Young & Restless’ Michelle Stafford Kicks Off 2021 With Laughs, Inspiring Words and ‘the First Thirst Trap of the Year’
Tuesday, January 5th, 2021
“I just wanna laugh this year, ya know?”
Still feeling the aftereffects of 2020? Assuming the answer is a resounding “yes,” we figured we’d share a little burst of positivity about the future, courtesy of The Young and the Restless’ Michelle Stafford. (Though if the answer was “no,” please, please, please share your secret.)
“So this is what I’m gonna try to do this year,” declared Phyllis’ portrayer on Instagram. “Keep my kids healthy. Keep myself healthy. Finish my book on taking care of your skin from the inside out.”
More: Y&R alum shares his New Year’s resolution
The actress admitted that 2020 had been tough on her, a sentiment we could all relate to. For those of us following her social media, this isn’t a surprise. In a touching holiday post looking back at the past year, Stafford admitted that she’d “spent most the year in my bathrobe.” As for 2021?
“I just wanna laugh this year, ya know?” she continued, a goal we would all be wise to emulate. “I need some more laughter.”
And the choir — of which we are all a part — sang, “Amen.”
As for the bright-red attire chosen to accompany her musings? “Don’t know why I’m posting a pic of myself in my bathing suit to write this,” she admitted. “But who cares. First #thirsttrap of the year, I guess.”
Hey, if you’ve got it, flaunt it. And Stafford has definitely got it. Hell, we’re sold on wanting to find out every last one of her skincare secrets. So here’s to a year of laughter, positivity, being comfortable in our own skin and living our lives to the fullest.
Since we’re already here and basking in the gorgeousness that is Stafford, why not check out a gallery of soaps’ most beautiful leading ladies? And yes, Stafford most definitely made the list.
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Image: NBC/Courtesy of the Everett Collection
1/61
<p>Even when she’s giving us the cold shoulder, the<em> Days of Our Lives</em> veteran, who played Hope Brady for nearly four decades, radiates a warmth that draws us to her like moths to a flame.</p>
Image: John Paschal/JPI
2/61
<p>Oh… did we catch you mid-makeup? No problem. The spunky scene stealer who played Natalie Buchanan on <em>One Life to Live</em> was always ready for her closeup.</p>
Image: Gilles Toucas/CBS
3/61
<p>Names don’t come any more apropos than the first one bestowed upon the <em>Bold & Beautiful</em> gem who brings to life Paris Buckingham.</p>
Image: John Paschal/JPI
4/61
<p>Hats off to the femme fatale who’s turned <em>General Hospital</em> supervixen Ava Jerome into the only thing more intoxicating than the martinis she so adores.</p>
Image: EJ Carr/CBS/Courtesy of the Everett Collection
5/61
<p>This Emmy winner grew up before our eyes, going from the cutest of kids to the loveliest of adults as Lily Snyder on <em>As the World Turns.</em></p>
Image: John Paschal/JPI
6/61
<p>It was the oft-quoted anonymous who said that “beauty is an attitude.” But we can’t argue with him, her or them, not having admired for so long the ’tude put forth by Rowell, now and always our embodiment of <em>The Young and the Restless</em>’ Drucilla Winters.</p>
Image: John Paschal/JPI
7/61
<p>Don’t come at us for including a soap star who isn’t a size 0 on this list. <em>Days of Our Lives</em>’ former Nancy Wesley and <em>The Bold and the Beautiful</em>’s Shirley Spectra isn’t here because she bucks the skinny-Minnie trend, she’s here because she’s freaking magnificent.</p>
Image: Brian Lowe/JPI
8/61
<p>“Beauty is the opposite of perfection,” goes a quote attributed to… well, anonymous. “It’s about confidence, charisma and character.” Perhaps that — along with her general stunningness — is why we’re so captivated by this Emmy winner and her character, <em>The Young and the Restless</em>’ Sharon Newman. </p>
Image: ABC/Courtesy of the Everett Collection
9/61
<p>She went from being the girl next door (as Jenny Gardner on <em>All My Children</em>) to Wonder Woman (as Jackie Templeton on <em>General Hospital</em>) without ever hitting the awkward phase that flummoxed the rest of us.</p>
Image: Aaron Montgomery/JPI (3)
10/61
<p>The astronomer Maria Mitchell believed that “there is no cosmetic for beauty like happiness” — a concept gorgeously embodied by the portrayer of <em>Days of Our Lives</em>’ Paulina Price; she radiates joy wherever she goes.</p>
Image: John Paschal/JPI
11/61
