General Hospital Star Maura West's Daughter Is All Grown Up

Maura West has every reason to be proud of her family. The "General Hospital" star, who is best known for her role as Ava Jerome on the hit ABC soap, has five children: Benjamin, Joe, Kate, Basil, and Birdie. But it's her daughter Kate West who has been getting a lot of attention for following in her mother's footsteps. That's because Kate is an aspiring actor just like the daytime television star and her brother Joe West, who also stars on Broadway. 

Kate is a student at SUNY Purchase Conservatory of Theatre Arts, where she is earning her Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in acting. Maura is so proud of her daughter that when Kate announced that she had been accepted to Purchase College, she wrote on her Instagram account, "Best actress I've ever seen! I'm so proud of you, Kitty!!! Go get it ALL!!"

Those who have been following Maura's family life know that Kate has grown up a lot throughout the years. She's no longer the little girl who used to accompany her parents to the Daytime Emmy Award ceremonies. In fact, she might be working on getting her own Daytime Emmy or Tony Award in the future, too.

Kate West has stars in her eyes and that's something she certainly got from her parents. That's because both are two very talented actors who have made their mark on the soap world: Maura West and her husband, Scott DeFreitas, an "As The World Turns" alum. Kate was bitten by the acting bug very early in her life as she starred as Tessie in her local production of "Annie," according to her mother's Instagram page. Maura was so proud of her daughter that she captioned her post with, "Such a talent, my girl!"

Many soap fans remember how little Kate accompanied her mother on stage when Maura won her Daytime Emmy award back in 2010 for Outstanding Lead Actress. The little girl, dressed in a green gown, cried tears of happiness when her mother accepted the award. During her acceptance speech, Maura told the audience, "Wow, what a treat, and in the presence of one of my children. Katherine, come here. To honor me this way and in the presence of one of my children is more than I can bear." 

That special moment — which was viewed by an audience of millions — might have also been another reason why Kate decided to pursue acting and work hard toward her goals.

Clearly, Kate West is living her best life as an aspiring theater actor at Purchase College. Back in April 2023, proud mom Maura West shared another Instagram photo of her talented young star on stage and wrote in the caption, "I had the pleasure to see my amazing daughter play Electra in ORESTES @purchasetheatre ... Kate is just an absolute savage onstage ... funny and raw and vulnerable and steely all at once. Look out for this one!!!" Many of Maura's social media followers commented on the pic with sentiments like, "Just like her Mom! Congratulations to your daughter!!" and with, "Of course she is, it's in her genes." Kate has kept her calendar very full as she also starred in "Road" by Jim Cartwright and "The 7 (or 6) Daughters of Leopold Binghime" by Lenore Mardas. 

Now, whether or not Kate decides to make a cameo on "General Hospital" remains to be seen, but she wouldn't be the first child of an actor to appear on the hit soap opera. Maura West's co-star Maurice Benard is also a proud father as his son Joshua Benard has shown off his acting chops in Port Charles, too. Seeing how Maura's on-screen character Ava Jerome is always in need of a good sidekick, there's the chance that Kate might deliver the drama alongside her mother. The future is looking very bright for Kitty.