Like many of Genoa City's privileged youth, Traci Abbott attended boarding school until her return home in 1982. She had low
self-esteem because she was
overweight, and her older sister,
Ashley Abbott, was more glamorous and successful than she was. Traci became the president of rocker
Danny Romalotti's (
Michael Damian) fan club, and she decided to attend college locally at Genoa City University to be near him. She became a singer in Danny's band, and she fought for his attention with
Lauren Fenmore (
Tracey E. Bregman). In addition, Traci's mother, Dina, returned to town for the first time since she left Traci as an infant. The stress caused Traci to become conscious of her weight, and Lauren exploited her to get Danny's attention. Traci became addicted to
diet pills while in college, and she would often sing (to the melody of
"Turn to Stone" by the
Electric Light Orchestra), "I turn to pills, when I'm feeling ill, I turn to pills". Her addiction culminated when she found out that Danny and Lauren were engaged. She got
high, crashed her car and sustained serious heart damage. After her recovery, she went onstage at one of Danny's concerts to speak about the dangers of
drug addiction. Then, Traci began seeing her college professor, Tim Sullivan. When she found him in bed with another student, she became
suicidal. She tried to kill herself, but
Christine "Cricket" Blair (
Lauralee Bell) saved her. Traci then found out that she was pregnant with Tim's child, and Danny Romalotti wanted to marry her to give the baby a family. They married in 1984, but Danny's former flame,
Patty Williams (then played by
Andrea Evans), was angry because Traci stole Danny. She pushed Traci down a flight of stairs, causing her to
miscarry. Traci decided to
annul her marriage to Danny, and Patty left town shortly after. Traci then got involved with
groundskeeper Brad Carlton (
Don Diamont). The two were quickly married in 1986, but Brad chose his budding career over his wife. Traci left town to continue her education at
Stanford University. During their separation, Brad had an
affair with Lauren Fenmore, and Traci reconnected with Tim Sullivan. Still, Brad ended his romance with Lauren when Traci came home. To keep her in Genoa City, he agreed to have a baby with her. When Traci found out she was pregnant again, Brad's insane ex-wife,
Lisa Mansfield, kidnapped Brad, and she tried to make Traci believe that Brad didn't love her anymore. Lisa's scheme caused Traci to have a second miscarriage. When Brad was freed, he worked to win Traci's heart, but instead, Ashley Abbott worked her magic, and she stole Brad from her younger sister. Thus, Traci and Brad divorced in 1989. She went on to write two best-selling books,
Echoes of the Past and
Epitaph for a Lover. The former novel was based on her life of living in Ashley's shadow. Ashley eventually left Brad for
Victor Newman (
Eric Braeden). Brad spontaneously married
Cassandra Rawlins, and he inherited her fortune when she died in a car accident. He then returned to Traci, and they were remarried in 1991. Traci was pregnant again soon after, and she kept the secret from everyone except her father because she wanted Brad to love her without obligations to their child. Soon, Brad grew close to Ashley again when her marriage to Victor fell apart. Still, Traci finally told Brad about their child, he refused to let her raise their child alone. Traci gave birth to
Colleen Carlton in 1992. Colleen's birth did not help Brad and Traci's failing marriage, and they divorced later that year. Traci's publisher,
Steve Connelly, moved to Genoa City, and the two soon began a romance. Brad became jealous, but he realized that Traci was truly happy. Then, Traci moved to New York City with Colleen, where she married Steve in 1993. In 1994, Traci visited Brad at the hospital when he had a heart attack. Before leaving town, she got into a heated argument with Lauren Fenmore, whom she blamed for Brad's heart attack. In 1996, Traci returned to Genoa City when her father considered remarrying her mother, Dina Mergeron. In 1999, When the Abbotts reclaimed
Jabot from Newman Enterprises, Traci returned home to join in the family celebration. In 2001, Traci came home after she learned that Steve cheated on her. At first, Colleen did not believe her mother, but she turned on Steve when she learned the truth. Traci became close to Brad during her stay at home, but he was married to Ashley at the time. Traci decided to forgive Steve and work on their marriage, but Colleen became disgusted with her mother's "almost-reunion" with Brad. She rebelled against Traci and Steve until she was expelled from school for smoking
marijuana. Then, Traci decided to send Colleen to Genoa City to live with her grandfather John Abbott. In 2006, John Abbott had a stroke, and Traci rushed to his bedside. John died soon after from complications from the stroke, and Traci truly began to see the hardships that her family faced while she was away. John's widow,