<p>“Red hair, sir, in my opinion, is dangerous,” said P.G. Wodehouse in <em>Very Good, Jeeves!</em> And we couldn’t agree more, not after worshipping for so many years at the altar of the Emmy winner who plays <em>The Young and the Restless</em>’ Lauren Fenmore.</p>
Image: CBS/Courtesy of the Everett Collection
12/61
<p>They don’t make ’em anymore like the late, great scene stealer who played the original Sally Spectra on <em>The Bold and the Beautiful</em>, and the world is infinitely less fabulous for it.</p>
Image: John Paschal/JPI
13/61
<p>Upside-down, sideways… It doesn’t matter which way you gaze upon the soap-hopper — last seen as Claudette Beaulieu on <em>General Hospital</em> — she defines and redefines the word “stunning.”</p>
Image: CBS/Courtesy of the Everett Collection
14/61
<p>Thanks to<em> General Hospital</em> and her role of Tracy Quartermaine, she was known as the queen of mean. But Elliot was also blessed with an unvarnished beauty that emanated from within.</p>
Image: Howard Wise/JPI
15/61
<p>Louis Armstrong didn’t sing, “When you’re smiling, the whole world smiles with you” about the <em>Young & Restless</em> MVP who plays Elena; he was a <em>bit</em> before her time. But as you can see from the radiance of her smile, he certainly could have.</p>
Image: John Paschal/JPI
16/61
<p>No matter how sparkly and ostentatious the baubles she wore on screen, there was simply no outshining the Emmy winner who played Stephanie Forrester on<em> The Bold and the Beautiful.</em></p>
Image: John Paschal/JPI
17/61
<p>Yeah, yeah, she’s half of one of the greatest supercouples in soap history. But as is illustrated by this image — and countless others — <em>General Hospital</em> heroine Laura Collins has never needed <em>any</em> leading man to make her “super.”</p>
Image: John Paschal/JPI
18/61
<p>Whether the actress is blonde (as she was as Caroline Spencer on <em>The Bold and the Beautiful</em>) or brunette (Sarah Horton on <em>Days of Our Lives</em>), playing naughty (Caroline again) or nice (Sarah again), she’s bewitched in a way that borders on the supernatural.</p>
Image: John Paschal/JPI
19/61
<p>We hate to say it, but after what happened to her last boyfriend on<em> General Hospital</em>, we’d advise Alexis Davis — and her Emmy-winning portrayer — to keep this come-hither look on lock.</p>
Image: John Paschal/JPI
20/61
<p>The magical thing about this soap-hopper, who’s gone from <em>All My Children</em> to <em>The Young and the Restless</em> to <em>Days of Our Lives</em> (as Kristen DiMera), is that no matter what show she’s on, no matter what role she’s playing, we can’t take our eyes off of her.</p>
Image: Courtesy of the Everett Collection
21/61
<p>Elizabeth Taylor, is that you? Why, no, that’s <em>Days of Our Lives</em>’ Julie Williams in a late-1960s episode of <em>Dragnet</em> — and giving us just a hint of how gracefully she was going to age. Wow.</p>
Image: John Paschal/JPI
22/61
<p>Brash & Sassy isn’t just a company once overseen by Victoria Newman, the mogul played by this Emmy winner on <em>The Young and the Restless</em>. It’s also the perfect descriptor for the character that she embodies.</p>
Image: ABC
23/61
<p>You don’t need to be a detective on par with <em>General Hospital</em> police commish Jordan Ashford to figure out why her traffic-stopping portrayer made this list.</p>
Image: John Paschal/JPI
24/61
<p>Talk about gilding the lily. The actress who played <em>As the World Turns</em> strumpet Emily Stewart never needed a floral arrangement as headwear in order to blossom in front of the camera.</p>
Image: Howard Wise/JPI
25/61
<p>Whether making trouble or making nice, <em>General Hospital</em>’s Elizabeth Webber is someone for whom viewers always want to make time. </p>
Image: John Paschal/JPI
26/61
<p>If Coco Chanel was right and “beauty begins the moment you decide to be yourself,” then this actress, Lily Winters on <em>The Young and the Restless</em>, has been beautiful since we met her.</p>
Image: Howard Wise/JPI
27/61
<p>“Your outer beauty will capture the eyes,” wrote blogger Steven Aitchison. “Your inner beauty will capture the heart.” Either way, <em>The Young and the Restless</em>’ Summer Newman nailed it.</p>
Image: George De Sota/JPI
28/61
<p>We’ll wait while you look up “class” in the dictionary. When you’re done, you can come back and be like, “Oh my God! And they had a picture of the lady who played Vanessa Chamberlain on <em>Guiding Light</em> next to the definition!”</p>
Image: Howard Wise/JPI
29/61
<p>Willard Motley’s quote — “Live fast, die young and have a good-looking corpse” — could be engraved on the tombstone of this <em>Days of Our Lives</em> alum’s character, the (cough) ill-fated Ciara Brady.</p>
