Maurice Benard

Maurice Benard (born March 1, 1963) is an American actor. Since 1993, he has been best known for his role as Sonny Corinthos on the ABC soap opera General Hospital.

Benard was born Mauricio José Morales in Martinez, California, the son of Martha, a bank employee, and Humberto Morales, a bakery superintendent. He grew up in San Francisco, California, and is of Nicaraguan and Salvadoran ancestry.

He started his acting career as Nico on the soap opera All My Children, from 1987 to 1990.

He then began appearing on General Hospital, a daytime soap opera on ABC. His role on the show was the fictional Sonny Corinthos, a manic depressive mobster King pin. His first air date on GH was August 13, 1993. Benard has been nominated for several Daytime Emmy awards for his role of Sonny Corinthos, winning Outstanding Lead Actor in 2003, 2019, and 2021, as well as winning three Soap Opera Digest Awards for Outstanding Lead Actor in 1996, 2003, and 2005.

In addition to guest spots on several television series during the early 1990s, Benard appeared in television movies including the CBS television movie Lucy & Desi: Before the Laughter (1991), in which he portrayed Desi Arnaz. He also starred in the independent film The Ghost and the Whale, executive produced by his wife Paula.

Benard married Paula Smith on August 11, 1990. They have four children: three daughters and one son. He and his wife adopted his wife's younger sister Heather, after their mother's death.

His cousin, Marvin Benard, played professional baseball.

Benard was diagnosed with bipolar disorder at age 22. He has become a spokesperson for treatment of the disorder with Mental Health America. He made the decision to have the General Hospital writers make his character, Sonny Corinthos, also have the disorder. Many of the struggles he faces on the show due to the disorder are ones he faced in his own life. Much praise has been given to the show for the realistic depiction.