page_title: Eileen Davidson
section_title: Writing and acting
hierarchical_section_title: Eileen Davidson / Career / Writing and acting
caption_attribution_description: 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 co-wrote her first novel with author Robert J. Randisi, a mystery set in the soap opera world titled Death in Daytime, released in October 2008.  She followed it up with three sequels: Dial Emmy for Murder (2009), Diva Las Vegas (2010), and Swinging in the Rain (2011).
  
  In July 2008, Eileen was downgraded to recurring status at The Bold and the Beautiful. She returned to The Young and the Restless full-time as Ashley on September 26, 2008. In 2012, Nelson Branco announced that Sony Pictures Entertainment wanted Davidson on both The Young and the Restless and Days of Our Lives, but that Y&R would not share the actress, leading Sony to terminate her contract with them. Thus, it was announced that Davidson would reprise her role as Kristen Blake DiMera on Days of Our Lives.
  Davidson made a brief appearance on The Young and the Restless in February 2013 for the soap's 40th anniversary. In July 2013, it was announced that Davidson made the decision to leave Days of Our Lives after a year as Kristen. Davidson exited the role on-screen on November 13, 2013. In late November, it was confirmed that Davidson would return for an episode scheduled to air on December 3, 2013.
  On January 28, 2014, it was announced that Davidson would return to the role of Kristen DiMera in the summer of 2014. On May 1, 2014, it was formally announced that Davidson was nominated for a Daytime Emmy Award in the category of Outstanding Lead Actress In A Drama Series for Days of Our Lives. It's her third Daytime Emmy Award nomination, her second for Days. She won the award on June 22, 2014.
  On June 17, 2014, it was announced that Davidson had signed a contract to return to The Young and the Restless. Subsequently, Davidson revealed that her Y&R contract was for two years and that it included a stipulation that she could continue doing Days of Our Lives in the future, as well as having the option of taking a break if work became too hectic. Davidson also joined the cast of the fifth season of Bravo reality television series, The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills. On November 17, 2014, it was announced that Davidson was back on-set of Days of Our Lives, with a stint set to air in spring 2015. On June 12, 2017, it was announced that Davidson would return to Days of Our Lives. She was cast in the Christmas film Middleton Christmas (2020) as Alana D'Angelo, the dean of a prestigious high school.
caption: Davidson at the 2014 Daytime Emmy Awards.
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