15 Things to Know About Anita Lawson Upon Young and Restless Return

Young and Restless character is always looking for the next big score.
Dukes of Hazzard actress Catherine Bach is returning to Young and Restless once again to reprise her role of Chelsea Newman’s mom, conwoman Anita Lawson, and Soaps.com thought it would be an ideal time to take a look back at Lawson’s history and share some things fans may not have known, or may have forgotten, about the character.
1.
Anita Lawson first arrived in Genoa City at Billy and Victoria’s house, where her pregnant daughter Chelsea was staying, and claimed to be a missionary.
2.
Victor Newman, who had been working with Anita and Chelsea in Myanmar, sent Anita away when she showed up at the ranch and tried to get more money out of him.
3.
Paul Williams’ investigation of Anita revealed she was a grifter whose history as a con artist dated back to her childhood.
4.
Anita Lawson’s first arrest was for writing bad checks.
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5.
Anita Lawson’s long list of crimes includes theft, conspiracy, mail fraud, credit card fraud, forgery, and even impersonating a police officer.
6.
Lawson was known to have numerous aliases, including Anita Barrett and Amelia Larson.
7.
Anita Lawson had her daughter, Chelsea, helping to run cons since the age of 10.
8.
Anita Lawson got a job as a waitress at Gloworm, where she encountered her former husband, and Chelsea’s father, Jeffrey Bardwell, to whom she was still legally married. He denied paternity and claimed it must have been his late brother, William, but Anita later revealed Chelsea’s father had a heart-shaped mole on his inner-thigh proving it was Jeffrey.
9.
Anita Lawson skipped town without telling Chelsea who her father was, and it was Adam Newman that revealed the information to his future wife. Jeffrey sent payments to Anita to keep her quiet about the fact they were still married.
10.
Lawson returned to Genoa City after Chelsea delivered her baby, who was adopted by Billy and Victoria and named Johnny, and became engaged to Adam.
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11.
After Chelsea married Adam, Anita, along with Jeffrey, who by now had acknowledged being Chelsea’s biological father, hoped to cash in courtesy of their wealthy Newman son-in-law, but Chelsea threw them out of the house.
12.
Anita Lawson found herself at odds with her daughter after a pregnant Chelsea, who had split from Adam, decided to tell Dylan McAvoy he was the father of her baby out of fear Adam would take the child from her after he was born. Anita preferred the rich Newman to McAvoy, though she realized he was a good man.
13.
Anita Lawson attended Chelsea’s wedding to Dylan and took a liking to McAvoy’s old friend, Ben ‘Stitch’ Rayburn. After the truth about Chelsea’s son’s paternity came out, Anita often acted as a caregiver for Connor when Chelsea reunited with Adam.
14.
Though Anita was living out of town when Chelsea became engaged to Nick Newman, she returned after Chelsea went on the run and tried to get $25,000 out of Nick for a flash drive containing a video Chelsea had made for Christian. Anita accepted Chelsea’s engagement ring in lieu of payment.
15.
Anita Lawson lived with Chelsea and Connor using different names after Chelsea fled from Genoa City. Anita was the first to date Calvin Boudreaux, the man Chelsea married.