NEW YORK — Leslie Charleson, known for playing Monica Quartermaine on “General Hospital,” died at 79.

Social media accounts for the ABC medical soap opera announced her death Sunday evening. 

“Leslie was a beloved matriarch of the entire cast and crew,” the post signed by show executive producer Frank Valentini said. “I will miss our daily chats, her quick wit and incredible presence on set. On behalf of everyone at General Hospital, my heartfelt sympathy goes out to her loved ones during this difficult time.”

No cause of death was provided, but The Hollywood Reporter said she was “battling an illness for some time.”

Charleson was born in Kansas City, Missouri and started acting as a child and in high school before going on to study theater at Bennett College in upstate New York, according to IMDb. 

She was on “General Hospital” for nearly 50 years. The show started in 1963 and has 62 seasons with over 15,000 episodes. Charleson was in over 2,000 of them.  

She also was a prominent character in “Love Is a Many-Splendored Thing” in the ‘60s, playing Iris Donnelly.

Charleson was nominated for four Daytime Emmy Awards, four Soap Opera Digest Awards and two Soap Hub Awards for her work on “General Hospital.”