Traci Abbott Connelly
Encyclopedia
Traci Ann Connelly is a fictional character
on the American
soap opera
The Young and the Restless
. She has been played by American
actress Beth Maitland
on and off since 1982. Maitland won a Daytime Emmy Award for playing Traci in 1985, which was also the very first acting Emmy Award the show had won.
was dying from a stroke. She returned on a recurring basis beginning on March 1, 2007, as she returns briefly for special occasions. She appeared on an episode of The Bold and the Beautiful
on March 20, 2007.
(Jerry Douglas
) and his first wife, equally successful cosmetics entrepreneur, Dina Mergeron
(Marla Adams
). She is the sister of Jack Abbott (Peter Bergman
), maternal half-sister of Ashley Abbott
(Eileen Davidson
), and paternal half-sister of Billy Abbott
(Billy Miller
). She is also the most sensitive and emotional of the siblings.
For a long time, she felt insecure and jealous of her more glamorous sister, Ashley. As such, she suffered from terribly low self-esteem and also from bulimia. During a period in which she was addicted to diet pills, she would often sing (to the melody of Turn to Stone
by Electric Light Orchestra
), "I turn to pills, when I'm feeling ill, I turn to pills". Traci and Jack have an excellent relationship as brother and sister. Whenever she had problems, she usually turned to her father or her older brother.
During the 1980s, her biggest rival was singer/department store heiress Lauren Fenmore
(Tracey E. Bregman
), but has long since put those feelings aside and she and Lauren are somewhat civil and friendly to one another. She was twice married to Brad Carlton
(Don Diamont
) and is the mother of their now-deceased daughter Colleen Carlton
(Tammin Sursok
). Her first husband was Danny Romalotti
(Michael Damian
). After finding out that she was pregnant by Tim Sullivan, she found him in bed with another woman. Desperate, Traci attempted suicide at Danny's apartment. After hearing her story, Danny offered to marry her to give the child a name. Traci later miscarried and selflessly divorced Danny. She then married Brad Carlton. Everything was fine, until Brad's psycho ex wife returned, kidnapped Brad and left a message for Traci that the two of them had run off together. Brad and Traci divorced, later reconciled and remarried when she became pregnant with Colleen. The two would later divorce again.
She currently lives in New York City
with her third husband, book editor Steve Connelly (Greg Wrangler), and works there as a successful author. Because of her frequent travels and her work, she has had no idea of all the familial strife that has plagued the Abbotts.
Traci returned to Genoa City on August 18, 2006, for her father's hospitalization; subsequent death, and stayed for his funeral. Her sensitive and emotional nature is still evident, especially during the blistering argument that Jack had with John's widow, Gloria (Judith Chapman
). The shock was evident on her face when she hears all the strife that has been circling around in her family. Despite this, Traci is the only Abbott sibling that has no issue with Gloria.
She returned to Genoa City on March 1, 2007, due to the condition of her daughter, Colleen (played at the time by Adrianne Leon
), who had been injured in a fire set by Jana Hawkes
(Emily O'Brien
). A few weeks later, she called her sister Ashley in Los Angeles. She appeared in Genoa City in September 2007 to lend moral support to her brother Jack as he attempted to deal with the fallout from a fraud scandal.
She came to Genoa City again on August 13, 2008 to attend the Jabot Cosmetics annual stockholders meeting after the David Chow Scandal. She told her ex-husband Brad, she would give her support to him as Jabot Cosmetics' CEO if he could gain enough votes. However, an unpredictable move by Jill Abbott caused her son Cane Ashby to become Jabot Cosmetics' new CEO, in order to restore the appearance that Jabot Cosmetics is a family-owned company again.
Later in late 2009, Traci returned to Genoa City in order to help her sister Ashley, who was going through a hard time. Colleen was kidnapped by Patty Williams. Colleen escaped but fell into a lake and nearly drowned. She was rushed to the hospital, but it was too late and Colleen was declared brain dead. A heartbroken Traci decides to donate Colleen's heart to Victor. Later there is a funeral for Colleen, after she left and stayed in New York for a couple months but returned on December 24th 2009 (Christmas Eve) and spent Christmas with family and friends and is expected to stay indefinitely.
