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Fans of The Young and The Restless’ (Y&R) Michelle Stafford, who plays Phyllis Summers on The Young and The Restless will be happy to hear that the blind item recently posted in Soap Opera Digest about a veteran actress leaving a series does NOT refer to her!
The Young And The Restless Spoilers – Michelle Stafford Cleared Up The Rumors On Instagram
Recently, Michelle cleared up the rumors of her leaving The Young and The Restless for a concerned fan on Instagram. She verified that she is not leaving the show. The blind item about a veteran actress leaving her show and that her agents were shopping soaps for her could have been about any soap and any actress. She did make a rather sudden exit from General Hospital a few years ago where she had played Nina Reeves from 2013-2019, and returned to The Young and The Restless to play Phyllis, a role which she had originated in 1994.
The return was rather controversial, as Gina Tognoni had been playing Phyllis Summers for several years and it seemed that the show runners had fired Gina to get Michelle back. Michelle also originated the role of Nina at General Hospital, and even trained her replacement, Cynthia Watros in all things Nina Reeves to make sure she would be successful and that there would be an easy transition. In a sense, Michelle’s Nina at General Hospital was similar to her Phyllis on The Young and The Restless, with Nina stirring up trouble and trying to reclaim an ex-husband who had long since moved on from her. Longtime viewers of The Young and The Restless will recall that Phyllis has been around the man-chasing block one or two times herself!
Y&R Spoilers – Michelle Stafford Has Left The Young And The Restless Twice
Longtime viewers of The Young and The Restless will remember that Michelle has left The Young and The Restless twice in her history of the show. She originated the role of Phyllis Summers in 1994 and then exited in 1997 ostensibly in order to pursue other opportunities. She was indeed in some primetime roles during those years, among them Aaron Spelling’s drama Pacific Palisades in 1997, guest-starred on Dick Wolf’s Players also in 1997. Other appearances were on Two Guys, a Girl and a Pizza Place in 1998, JAG in 1995 and Judging Amy in 1999 in addition to having had a recurring role on Pamela Anderson’s V.I.P. in 1998. She also worked opposite Ashley Judd in the popular film Double Jeopardy in 1999.
The Young And the Restless (Y&R) Spoilers: Summer's Strategy Fails – True Love Defeats Tara Anyway #yr #youngandrestlesshttps://t.co/tQoZmk4kam
— SOS/CTS/HH (@SoapOperaSpy) June 26, 2021
She then returned to her role of Phyllis Summers in 2000, leaving again in 2013 to play Nina on General Hospital and returned to The Young and The Restless as Phyllis in 2019. Michelle also appears frequently on Instagram and Facebook, where she interacts with her fans usually once a week teaching skin care and promoting her business, a natural products based skin care line called “Skin Nation”. Michelle has always been very appreciative of her fans and enjoys interacting with them whenever possible. Michelle has two children born via surrogacy, a daughter, named Natalia Scout Lee Stafford born December 21, 2009 and a son, named Jameson Jones Lee Stafford born October 23, 2015.
Stay tuned to The Young and The Restless, and keep checking The Young and The Restless spoilers frequently for all the latest news, updates and developments!