Maurice Benard family is complete with his wife Paula Smith and their four kids. Maurice and Paula adopted her sister Heather as their fourth kid in 2008.
General Hospital star Maurice is an American actor. He is best known for his portrayal of Sonny Corinthos since 1993 in the popular ABC soap opera General Hospital, he is a series regular.
Benard made his acting debut with the 1987 television series All My Children, he appeared as Nico Kelly in 20 episodes of the series between 1987 and 1990. Since his debut, Maurice has had 28 acting credits on his IMDb profile.
Maurice shared screens with Forrie J Smith’s wife Cheryl Richardson and Tia Carrere in General Hospital. While he continues to portray the manic-depressive mob kingpin Sonny Corinthos, he is also the host of State Of Mind with Maurice Benard, a mental health podcast.
After being diagnosed with Bipolar Disorder at the age of 22 years old, he has served as a spokesperson for Mental Health America, according to his Wikipedia profile.
Maurice And Paula Have Been Married For Over Three Decades
Maurice Benard wife Paula Bernad is a producer. Maurice and Paula married on 11 August 1990.
Maurice and Paula met circa in 1982 and dated six years before The Ghost and the Whale finally put a ring on her fingers. According to her IMDb profile, they were engaged for two more years before Paula walked down the aisle on August 11, 1990. The pair will celebrate their 33rd anniversary in the coming August.
Although Benard’s character Sonny is known for his multiple relationships on the popular soap opera General Hospital, he is quite the opposite. He has stuck with his Texas girl since day one and the pair has already been together for over four decades if you are to count their relationship before the wedding.
According to Showbiz Cheatsheet, Paula does not do much social media stuff but she could not resist and jump into Maurice’s Instagram video for their 30th wedding anniversary in August 2020.
As Maurice shared his joy of being married for three decades and wondered what he would have done without Paula, she quickly jumped in and asked if they would count the five years they were together before being married, Benard casually replied with a no saying they were not married then.
Paula was quick to leave the frame to her husband and jumped right out after kissing him goodbye. Maurice ended the video winking outside the video, most probably to his wife sitting across the room.
Maurice shares several images from their good old days on his social media account, wishing Paula on her birthday on September 24, 2021, he shared an old picture of him kissing her and revealed in the captions that he would embarrass Paula and kiss her on the forehead to reconcile.
The Pair Shares Four Kids Together
Maurice and Paula together have four children, three girls, and a boy. Benard adopted Paula’s younger sister in 2008 as their fourth child.
I. Cailey Sofia Benard
Cailey Sofia Benard is the eldest biological daughter of Maurice and Paula.
Cailey was born on September 18, 1994, four years after the pair tied the knot. The 28-year-old now has a husband Carlos. The pair got married in June 2020 and their Zoom wedding was officiated by none other than Maurice.
Maurice is very close with his daughter Cailey, he regularly shares glimpses of her childhood and their outings on his Instagram account. Cailey has followed in her mother’s footsteps and keeps out of social media most of the time.
Benard shared a picture collage on his Instagram account on June 2018. He explained the collage saying, the image in the top corner was him dressed as a girl in his childhood and others were self-explanatory. It highlighted the striking resemblance between the father and daughter in their childhood.
Cailey is studying child psychology and Maurice was happy that she would help him in the future, he shared his excitement on his Instagram account on February 17, 2022.
II. Cassidy Rose Benard
Cassidy Rose Benard was born on April 18, 1999, as the second-born child to Maurice and Paula.
The 23-year-old is the youngest girl among the Bernard siblings. She is found on Instagram with her username @cassidybenard, where she boasts nearly 1k followers and has shared 75 posts so far.
However, her posts are only available to her followers as she has kept her account private at the moment. She appears to be in a loving relationship with her boyfriend, as her Instagram profile picture is a picture of her prince charming hugging her from back at a park.
Cassidy and Maurice have a fun time together, he was seen trying to sing a song which Cassidy was clearly not enjoying by the looks of her face. She is seen covering her face towards the end of the Instagram video.
Her 17th birthday celebration was out of the ordinary, instead of the traditional cake for the celebration Cassidy got a bowl full of fruits and number 17 made out of a pineapple. That is one way of celebrating a birthday, right?
III. Joshua James Benard
Joshua James Benard is the only son of Paula and Maurice Bernard.
The 18-year-old was born on December 5, 2004, making him the youngest of the Benard siblings.
Joshua has shared the screen with his father Maurice on the ABC soap opera General Hospital, he appeared on 5 episodes of the series in 2018 and 2022 portraying the younger version of his father’s character Sonny.
According to his IMDb profile, he made his acting debut in 2013 with the television series Days of Our Lives. Since his debut, Joshua has amassed 7 acting credits and some of his best projects include The Ghost and the Whale, Station 19, and Good Trouble, among others.
He has followed in his father’s footsteps not just in acting but also in social media as well. He is also very active on Instagram, Joshua wished his father Maurice his 60th birthday on March 1, 2023, and he often shares images with his family on the social media platform.
Joshua is also a musician and singer, he is found sharing clips of his songs and guitar rhythms on his Instagram account. It is unclear if the artist has released any original works yet.
IV. Heather Ann Smith-Benard
Heather Ann Smith-Benard was adopted by Paula and Maurice in May 2008.
According to People, Heather is the younger sister of Paula and the pair decided to take her in after Heather’s mother passed away unexpectedly.
Heather who was born on June 25, 1991, was just 15 years old when Paula and Maurice decided to take her in to give her everything she would have gotten if Paula’s mother had not passed away.
The 31-year-old is technically the oldest among the four siblings. However, she now has a family of her own with her husband Phill and their beautiful daughter Eloise Rose. Heather is also the first among the siblings to make Paula and Maurice grandparents.
Heather is military personnel, she completed her training on October 2022 and Maurice shared an emotional post highlighting the sacrifices she has made to attain her dream on his Instagram account.