Gloria Abbott (
Judith Chapman), was hated by all of John's children. Traci was shocked to learn of the animosity that spread through her family, and she was also unaware of her siblings vendetta with their stepmother. In 2007, Colleen was trapped in a burning building that was set on fire by
Kevin Fisher (
Greg Rikaart). Traci rushed to support her daughter, and she also reconnected with her sister, Ashley. Traci returned later that year when Jack dealt with the fallout from a fraud scandal. The next year, Traci was present at the
Jabot Cosmetics annual stockholders meeting. She offered her support to Brad in his bid for CEO of the company, but
Cane Ashby (
Daniel Goddard) was appointed CEO in a turn of events. Several months later, Traci came home to attend the "funeral" of
Katherine Chancellor (
Jeanne Cooper). In reality, Katherine's
doppelganger,
Marge Cotrooke, had died. At the funeral, Traci ran into her mother, Dina, and the two argued about Dina's lacking role in Colleen's life. In addition, Lauren Fenmore apologized for the way she had treated Traci those many years ago. Traci went back to New York, but she returned again at Christmas to visit Colleen. She also shared a touching moment with Brad, and he called her "the one who got away." Several days later, Brad tragically drowned after he saved
Noah Newman from a frozen pond. Traci stayed in town to attend Brad's funeral, and then she returned to New York. Colleen was kidnapped by
Patty Williams. Upon escaping, she fell into a lake, and she almost drowned. She was rushed to the hospital, only to be declared
braindead. Patty shot Victor Newman when he attempted to help save Colleen from the lake, and Colleen's heart was donated to him at Traci's request. Traci's brother, Billy Abbott, organized a celebration of Colleen's life that all of her friends and family attended. All of the mourners present released red balloons to honor Colleen while
Beth Maitland's song, "An Angel's Lullaby," played in the background. Traci and Steve stayed in town long enough to be present for the
christening of Ashley's "daughter",
Faith Colleen Abbott. Faith became Traci's
goddaughter, and she wore Colleen's christening gown for the ceremony.
Adam Newman (
Michael Muhney) became Faith's godfather, but in a turn of events, he schemed to make Ashley believe that Faith was her child. In reality,
Nick (
Joshua Morrow) and
Sharon Newman (
Sharon Case) were Faith's biological parents. Adam stole Faith from Sharon at birth, and he passed the baby off as Ashley's baby. In reality, Ashley had a
hysterical pregnancy, and she never actually gave birth. This dark point in Ashley's life occurred after Traci and Steve went back to New York City. Traci also returned to visit her family for Christmastime. In 2010, Colleen's best friend,
Lily Winters (
Christel Khalil), had recently overcome a battle with
ovarian cancer. Lily could not bear children, but she and her husband, Cane Ashby, were able to conceive through a
surrogate mother,
Mackenzie Browning (
Clementine Ford). When Lily and Cane's twins were born, Lily asked Traci to be their godmother in honor of Colleen, and Traci happily accepted. In 2011, Cane was shot to death on the steps of a church, and Traci attended his "funeral." In reality, Cane's twin brother,
Caleb Atkinson, was killed on the church steps. Lily believed that she was having
hallucinations because she was seeing Cane's "ghost." Traci was the only person to sympathize with Lily when everyone else thought that she was insane. Traci's older brother,
Jack Abbott, was preparing to marry
Genevieve Atkinson (
Genie Francis). Traci returned to Genoa City to spend time with Genevieve and her sister, Ashley, before the ceremony. On the day of the wedding, Patty Williams took Genevieve's wedding dress, and she crashed the wedding. She shot Jack when he realized who she was, and Jack refused to marry Genevieve because she bought his prized company,
Beauty of Nature. Traci stayed by Jack's bedside in the hospital while the doctors told him that he may not be able to walk again. Traci returned in August for Jack's wedding to Nikki, and invited her sister Ashley to come home with her. Traci also returned to support Abby when
Victor Newman supposedly died. Victor had been suffering amnesia and was involved in an explosion. As a result of Victor's "death", Jack was forced to sell Beauty of Nature, and Traci urged Jack to be careful in his business deals. Traci would return shortly thereafter as she moved back to the Abbott Mansion, and became a thorn in Jack's latest relationship with
Phyllis Summers (
Michelle Stafford), who recently moved in with Jack. Eventually, Traci gave her blessing, but an accident left Phyllis in a coma and she left for Georgia for experimental treatments. Traci briefly hinted to Jack that her return to Genoa City was sparked by issues with her marriage to Steve following Colleen's death. In 2019, Traci writes another book based on
Cane Ashby. ==Reception==