On the Monday, December 18 episode of ABC’s “General Hospital,” you might have heard, “The role of Josslyn Jacks is temporarily being played by Courtney Fulk.” Turns out your ears and eyes weren’t playing tricks on you, and that was, in fact, a different actress portraying the role of Carly (Laura Wright) and Jax’s daughter.
It’s understood that the show had to temporarily recast the role of Josslyn after regular portrayer Eden McCoy took a leave of absence last month in order to deal with personal matters, specifically the death of her mother, who passed away after a two-and-a-half-year battle with cancer.
In a post on Instagram on November 6, McCoy said, “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. They also deserve to mourn and part with her in whatever way they may choose.” She added, “I’m not sure what to say other than she was, is, and will be the best thing I have ever known. 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. 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 your last time doing it.”
On Friday, McCoy won her first Daytime Emmy Award after three nominations. She took home the gold in the Outstanding Younger Performer in a Daytime Drama Series category for her role as Josslyn Jacks in what would become her final year of eligibility. She was previously nominated in the same category in 2019 and 2020.
McCoy told Soap Opera Network on the red carpet that the dress she wore was picked out by her late mother, stating, “My mom picked it out for me a million years ago when [the Emmys] was originally supposed to happen, so I figured I’d just wear it. I just wanted something really classic and timeless that felt like me, and I’m all about being simple. Simple 90s. So, we threw it on, and it still fits.”
At press time, it was unclear how long McCoy would be out for on-screen. However, Deadline reports that a spokesperson shared that McCoy is “on a brief sabbatical and will return at the beginning of the new year.”
Fulk is a relative newcomer to Hollywood, with her first credited role being the 2021 TV movie, “Killer Cheer Mom” which also starred Denise Richards (“The Bold and the Beautiful”) and Thomas Calabro (“Melrose Place”). Fulk followed that up in 2022 with another TV movie titled “Student Seduction.”
Filling in as Josslyn on “General Hospital” marks Fulk’s first major role in a television series.