General Hospital’s Eden McCoy Returns as Josslyn Jacks After Mother's Death
Soap star Eden McCoy is making her General Hospital return after six weeks off the show.
McCoy, 20, will return to her role as Josslyn “Joss” Jacks on Thursday, February 1, according to TVLine. The actress took a step back from the role — which she has been playing since 2015 — after announcing the death of her mother following a battle with cancer. She was replaced by Courtney Fulk, whose episodes started airing last month.
McCoy has yet to speak publicly about her return to the show. However, her last Instagram post was captioned, “Divinely guided & protected,” seemingly referring to her late mom.
“It feels bizarre and almost performative to make a post so personal on the most impersonal space, but many people who knew my mother and also knew me didn’t know what was going on, and this is the easiest way to let everyone know,” McCoy shared on Instagram in November 2023, announcing her mother’s death. “They also deserve to mourn and part with her in whatever way they may choose. My mother has fought an intense battle with cancer for the past 2 and a half years and has now left us physically.”
Soap operas often change up their casts, but there seems to be something in the water in Port Charles on General Hospital. Fresh off winning a Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Young Performer in a Daytime Drama Series, Eden McCoy was mysteriously replaced by Courtney Fulk as Josslyn Jacks in December 2023. Neither ABC nor […]
McCoy called her mom “the best thing I have ever known,” continuing her statement.
“She is responsible for every good part of me, and she took me with her when she left . If there is anything I can say to whoever is reading, it would be that absolutely nothing is promised,” the actress added, in part. “We really aren’t owed anything. Your life really can change in just a moment, so as my mom would say, do everything as if it [is] your last time doing it. Losing my mother has always been my greatest fear, as I’m sure many of you feel the same, and we have this habit as people of thinking that it will never happen to us. Unfortunately it can, and sometimes it does.”
Amid her hiatus, McCoy won a Daytime Emmy Award in December 2023 for Outstanding Younger Performer in a Daytime Drama Series. “Words can’t describe the gratitude I feel…I just want to say thank you for the best 8 years to my General Hospital family,” she shared via Instagram last month. “Thank you for letting me be a tiny FRACTION of your incredible legacy. For you mommy!!!”
McCoy’s six-week departure from the show isn’t the only General Hospital cast shakeup occurring this year.
Steve Burton hinted at his return to General Hospital three years after departing the role of Jason Morgan in 2021.
General Hospital has had numerous different cast members during its 60-year run, including some familiar faces. John Stamos got his start on the soap opera with his role as Blackie Parish from 1982 to 1984. Even though he starred on the show for only two years, Stamos has discussed the tremendous impact General Hospital had […]
“Happy anniversary General Hospital,” Burton said in the final moments of the General Hospital 60th anniversary special on January 4. “Stay tuned, big things are coming to Port Charles.”
Burton played Jason Morgan on General Hospital from 1991 to 2012. He returned in 2017 but left the series a second time in 2021 after a dispute over COVID-19 vaccine mandates.
Eventually, he went on to reprise his role as Harris Michaels — which he originated in 1988 — in the Days of Our Lives spinoff series, Beyond Salem, in 2022. Burton took the role to Days of Our Lives in 2023. He announced his departure from the show earlier this month.
“Well, I just shot my final scenes here on Days of Our Lives and I just want to say, thank you so much to the cast [and] to the crew. It’s been amazing,” the actor announced in a January 3 YouTube video. “I can’t believe it’s been a year already! So, thank you so much to the fans. It’s just … I’m always so full of gratitude.”
