‘The Young and the Restless’ Star Christel Khalil Thought It Was Weird Playing a Mom to Teenagers
Christel Khalil plays young heroine Lily Winters on The Young and the Restless. Since 2002, Khalil has portrayed Neil and Drucilla Winters’ (Kristoff St. John and Victoria Rowell) daughter. Khalil’s character has undergone many transformations, yet one change made the actor feel weird.
‘The Young and the Restless’ star Christel Khalil said playing a mom to teenagers was ‘strange’
Khalil’s character Lily is a significant part of The Young and the Restless. As a member of the Winters family, longtime viewers have followed Lily’s every move since birth. In 2002, Khalil stepped into the role of teen Lily who has now matured into a successful businesswoman.
Aside from being a high-powered executive, Lily is also the mother of twins Charlie and Mattie Ashby (Noah Alexander Gerry and Lexi Stevenson). In 2017, the twins changed drastically when they were rapidly aged into teenagers. The producer’s decision to age Charlie and Mattie was odd, and Khalil felt the choice was weird.
In an interview with TVInsider, the actor discussed playing a mom to teenagers. “I was very shocked. It was very surprising for me. It was weird. The kids were as tall – actually, taller than I am. I wore heels so that Lily was taller than Mattie. They were 18 or 19 in real life, and I was 30. It was a little strange but you gotta do what you gotta do.”
Christel Khalil recently celebrated her 20th anniversary with the show
2022 has been the year of milestone celebrations for The Young and the Restless. Kate Linder, Eileen Davidson, and Beth Maitland celebrated their 40th anniversaries with the show. In January, Christian LeBlanc celebrated 30 years of playing Michael Baldwin.
Now Khalil is celebrating a milestone with her 20th anniversary. Khalil was 1) was 14 when she was cast as Lily, a role that won her a Younger Actress Daytime Emmy. Lily has experienced many ups and down in her life, including the death of her parents and learning Malcolm winters (Shemar Moore) was her biological father.
As Lily matured into adulthood, her love life became the center focus. She was married to Daniel Romalotti (Michael Graziadei), then later became involved with Cane Ashby (Daniel Goddard). Lily and Cane became a famous couple, with fans nicknaming them Lane.
Throughout Lily and Cane’s marriage, they survived her diagnosis of ovarian cancer. During Lily’s treatment, her twins Charlie and Mattie are born vias surrogate Mackenzie Browning (Kelly Kruger). The couple’s relationship stands the test of time, but Lily’s prison sentence for Hilary Curtis’s (Mishael Morgan) death strains their marriage. After Lily is released from prison, she divorces Cane, despite his objections.
What’s next for Lily Winters on ‘The Young and the Restless’?
With Charlie and Mattie away at school, Lily’s primary focus is work. As the CEO of Chancellor-Winters, Lily’s busy running the new company while playing mediator between Devon Hamilton (Bryton James) and Nate Hastings (Sean Dominic). When she’s not busy with work, Lily likes to unwind with her beau Billy Abbott (Jason Thompson).
Lily and Billy are about to hit a rough patch in their relationship. Their problems stem from Billy’s reluctance to grow up. Although he’s an executive at Chancellor-Winters, he’s focusing on his podcast. Billy’s podcast will land him in hot water with Lily, thanks to his co-host Chelsea Lawson (Melissa Claire Egan).
Speculation is Billy could be hooking up with Chelsea, which spells trouble for him and Lily. Fans have wanted Lily and Billy to break up for a while, which could be coming soon. With Lily heartbroken over the split, now would be a good time to ring Charlie and Mattie back to support their mother.
