Billy Miller, a Daytime Emmy-winning actor best known for his roles on US soaps The Young and the Restless and General Hospital, has died aged 43.
In a statement to Variety, his manager, Marnie Sparer, said Miller “was struggling with manic depression when he died”.
The actor died on Friday in Austin, Texas, two days before what would have been his 44th birthday.
Born in Oklahoma and raised in Texas, Miller dabbled in modelling before landing his first break in daytime television as Richie Novak on ABC soap opera All My Children, a role he played from 2007 to 2008.
From 2008 until 2014, he played Billy Abbott on CBS’s The Young and the Restless for more than 700 episodes, winning three Daytime Emmys, including once for outstanding lead actor in a drama series and twice for outstanding supporting actor in a drama series.
In 2014, Miller joined the cast of General Hospital, playing the role of Jason Morgan and Drew Cain. He was a regular on the series until 2019.
Miller also appeared on a handful of episodes of US legal drama Suits, and in 10 episodes of Apply TV+’s Truth Be Told. His film credits include Clint Eastwood’s 2014 military drama American Sniper and 2016’s Urban Cowboy. According to IMDB, Miller’s last role was on the crime drama NCIS.
Eileen Davidson, who starred alongside Miller in The Young and the Restless, led tributes to her colleague on X, formerly Twitter, writing: “His infectious charm and warmth left lasting impressions on all of us who were lucky enough to have him in our lives.”
I'm so sad to hear of Billy Miller's passing. His infectious charm and warmth left lasting impressions on all of us who were lucky enough to have him in our lives. Im gonna miss that mischievous smile. Love you Billy. pic.twitter.com/kTnML9Zxlw
— Eileen Davidson (@eileen_davidson) September 17, 2023
General Hospital actor Jon Lindstrom described Miller as “gifted, smart, funny, and impressed me as a great friend to those close to him”.
The Young and the Restless put out a statement saying: “The daytime community mourns the loss of Billy Miller who graced Y&R with his talent for many years as Billy Abbott.”
• In the US, you can call or text the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline on 988, chat on 988lifeline.org, or text HOME to 741741 to connect with a crisis counselor. In the UK and Ireland, Samaritans can be contacted on freephone 116 123, or email jo@samaritans.org or jo@samaritans.ie. In Australia, the crisis support service Lifeline is 13 11 14. Other international helplines can be found at befrienders.org
