Bold & Beautiful’s Spectacular Stephanie Flashbacks Accidentally Shone a Spotlight on a Glaring Hole in the Canvas
Wednesday, March 23rd, 2022
Seeing the queen bee again, in a way, stung.
Ahead of its 35th anniversary, The Bold and the Beautiful gave fans a treat on March 22… but it was one that was also kind of a trick. By showing us the incomparable Susan Flannery in action as Stephanie Forrester again, the soap accidentally reminded us that…
Hey, wait a minute. No one has stepped into that role on the show.
Obviously, there could never be another Stephanie. She was a one-of-a-kind character, a wrecking ball of a grownup mean girl whose insults were sharper than the pins on her brooches. But somebody should have begun acting as the show’s matriarch.
Maya would have been a fine choice, given that, like Stephanie, she could be both nasty and nice. Alas, Bold & Beautiful pushed its one trans character so far back on the back burner that she fell off the stove.
Maya looked right at home on a throne. Or OK, a really big chair.
Credit: Denis Guignebourg/JPI
Quinn was uniquely well-positioned to act as a Stephanie stand-in. Besides sharing the same mellow temperament as a charging rhino — a must for any would-be queen bee — she’s married to Eric, the only accessory that La Stephanie ever loved as much as her brooches. Unfortunately, though she’s the rare character that’s as slap-happy as her predecessor, she hasn’t had an actual storyline since ending her affair with Carter.
“‘Hit Me With Your Best Shot’ is Pat Benatar’s best song. Case closed!”
Credit: Howard Wise/JPI
More: Bold & Beautiful stars spill backstage secrets
Then there’s Brooke. And yeah, it would be ironic as hell if the Slut From the Valley picked up where her longtime detractor left off. But Brooke is every bit as judgmental as Stephanie ever was. She gives as good as she gets in a fight. And it’s pretty hilarious, isn’t it, to imagine Stephanie rolling over in her grave at the prospect of the woman who slept her way through the Forrester men inspiring the same fear and respect that she herself once did.
Drop your pick to “replace” Stephanie, as best anyone could, in a comment below. And check out the below photo gallery of the soap’s all-time best characters.
Image: Sean Smith/JPI
1/32
<p>Despite the fact that the Forrester photographer was passed around like a hand-me-down sweater and once accidentally shagged the older woman at No. 3 — yes, <em>accidentally</em>; it happens! — he <em>probably</em> doesn’t belong on this list even as a bonus entry. But we really, really love this picture of him — which made us altogether rethink the concept of a lullaby.</p>
Image: John Paschal/JPI
2/32
<p>“You want crazy? <em>I’ll</em> show ya crazy!” said the daughter of Thorne and Darla. Not literally. But she might as well have, before she went from prim and proper to armed and dangerous, landing herself in an early grave courtesy of a tire iron (and a rock).</p>
Image: CBS/Courtesy of the Everett Collection (3), Howard Wise/JPI
3/32
<p>Insert head-shake here. The Forrester scion at No. 7 is cool and all, but that isn’t — and, to be clear, never was — any reason to banish his oft-recast, perpetually-underused kid brother to the basement of the family’s gladrags high-rise.</p>
Image: CBS
4/32
<p>Mixed are our feelings about the grandniece of the original Sally. We were always told that she was a strong, independent woman… yet she kept behaving like a desperate conniver who would’ve been happy to let a Richie Rich pay her way.</p>
Image: John Paschal/JPI
5/32
<p>You don’t survive a bear attack on <em>The Bold and the Beautiful</em> and not gain yourself a reputation as a bit of a badass. So, uh, word to the wise, Quinn: Don’t count out Eric‘s fourth wife — <em>ever</em>.</p>
Image: Brian Lowe/JPI
6/32
<p>Yeah, yeah, the original Sally Spectra’s gal Friday was meant to be the embodiment of a dumb-blonde joke. But she had the last laugh, making us care more when she passed away than we ever imagined we would.</p>
Image: Sean Smith/JPI, Visual/JPI, CBS
7/32
<p>Whether he was forbidden fruit (during Drew Tyler Bell’s stint in the role), pretty, pretty eye candy (during Adam Gregory and Pierson Fode’s) or a psycho for the ages (welcome aboard, Matthew Atkinson), Ridge and Taylor’s son held our attention.</p>
Image: Sean Smith/JPI
8/32
<p>We’d say that Alley Mills’ off-kilter alter ego was the antithesis of her ball-busting older sibling… except for the fact that, sans her meds, Eric’s sweet-hearted sister-in-law was the sorta nutso from whom you’d be reluctant to accept so much as a lemon bar.</p>
Image: John Paschal/JPI
9/32
<p>The biological father of the lady killer at No. 7 (and, for that matter, No. 14), the late Joseph Mascolo’s character was a shipping magnate who never failed to float our boat.</p>
Image: John Paschal/JPI
10/32
<p>Too horrific a monster for <em>The Young and the Restless</em> alone, Lauren Fenmore’s archenemy crossed over to <em>The Bold and the Beautiful</em>, only to ultimately… wait, <em>what</em>?!? Become a waitress at Il Giardino? That can’t be right… <em>can</em> it?</p>
Image: John Paschal/JPI
11/32
<p>Sean Kanan’s sleazy alter ego did the impossible: made us believe that he cared, really <em>cared</em> for Brooke… even <em>after</em> he took her daughter’s virginity while on speakerphone! Top that… well, everyone else!</p>
