What The Young And The Restless Original Cast Looks Like Today

What once had millions of viewers every day has now dwindled into near oblivion. Though soap operas used to dominate daytime airwaves, now there is only a handful left: "The Bold and the Beautiful," "General Hospital," "Days of Our Lives," and, of course, "The Young and the Restless."

Viewers have a soft spot for "The Young and the Restless." The show that began in 1973 has been wildly successful among soap opera fanatics since, outperforming its competitors in ratings in the 2021-2022 season, per TV Series Finale. Set in Genoa City, "The Young and the Restless" has shown nearly every storyline imaginable and then some, keeping audiences interested in the intense drama of the many characters.

Some characters have spent so much time on our television screens, they've started to feel like family. Whether they've departed the show or still remain part of the cast, here's what "The Young and the Restless" original cast looks like today.

Doug Davidson started on "The Young and the Restless" as Paul Williams back in 1976, and to this day has starred in more episodes than any other actor on the show (though Eric Braeden could easily surpass him) – a whopping 3,841. With one Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series under his belt, Davidson quit the show in 2020, and since then has added one more credit to his résumé, starring in "Season of Rage," a crime thriller alongside Danny Trejo.

Though he's starred in thousands of episodes, Davidson's tenure on "The Young and the Restless" wasn't without interruption. In 2018, he became a recurring character, later that year returning to full-time status. "It's pretty simple. My entire identity was tied up in the show. It was first position, even above family in the moment-to-moment thing. So the fact that it was cut off after 40 years was shocking to my spirit," he told Soap Opera Digest of his cutback with the television show.

Melody Thomas Scott rose to fame playing Nikki Reed Newman on "The Young and the Restless," and she's still on the show today. Scott also has a full résumé outside of her soap career. Most of her credits include small parts in television series, but she has starred in the occasional TV movie, such as "Secrets" and "The Paradise Virus."

Scott's most recent venture is outside of acting, though. The soap star wrote a memoir, "Always Young and Restless: My Life On and Off America's #1 Daytime Drama," where she opened up about the abuse she endured when she was younger. "The passage of time was the only thing that allowed me to willingly share these details in my book. I need to heal my own heart and psyche before I could share with the world," she said to RAINN about her decision to open up about her past.

After sharing her story, Scott had one message to those in her same position: "It is a lifelong endeavor, but one can come out of the dark and emerge into the light."

Behind Doug Davidson in most episodes of "The Young and the Restless" is Eric Braeden, best known for playing Victor Newman. The Daytime Emmy Award winner, who was born in Germany, has had a very full career outside of the popular soap opera, even starring in others, including "The Bold and the Beautiful."

Braeden's long career in soap operas has made him a household name in the industry, even earning him a star on The Hollywood Walk of Fame. Per his CBS biography, Braeden is the first German-born actor to receive this honor since Marlene Dietrich.

The actor has had quite a run, and many might suspect retirement in his future. But for fans who are worried that Braden may soon quit, let his words quell your fears. "The word retirement is not in my vocabulary. It really is not. I am not just saying it blithely; I mean it," he told Soap Opera Digest.

Though Peter Bergman has appeared on nearly 3,500 episodes of "The Young and the Restless," he almost wasn't a cast member at all. Before starring as Jack Abbott, Bergman was a struggling soap actor who had just been fired from his role on "All My Children." Needing to support himself and his family, he took the role as Abbot, and the rest is history.

"I've been very fortunate. Every day I have been here, I have given them my all. I go for broke every single time," he told Watch about his time on "The Young and the Restless." In addition to his CBS role, Bergman has found acting work on shows like "The Nanny," "The King of Queens," and "The Bold and the Beautiful."

When he's not working, Bergman is either exercising or playing the piano. "I've always been a musical person; I like getting lost in it. I had sung in countless choirs before and played the clarinet as a kid until junior high school. I had been in rock bands," he said.

Kate Linder, who is best known for her role as Esther in "The Young and the Restless," celebrated her 40th anniversary on the show in May 2022. As she told Soap Central, Linder was a bit in disbelief at the achievement, but proud of one thing in particular: her iconic maid outfit still fits.

"There's an exhibit on right now at the Hollywood Museum that includes my original duster and my uniform and my first two scripts. It's amazing, and I'm thrilled that I could wear it again. Not that I want Esther to wear it again, although it would be interesting!"

