Phyllis Summers

Stafford made her debut on October 18, 1994. Her stint on the soap opera was initially a short-term role; however, her work impressed the producers and she was placed on contract. She portrayed the role from March 21, 1997, until February 22, 1999. In July 2000, Stafford was brought back to the soap opera by former head writer Kay Alden. Stafford first aired on July 13 of that year. Speaking of her return, Stafford stated: In 2009, Stafford signed a new contract with The Young and the Restless which would ensure her portrayal of Phyllis for an unspecified period of time. In May 2013, it was announced that Stafford would be exiting the soap opera after sixteen years in the role. Stafford later confirmed that her final scenes would air sometime that August. In July 2013, Stafford appeared on the cover of Soap Opera Digest which was dubbed "Her Final Interview." In the interview with editor Stephanie Sloane, she confessed that she was completely done with the soap opera, though wouldn't mind if the role of Phyllis was recast, stating: "They may, as a courtesy, ask if I wanted to come back; I don't know, they may not. It's okay with me. It doesn't matter because I am done. I'm completely done. And I'm not upset if they recast, I totally would understand." Stafford also stated she had some ideas for a recast, but would not detail the specifics of those ideas. On May 22, 2014, reports surfaced that former One Life to Live and Guiding Light actress Gina Tognoni had been cast in the role of Phyllis, following her "flawless" audition. Tognoni began taping on July 9 and made her debut on August 11, 2014. In March 2019, Daytime Confidential reported that Tognoni had been let go from the soap, with Stafford returning to the role. Tognoni made her last appearance on June 7, 2019; Stafford returned during the final moments of the June 17, 2019, episode. == Development ==

Characterization When she debuted, Phyllis was known to scheme to get what she wanted. The Record said she is "usually scheming and she wouldn't have her any other way." Of her "damaged" familial background, Stafford stated: "I think Phyllis is looking for something she decided must exist in life that maybe doesn’t. She is looking for something she never had, which is a family unit and real love. She is looking for that and she is thinking that it should be a certain way, because it is not what she had. In truth, that thing that she is looking for might not even exist. But she is trying to find it." Relationships Phyllis' first romance on the soap opera was with Danny Romalotti (Michael Damian), whom she conned into believing he had fathered a child with her. During their loveless marriage, Stafford stated: "Phyllis is trying to figure out how to hold on to (her husband) Danny. Her shrink tells her, 'Don't exaggerate your sexuality.' But she doesn't get it. Danny isn't even the father of the baby. That's something that might come up later. But in the meantime, this woman is going to get him." When he discovered her deception, a vicious divorce battle ensued. They later briefly remarried before Danny obtained custody of Phyllis' son, Daniel, and left town with him. Upon her return in 2000, Phyllis began dating Jack Abbott (Peter Bergman) and they were later married. Of their romance, Bergman stated: "These two were perfectly wrong for each other. These two people cared about each other and wanted this to work in the worst possible way, but just couldn’t make it work. That is not normal for soaps. It was fun to play and for the audience to watch, because these two people were desperately loving each other and they are destructive of each other, and someone is going to hurt someone here. These are two type “A” personalities." After being told more children weren't possible, Phyllis and Jack attempted to gain custody of Jack's son, Kyle Jenkins, from Diane Jenkins (Susan Walters), which failed and they eventually divorce in 2004. In 2005, Phyllis and Jack reunited, just before she began an affair with Nicholas Newman (Joshua Morrow). Nick used the affair to numb his emotions after his daughter's tragic death, having been married to Sharon Newman (Sharon Case). A love triangle forms between the three characters, and while Nick initially returns to Sharon, Phyllis becomes pregnant and is unsure if Nick or Jack is the father. A paternity test supposedly revealed Nick as the father, and their daughter, Summer Newman (Hunter King), is born in December 2006, and they are married in May 2007. Their three-year marriage eventually succumbs to Nick's ongoing feelings for Sharon, which resulted in an affair and the birth of their daughter, Faith. Nick divorces Phyllis in 2010. They briefly reunite and remarry in 2012, although it ends due to Phyllis' adultery and lies. Morrow stated that "not many husbands would put up with what he has" in his marriages to Phyllis. For the years following Summer's birth, speculation arose that Jack was in fact Summer's father, not Nick. In 2013, it was revealed that the paternity test conducted in 2006 was inconclusive. == Storylines ==

