‘General Hospital’: Maurice Benard Shares Loss of ‘Sister’ Donna Messina – Beloved GH Makeup Artist
General Hospital star Maurice Benard, (who plays Sonny Corinthos) is mourning the loss of someone near and dear to him. Donna Messina Armogida passed away and the actor considers her family. Maurice posted a moving tribute on Instagram which shows how special Donna was to him. He has often referred to her as his “Sister”.
Watch for more messages from other GH cast members today since she was beloved by all on the set. Donna made friends over the decades she was on the soap and counted her GH coworkers, including Maurice, as close as family.
General Hospital News – Maurice Benard Pays Tribute
Maurice Benard took to social media to inform friends and GH fans of this heartbreaking loss. Paying tribute to a woman he considers like a sister to him, the actor wrote about the soap’s head makeup artist:
“Sometimes you meet someone in life You just connect with and then, unfortunately, life just takes that person away. And no matter how much your heartbreaks you want to remember the good times. My best friend my sister Donna used 2 hate taking pictures. I used to have to grab her and hold her. And we would and laugh and laugh I will never forget this memory and I will never forget what you meant in my life”
Beloved GH Makeup Artist Donna Messina Armogida Passes Away
Donna Messina Armogida has known Maurice Benard for decades from working with him on General Hospital. The recent photo she shared on her Twitter (below) is of Maurice and Tamara Braun goofing around in Donna’s makeup chair on set. Ambogida started with GH back in the mid-1980s, and is a five-time Emmy award winner for her work on the ABC soap.
Look who is in my make up chair Today @TamaraBraun @MauriceBenard @GeneralHospital ❤️❤️ pic.twitter.com/QqksbXaqxW
— Donna Messina (@Donnamessina1) June 27, 2018
Maurice said in his Insta post that Donna hated being in front of the camera. Instead, she was devoted to making the actors of General Hospital look good in front of the lens. She and Mo were both LA Dodgers fans and often tweeted team appreciation back and forth to each other.
Donna also bonded with many GH actors. As you can see below, she often spent time off of the soap set with cast members. Below she’s seen with her friends Kin Shriner (Scotty Baldwin), Wally Kurth (Ned Quartermaine), and Stuart Damon (Alan Quartermaine).
RT @JackieZeman: #goodtimes with Stuart Damon Donna Armogida @kinshriner @wallykurth pic.twitter.com/FGN6Om5yFZ
— GHFC (@OfficialGHFC) October 21, 2014
GH Fans Send Love and Support
Fans of Maurice Benard and General Hospital are sending kind thoughts on this loss. Many fans (and some sites that don’t seem to know the backstage crew) took the actor’s message literally and reported that his biological sister passed away.
But those that know Maurice Benard know he considers close friends like family. He often refers to Steve Burton as “my brother”. That’s how close he was also to Donna Messina that he considered her his sister.
It is nice to see the outpouring of support General Hospital fans are sending to Mo as he deals with this loss. Maurice didn’t offer details on why Donna passed, only how special she was to him. In this sad time, Soap Dirt sends thoughts and prayers to Maurice Benard and everyone at the ABC soap that is affected by the loss of Donna Messina Armogida.
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