Soap opera star Billy Miller’s mother is speaking out in the wake of her son’s death at 43 years old.
In a statement to Soap Opera Digest on Monday, Patricia Miller said the Daytime Emmy-winning star died after “a long hard valiant battle with bipolar depression.”
Miller — who is best known for roles on General Hospital and The Young and the Restless — died on Friday ET confirmed on Sunday — which would have marked his 44th birthday.
Miller’s family said that Miller died in Austin, Texas, and that “The actor was struggling with manic depression when he died.”
“I would like to share the following thoughts,” Patricia began her statement Monday. “I want to personally thank the many fans & personal friends for the overwhelming amount of love, prayers & condolences sent to me and my family on the devastating death of my beautiful son BJ — Billy Miller. He fought a long hard valiant battle with bipolar depression for years. He did everything he could to control the disease. He loved his family, his friends and his fans but in the end the disease won the fight and he surrendered his life. The other causes of death being told are not true. I wish they were but they just aren’t. We all loved him so much and are desperately trying to deal with our loss. I will have nothing further to say. Thanks for the love and support.”
Miller’s career began as a model, signed to Wilhelmina. In 2007 he had a role as Richie Novak on All My Children, where he stayed until 2008. From 2008-2014, Miller starred as Billy Abbott on The Young and the Restless. A role that got him three Daytime Emmy awards. After exiting The Young and the Restless in 2014, Miller went on to play Jason Morgan and Drew Cain on General Hospital until 2019.
After leaving soaps, Miller appeared in five episodes of the USA drama Suits, where he played the brother of Harvey Spector, Marcus.
Following the news of Miller’s death, his co-stars in the daytime television community took to social media to mourn the loss.
General Hospital‘s executive producer, Frank Valentini, took to X (formally known as Twitter) to mourn.
“I am devastated to hear news of the incredibly talented Billy Miller’s passing. On behalf of the entire @GeneralHospital family, our hearts go out to his family and friends during this difficult time,” he wrote.
See more tributes to Miller’s life on and off the screen here.
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