Michael "Sonny" Corinthos, Jr. is a fictional character on the popular ABC soap opera General Hospital. Maurice Benard has played the role, that of a manic depressive Mob boss living in Port Charles, since the character's storyline originated on August 13, 1993.

Benard left the show on September 24, 1997, and after a brief return in the spring of 1998, Benard has continued to portray Sonny since December 18, 1998. In 2003, Benard won the Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series for the role. Sonny left the mob organization in May 2008 after his son was shot, and then returned after his ex-girlfriend was shot in December 2008.

Benard has described Sonny as "unpredictable," and stated that: "You never know from one second to the next what he is thinking, feeling or planning. He's a man in personal conflict who maintains an outward appearance of calm at all times, at any cost." Michael "Sonny" Corinthos, Jr. was born in the blue-collar Bensonhurst neighborhood of Brooklyn.

His biological father, Michael Corinthos, Sr., is of Irish and Greek descent, while his mother, Adela, is of Cuban extraction. Due to his gambling problems, Michael, Sr. feels that Sonny would be better off not knowing him.

Hence, he divorces Adela and leaves the family, changing his name to Mike Corbin. Adela goes on to marry Deke Woods, a police officer who routinely abuses both her and Sonny. As a teen, Sonny enters into a chaste relationship with Connie Falconeri.

He also has a brief sexual relationship with her cousin Olivia Falconeri, who hides the fact that she eventually gives birth to his son, Dante. Adela eventually has an affair with her employer Trevor Lansing, that produces a son named Ric. When Trevor feels that Sonny is responsible for an accident that nearly causes Adela to lose Ric, he forces her to choose between her two sons.

Adela refuses to abandon Sonny, and Trevor raises Ric on his own. Meanwhile, Mike enters into a relationship with Janine Matthews, that produces a daughter named Courtney. Mike's gambling also leads him to abandon this family.

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