General Hospital actress Sonya Eddy suddenly passed away on Monday, Dec. 19 at the age of 55 and now, her cause of death has been revealed. Sonya’s friend and collaborator, Tyler Ford, revealed on Dec. 20 that she succumbed to an internal infection following a scheduled surgery, per TMZ. According to Tyler, Sonya went in for a scheduled surgery on Dec. 9 and was released two days later on Dec. 11. She was admitted back into the hospital on Dec. 15 after she began to feel ill.
When Sonya was checked by doctors, Tyler claimed they discovered she had picked up an “uncontainable” infection. By Dec. 19, she was placed on life support. She died in the hospital Monday night.
Sonya’s friend and fellow actress Octavia Spencer, 52, notified the world of her death via an Instagram post on Dec. 20. “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!” she wrote alongside a picture of Sonya.
Following her death, ABC released a statement that praised Sonya as a “tough but compassionate” person, per Page Six, similar to the role she played on General Hospital as head nurse Epiphany Johnson. Sonya joined the hit ABC series in 2006 and was an active member of the cast when she passed. She appeared in more than 540 episodes over three seasons, per IMDb.
Fans may be surprised to learn that California-born Sonya did not just play a nurse; she was a registered nurse in real life, according to Soap Opera Digest. Furthermore, in a November interview, she shared several fun facts that fans may not have known about her. “I absolutely love horror movies! All movies really,” she told Stone Cold And The Jackal. “There are times I will go to the cinema and watch four movies in a row. I do have a penchant for horror films though, the scarier the better!” She also described herself as a “mad Scrabble player” and said she her “rays of sunshine” are her four dogs.
The actress never married or had children.