Young & Restless’ Amelia Heinle Opens Up About Her Former Co-Stars — and the Emmy Winner Who ‘Was a Great Mentor’
Thursday, December 16th, 2021
A little piece of the actress’ heart remains in Pine Valley.
Now, when we think of Amelia Heinle, we think of The Young and the Restless‘ Victoria Newman. After 16 years and two Emmy wins, she doesn’t just play the character, she is the character to us. But back in 2001, she was just making her debut on All My Children as Mia Saunders, the surprise half sister of Marcy Walker’s Liza Colby. And though on screen, the siblings weren’t close, especially at first, their portrayers got along great.
“I miss Marcy Walker,” Heinle tells SoapCentral. She “was a great mentor when I first got there, because it was my first time back in daytime after being off for a while.” (Heinle had made her soap debut in the mid-1990s as poor little rich girl Steffi Brewster on Loving and crossed the character over to its ill-fated reboot, The City. Don’t remember it? Catch up here.)
Heinle was also good pals with the leading ladies who played Mia’s Fusion colleagues: Rebecca Budig (Greenlee), Alicia Minshew (Kendall) and Terri Ivens (Simone). “We all got along really well,” Heinle says. “We even had a couple of sleepovers!
More: Young & Restless keeps teasing fans, dang it!
“I know how silly that might sound, but we were younger at the time,” she adds. “So we had a few sleepovers at Rebecca’s house, and it was just a great time on that show.”
The one thing Heinle doesn’t miss about All My Children is how isolated Mia was. Unlike Victoria, she wasn’t tied to a whole big core family. So “it gives me empathy for people that come in with characters that aren’t related to anyone,” she says. “It’s harder to break in, and it’s harder to feel connected.”
Heaven knows that’s not a problem for Victoria. Even a glance at the below Newman family album will reveal just how thoroughly entrenches she is in the goings-on in Genoa City.
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Image: Howard Wise/JPI
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<p>All of life is a chess game to the great and powerful Victor Newman — and make no mistake, the tycoon plays to win. Whether in business or in love, the erstwhile Christian Miller is always plotting his next move, putting his conquests in checkmake before they even realize they’re in check.</p>
Image: John Paschal/JPI
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<p>Though Victor has broken up and made up with wife Nikki Reed more times than we can count, there’s no question about the fact that, from the moment he saw her stripping on the stage of The Bayou, she was his endgame.</p>
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<p>In 2003, Victor along with his son Nick confronted a dying Albert Miller. Father to Victor and Matt, he abandoned his family and never looked back. This eventually resulted in Matt and Victor being placed in an orphanage by their mother. Nick and Victor flew to Canada to see the dying Albert, and it was a hostile confrontation. </p>
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<p>Dorothy McGuire appeared as Victor’s mother Cora Miller in 1984. Cora left her sons Christian (Victor) and Matt at an orphanage because she was unable to provide them with food after their father abandoned them. She promised to return but never did. In June of 1984, Victor located her and learned she was dying. Victor brought her to the ranch to spend her final days there. She was able to meet her granddaughter Victoria before passing away in August 1984.</p>
Image: Aaron Montgomery/JPI
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<p>After being abandoned in an orphanage by their mother Cora, Victor ran away as a teenager to make his mark in the world. He went on to become a billionaire, starting from nothing and eventually launching Newman Enterprises. In 1983, he and his brother Matt were finally reunited. Victor’s wife Nikki tried to set Matt up with Ashley Abbott, who had designs on Victor. He left town in 1985 and returned briefly in 2003 and 2018. Matt most recently returned to celebrate Victor’s 40th anniversary at Newman Enterprises.</p>
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<p>Victoria is Victor and Nikki’s older child. Over the years, she, like all of Victor’s children, has butted heads with him. She has worked for Newman Enterprises off and on over the years, even serving and CEO. Victor appointed her as his successor upon retiring… until half brother Adam swooped in with a blackmail attempt to try and seize control. Now Victoria holds the reins so tightly, they’ll never again slip out of her hands.</p>
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<p>Victor was relatively quick to welcome into the Newman family Victoria’s latest husband, Ashland Locke. It made sense, though. The guy has a sketchy-as-hell history, but he’s not Billy Boy Abbott, and in Victor’s book, that’s a <em>big</em> plus.</p>
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8/24
<p>Like his older sister, Nick has battled with his father for years. He too has served his time at Newman Enterprises in a variety of positions, but has also created his own companies, including the magazine <em>Restless Style</em> and the company Dark Horse. He has previously been disowned his father, even attacked by him, and in retaliation, Nick tormented Victor as the specter of JT Hellstrom. Nick and his father are currently on good-ish terms. For now…</p>
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9/24
<p>Of all Victor’s children, he and Adam have the rockiest relationship. Adam grew up on his mother Hope Adams’ farm in Kansas never knowing Victor was his father. He is considered the black sheep of the family, constantly butting heads with his siblings as well as Victor. He only entered the Newman family as an adult in 2008 after his mother’s death. Most recently, he plotted to poison his father, but Victor learned of his plan and faked his own death. He later tried to seize control of Newman through blackmail, believing Victor killed AJ Montalvo, but it was a young Adam who did so to protect his mother Hope. In short, it’s complicated.</p>
Image: Howard Wise
10/24
<p>Abby Newman is Victor’s daughter with his ex, Ashley Abbott. She, too, has a strained relationship with Dad, who she’s tried to sue a number of times. She also gained notoriety in the media as the Naked Heiress. Like her siblings, she’s served in some capacity at Newman but has also worked at her mother’s family company, Jabot, and briefly with her brother Nick at Dark Horse. More recently, she entered the restaurant business with Society and the hotel business with the Grand Phoenix (though she was forced out of <em>that</em> lobby by Nick’s ex, Phyllis).</p>
