The Young and the Restless is a slightly inaccurate title for one of the nation’s favorite soap operas, as some of the most long-running cast members aren’t all that young anymore after being on our screens since 1979 — Doug Davidson, I’m looking at you.
On the other hand, the show’s cast is definitely restless, as the never-ending daytime drama constantly shuffles its series leads as new faces come aboard and others leave, and most likely come back again after a few years. Case in point, the fan-favorite character of Lily Winters, who has been hanging around Genoa City since the early 1990s. She’s had a few facelifts across that time, but if you’re looking to find out who plays her let this clarify things (or maybe make them more complicated).
Every Lily Winters actress, identified
First of all, the most identifiable actress to play Lily Winters is definitely Christel Khalil. The soap legend has been part of the Y&R family for decades on and off, growing from a supporting teen character back in the ’90s to one of the show’s most enduring leading ladies these days. Even so, this being The Young and the Restless, where the rules of reality rarely apply, she hasn’t always occupied the role.
Initially, Lily was played by child actress Vanessa Carlton upon her introduction in 1996, after which Brooke Marie Bridges assumed the part from 1998-2000. Lily was then rested for two years but, as sometimes happens in the wonderful world of soaps, she must’ve stepped into a time warp off-screen as Lily was suddenly a teenager when she returned in 2002. Khalil took over and transformed Lily into a dynamic and popular character until she elected to leave the series in 2005.
Audiences were then asked not to notice when Lily suddenly looked like actress Davetta Sherwood instead. Producers were desperate to get Khalil back, however, and Sherwood quietly vanished from the soap once the original actress triumphantly returned just a year later in 2006. Khalil remained a regular until a brief pay dispute in 2012, causing fans to launch a passionate campaign to get producers to change their minds. A plane bearing a banner demanding her rehiring was even flown over CBS HQ. Sure enough, it worked and re-negotiations came through.
Christel Khalil has remained a permanent fixture on The Young and the Restless ever since. That said, she dipped into a recurring role from 2018-2020 before resuming her regular presence until 2023, when Lily disappeared for a few months as Khalil went on maternity leave. As of March 2024, however, Lily Winters is back and ready to cause trouble in Genoa all over again.