page_title: Eileen Davidson
section_title: Early work
hierarchical_section_title: Eileen Davidson / Career / Early work
caption_attribution_description: 2010 Eileen Davidson
context_page_description: Eileen Marie Davidson is an American actress, author, television personality and former model. Davidson is best known for her roles in soap operas as Kristen DiMera on NBC's Days of Our Lives, as well as Ashley Abbott on CBS's The Young and the Restless and The Bold and the Beautiful.
  In 2014, Davidson was awarded a Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series for her role in Days of Our Lives.She was the second actress to win a Daytime Emmy Award in the category of "Lead Actress" for the soap; and in 2018 she won the award again for her role on The Young and the Restless. Davidson also starred in the film The House on Sorority Row, had a leading role in the short-lived CBS crime series Broken Badges, and wrote a number of mystery novels in the 2000s. In 2014, Davidson joined the cast of Bravo reality television series The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills.
context_section_description: Davidson originated the role of Ashley Abbott on The Young and the Restless in March 1982, beating out more than 100 candidates. The character of Ashley became a front-burner character, and Davidson became an integral part of the show. She quit the show in December 1988 and the producers took her recommendation of hiring a look-alike actress named Brenda Epperson Doumani, whom Davidson had discovered waiting tables at a charity function. Davidson also appeared in several films during the 1980s, including a main role in the slasher film The House on Sorority Row (1983),  Easy Wheels (1989), opposite Ted Raimi.
  Davidson then appeared in primetime television, but her show, Broken Badges (1990–1991), was canceled. She returned to daytime when she assumed the role of Kelly Capwell on Santa Barbara from November 1991 until the soap's cancelation in January 1993. She next appeared as Kristen Blake on Days of Our Lives beginning in May 1993. As originally conceived, Kristen was a heroine, who had an Achilles' heel in that the show's supervillain, Stefano, had raised her after the death of her parents. James E. Reilly, who assumed head writing reins in 1993, began to make Kristen more of a villainess. Reilly eventually developed an outrageous second role for Davidson, having her play Susan Banks, a Kristen look-alike. Reilly eventually penned three more roles for Davidson (Sister Mary Moira, Thomas, and Penelope). Her character, Kristen, intended to keep her other character, Susan, prisoner on an island, but Susan ultimately prevailed and Kristen remained on the island until she returned to Salem in 2012. All other related characters were last seen in May 1998. Davidson's five roles earned her a Daytime Emmy nomination for Outstanding Lead Actress in 1998.
  After a year-long vacation from acting, she returned to her role on The Young and the Restless in March 1999. After a successful return as Ashley Abbott, which included Davidson's second Daytime Emmy nomination for Outstanding Lead Actress, Davidson was fired from the show. In December 2006, Davidson told TV Guide that she was fired from The Young and the Restless due to lack of storyline. Her last airdate as Ashley was January 11, 2007. According to co-star Melody Thomas Scott, the firing was protested behind the scenes of The Young and the Restless and was seen as unfair. Scott said: "That was so heartbreaking. We're still upset about that. That was a blow. Terrible. Eileen Davidson was such a part of the core of the show and such a brilliant actress; beautiful and always prepared. It was crazy. I'm not the only one who feels that way." In a surprise move a few months later, Davidson signed a three-year contract with The Young and the Restless's sister soap The Bold and the Beautiful to once again play her The Young and the Restless character Ashley Abbott at the request of The Bold and the Beautiful executive producer Bradley Bell. She first aired on March 9, 2007. Ken Corday called Davidson about a week before she was fired from The Young and the Restless to get permission to use a picture of her on Days of Our Lives. The picture, which featured Davidson as Susan, was shown in December 2006.
  After she was fired from The Young and the Restless but before being cast in The Bold and the Beautiful, her niece Devon Martt, a fashion designer, approached her about designing clothes together.
caption: Davidson in 2010
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