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, ...

'' is an American television

soap opera 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 ...

, created by

William J. Bell William Joseph Bell (March 6, 1927 – April 29, 2005) was an American screenwriter and television producer, best known as the creator of the soap operas '' Another World'', ''The Young and the Restless'' and ''The Bold and the Beautiful''. Ea ...

and

Lee Phillip Bell Loreley "Lee" June Phillip Bell (June 10, 1928 – February 25, 2020) was an American talk show host and soap opera creator. During her career on Chicago television, she hosted over 10,000 programs and, early in her tenure, worked five shows a da ...

for

CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS, the abbreviation of its former legal name Columbia Broadcasting System, is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainm ...

. It first aired on March 26, 1973. The longest-running cast member is

Doug Davidson Douglas Donald Davidson (born October 24, 1954) is an American Emmy Award winning television actor. He has portrayed Paul Williams on the CBS soap opera ''The Young and the Restless'' since May 1978, making him the series' longest-serving cas ...

, who has portrayed private investigator Paul Williams since May 23, 1978.

Jeanne Cooper Wilma Jeanne Cooper (October 25, 1928 – May 8, 2013) was an American actress, best known for her role as Katherine Chancellor on the CBS soap opera ''The Young and the Restless'' (1973–2013). At the time of her death, she was eighth on the ...

, who portrayed the soap opera's matriarch

Katherine Chancellor Katherine Chancellor is a fictional character from the CBS Daytime soap opera ''The Young and the Restless'', portrayed by Jeanne Cooper. Created and introduced by show creator William J. Bell in November 1973, Cooper's Katherine was introduced ...

, previously held the record for the series' longest-running cast member, airing from November 1973 until her death in May 2013.

Melody Thomas Scott Melody Thomas Scott (born Melody Ann Thomas, April 18, 1956) is an American actress best known for playing Nikki Newman on the soap opera ''The Young and the Restless''. Early life and acting career Scott was born Melody Ann Thomas in Los Ang ...

and

Eric Braeden Eric Braeden (born Hans-Jörg Gudegast; April 3, 1941) is a German-born film and television actor, known for his roles as Victor Newman on the CBS soap opera ''The Young and the Restless'', as Hans Dietrich in the 1960s TV series '' The Rat Patr ...

, who portray

Nikki Nikki may refer to: Arts and entertainment Fictional characters * Nikki (Barbie), a fashion doll in the Barbie toy line * Nikki (comics), a Marvel Comics character * Nikki and Paulo, from the TV series ''Lost'' * Nikki, the mascot of Swapnote * N ...

and

Victor Newman Victor Newman is a fictional character from the American CBS soap opera ''The Young and the Restless''. He has been portrayed by Eric Braeden since 1980. Initially a guest character who was to last for eight to twelve weeks, Victor has evolved ...

, are the second and third longest-running currect cast members, having joined in February 1979 and February 1980, respectively.

Kate Linder Kate Linder (born November 2, 1947) is an American actress, best known for her role as Esther Valentine on ''The Young and the Restless'', which she has played since 1982. Life and career Linder was born in Pasadena, California, and graduated wi ...

has portrayed

Esther Valentine Esther Valentine is a fictional character from the American CBS Daytime soap opera ''The Young and the Restless''. The role has been portrayed by actress Kate Linder since April 8, 1982. For over three decades, Esther has been known as the long ...

since April 1982, and rounds out the series' top four longest-running cast members. The following list is of cast members who are currently on the show: both main and recurring members, as well as those who are debuting, departing or returning from the series.

Cast

Main cast

Recurring cast

Cast changes

Returning

Previous cast members

References

Citations

External links

Soaps.com – ''The Young and the Restless''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Young and the Restless, The, cast members, List of Young and the Restless

Cast members In the performing arts industry such as theatre, film, or television, casting, or a casting call, is a pre-production process for selecting a certain type of actor, dancer, singer, or extra (acting), extra for a particular role or part in a scr ...