What Is Maurice Benard's Net Worth?
Maurice Benard is an American actor who has a net worth of $2 million. Maurice Benard started acting in 1987 on the soap opera "All My Children." He appeared on the show as a regular until 1990 and had several guest spots into the decade. He appeared on "DEA," "Stat," and "Dark Justice" before landing the role of Sonny Corinthos on "General Hospital" in 1993. Benard has appeared in more than 1600 episodes of the show. He earned a 2003 Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series and has been nominated for several other honors, including more Emmys and several "Soap Opera Digest" Awards. Benard played Corinthos in two episodes of "Port Charles" and in an episode of "General Hospital: Night Shift." He made his film debut in 1991's "Her Wicked Ways" as Steve and played Desi Arnaz in the TV movie "Lucy & Desi: Before the Laughter." His other film credits include "Ruby," "Mi Vida Loca," "To Face Her Past," "Restraining Order," "Crystal Clear," "The Penny," and "The Ghost and the Whale." At the age of 22, Benard was diagnosed with bipolar disorder, and he has worked with Mental Health America to raise awareness.
Early Life
Maurice Benard was born Mauricio José Morales on March 1, 1963, in Martinez, California. He is the son of Martha and Humberto Morales. Maurice is of Nicaraguan and Salvadoran ancestry. His mother was a bank employee, while his father was a bakery superintendent. Maurice grew up in San Francisco, California. After finishing high school, he decided he was interested in a career in entertainment. In the 1980s, he began a career as a model before launching his acting career.
Career
In 1987, Benard made his television debut playing Nico Kelly in the ABC daytime soap opera "All My Children. He remained on the show until 1990 and received a "Soap Opera Digest" Award nomination for Outstanding Male Newcomer: Daytime in 1989. In 1990, he appeared in an episode of "DEA" as Curro. The following year, he appeared in "Stat" as Jorge Rosario and then in an episode of "Dark Justice" in 1992.
Benard landed his most prominent television role in 1993 when he was cast as Sonny Corinthos in the ABC soap opera "General Hospital." His character is a manic-depressive mobster kingpin. Initially, his character was only supposed to last for six months as Maurice was not originally interested in remaining on the show for over a year. After his time on "All My Children," he also said he did not want to join the cast of another soap opera but had joined "General Hospital" because he needed money. Shortly after he began appearing on the show, he suffered a manic-depressive breakdown and stopped coming to work. However, ABC and the show writers worked with Benard to make it possible for him to keep working rather than firing him. Maurice found himself enjoying the role more than he thought, especially since the show writers made his character, Corinthos, also have similar mental health challenges as Benard himself faced. Maurice has remained on "General Hospital" since 1993.
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For his work on "General Hospital," Benard has been nominated for ten Daytime Emmy Awards. He won the Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series Award in 2003, 2019, and 2021. He also won three "Soap Opera Digest" Awards for Outstanding Lead Actor in 1996, 2003, and 2005. Benard has also reprised his role of Sonny Corinthos in the 1996 prime-time special "General Hospital: Twist of Fate, in the spin-off show "Port Charles" in 2000, and in "General Hospital: Night Shift" in 2007.
In addition to his work on soap operas, Benard has starred in a number of feature and made-for-television movies. He appeared in the 1991 television films "Her Wicked Ways" and "Lucy & Desi: Before the Laughter." Throughout the rest of the 1990s, he appeared in films like "Ruby," "Mi Vida Loca," "To Face Her Past," "Operation Splitsville," and "Restraining Order." In 2000, Maurice appeared in the short film "Crystal Clear" and in the film "We Married Margo" as himself. In 2009, he appeared in "Confession." In 2015, he was cast in the film "The Ghost and the Whale" and also in "Joy." In 2017, he appeared in the television film "A Lover Betrayed." The following year, he had a role in "Nightmare Cinema." The following year, he played the role of John Gotti in "Victoria Gotti: My Father's Daughter." He also appeared in "Hold On" and "Duke." In 2020, he appeared in "Equal Standard." He was cast in the short film "Passions" in 2022.
Personal Life
Benard married Paula Smith on August 11, 1990. They have four children together, three daughters and one son. Maurice and Paula also adopted his wife's younger sister, Heather, after the sisters' mother died.
Benard was diagnosed with bipolar disorder at age 22. He suffers a manic episode after two weeks into his role as Sonny Corinthos on "General Hospital. He made the decision to have the "General Hospital" writers make his character also suffer from bipolar disorder. Many of the struggles he faces on the show due to the disorder are reflective of the ones he has faced in his own life. The show has received praise for its realistic depiction of the disorder. Maurice has also become a spokesperson for the treatment of the disorder with Mental Health America.
Real Estate
In 2007, Maurice and Paula paid $1.25 million for a home in the Hollywood Hills. They proceeded to spend hundreds of thousands of dollars on renovations. They listed this home for sale in September 2010 for $1.55 million. They ultimately accepted $1.386 million in February 2011.