Backstory Phyllis was born on June 14, 1974 in Darien, Connecticut, to parents George Summers and Lydia Callahan. At first, it seems as if Phyllis and Stark have the perfect plan up their sleeves, but Stark’s demands and threats become extremely overwhelming and pressuring for Phyllis to put up with that she ends up killing him by stabbing him with a pair of scissors. Afterwards, Phyllis reveals herself, alive and well, to her daughter, Summer Newman (Allison Lanier), and begs her not to tell anyone about her being alive, to which Summer agrees to. However, Summer doesn’t seem to live up to her promise and she soon informs her brother, Daniel Romalotti, who is adamant on letting everyone know about his mother. == Reception ==

Stafford has been praised for her portrayal. In 1995, Lilana Novakovich of the Toronto Star stated: "Michelle Stafford is every bit as irrepressible as Phyllis Romalotti, her character on The Young and the Restless." The Sharon/Nick/Phyllis love triangle, which initially took place from 2006 to 2010, was considered one of the genre's most titillating storylines. Jamaica Gleaner was enthralled by the twists and turns of the love triangle and published an interview with Stafford; the newspaper asked whether Nick would end his ten-year marriage to Sharon and rather enter into an official romance with her pregnant character Phyllis. Stafford replied, "In a perfect world, she'd wish [the baby was] Nick's. But he's married; he's not going to leave Sharon. And she doesn't want him to." The love triangle was a prominent topic of soap opera debate during its run. Daniel R. Coleridge of TV Guide labeled it "A can't-miss week for the popular Sharon/Nick/Phyllis triangle" when Phyllis's OB-GYN is to inform her that she is expecting. On-Air On-Soaps has noted that both Phyllis' pairings with both Jack and Nick have garnered fan followings; they recognized her pairing with Nick as the "Phick vs. Shick" fan-base war. Stafford has received a number of honors for her portrayal of Phyllis, including Soap Opera Digest Award wins for Outstanding Female Newcomer in 1996, for Outstanding Villainess in 1997 and for Outstanding Lead Actress in 2003, earning another nomination in the same category in 2005. Stafford also received a nomination for the Soap Opera Digest Award for Outstanding Female Scene Stealer in 2001. She received a Daytime Emmy Award nomination for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series in 1996, winning in 1997. Stafford has also received eight nominations for the Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series in 2003, 2005, 2007, 2008, 2010, 2011, winning only once in 2004. At the 32nd Daytime Emmy Awards, Stafford and co-star Peter Bergman were nominated for the Special Fan Award for Irresistible Combination. Tognoni's performance of Phyllis has been met with critical acclaim, earning a Daytime Emmy nomination for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series in 2015, yet winning the award in 2017. In 2022, Charlie Mason from Soaps She Knows placed Phyllis 9th on his list of the best 25 characters from The Young and the Restless, commenting "A hurricane in high heels, this pot-stirrer makes every scene more exciting simply by walking into it. Yes, there’s a price to pay — oy, the miles of carnage in her wake! But to paraphrase Jessica Rabbit, the infamous strumpet brought to life by Michelle Stafford isn't bad, she's just drawn that way. And whatever way she goes, so do we — helplessly!" In 2024, Mason cited Phyllis as one of the worst mothers in American soap operas and criticised her for faking her death after she had judged Diane for doing the same thing. For her performance as Phyllis, Stafford was named by TV Insider as their eighteenth best performance, in ranking their "21 Best Soap Performances of 2024". In the article, editor Michael Maloney wrote: "She refuses to be shut down or be called a hypocrite by anyone, which makes her an unstoppable force of nature!" ==References==