In 1997 she made her daytime debut as Molly Conlan on
As the World Turns. For some time the character was not very popular due to Molly's villainous behavior, but she eventually won a 2001
Daytime Emmy for Best Supporting Actress in addition to charming viewers during her romance with Jake McKinnon (
Tom Eplin). When Jake was killed off in 2002, Molly again became adrift, and Kay left the show in early 2004 after a number of promised storylines never appeared. Kay popped up a few months later to recast the popular, brassy character of
Lois Cerullo on
General Hospital. Kay (and the resurrected character of Lois) exited
GH in early 2005 after mutually agreeing to part ways with the show. In November 2005, Kay assumed the role of
Felicia Forrester on
The Bold and the Beautiful, taking over for
Colleen Dion after a year's absence.
Bold and the Beautiful Head Writer
Bradley Bell had planned to kill her character off from
cancer. However, a huge
fan outpouring, including
petitions and numerous letters, in addition to Kay's job of making the role her own, convinced Bell to keep Kay on the cast. Her character, Felicia Forrester was resurrected from the dead. Lesli Kay invested herself into the cancer storyline so much that she shaved her head for the role. In 2007, Kay was nominated for Outstanding Supporting Actress at the
34th Annual Daytime Emmy Awards but lost to
Genie Francis. In 2008, it was announced that Kay would crossover to
The Young and the Restless, in what was considered to be a semi-permanent basis. Kay's crossover to
Y&R was short-lived and she returned to her home series. In 2009, it was announced that Kay would make history in becoming the first actress to hold two roles on two separate coasts, when she was announced to be returning to the role of Molly on
As the World Turns, while maintaining her role as Felicia on a recurring status. She stayed with
As the World Turns until the show's final episode on September 17, 2010. Kay continued making appearances on
B&B until 2014, and then reprised the role in 2016. ==Filmography==