Michelle Stafford’s 30th Anniversary on The Young and the Restless as Phyllis Summers

On The Young and the Restless, the iconic role of Phyllis Summers is played by actress Michelle Stafford. It’s a role Stafford originated when she made her debut on the show on October 18, 1994.

To commemorate Stafford’s first airdate, there will be a special Phyllis-centric episode of The Young and the Restless exactly 30 years later, on October 18, 2024.

Michelle Stafford’s 30th Anniversary party

On Friday, October 11th, 2024, Michelle Stafford was the honoree at an on-set celebration of her 30th anniversary on The Young and the Restless.

Using the Society set as a backdrop, Michelle laughed and cried as she was honored with speeches from co-stars like Eric Braeden (Victor Newman, Y&R), and Allison Lanier (Summer Newman, Y&R).

Stafford’s children, Natalia and Jameson, were also on hand to watch their mother be celebrated. Joshua Morrow (Nick Newman), Michael Graziadei (Daniel Romalotti), and Bryton James (Devon Hamilton) were some of the many co-stars who attended.

The set was decorated with red balloons (the same as Phyllis’ nickname, “Red”), and cupcakes displayed Phyllis' likeness over the 30 years Stafford has appeared on Y&R. Enlarged posters of Soap Opera Digest covers, as well as other photos of Phyllis with various characters, graced the set.

Sharing with fans of The Young and the Restless

On social media, Michelle Stafford and friends and co-stars from The Young and the Restless, like Christian LeBlanc (Michael Baldwin, Y&R), shared pictures from her celebration.

Although their characters have been foes for decades on the show, Lauralee Bell (Christine Williams, Y&R) posted an Instagram photo of her and Stafford at the celebration. She commented, “Today we celebrated Michelle but I celebrate our real life and working relationship every day!!! Congrats!!! You deserve it all!!” Stafford responded by calling Bell her “sister forever.”

Earlier this year, Stafford won the Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series. In her speech, she thanked executive producer and head writer Josh Griffith for letting her cry during a meeting during a difficult time in her personal life. Stafford later elaborated on Instagram that it was a very human moment with a member of her “work family.”

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“Yes, it’s a workplace, our set. For sure. We’ve all been working together for a long time. It’s a professional environment, but we all really care about each other,” the actress said of Griffith.

Celebratory photos show Stafford moved to tears when Griffith spoke at her tribute party.

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