General Hospital and Days of Our Lives star Tyler Christopher has died. The soap actor was 50 years old.
News of his death was confirmed by General Hospital costar Maurice Benard who took to social media to say, “It is with great sadness that we share the news of the passing of Tyler Christopher. Tyler passed away this morning following a cardiac event in his San Diego apartment.”
“Tyler was a truly talented individual that lit up the screen in every scene he performed and relished bringing joy to his loyal fans through his acting. Tyler was a sweet soul and wonderful friend to all of those who knew him,” Benard continued. “Tyler was an advocate for better mental health and substance use treatment who openly spoke about his struggles with bipolar depression and alcohol. We are beyond devastated by the loss of our dear friend and pray for his children and his father.”
He has two children with his ex-wife, former ESPN reporter Brienne Pedigo, and was previously married to Desperate Housewives star Eva Longoria from 2002 to 2004. He reportedly divorced from Pedigo in 2021.
In May of this year, Christopher made headlines when he was found publicly intoxicated at the Burbank airport in California, where he was arrested, and ultimately released with a scheduled court date.
Christopher was best known for portraying Port Charles’ Nikolas Cassadine on General Hospital from 1996 to 2016. In addition to Nikolas, Christopher also made a name for himself with his role as Stefan DiMera on Days of Our Lives, appearing on the soap from 2018 to 2019. He even went on to win a Daytime Emmy for his role as Stefan.
In addition to the soaps, Christopher appeared in various roles across television with his credits including ABC Family’s (now Freeform) The Lying Game alongside parts in Felicity, Angel, Charmed, JAG, and CSI: Crime Scene Investigation to name a few.