Actress Shell Kepler has died at the young age of just 49-years-old.  She is most famous for her role on the soap opera General Hospital.

Shell was best known for playing Nurse Amy Vining on General Hospital for more than 20 years, from 1979-2002. She died of renal failure. After retiring from acting, Kepler moved to Portland, Oregon, and worked in charity fund raising.

It has been a sad first five weeks of 2008 for Hollywood as several celebrities have passed on.