When Lily Winters Ashby, Colleen's best friend, asks Traci if she would like to be the godmother to her twins, Charlie & Matilda, Traci happily accepts.
Fictional character
A character is the representation of a person in a narrative work of art . Derived from the ancient Greek word kharaktêr , the earliest use in English, in this sense, dates from the Restoration, although it became widely used after its appearance in Tom Jones in 1749. From this, the sense of...
on the American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
soap opera
Soap opera
A soap opera, sometimes called "soap" for short, is an ongoing, episodic work of dramatic fiction presented in serial format on radio or as television programming. The name soap opera stems from the original dramatic serials broadcast on radio that had soap manufacturers, such as Procter & Gamble,...
The Young and the Restless
The Young and the Restless
The Young and the Restless is an American television soap opera created by William J. Bell and Lee Phillip Bell for CBS. The show is set in a fictional Wisconsin town called Genoa City, which is unlike and unrelated to the real life village of the same name, Genoa City, Wisconsin...
. She has been played by American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
actress Beth Maitland
Beth Maitland
Beth Maitland is American actress, best known for her portrayal of Traci Abbott Connolly in the CBS soap opera The Young and the Restless from 1982 to 1996 and from 2001 to the present on a recurring basis.-Early life:...
on and off since 1982. Maitland won a Daytime Emmy Award for playing Traci in 1985, which was also the very first acting Emmy Award the show had won.
Comings and goings
Originally intended to be a short term contract role lasting three months, the actress impressed the producers and stayed on the show on and off between June 1982 to 1996. She returned briefly in 1999 and again from May 2001 to December 26, 2002. After a 4-year absence, she returned with brief guest appearances in 2006, in which John AbbottJohn Abbott
Sir John Joseph Caldwell Abbott, PC, KCMG, QC was the third Prime Minister of Canada. He served in the office for seventeen months, from June 16, 1891 to November 24, 1892. - Life and work :...
was dying from a stroke. She returned on a recurring basis beginning on March 1, 2007, as she returns briefly for special occasions. She appeared on an episode of The Bold and the Beautiful
The Bold and the Beautiful
The Bold and the Beautiful is an American television soap opera created by William J. Bell and Lee Phillip Bell for CBS Daytime. It premiered on March 23, 1987....
on March 20, 2007.
Character history
Traci is the youngest daughter of cosmetics tycoon, John AbbottJohn Abbott (The Young and the Restless)
John Abbott, Sr. is a fictional character on the soap opera The Young and the Restless. He is the patriarch of the Abbotts, one of the core families that was introduced to the show in 1980. The character was originated by Brett Halsey from May 1980 to March 1981...
(Jerry Douglas
Jerry Douglas (actor)
Jerry Douglas is an American television and film actor. For 25 years Jerry Douglas reigned in fictional Genoa City as patriarch John Abbott on the daytime television serial The Young and the Restless...
) and his first wife, equally successful cosmetics entrepreneur, Dina Mergeron
Dina Mergeron
Dina Mergeron is a fictional character on the CBS soap opera The Young and the Restless. She was played by actress Marla Adams from 1983 to 1986 on contract. She returned for guest appearances in 1991 and 1996...
(Marla Adams
Marla Adams
Marla Adams is an American soap opera actress, best known for her roles as Belle Clemens on The Secret Storm, from 1968 to 1974, and as Dina Abbott Mergeron on The Young and the Restless, from 1983 to 1986 and in 1996...
). She is the sister of Jack Abbott (Peter Bergman
Peter Bergman
Peter Bergman is an American soap opera actor best known for his portrayals as Dr. Cliff Warner on All My Children, as well as Jack Abbott on The Young and the Restless.-Biography:...
), maternal half-sister of Ashley Abbott
Ashley Abbott
Ashley Suzanne Abbott McCall is a fictional character from the American soap opera The Young and the Restless, currently played by American actress Eileen Davidson, who had played the character for a total of more than 16 years prior to her return in September 2008...