Though Linder has spent some time looking into the past thanks to her role, she is focused on the future, too, and has ideas for ways "The Young and the Restless" can be of service to its audience, particularly by featuring an episode cautioning the dangers of falling. "I've dealt with it myself, and falling is really dangerous. People need to be more careful about where they're walking and to remember to look where they're walking."

Eileen Davidson is a soap opera legend. Not only has she starred as Ashley Abbott on "The Young and the Restless" for decades, but she's also starred on "Days of Our Lives" as Kristen Demira. Bravo fans will remember Davidson best from her stint on "The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills," where she starred alongside another soap opera star, Lisa Rinna.

These days, Davidson has taken her talents to the streaming world, starring in "Days of Our Lives: Beyond Salem" on Peacock, which she's noted has been a different experience than working for a cable network.

"As a matter of fact, it was the same writers. I just think that they had more freedom to do different things, which is why they made it sexier and more tongue-in-cheek. The actors and writers got a chance to kind of stretch their creative juices. It gave everybody a chance to go beyond what they're usually doing," she told AV Club.

Tracey E. Bregman has been on "The Young and the Restless" for decades playing Lauren Fenmore. Although she's had her fair share of drama on the show, her most harrowing experience came in 2019 when she fell victim to the Malibu fires that ravaged the seaside city in California.

"My house burned down on a Friday, November 9. The prior Saturday, I was riding on my horse when I turned to my trainer and said, 'I have a bad feeling. We need to move the horses and I don't mean next week, I mean now.' We moved five horses within two hours," she told Soap Opera Digest of her eerie premonition. About six months after the fires, Bregman sued her insurance company for refusing to pay what she claims she was owed per her coverage after the fire, per TV Shows Ace.

Years after the fire, Bregman is on the market for something other than real estate – a partner. "I would like to find a partner who I can have fun with and hopefully spend my life with, but I don't know if I'd ever get married again," she told Closer Weekly of her search for a companion.

After acting in "The Young and the Restless" for decades and for a short time on "The Bold and the Beautiful," Lauralee Bell took a new direction in her acting career and began starring in Lifetime projects, namely the movie series "V.C. Andrews' Landry Family," which features four episodic movies. And as she told Soap Opera Digest, it wasn't hard to convince her to join the cast.

"I said I was very interested and when I saw the script, there was a line that I kept rereading and going, 'Is this right?' My character says, "If you don't have anything bad to say, then don't say anything at all.' I loved that!" she said of the tongue-in-cheek writing.

Although she's made a home for herself at Lifetime, Bell can still be found on "The Young and the Restless" as Christine Blair, Genoa City's resident attorney. Aside from her work on Lifetime, Bell currently has no upcoming projects, per IMDb.

Jaime Lyn Bauer was part of "The Young and the Restless" cast from 1973 to 2018. Known for her sibling rivalry with Leslie Brooks, played by Janice Lynde, Bauer acted as Lorie Brooks in over 1,500 episodes of the soap series.

In addition to her work on "The Young and the Restless," Bauer played Laura Horton on "Days of Our Lives," making her a bona fide soap opera superstar. When she first joined the former show, she figured she'd only be part of the cast for a few years. "I had a choice between three years on a soap, or seven years at Universal. So I said to myself, 'I will do the three years, because nobody watches the soaps so they would pay me to act and I would learn,'" she shared with Michael Fairman TV. Three years turned into four decades.

Though she had retired from soaps in 2018, Bauer returned to "Days of Our Lives" for a special arc in 2021, as reported by Soap Opera Network. Fans were happy to see Bauer once more, but she hasn't returned to either of her iconic roles since.

Another star to pull double duty on soap sets is Don Diamont, known for playing Brad Carlton and Bill Spencer in both "The Young and the Restless" and "The Bold and the Beautiful." In addition to his work on the two soaps, Diamont has also been seen on "Baywatch," "Diagnosis Murder," and "Days of Our Lives," among other things.

After starring in two soap operas for so long, Diamont reflected on his work with Soap Opera Digest, noting some of his favorite moments from the two shows, as well as what co-stars he grew closest to over decades of filming. When asked what soap star was most influential in his life, Diamont said, "I have to give it to Beth [Maitland]. I was absolutely blessed to work so closely with her for such a long time — so talented, so kind and so present. I was incredibly fortunate."

Aside from his work on "The Bold and the Beautiful," Diamont isn't currently working on any acting projects, per his IMDb.