General Hospital Alum Paige Herschell Breaks Down Over Her Mom

Paige Herschell, who played the role of Jacinda Bracken on General Hospital (GH) for just over a year, sat down with veteran daytime soap actor Maurice Benard (Sonny Corinthos) on Sunday. Read on to find out more about their conversation.

Talking About Childhood

The actress, singer, and producer, born in Texas, immediately caught viewers’ attention when she talked about being “a very shy little kid.”

General Hospital star Benard always gets his guests to revisit their childhoods during his State of Mind podcast so they can get to know each other.

His followers often hear how childhood experiences can carry over into adulthood. In Paige’s case, however, she seemed completely different from the painfully shy child she described.

Debilitating Shyness

Speaking about her self-consciousness, she explained to Benard that she was so shy at school she would “eat lunch in the bathroom.” As a nervous and shy only child, Paige found school something of a nightmare, despite having a kind and loving family.

But when she changed schools at the age of 12, her mom told her something that helped turn her life around: “Hey, you know, none of those kids know who you are. You don’t have to be that Paige. You can be whatever Paige you want.”

Then she added, “You can put on a mask and do whatever you want.”

That helped tremendously, and today Paige Herschell has a very different personality. She was able to grasp the concept of wearing a mask, which helps explain why acting appealed to her so much.

A Passion For Theater

Paige became interested in theater while she was still at school, and her mom enrolled her “in summer camps in San Antonio” to help her develop her future career.

In particular, she enjoyed acting in plays like Sweeney Todd, but she also enjoyed Shakespeare and other classical productions.

Asked by Maurice Benard whether she dated boys during those years, she said she was “never really solid with the boys.” The mask helped her confidence, but she remained terribly shy around boys until she started college.

Living In New York

Later, she moved to New York, hoping to pursue a career in theater, but lasted only seven months. Paige simply couldn’t cope with the city’s frenetic pace.

General Hospital viewers heard her talk about the beautiful rural areas where she had lived over the years and explain that her favorite things in life were “trees and sunshine.”

A Musician

Paige moved on to talk about other areas of her life in which she is talented. She explained that she had always been a singer and grew up in a musically inclined family.

When Benard asked why she didn’t have an EP like his son Joshua, she surprised him by revealing that she had, in fact, recorded some music.

It isn’t just any old music. Paige told the GH star that she’s part of a “gypsy swing band called San Lyon & Friends.” Inspired by music from the 1930s, the band performs songs partly in English and partly in French.

It all started shortly before the pandemic, and she explained that, with little other work available, she and her friends spent much of their time perfecting their sound.

These days, Paige’s partner, Drew Cash, also performs with her. The band released an 11-track EP in the spring called San Leon and Friends, which is available on Spotify.

Struggles With Her Mother

Of course, GH fans who follow State of Mind know that Maurice Benard always digs deeper. Toward the end of the conversation, the pair discussed Paige’s mother and the struggles she had faced.

Paige immediately became tearful while talking about her mother, explaining that she had died. “My mom was my best friend,” the actress said, before adding, “I’m trying to get better at not apologizing when I cry.”

Paige told Maurice Benard that her mom died in 2019 after a difficult life. She explained that she didn’t like remembering her simply as somebody with “addiction issues and bipolar disorder” because her mom was so much more than that.

At that point, Paige broke down in tears, and Maurice reached for some tissues. Apologising, she asked him to tell her if her makeup started running.

Possible Roots Of Trauma

Paige went on to explain that her mom had been “sexually abused when she was younger,” adding that the experience “kind of put her on a trajectory of trauma” and contributed to her struggles with addiction.

One of her biggest problems was “alcohol specifically,” although she was sober by the end of her life. Over the years, she had attended AA and gone to rehab, which helped her remain “sober for a very long time.”

Bipolar And Psychosis

Paige’s mom had bipolar disorder, something Benard knows a great deal about from his own experience. But for Paige, life with her mother could be extremely difficult.

She recalled the “psychotic episodes and suicidal episodes” and said that, for much of her life, their roles were almost reversed. She often felt as if she had become the mother.

Paige is still trying to make sense of that experience. “I should probably see a therapist,” she admitted.

Seeing A Therapist

Benard said he thought his own therapist would be great for her, prompting Paige to reply, “Set me up, please.”

She explained that she had done her share of grieving and had worked through it with family and friends but thought it might be helpful to hear another perspective.

Medication And Addiction

Paige also recalled feeling, during her mom’s manic episodes, as though she would have to cope with them forever.

Her mom wasn’t taking lithium. Instead, doctors had prescribed what Paige called a cocktail of different medications, but they didn’t seem to help.

Benard asked whether her mom sometimes stopped taking the medication, and Paige said she did. With so many pills involved, it was hard to know whether she had simply forgotten a dose. Paige also worried that, at times, her mom might have taken more than she should.

“Let me tell you something, Paige,” Benard said. “Like I always say, mental illness is very, very difficult.” He continued, “Put alcohol with it. If you don’t rein it in, you’re done.”

The Death Of Her Mom

Paige Herschell revealed that her mom died from breast cancer. The illness progressed quickly, and she died just a month after her diagnosis in 2019, near the end of November.

According to Paige, her mom had always said that she didn’t want to grow old and wanted to die in her sixties.

Steering The Conversation

Perhaps sensing that Paige was becoming emotional, Benard gently steered the conversation back toward acting and her time on General Hospital.

The two concluded that there might be an opportunity for her to return to the ABC soap someday.

Would you like to see Paige Herschell return as Jacinda Bracken? What did you think of her candid conversation with Maurice Benard? Share your thoughts in the comments below, and come back here often for more General Hospital cast news and updates.