Image: Brian Lowe/JPI
12/32
<p>Her fondness for boy toys nothwithstanding, we always saw Nick’s mother, checkered past and all, as the heiress apparent to Stephanie’s throne. Just please, whatever you do, don’t tell the character at No. 17; the last thing we’d want to do is make <em>her</em> mad!</p>
Image: CBS/Courtesy of the Everett Collection
13/32
<p>You <em>know</em> a character has made a real impact when, as Joanna Johnson’s virtuous one was, she was given a twin sister after being killed off and, years after <em>that</em>, a namesake niece to boot.</p>
Image: CBS
14/32
<p>Don’t. Just don’t you <em>dare</em> call Darin Brooks’ character the poor man’s Liam. He’s flip-flopped half as much as his half brother and had us rooting for him every misstep of the way!</p>
Image: John Paschal/JPI (2)
15/32
<p>Is Jennifer Finnigan’s (and then Ashley Jones’) character a doctor dedicated to healing? A fashion designer happy to hide behind the alias Madame X? We’re <em>still</em> not sure and, therefore, fascinated!</p>
Image: Howard Wise/JPI
16/32
<p>If anyone’s a real threat to the mantle that’s long been carried by the character at No. 1, it’s Rena Sofer’s on-screen persona, a jewelry designer who’s harder than any metal she’s ever welded into shape!</p>
Image: CBS/Courtesy of the Everett Collection
17/32
<p>Since the CBS soap’s debut, John McCook hasn’t just established the Forrester family’s patriarch as a (much-needed) voice of reason, he’s cemented his rep as a lady killer who earned his nickname of “honey bear” the fun way!</p>
Image: Sean Smith/JPI
18/32
<p>One of daytime’s first frontburner transgender characters, Karla Mosley’s alter ego broke barriers and paved the way for… well, we’re still waiting to see, actually, and would happily settle for a storyline for Rick’s ex-wife!</p>
Image: Jesse Grant/JPI
19/32
<p>Ahoy, matey! Once Jack Wagner’s sailor dropped anchor in the City of Angels, one storyline after another set sail, to the point that he became recognized as a <em>more</em> than viable alternative to his half brother at No. 7. </p>
Image: Tony Esparza/CBS/Courtesy of the Everett Collection
20/32
<p>Bobbie Eakes’ songbird spent the bulk of her long run on <em>The Bold and the Beautiful</em> singing the blues, thanks to the fact that her relationship with true love Thorne was, in the best of times, on-again/off-again.</p>
Image: Sean Smith/JPI, Chris D/JPI, Aaron Montgomery/JPI
21/32
<p>A portrait of ambition, Eric and Brooke’s son has always had his eye on the prize. Trouble is, that eye, as focused by Jacob Young, Justin Torkildsen and Kyle Lowder, has wandered to one wife/girlfriend after another after another.</p>
Image: CBS/Courtesy of the Everett Collection
22/32
<p>For decades, we liked Hunter Tylo’s shrink as a heroine who always got the short end of the stick. But we’ve come to love her as the woman scorned who, if she hasn’t completely lost her marbles, has certainly misplaced some of ’em!</p>
Image: John Paschal/JPI, Denis Guignebourg/JPI
23/32
<p><em>Our</em> Hope For the Future? More of this sweetheart, a born-to-be-distressed damsel who’s striven to take the high road, whether she’s been played by Kim Matula or Annika Noelle.</p>
Image: John Paschal/JPI
24/32
<p>It’s almost impossible to believe that anything <em>ever</em> happens on the West Coast since it lost its foremost scheme queen, the mischievous imp that Adrienne Frantz made so pivotal, she couldn’t be contained by one soap opera.</p>
Image: Sean Smith/JPI
25/32
<p>Despite his (well-earned) reputation as a waffler, we couldn’t love Scott Clifton’s character any more than he does Hope. Or Steffy. Then Hope again. Then Steffy. And that once, Ivy. But mostly Hope. And Steffy…</p>
Image: CBS/Courtesy of the Everett Collection, CBS
26/32
<p>Whether he was being played by Ronn Moss or Thorsten Kaye, the dressmaker, to borrow a diss from the character at No. 6, has always been in vogue as far as we — and the ladies of L.A. — have been concerned.</p>
Image: Sean Smith/JPI
27/32
<p><em>The Young and the Restless</em>’ loss was most definitely <em>The Bold and the Beautiful</em>’s gain when Don Diamont was killed off as Brad, thus freeing him up to bring to life a playboy who’s since become one of soapdom’s most infamous.</p>
Image: John Paschal/JPI
28/32
<p>The term “red-hot mama” was all but coined for Jacqueline MacInnes Wood’s fierce and feisty alter ego, a cool rider with an exterior that’s as tough as leather and a heart that — despite how Liam treats it! — is as delicate as lace.</p>
Image: John Paschal/JPI
29/32
<p>Since the formidable Heather Tom stepped into the role of the supposed “ugly duckling” of the Logan family, the heroine has spread her wings and taken flight in ways that neither her sisters nor we dreamt she would when she was first introduced!</p>
Image: Sean Smith/JPI
30/32
<p>The so-called “slut from the Valley” has come a long way, baby! But — thank goodness! — Katherine Kelly Lang’s character remains a slave to her (cough) destiny, as much passion’s plaything as she ever was.</p>
Image: Jesse Grant/JPI
31/32
<p>The late, great Darlene Conley’s larger-than-life character may have trafficked in knockoff fashions, but her portrayer was 100-percent original — a camp classic whose spirit has proven to be impossible to recycle!</p>
Image: Aaron Montgomery/JPI
32/32
