When Kirsten Storms debuted on Days of our Lives back in 1999 as Belle Black, the daughter of the leading couple on the show, Marlena (Deidre Hall) and John (the late Drake Hogestyn) she became an instant fan favorite, which has carried her through and into her huge popularity as General Hospital’s Maxie Jones.
Before DAYS, Storms completed starring in the the Disney film Zenon: Girl of the 21st Century. While it was adjustment to come to the world of daytime drama, Kirsten was able to learn the pace of the daunting world of acting on a soap from Deidre and Drake.
Speaking with TV Insider, for the first time since her former TV dad, Drake Hogestyn passed away, Kirsten reflected on her time working with the beloved and iconic star. Sadly, Drake died fro his battle with pancreatic cancer at age 70; just one day shy of his 71st birthday, on September 28, 2024.
Kirsten opened up that she is still grappling with accepting the news of Drake’s death: “I think because I hadn’t seen him in a while, I feel like it’s not real that he’s gone. He just was my favorite person there and a legend. So happy and always in a good mood. And prepared,” she expressed. “He did his 100 percent best job always. I was really upset when I heard he had passed. But again, I don’t feel like that’s even set in for me, really.”
Making Drake’s passing all the more sentimental was that Kirsten at one-time dated his son, Ben Hogestyn (ex-Lucas, GH and ex-Harry, B&B). She elaborated, “I dated Drake’s son, Ben, for a couple of years, and I got to spend a lot of time with Drake and his family.”
Storms also revealed that when she left DAYS behind in 2004, that she had, “A lot of sad feelings about it, just because I had grown a family there.” Coming up, Kirsten will celebrate her 20th year as GH’s one and only Maxie Jones later this week on May 23.
