Sad news for “General Hospital” fans — Shell Kepler, the actress who played nurse Amy Vining died Friday at age 49 of renal failure.

Shell Kepler appeared on “General Hospital” from 1979-2002, playing the gossip-driven nurse that fans loved.

But Shell Kepler was more than just an actress (she also appeared a couple of times on “Three’s Company”) — she also had a line of clothing that she marketed on Home Shopping Club, with her “Lacy Afternoon” collection topping $20 million in sales in 1994.

Shell Kepler’s family moved to California from Ohio when she was just 10. Following her time on “General Hospital,” Shell Kepler moved to Portland, Oregon and worked in fundraising.

I know that soap opera fans love the characters on their soap like they’re part of the family, so I can only imagine that Shell Kepler’s death has hit many a “General Hospital” fan pretty hard.

Shell Kepler once said of her “General Hospital” character, Amy Vining:

“I love playing Amy! She’s a kid and I love being a kid. She’s one of the most fun characters on the show. You may not like her but she’s always interesting. There is always activity going on around her and you know something’s going to happen. Something is going to be said, something is going to go wrong, but she’s a high energy character and I think that’s nice. And I still haven’t seen anybody on daytime TV, or prime time TV for that matter, who is similar to Amy in character.”