‘The Young and the Restless’: Every Actor to Play Ashley Abbott
Ashley Abbott has been an everpresent character in the storylines of The Young and the Restless for over 40 years. The daughter of Dina Mergeron and Brent Davis is best known for her work running Jabot Cosmetics and her many romantic relationships with other men on the show.
Since being introduced in 1982 by William J. Bell, four actors have portrayed Ashley on screen, but for most fans of The Young and the Restless, there is one woman who will forever be associated with the part.
Eileen Davidson
Eileen Davidson will always be synonymous with Ashley Abbott. Her relationship with the show is similar to the storyline of a soap opera. Davidson was the first actor to helm the role, and her performance contributed to Ashley becoming an important character on Y&R. She quit the show in 1988 but returned to the role in 1999 after taking a one-year break from acting.
Davidson was fired from Y&R in 2007, but that didn’t stop her from playing Ashley. She brought the character over to the sister soap, The Bold and the Beautiful. Davidson then returned to The Young and the Restless a year later before being fired again in 2012 after the showrunners refused to share the actor with Days of Our Lives, where Davidson was also a series regular as Kristen Blake DiMera. She returned to Y&R on a full-time basis in 2014 and has worked on the show ever since.
Davidson has two Daytime Emmys for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series thanks to her work in Days of Our Lives and The Young and the Restless. Aside from her career in soap operas, she has also starred in the 1983 cult slasher The House on Sorority Row, The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills, and has co-written four novels with author Robert J. Randisi.
Brenda Epperson
Brenda Epperson was the first replacement for Davidson in ’88. According to Bustle, she was a catering waitress at the time and got the job on the recommendation of Davidson because they looked alike. Epperson departed the show in 1995. She also had substantial roles in the soap opera Passions and the soap opera satire The Rich and the Ruthless.
Epperson’s father, Don Epperson, was a country singer, and she followed in his footsteps by incorporating music into her career. One of her first roles was as a young singer in the 1993 film Amore! and she served as the opening act for Lionel Ritchie’s worldwide tour after leaving Y&R. Since then, Epperson has released many songs for TV and film soundtracks and an EP in 2013 called Take Time. She also wrote a Christian self-help book named Rise Up! in 2021.
Shari Shattuck
Shari Shattuck played Ashley from 1996 to 1999. She started acting professionally in 1982 and appeared on TV (Dallas, Sisters, Babylon 5), film (On Deadly Ground, Spy Hard), and on stage regularly until 2000, when she made adjustments to her career. In addition to appearing in renditions of Shakespeare’s plays, Shattuck also created her own play titled In Progress.
Yes, Shattuck has written books just like Davidson and Epperson. According to her website, she is the author of nine books across three separate series.
Julia D’Arcy Badinger
The actor on this list portrayed Ashley for the shortest amount of time. Julia Badinger played a younger version of the character during flashbacks in eight episodes in 2018. That role is the most significant of Badinger’s young career so far.
She made her film debut as “Girl Playing Juliet” in the 2020 canine comedy Think Like a Dog starring Josh Duhamel and Megan Fox. Off camera, Badinger came in second place in the most recent Miss Louisiana Teen USA pageant.