(Eileen Davidson
Eileen Davidson
Eileen Davidson is an American film and soap opera actress. She is known for her role as Ashley Abbott on The Young and the Restless and The Bold and the Beautiful and for the multiple roles she portrayed on Days of our Lives....
), and paternal half-sister of Billy Abbott
Billy Abbott
William "Billy" Abbott is a fictional character in the American soap opera The Young and the Restless. He is portrayed by Billy Miller as of September 19, 2008; other actors that have played the part include a set of child actors, and three contract actors: David Tom, Ryan Brown and Scott Seymour...
(Billy Miller
Billy Miller (actor)
Billy Miller is an American actor. He is known for his roles as Richie Novak on the ABC Daytime soap opera All My Children, and currently, as Billy Abbott on the CBS Daytime soap opera The Young and the Restless and "Charlie" on the CW Network drama Ringer .-Personal life:Born in Tulsa,...
). She is also the most sensitive and emotional of the siblings.
For a long time, she felt insecure and jealous of her more glamorous sister, Ashley. As such, she suffered from terribly low self-esteem and also from bulimia. During a period in which she was addicted to diet pills, she would often sing (to the melody of Turn to Stone
Turn to Stone
"Turn to Stone" is a 1977 song by Electric Light Orchestra.The song is the opening track to the double album Out of the Blue. It was the first song released as a single from the LP. The single reached #18 in the U.K. charts and stayed there for 12 weeks. Out of four singles from the album, "Turn to...
by Electric Light Orchestra
Electric Light Orchestra
Electric Light Orchestra were a British rock group from Birmingham who released eleven studio albums between 1971 and 1986 and another album in 2001. ELO were formed to accommodate Roy Wood and Jeff Lynne's desire to create modern rock and pop songs with classical overtones...
), "I turn to pills, when I'm feeling ill, I turn to pills". Traci and Jack have an excellent relationship as brother and sister. Whenever she had problems, she usually turned to her father or her older brother.
During the 1980s, her biggest rival was singer/department store heiress Lauren Fenmore
Lauren Fenmore Baldwin
Lauren Baldwin is a fictional character from the American soap opera The Young and the Restless and its "sister soap" The Bold and the Beautiful. She is portrayed by American actress Tracey E. Bregman...
(Tracey E. Bregman
Tracey E. Bregman
Tracey E. Bregman is an German-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 and for her role as Sarah Smythe on The Young and the Restless .-Personal life:She was born...
), but has long since put those feelings aside and she and Lauren are somewhat civil and friendly to one another. She was twice married to Brad Carlton
Brad Carlton
Bradley "Brad" Carlton was a fictional character on CBS soap opera The Young and the Restless. Actor Don Diamont played the role since May 1985 until he departed the show in 1996 and returned on July 28, 1998. Diamont was temporarily replaced by Russell Todd in 1993. The character has also...
(Don Diamont
Don Diamont
Don Diamont is an American actor, best known for his long-running portrayal of Brad Carlton on the CBS daytime drama The Young and the Restless. In 1990, he was chosen as one of the 50 most beautiful people in the world by People Magazine, becoming the first daytime drama actor to receive the honor...
) and is the mother of their now-deceased daughter Colleen Carlton
Colleen Carlton
Colleen Cecile Carlton is a fictional character from the American soap opera The Young and the Restless. She was last portrayed by Tammin Sursok, who joined the cast on July 30, 2007 and departed on October 5, 2009...
(Tammin Sursok
Tammin Sursok
Tammin Pamela Sursok is an Australian actress and musician of South African origin. She is best known for the role of Dani Sutherland on Home and Away, as Colleen Carlton on The Young and the Restless and as Siena in Disney Channel's Hannah Montana...
). Her first husband was Danny Romalotti
Danny Romalotti
Daniel "Danny" Romalotti, Sr. is a fictional character on the CBS soap opera The Young and the Restless. He was played by Michael Damian from June 1981 to October 1993, and again from August 1994 to June 1998, returning briefly in December 11, 2002 and on recurring status from November 14, 2003 to...
