephen Sondheim’s Into the Woods and Bloody Mary in South Pacific.
She began her long-running stint on General Hospital in 2006, playing the nurse Epiphany Johnson for over a decade – appearing in over 550 episodes. Other credits include Pen15, Murphy Brown, Seinfeld, and ER. Film credits include Patch Adams and Matchstick Men, among others.
General Hospital executive producer Frank Valentini said via a statement on ABC’s Instagram account: “I truly loved her, not only as an actress but as a friend. The lights in the hub of the nurse’s station will now be a little dimmer, but her spirit and light will live on in both the show and our set.”
Tributes have poured in from the daytime TV industry upon news of her death, including one from friend Octavia Spencer.
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Michelle Stafford (Phyllis, The Young & the Restless) – “Ya know, along the way, in this business, you meet some good people, but every now and then, you meet some great people. That was Sonya. A gorgeous, full-of-life woman. What a loss for us. Rest in power, beauty.”
Steve Burton (ex-Jason, General Hospital) – “At a loss for words. Devastated. Sonya is one of the greatest. We worked together for a long time, and we had so much fun. I cherished our on-screen relationship but our off-screen relationship much more. Kindred spirits. There was not a time w did not laugh. Sonya always made me laugh, and she would never let me pass without a big hug. Sonya – I hate using ‘was’ – is an incredible light. She touched so many with her talent and just who she is. She will be missed. Prayers and love to her family.”
Nancy Lee Grahn (Alexis, General Hospital) – “I want to express my shock and sadness for the unexpected loss, last night, of my co-worker, friend and simply beautiful soul, Sonya Eddy. Sonya was solid. Not a false note in her warm groundedness. A hug from Sonya was a spiritual experience. Her hugs were motherly, sisterly and full of her heart, which was huge. Sonya was compassionate, generous and wickedly wry. She got it. She got me. Sonya was a fellow lib and a seeker of justice for others. But she did it quietly and with dignity while egging me on from the sidelines. ‘Go get ’em, Nance,’ she’d say. Sonya used her time on earth to love and be loved. She was just plain lovely. I can only assume that she was lifted up last night as she lifted up others and that there were welcome arms around her to take her on to her new journey. Rest in love and power, Ebony — personal joke between us; she’ll get it. You were seen, appreciated and loved.”
In honor of Eddy’s memory, donations can be made to The Foundation of the National Student Nurses Association, Inc.
