‘The Young And The Restless’ (Y&R) News: Who Almost Replaced Michelle Stafford As Phyllis Newman?

Michelle Stafford is an iconic “The Young and the Restless” soap opera stars. She won five Emmy awards for her performance in the daytime drama and was nominated dozens of times. No one portrayed Phyllis Summers like her, and she made the character hers by her constant acting abilities. There was a time in 1997, she decided to exit the soap to peruse a prime-time show and left the show for three years only to return three years later. Soap Opera Weekly posted the throwback article on Friday with the details about who could replace her as Phyllis on the show. Below are a few of Soap Opera Spy’s favorite contenders for the role.

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Jamie Luner was considered for the role of Phyllis. She was a natural red-head and full of spunk. She was a contract character on the soap, “Savannah,” and with tanking ratings she could be looking forward to jumping ship.

Robin Christopher was an experienced soap opera queen. She had a tremendous amount of talent, a great sex appeal, and could cry at the drop of a hat. She seemed like the ideal Phyllis at first glance, in the end the producers were not convinced that she could pull it off.

Marcia Cross was a prime-time soap opera queen. She was a few years older than Phyllis, but she could have pulled off the look. She could have brought an intellectual edge to Phyllis’ sexy persona. The producers felt the Cross looked older than they saw her.

Jessica Tuck wasn’t the look the show was going for. She clearly didn’t have Michelle Stafford’s body- but then again, who does? She was and is an amazing actress and could have been a great Phyllis.

In the end, the hit CBS daytime drama selected Sandra Nelson for the part. She portrayed Phyllis Summers from 1997 to 1999. She left the show in time for Michelle Stafford to return and reprise her role on “The Young and the Restless” in 2000.

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Do you remember when Sandra Nelson was Phyllis? Do you remember when Michelle Stafford played both Phyllis and Sheila Carter (Kimberlin Brown) in 2006-2007?

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