The Young and the Restless star Beth Maitland has recently opened up about playing Traci Abbott on the hit CBS soap. She says that it’s a wonderful feeling to represent someone “normal” in soaps. Here’s what she has to say.
The Young and the Restless Star Beth Maitland Says It’s Wonderful To Represent ‘Normal’ People On Soaps
While on The Talk, Beth opened up about The Young and the Restless’ 50th anniversary celebration. She also recalled the time that she won her first Daytime Emmy Award back in 1985 for Outstanding Supporting Actress. She said, “I walked right out of my shoe. “I only was the first to win because of how the award landed on the show. Tracey Bregman (Lauren)… also won that year.”
Beth also says that at first, she was only signed on for a short time role but before she knew it, she became a regular. She also said that viewers responded to some of her earlier storylines surrounding her body image, which was one of the many social issues that the soap tackled on with style and grace.
She said, “It is a great honor to be the person that gets to take that torch. When I started, it was with that in mind. Every summer, I would have a different weight-related storyline. During the summer, in those days, you couldn’t really record it yet and there wasn’t internet streaming. So they were capitalizing on the kids being out of school.”
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Beth continued, “And so I had a bulimia storyline. I had a diet pill addiction storyline, and bullying… you know, mean girl things. And I wasn’t prepared for the feedback. I feel like I’m someone who represents normal people surrounded by glamour.”
There’s no doubt that fans have always loved and appreciated seeing Beth on the canvas for years and will continue to do so, too. After all, she is one of our fan favorites! With that said, The Young and the Restless fans will simply have to tune in each and every day to find out what will happen next! In the meantime, let us know what you think by leaving us a line with your thoughts in our comments section below. The Young and the Restless airs weekdays on the CBS network. Check your local listings for times.