‘The Young and the Restless’ (Y&R) spoilers reveal that Melody Thomas Scott has played Nikki Newman, formerly Nikki Reed, on the soap since 1979. Erica Hope first played the role.
‘The Young and The Restless’ Spoilers: Eric Braeden And Lauralee Bell Presented Melody With The Award
On the June 7th Daytime Emmys, Scott won a Lifetime Achievement Award for playing the iconic character who has made a lasting impact on the show.
Her co-stars, Eric Braeden (Victor Newman) and Lauralee Bell (Christine Blair), presented her with the award. She was honored onstage by her husband, Edward J. Scott, the executive producer of Y&R. Melody and Ed Scott have been married since 1985. They share three daughters and five grandchildren.
Nikki was introduced as a prostitute and stripper. She came on the show with her sister, Casey Reed (Roberta Leighton). Nikki’s father, Nick Reed (Quinn Redeker), was abusive, and she killed him one night after he tried to rape her.
She met business tycoon and sort of villain Victor Newman at the Bayou while working as a stripper at the Bayou. Victor was intrigued by her and brought her home.
In a storyline fit for the movie, “Pretty Woman,” Victor recognizes her potential and turns her into a classy young lady.
The super couple first wed in 1984, and they had a little girl named Victoria (after Victor) in 1982. Between 1982 and 1990, before Victoria rapidly aged like many children on soaps, she was played by the adorable Ashley Nicole Millan.
Ashley Abbot (Eileen Davidson) came between Victor and Nikki, resulting in their divorce. Victor and Nikki’s son was conceived when they slept together. They were in the middle of a divorce at the time. Nicholas Newman (named after Nikki) (Marco and Stefan Flores) was born in 1988.
‘The Young and The Restless’ Spoilers: Melody Found Her Family And Home With Y&R
Nikki married Jack Abbott (Peter Bergman), and he stood by her when she became an alcoholic and addicted to pain pills, but their marriage could not survive her miscarriage.
Nikki’s hopes of reuniting with Victor were dashed after he wed a blind farm woman named Hope Adams (Signy Coleman). Throughout the years, Victor and Nikki have been on again/off again. They have been married three times and reunited even more times. The couple has remained one of the most popular in daytime drama history.
Recently, Nikki’s battle with alcohol resurfaced after Nikki was given an IV of alcohol by a crazy woman named Jordan Howard (shockingly played by the 1980s soap beauty from As the World Turns, Colleen Zenk). Throughout all of Nikki’s struggles, her strength and fortitude have kept her going.
Going from stripper to heroin to Newman family matriarch has been quite the evolution. Melody Thomas Scott has convincingly played Nikki Newman throughout each new era without missing a beat.
‘The Young and The Restless’ Spoilers Too Many Men So Little Time
Interwoven with her life with Victor are several marriages to:
- Greg Foster – brother of Jill Foster-Abbot, from 1979-1981; this was too boring for Nikki, so she divorced Greg and rekindled her romance with her boyfriend Paul Williams.
- Kevin Bancroft – a wealthy young man – was instigated by Victor from 1982-1983; Kevin’s mother divorced again because Victoria was born and was Victor’s daughter.
- Victor Newman – Nikki’s one true love, their marriage has lasted from 1984 to the present but on again, off again.
- Jack Abbott – Victor’s nemesis and owner of Jabot Cosmetics – from 1990-1994 – the love was there and still is today; however, Victor’s interference took its toll on the marriage.
- Joshua Landers – Nikki’s GYN – from 1996 – 1998, his wife was supposedly deceased, and when she attempted to reunite and he refused, she murdered him.
- David Chow – Nikki’s campaign manager when she ran for the Senate in 2008 for a very short time. He was a black widower who married rich women and then killed them; he ended up dead.
- Deacon Sharpe – A conniving beast who blackmailed Nikki into marriage because he saw Nikki kill (supposedly) Diane Jenkins.
That is many men – but she always comes back to Victor!
Melody said in her acceptance speech,
“A lot of people have been talking about family tonight on this stage,” Melody exclaimed. “And growing up, this Hollywood kid was family challenged. When I was cast on Y&R 45 years ago, I walked on stage 41 at TV City and knew I was finally home with a family that had been waiting for me all along.”
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