Image: John Paschal/JPI
30/61
<p>If Englishman John Ray is right and “beauty is power,” there is no one more formidable than the actress who brings to life Brooke Logan on <em>The Bold and the Beautiful.</em></p>
Image: ABC/Courtesy of the Everett Collection
31/61
<p>C’mon. <em>Obviously</em>, La Lucci was going to be on this list, having played Erica Kane, the <em>All My Children</em> temptress for whom Enchantment could have been named.</p>
Image: ABC/Courtesy of the Everett Collection
32/61
<p>Sure, Heather Webber was bad to the bone on <em>General Hospital</em>. And crazier than several psych wards combined. But you can’t say that she wasn’t pretty as a picture — with hair that belonged in a Wella Balsam ad.</p>
Image: ABC
33/61
<p>No wonder<em> General Hospital</em>’s Nina Reeves was so eager to claim Sasha Gilmore as her daughter — who <em>wouldn’t</em> want to say that this beauty was at least partly the result of their DNA’s involvement?</p>
Image: John Paschal/JPI
34/61
<p>Her expression says, “What? Who? Me?” But of course, anyone blessed with a face as expressive and lovely as that of Amanda Sinclair on <em>The Young and the Restless</em> has to be at least a <em>little</em> bit used to jaws dropping in her presence.</p>
Image: John Paschal/JPI
35/61
<p>We ain’t just, ahem, whistlin’ Dixie when we say that the <em>All My Children</em> Emmy winner who now plays<em> Days of Our Lives</em>’ Jennifer Horton is a timeless beauty.</p>
Image: John Paschal/JPI
36/61
<p>Look, sometimes being drop-dead gorgeous just takes it outta ya. Then you have yourself a lovely lie-down, like the actress who plays <em>General Hospital</em> badass Sam McCall is here.</p>
Image: John Paschal/JPI
37/61
<p><em>The Bold and the Beautiful</em> may have discharged the actress whose Maya Avant defined both of the adjectives in its title, but we’ll always stand back, awestruck and inspired by her luminous portrayer.</p>
Image: John Paschal/JPI
38/61
<p>Two things get better with age: wine and the <em>Days of Our Lives</em> vet who plays Maggie Kiriakis. So let’s raise a glass of the former to the latter, shall we?</p>
Image: Howard Wise/JPI
39/61
<p><em>Our</em> Hope for the Future? That Annika Noelle, <em>The Bold and the Beautiful</em> standout who plays the ingenue, continues to redefine what it means to be comfortable in one’s own skin.</p>
Image: John Paschal/JPI
40/61
<p>It was the great ZZ Top who once sang, “She’s got legs. She knows how to use them.” We’re just gonna leave that there as you admire this image of the soap-hopper who plays Quinn Forrester on<em> The Bold and the Beautiful.</em></p>
Image: John Paschal/JPI
41/61
<p>You could credit the awe-inspiring looks of <em>The Young and the Restless</em>’ Nikki Newman to diet and exercise, hair and makeup. <em>Or</em> you could follow Emily Dickinson’s lead and simply accept that “beauty is not caused. It is.”</p>
Image: NBC/Courtesy of the Everett Collection
42/61
<p>Bad never looked as good as it does on this veteran actress, who went from playing the scheming Augusta Lockridge on<em> Santa Barbara</em> to the even more incorrigible Vivian Alamain on<em> Days of Our Lives.</em></p>
Image: John Paschal/JPI
43/61
<p>If ever an image epitomized the beauty of this Emmy winner, this one is it. Neither <em>The Young and the Restless</em>’ Phyllis Summers nor her portrayer can be constrained or restrained; they’re forces of nature, and they’re comin’ your way, ready or not.</p>
Image: Howard Wise/JPI
44/61
<p>Let’s be real. There are paintings hanging in museums that are envious of the poise and presence that<em> Days of Our Lives</em>’ Lani Grant demonstrates on a daily basis. And honestly, we don’t blame them.</p>
Image: Robert Milazzo/ABC/Courtesy of the Everett Collection
45/61
<p>Best known for playing she-devils like Rachel Davis on <em>Another World</em> and Dorian Lord on <em>One Life to Live</em>, this Emmy winner never failed to show us a hell of a good time.</p>
Image: John Paschal/JPI
46/61
<p>Despite her rep as a recast queen — she succeeded Wendy Moniz as Dinah Marler on<em> Guiding Light</em> and Michelle Stafford as Phyllis Summers on <em>The Young and the Restless</em> — this Emmy winner is a true original.</p>
Image: John Paschal/JPI
47/61
<p>Go ahead and laugh. It <em>is</em> hysterical that<em> The Bold and the Beautiful</em> picked <em>The Young and the Restless</em>’ original Victoria Newman — a card-carrying fox — to play Katie, the so-called “ugly duckling” of the Logan family.</p>
Image: Stephen J. Cannell Prods./Courtesy of the Everett Collection
48/61