The Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Younger Actress in a Drama Series was an award presented annually by the

National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences The National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences (NATAS) is an American professional service organization founded in 1955 for "the advancement of the arts and sciences of television and the promotion of creative leadership for artistic, edu ...

(NATAS) and the

Academy of Television Arts & Sciences The Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (ATAS), also colloquially known as the Television Academy, is a professional honorary organization dedicated to the advancement of the television industry in the United States. It is a 501(c)(6) non-prof ...

(ATAS). It was given annually from 1985 to 2019 to honor a young actress below the age of 25, who had delivered an outstanding performance in a role while working within the

daytime drama A soap opera, or ''soap'' for short, is a typically long-running radio or television serial, frequently characterized by melodrama, ensemble casts, and sentimentality. The term "soap opera" originated from radio dramas originally being sponsored ...

industry. At the

12th 12 (twelve) is the natural number following 11 and preceding 13. Twelve is a superior highly composite number, divisible by 2, 3, 4, and 6. It is the number of years required for an orbital period of Jupiter. It is central to many systems ...

Daytime Emmy Awards The Daytime Emmy Awards, or Daytime Emmys, are part of the extensive range of Emmy Awards for artistic and technical merit for the American television industry. Bestowed by the New York–based National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences ...

held in 1985,

Tracey E. Bregman Tracey Elizabeth Bregman is an American soap opera actress. She is best known for the role of Lauren Fenmore on ''The Young and the Restless'' and ''The Bold and the Beautiful''. Early life Bregman was born May 29, 1963, in Munich, Germany to A ...

was the first winner of this award, for her role of

Lauren Fenmore Lauren Fenmore is a fictional character from ''The Young and the Restless'', an American soap opera on the CBS network. Introduced by William J. Bell, the character made her debut during the episode airing on January 25, 1983, portrayed by Tracey ...

on ''

The Young and the Restless ''The Young and the Restless'' (often abbreviated as ''Y&R'') is an American television soap opera created by William J. Bell and Lee Phillip Bell for CBS. The show is set in fictional Genoa City (not the real-life similarly-named Genoa City, Wi ...

''. The awards ceremony had not been aired on television for the prior two years, having been criticized for voting integrity. The award was originally called Outstanding Ingenue in a Drama Series, the criteria of the new category were deemed confusing, performers of differing ages were nominated, and critics argued some were of supporting or

lead actress A leading actor, leading actress, or simply lead (), plays the role of the protagonist of a film, television show or play. The word ''lead'' may also refer to the largest role in the piece, and ''leading actor'' may refer to a person who typica ...

standards. Adding to the confusion, the first winner, Bregman, and the Outstanding Supporting Actress winner that year,

Beth Maitland Beth Maitland (born May 12, 1958) is an American actress who is best known for her portrayal of Traci Abbott in the CBS Daytime soap opera ''The Young and the Restless'' from 1982 to 1996 & since 2001 on a recurring basis. She also stars as Glo ...

, played characters near to the same age. The category was re-named Outstanding Juvenile Female in a Drama Series in 1989, and began using its current title in 1991. The criteria were later altered, requiring that the actress be aged 25 or below. The award was presented to 23 actresses. ''The Young and the Restless'' has the most recipients of this award, with a total of eight. Since 2008,

Jennifer Landon Jennifer Rachel Landon is an American actress. She is known for her role as Teeter on the Paramount Network series, ''Yellowstone (American TV series), Yellowstone'' (2020–present). She is also known for her role as Gwen Norbeck Munson in the C ...

had been tied with

Jennifer Finnigan Jennifer Christina Finnigan (born August 22, 1979) is a Canadians, Canadian actress, best known for her role as Bridget Forrester in the American soap opera ''The Bold and the Beautiful'' from 2000 to 2004, for which she won three Daytime Emmy Aw ...

for most wins, with three each. In 1999,

Heather Tom Heather Marie Tom (born November 4, 1975) is an American actress and television director. She is best known for her acting work on various soap operas. Her best known roles are Victoria Newman on ''The Young and the Restless,'' Kelly Cramer on ' ...

became the most nominated actress in the category, when she was nominated a seventh time, also winning a second time that year. She was nominated again the following year, holding the title with eight nominations; however, she lost to

Camryn Grimes Camryn Elizabeth Grimes (born January 7, 1990) is an American actress. Personal life Grimes is the daughter of Preston Lee and Heather Grimes and the niece of actor Scott Grimes. She is the oldest of seven children: Dakota, Shelby, Mattea, ...

. In 2000, Grimes also became the youngest recipient of the award, winning at the age of 10. At the 2019 ceremony,

Hayley Erin Hayley Erin Feil (born July 13, 1994) is an American actress. She is known for playing the teenage Abby Newman on ''The Young and the Restless''. She portrayed Kiki Jerome on ''General Hospital'' from 2015 to 2019. She starred as Taylor Hotchkiss ...

became the last awarded actress in this category, for her role as

Kiki Jerome Kiki Jerome is a fictional character from ''General Hospital'', an American soap opera on the ABC network. The role was originated by Kristen Alderson in 2013 when Kiki was introduced as the troublesome girlfriend of Morgan Corinthos (Bryan Craig) ...

on ''

General Hospital ''General Hospital'' (often abbreviated as ''GH'') is an American daytime television soap opera. It is listed in ''Guinness World Records'' as the list of longest-running television shows by category, longest-running American soap opera in pro ...

''. In October 2019, the NATAS decided to replace both younger actor and actress categories with a single, gender-neutral one: Outstanding Younger Performer in a Drama Series.