Nikki Newman is a fictional character from the American CBS daytime soap opera, The Young and the Restless. Created and introduced by William J. Bell in 1978, the role was originally portrayed by Erica Hope, before Melody Thomas Scott took over in 1979. Initially introduced as a stripper, the character became well known for her relationship with businessman Victor Newman (Eric Braeden), a union that developed into a supercouple pairing that has spanned over three decades. She shares two children with Victor, Victoria (Amelia Heinle) and Nicholas Newman (Joshua Morrow). In 2013, she reveals that she had previously given up a child for adoption, who is later discovered to be Dylan McAvoy (Steve Burton). The character has also had several other notorious relationships, including Paul Williams (Doug Davidson), Jack Abbott (Peter Bergman), and Brad Carlton (Don Diamont). Scott is considered an icon in the soap opera genre.