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Billy Miller’s mother, Patricia Miller, revealed her son died after he “surrendered his life” following a “battle with bipolar depression.” The soap opera star passed away at 43 on Sept. 15. His death came just two days before his 44th birthday on Sep. 17.
“I want to personally thank the many fans and personal friends for the overwhelming amount of love, prayers and condolences sent to me and my family on the devastating death of my beautiful son BJ — Billy Miller,” Patricia told Soap Opera Digest in a statement. “He fought a long hard valiant battle with bipolar depression for years. He did everything he could to control the disease. He loved his family, his friends and his fans but in the end the disease won the fight and he surrendered his life.”
Billy won a Daytime Emmy in 2014. (Picture Perfect/Shutterstock)
Billy’s passing was revealed on what would’ve been his 44th birthday on Sep. 17. While the cause of death was not announced at the time, a statement from his team did reveal that the Emmy winner had been “suffering from manic depression” at the time of his death.
Billy was an actor, best best-known for appearing as Billy Abbott in over 700 episodes of The Young and the Restless. Prior to Y&R, he appeared as Richie Novak in over 100 episodes of All My Children. He also notably played Jason Morgan and Drew Cain on General Hospital. Besides soap operas, he had small roles in a handful of other shows, including one-off appearances on NCIS, CSI: NY, and The Rookie. He also appeared in multiple episodes of the critically acclaimed series Suits and Ray Donovan. He also played a Navy recruiter in the popular film American Sniper.
Billy is survived by his mother Patricia, sister Megan, brother-in-law Ronnie, nephew Grayson, and niece Charley. “He also leaves behind a great many friends and colleagues who will miss his warm personality, generous spirit, and genuine kindness,” his team said in a statement, which was obtained by HollywoodLife.
Following Billy’s death, a number of his co-stars penned emotional tributes to the late star. Chrishell Stause, who had appeared on All My Children with him, honored her late co-star on her Instagram Story. “Still processing this. Too many feelings, but you are gone way too soon and I’m so happy I got to work with you all those years, but also call you a friend. I hope you are at peace now,” she wrote.
Actor Michael Muhney shared a photo of the two of them together as he paid tribute. “My fellow Texas brother. You lit up every room with your smile. Your quiet intensity onscreen was second only to your gentle kindness and genuine care in private,” he wrote on X (formerly Twitter).
