Sam McCall is a fictional character from General Hospital, an American soap opera on the ABC network. Created by Charles Pratt, Jr. and Robert Guza, Jr., the character made her debut on the episode airing on October 1, 2003, portrayed by Kelly Monaco. Sam is the daughter of mob boss Julian Jerome (William deVry) and attorney Alexis Davis (Nancy Lee Grahn), born and placed for adoption when both were teenagers. She arrived in town as a con artist trying to reverse her family's bad luck by destroying the five lucky cards of the "Dead Man's Hand." Upon her arrival she was characterized as a "sexy bad girl, with a nose for intrigue." Since her introduction, the character has matured into a self-assured and confident woman, while still retaining traces of her adventuresome, bad girl ways. Monaco's performance has been met with critical acclaim, having garnered her the Daytime Emmy Award nomination for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series in 2006. Casting The role of Samantha McCall was originated by former Baywatch star and Playboy's April 1997 Playmate of the Month, Kelly Monaco on October 1, 2003. Monaco, who had previously portrayed Livvie Locke on the ABC Daytime spinoff soap opera Port Charles, was one of several performers from the cancelled soap to join the cast of the main show. Monaco had also auditioned for ABC Daytime's All My Children as well as CBS Daytime's As the World Turns, both of which were based in New York at the time, and Monaco's eagerness to stay on the West coast led to her ultimately signing with General Hospital, based in Los Angeles. In 2005, Monaco joined the first season of ABC's Dancing with the Stars and was the first champion of what turned into a multi-season competition. In August 2009, a casting call was sent out to recast the role of Sam, leaving fans shocked by her possible departure. Despite rumors and speculation, Monaco's co-stars Steve Burton (Jason Morgan) and Nancy Lee Grahn (Alexis Davis) denied she was departing from the show. Monaco herself dispelled the rumors, stating there was "really no doubt" she would renew her contract; it was merely standard procedure for ABC to release the casting call since she and the network had not signed off on a new contract by a set deadline. In July 2020, it was announced that Monaco would take temporary leave from the