Official Biography
Born in Martinez, California, to parents Humberto from Nicaragua and Martha from El Salvador, Maurice Benard spent most of his childhood in the San Francisco area.
His birth name is Mauricio Morales, which he had legally changed to Maurice Benard. He found the educational system to be uninspiring and went to work after high school.
His good looks brought him modeling jobs in his early 20's, but he decided to take up acting and performed in numerous theatrical productions in the Bay area.

After auditioning for a role on the ABC daytime drama, "All My Children", Maurice was cast as Nico Kelly. Two years later, Maurice left to find new challenges and moved to
Los Angeles. He was soon cast as the lead in the much-publicized TV movie, "Lucy and Desi: Before the Laughter". He later added a pivotal role in the feature film, "Ruby",
to several other prominent film and television credits.

In 1993, he made his first appearance on "General Hospital" as Sonny Corinthos and remained on the show until August of 1997. He returned to GH in December of 1998 after a
year long hiatus. "This role is what I do best," Benard explains. "Sonny is unpredictable. You never know from one second to the next what he is thinking, feeling, or
planning."

For his portrayal of Sonny Corinthos, Maurice received an Emmy nomination in 1996 for Outstanding Lead Actor. During that same year, Maurice received the Outstanding Lead Actor
trophy at the nationally televised Soap Opera Awards ceremony. In 1997, he received an Emmy Award nomination for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Dramatic Series.
On March 10, 2000, he received the Soap Opera Digest Award for Favorite Lead Actor. In 2003, Maurice received the Soap Opera Digest Award for Lead Actor and won his first
Emmy for Outstanding Lead Actor. Maurice received his fourth Emmy nomination in 2004. He was nominated for a fifth Emmy in 2006. In 2007, Maurice was honored by the
Entertainment Industries Council with the first ever "Performance in a Daytime Drama" PRISM Award for his work in the "Sonny is Bipolar" storyline.

When Maurice was 22, he suffered his first nervous breakdown, and soon afterward he was diagnosed as manic-depressive. He was prescribed Lithium to help control his illness.
However, he began to feel that the medication was hindering his acting abilities, and he quit taking it which resulted in his second breakdown. He realized that Lithium
would become an integral part of his life. Shortly after signing on with "General Hospital", he suffered his third breakdown. General Hospital Executive Producer Wendy
Riche (at the time) encouraged him, supported him, and allowed him the time he needed to recuperate.

Maurice has been very open about his manic-depression. In both magazine articles and personal appearances, he has been very straightforward in discussing the difficulties
that he's been through and encourages others to seek help if they need it. He is a spokesperson for the Depression and Bipolar Support Alliance (DBSA...formerly the NDMDA).
He gave the closing address at the 2000 Annual NDMDA Conference in Boston. He also was honored with the Lionel Aldridge Award by the National Association for the Mentally
Ill (NAMI) in 2001 and received the Didi Hirsch "Erasing the Stigma" Leadership Award in 2002. In 2003, Maurice joined forces with the National Mental Health Association
(NMHA) to campaign for bipolar disorder awareness with the "Do You Know It?" campaign.

Maurice admits that his wife, Paula, and his family are the best things that ever happened to him. Maurice and Paula welcomed their third child, son Joshua James,
on December 5, 2004. Joshua joins sisters, Cailey and Cassidy. Maurice and Paula adopted 15-year-old daughter Heather in 2008. The Benard's live in the Hollywood Hills
area of Southern California with a menagerie of pets. Maurice enjoys boxing, the martial arts and working out.

Designed By: Uninvited Grace Designs
Run By: Chrisie
Disclaimer: I am not affiliated with Maurice Benard in anyway. This site is merely for entertainment purposes only.