Image: John Paschal/JPI
11/24
<p>No one in Genoa City has married into the Newman family more than Sharon Collins. If she wasn’t tying the knot with true love Nick, she was getting hitched to Adam. Just for good measure, she also wed Victor a couple of times and said “I do” to Nikki’s son, Dylan McAvoy. Matt, she’s gotta be coming for you next!</p>
Image: Howard Wise/JPI
12/24
<p>Cassie Newman was Sharon’s daughter with Frank Barritt. A teenage Sharon gave Cassie up as she couldn’t care for her, and years later, once married to Nick, they found and adopted her. Tragically, she died as a teenager. When Daniel Romalotti was too drunk to drive, an inexperienced Cassie took the wheel and was involved in an automobile accident. As she died, she predicted another child for Sharon. Mom would later learn she’d had twins, and Mariah was stolen at birth by cult leader Ian Ward. Got all that?</p>
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13/24
<p>As fiery as her gorgeous red hair, Mariah fit right in in the Newman family from the start — by which we mean that she’s great at making waves. First, she threw herself at Nick, then she made off with half brother Noah’s girlfriend, Tessa Porter.</p>
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<p>No sooner had “Teriah” adopted lil’ Aria than the baby was faced with her first major challenge: how to keep Sharon from stealing her bunny. “Get your own, Maw Maw!”</p>
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<p>Noah is Nick’s son with Sharon. He had a hard childhood, what with his sister Cassie’s death, his parents’ divorce and getting recast all the time. As a teen, he rebelled against his parents. He went on to become a musician, a bartender and manager at The Underground. After the bar burned down, Noah began managing Top of the Tower for Victor before eventually leaving town. He’s had a strained relationship with both Nick and Victor, and once accidentally backed over Billy Abbott. But who <em>hasn’t</em> wanted to “accidentally” do that?</p>
Image: Howard Wise
16/24
<p>Summer (Hunter King here) is the daughter of Nick and his ex, Phyllis Summers. She is one of the many victims of crazy Sheila Carter, who kidnapped her as an infant along with Fenmore Baldwin. At one point, her paternity was called into question when Sharon tampered with DNA tests making it appear she was Jack Abbott’s daughter — which was especially awkward, considering her passion for his son.</p>
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<p>Summer (now Allison Lanier) married Abbott heir Kyle not once but twice. But, given the mess that their mothers have made of the sweethearts’ marriage, we’re going to go out on a limb and guess that it’s the third time that will actually be the charm.</p>
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18/24
<p>Reed Hellstrom is the son of Victoria and JT Hellstrom. In 2010, he moved to Washington, DC, with his father and new stepmother, Mackenzie Browning. He returned as a teenager in 2016 as an aspiring musician. He was thrilled when his parents reunited, only later to learn JT had become abusive towards Victoria, which eventually was revealed to be due to a brain tumor. He was further shocked to learn Nikki had believed she had killed JT while protecting her daughter from him, and along with Sharon and Phyllis, buried his father’s body to cover up the crime. JT returned alive and haunted the women. Sensibly, Reed left town to focus on his music education.</p>
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<p>Faith Newman is the daughter of Sharon and Nick. Her birth was prophesized by her sister Cassie on her deathbed. Shortly after Faith came into the world, Adam Newman stole her from Sharon, who was in a mental institution (it happens), and gave her to Ashley Abbott, who was also in the same institution (<em>told</em> ya it happens). Ashley had miscarried her daughter with Victor after Adam scared her into a tumble down the stairs. So he then gaslighted her into believing she had followed through with her pregnancy and gave her Sharon and Nick’s daughter. Eventually, Nick and Sharon learned the truth, and Faith was returned to her actual mom and dad for a whole <em>different</em> kind of drama.</p>
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<p>Connor is Adam’s son with Chelsea Lawson. Chelsea initially claimed that Dylan McAvoy was the father, but Adam eventually discovered the truth. After Adam’s supposed death, Chelsea raised Connor with Nick, with whom she fell in love. However, after Chelsea’s schemes caught up with her, she fled town with Connor. She eventually returned, and Adam was revealed to be alive. Connor finally met his biological father and schemed to break Nick and Chelsea up and reunite his parents. He succeeded — but only up to a point. Will he try, try again? He wouldn’t be a Newman if he didn’t!</p>
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21/24
<p>Katie is Victoria’s daughter with Billy. However, when she was born, Victoria did not know if Billy or Stitch Rayburn, who she had a fling with, was the father. Johnny Abbott is Billy and Chelsea’s son. She allowed Victoria to adopt him shortly after his birth. Chelsea, who was hired by Victor to break up Victoria and Billy, drugged and seduced Billy, resulting in the pregnancy. </p>
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22/24
<p>Christian is the biological son of Adam and Sage Warner, and the legal son of Nick. Sage claimed Nick was the father at birth, and Adam kept the secret. Nick was told his son Christian had died shortly after birth, but in reality, he was given to Sharon and Dylan, and Sharon, suffering from bipolar disorder, was convinced by her doctors that she had given birth to the boy she named Sullivan “Sully” McAvoy. In time, Nick learned the truth. When Adam returned from the dead, he and Nick fought over custody of the child, but in the end, Nick regained custody of the boy he had raised since birth. </p>
Image: CBS screenshot
23/24
<p>The latest addition to the Newman family is baby <span style="text-decoration: line-through">Bowie</span> Dominic, the son born to Abby and husband Chance Chancellor with a <span style="text-decoration: line-through">little</span> lotta help from Mariah and Devon Hamilton. Sometimes the tot looks like a blanket, nothing more, but that’s just a cute game he likes to play.</p>
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