(Michael Damian
Michael Damian
Michael Damian Weir is a long-time American actor, Billboard #1 recording artist and producer, known mainly for his role as singer Danny Romalotti on the soap opera The Young and the Restless, which he played from 1980 to 1998.-Career:Damian made his feature film debut as an actor in the Garry...
). After finding out that she was pregnant by Tim Sullivan, she found him in bed with another woman. Desperate, Traci attempted suicide at Danny's apartment. After hearing her story, Danny offered to marry her to give the child a name. Traci later miscarried and selflessly divorced Danny. She then married Brad Carlton. Everything was fine, until Brad's psycho ex wife returned, kidnapped Brad and left a message for Traci that the two of them had run off together. Brad and Traci divorced, later reconciled and remarried when she became pregnant with Colleen. The two would later divorce again.
She currently lives in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
with her third husband, book editor Steve Connelly (Greg Wrangler), and works there as a successful author. Because of her frequent travels and her work, she has had no idea of all the familial strife that has plagued the Abbotts.
Traci returned to Genoa City on August 18, 2006, for her father's hospitalization; subsequent death, and stayed for his funeral. Her sensitive and emotional nature is still evident, especially during the blistering argument that Jack had with John's widow, Gloria (Judith Chapman
Judith Chapman
Judith Chapman is an actress known to fans of American daytime television. She gave her screen debut at the age of 16 in the Spaghetti Western Sette donne per i MacGregor. She has appeared on half a dozen daytime dramas since the mid-1970s...
). The shock was evident on her face when she hears all the strife that has been circling around in her family. Despite this, Traci is the only Abbott sibling that has no issue with Gloria.
She returned to Genoa City on March 1, 2007, due to the condition of her daughter, Colleen (played at the time by Adrianne Leon
Adrianne Leon
Adrianna Therese León is an American singer-songwriter, chef, personal fitness trainer, model and actress. She is the co-founder and lead vocalist of the rock band Caught Crimson. León began writing songs for the Emmy award-winning soap opera General Hospital...
), who had been injured in a fire set by Jana Hawkes
Jana Hawkes
Jana Hawkes was a fictional character in an American soap opera The Young and the Restless, portrayed by actress Emily O'Brien first on recurring status from May 11 to September 5, 2006, and then on contract from October 10, 2006 to February 20, 2007. The actress returned on June 15, 2007...
(Emily O'Brien
Emily O'Brien
Emily O'Brien is an English-born American actress. She is known for her role as Jana Hawkes Fisher on The Young and the Restless off-and-on from May 11, 2006 until her character died on May 6, 2011.-Personal life:...
). A few weeks later, she called her sister Ashley in Los Angeles. She appeared in Genoa City in September 2007 to lend moral support to her brother Jack as he attempted to deal with the fallout from a fraud scandal.
She came to Genoa City again on August 13, 2008 to attend the Jabot Cosmetics annual stockholders meeting after the David Chow Scandal. She told her ex-husband Brad, she would give her support to him as Jabot Cosmetics' CEO if he could gain enough votes. However, an unpredictable move by Jill Abbott caused her son Cane Ashby to become Jabot Cosmetics' new CEO, in order to restore the appearance that Jabot Cosmetics is a family-owned company again.
Later in late 2009, Traci returned to Genoa City in order to help her sister Ashley, who was going through a hard time. Colleen was kidnapped by Patty Williams. Colleen escaped but fell into a lake and nearly drowned. She was rushed to the hospital, but it was too late and Colleen was declared brain dead. A heartbroken Traci decides to donate Colleen's heart to Victor. Later there is a funeral for Colleen, after she left and stayed in New York for a couple months but returned on December 24th 2009 (Christmas Eve) and spent Christmas with family and friends and is expected to stay indefinitely.
When Lily Winters Ashby, Colleen's best friend, asks Traci if she would like to be the godmother to her twins, Charlie & Matilda, Traci happily accepts.