ABC The cast of "General Hospital" celebrates on the set.
A popular soap star has died, and a top Hallmark and Great American Family entertainer was one of the first to reveal the heartbreaking news. Sonya Eddy, who starred on “General Hospital” for years and did a Hallmark movie a number of years ago, died, and Jen Lilley shared a touching tribute via Twitter upon learning the news.
Here’s what you need to know:
Sonya Eddy’s Death Came As a Major Shock
Octavia Spencer revealed the news of Eddy’s death in an Instagram post on Tuesday. “My friend @sonyaeddy passed away last night,” she shared. “The world lost another creative angel. Her legions of @generalhospitalabc fans will miss her. My thoughts and prayers are with her loved ones, friends, and fans!”
Soon after Spencer’s post, Lilley took to Twitter to share her heartbreak. “The sudden news of @TheRealSonyaEd passing hit me like a ton of bricks. I can’t stop crying. I loved that woman. In our #GH scenes, she always stared at my forehead and I stared at her lips because if we made eye contact, we’d lose it in uproarious laughter,” Lilley wrote.
As TMZ detailed, Eddy started her role as Epiphany Johnson on “General Hospital” in 2006. She appeared in nearly 550 episodes since first joining the soap opera and appeared in numerous prime-time shows as well. Eddy’s IMDb page reveals she started her decades-long acting career with an appearance on “The Drew Carey” show in 1995. In 2005, she starred in the Hallmark project “The Reading Room” alongside James Earl Jones and Joanna Cassidy.
Colleagues Were Heartbroken to Learn of Eddy’s Death
The comments section of Spencer’s Instagram post was flooded with notes of support and sadness as others learned of Eddy’s death.
“Nooooooo,” wrote Hallmark star Holly Robinson Peete.
“I’m so sorry x x,” added Ant Anstead.
“Modern Family” star Eric Stonestreet commented with two red-heart emojis, and Deborah Roberts added an “Oh no!!!” and a string of emojis too.
In addition to her work on “General Hospital” and “The Drew Carey Show,” Eddy showed her range and talent in a wide variety of other movies and television shows. She did 25 episodes of “General Hospital: Night Shift,” again playing Epiphany, and she also appeared in the Will Smith movie “Seven Pounds.” There were gigs on “Everybody Hates Chris,” “Desperate Housewives,” and “Fresh Off the Boat,” and she amassed almost 140 credits in her nearly 30 years of acting.
In addition to being a fabulous actor, People shared that Eddy was a licensed vocational nurse in her regular life. Soap Opera Digest added she did voice-over work, was a vocalist, and performed improv, and “General Hospital” fans likely remember some fabulous Nurses’ Ball performances she had over the years. She was talented at mimicking accents, and her repertoire included South African, Jamaican, African, West Indian, Texan, and Southern accents.
Prior to ever considering an acting career, Eddy was a college student at the University of California-Davis studying psychology, she told the Awesome blog. She considered herself a shy person, but she sang in her church choir and caught a professor’s attention during an oral presentation for a History of Black Theatre college course. That led to a part in the school’s production of “Zora Is My Name,” but she still did not plan on an acting career at that point. She moved to New York and considered law school, but her talent for acting ultimately could not be dismissed. Her work touched many fans and colleagues, and it is clear she will be dearly missed.