Jill Foster Abbot Through the Years – The Actresses Who Brought Her to Life on Y&R – Vote For Your Favourite (POLL)

Love or hate her, you have to admire Jill Abbott for pulling herself up by the bootstraps. She went from manicurist to mogul with a lot of personal speed bumps along the way. Jill is the longest running character on the Young and the Restless and has been a force to be reckoned with since she started on the very first episode of the CBS soap back in March 1973. Here’s a look at the half dozen actresses who have brought Jill’s character to life and made us root for her, laugh and cry with her over the more than 40 years she’s been on screen.

Brenda Dickson

Brenda pioneered the role of Jill Abbott as a young manicurist working hard to support her family. Dickson is a former Miss California who performed with the USO and toured with Bob Hope prior to her acting launch on the Y&R soap. She enjoyed great popularity on the show and played the role from 1973 through 1980 then from 1983 to 87. Dickson was abruptly fired in 1987 and filed a $10 million lawsuit against CBS and demanded that she be given her job back. In the suit, she alleged that she and show runner William Bell had a secret affair for years and that he ruined her career when the passion fizzled. Dickson also said that Bell had blacklisted her in Hollywood leaving her without prospects, penniless and homeless. There may be some truth to the rumor since, although she is a highly trained and accomplished actress, she hasn’t work since she was fired from the soap.

Bond Gideon

Bond played Jill Abbott for a single episode in 1980. She’s a Corpus Christi, Texas native who appeared on the 1970s half-hour comedy series Blansky’s Beauties and as Lt Claire Reid on Operation Petticoat, a show about females assigned to duty on a Navy submarine. Since her Y&R appearance in 1980, Bond has had no future acting work, according to IMDB.

Deborah Adair

Deborah portrayed Jill Abbott from 1980 to 1983 then again in 1986. She was born in Lynchburg, Virginia and graduated from University of Washington in Seattle with a degree in marketing. She worked briefly in advertising, as a waitress and an airline stewardess before she got her big break on Y&R as Jill Abbott. She played Jill for three years then left to pursue opportunities on a number of Aaron Spelling productions including Dynasty, Matt Houston, Finders of Lost Loves, The Love Boat and Melrose Place. Y&R producers talked her into reprising the role in 1986 for a seven episode stint when there was on-set strife with Brenda Dickson. Deborah’s final career role was from 1993 through 1995 as Kate Roberts Reed on Days of Our Lives. She retired from acting to be a full-time mom to her two adopted children.

Melinda O. Fee

LA native Melinda played Jill Abbott in 1984 when she stepped in as a temporary replacement for the troubled Brenda Dickson. By the time Fee stepped onto the Y&R set, she was already a seasoned actress who had appeared on Guiding Light, Days of Our Lives and enjoyed brief roles on classic 70s shows including My Favorite Martian, I Dream of Jeannie, Lost in Space, Mannix and Love American Style. After her brief stint on Y&R, she continued her career with stints on The Bionic Woman, CHiPS, Knight Rider, Cagney & Lacey, Matlock and Beverly Hills 90210. Her last acting role was playing a madam in 1991 movie California Casanova.

Judith Chapman

Judith’s Y&R history is very interesting. The Greenville, South Carolina born actress subbed in briefly for Jess Walton in 1994 playing Jill Abbot then came back a decade later in 2005 to take over the role of Gloria Fisher Abbott who is a frenemy of Jill and on and off again rival. Prior to her initial role playing Jill Abbott on the Young and the Restless, Judith had small roles on the soaps As the World Turns, One Life to Live, General Hospital, Days of Our Lives and Ryan’s Hope. She also appeared on a number of hit shows of the 70s and 80s in guest roles including Fantasy Island, Kojak, Barnaby Jones, The Incredible Hulk, Magnum PI and The Love Boat. She also had featured recurring roles on The Fall Guy, Murder She Wrote and Silk Stalkings. Judith took on the role of Gloria Fisher Abbott in 2005 and continues in that role.

Jess Walton

Jess took on the role of Jill Abbott in 1987 and, except for a brief hiatus, has played the role winningly ever since. Jess was born in Grand Rapids, Michigan but was raised in Toronto, Canada and her first job was working at a hospital. Jess began her acting career at age 20 with a role on The Guns of Will Sonnett. She landed small roles on many 70s TV series including Kojak, Ironside, Marcus Welby MD, The Rockford Files, Gunsmoke and Starsky and Hutch.  From 1984-1987 Jess played Kelly Harper on the soap Capitol.  In 1980, Jess landed in rehab for drug and alcohol addiction. She cleaned up her act, married John James and they had son Cole James in 1981. Jess has been the predominate actress for the role of Jill Abbott over a span of 28 years and continues in the role to this day.

Are you a long-time Young and the Restless fan? If so, you may have seen all of these actresses step into the role of Jill Abbot? Which was your favorite Jill?