'The Young and the Restless' Honors Former Star Billy Miller with Loving Tribute 6 Days After His Death
The soap opera actor died on Sept. 15 at age 43, following a "valiant" struggle with "bipolar depression," according to his mother
The Young and the Restless is paying tribute to alum Billy Miller after his sudden death.
Miller, who portrayed the role of Billy Abbott from 2008 to 2014, was honored with a montage featuring his greatest moments on the series towards the end of Thursday’s episode.
The longstanding daytime soap closed with a black-and-white photo of the late actor and text that read, “1979-2023.”
The official Young and the Restless account later shared the tribute on X (formerly known as Twitter) and wrote beside the touching video, "To end today's episode we paid tribute to a greatly missed member of the Y&R family. Billy Miller will forever be in our hearts."
To end today's episode we paid tribute to a greatly missed member of the Y&R family. Billy Miller will forever be in our hearts. ❤️ pic.twitter.com/8YRU46WtbT
— Young and Restless (@YandR_CBS) September 21, 2023
In a statement shared with PEOPLE on Sept. 17, Miller’s manager confirmed that the soap opera star died two days earlier in Austin, Texas. He was 43.
Though no specific cause of death was cited, his manager revealed that he was “struggling with manic depression when he died."
Following the news, Miller's mother Patricia expressed her gratitude for the support she's received since her son's death and shared that Miller "surrendered his life" after "a long hard valiant battle with bipolar depression."
"I want to personally thank the many fans & personal friends for the overwhelming amount of love, prayers & condolences sent to me and my family on the devastating death of my beautiful son BJ — Billy Miller," she said in a statement to Soap Opera Digest. "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," she continued. "The other causes of death being told are not true. I wish they were but they just aren’t."
"We all loved him so much and are desperately trying to deal with our loss," Patricia concluded. "I will have nothing further to say. Thanks for the love and support."
Related: 12 Stars Who Appeared on 'The Young and the Restless'
Miller, who would have turned 44 shortly after his death, began his career on All My Children in 2007. His time as Billy Abbott on The Young and the Restless led to three Daytime Emmy Awards wins for outstanding supporting actor in a drama series in 2010 and 2013, as well as outstanding lead actor in a drama series in 2014. He stepped away from the role in 2014.
He then starred on General Hospital, playing Jason Morgan for two years while the character's previous portrayer Steve Burton was off-screen. He ended his GH run as Jason’s twin brother Drew Cain.
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Two days after his death, Miller’s former All My Children costar Chrishell Stause paid tribute to the late actor on what would have been his 44th birthday on Instagram.
Alongside a snap of Miller giving her a kiss on the cheek on a red carpet and a photo of him with the words, “Billy Miller 1979-2023,” written over the top, the Selling Sunset star shared that she was still “processing” the news of his passing.
“Too many feelings, but you are gone 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 💔🙏," Stause added.
If you or someone you know is considering suicide, please contact the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline by dialing 988, text "STRENGTH" to the Crisis Text Line at 741741 or go to 988lifeline.org.
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