Dominique Deveraux

**Dominique Deveraux**, born **Millie Cox** (previously **Colby**), is a main character on The CW's *Dynasty*. She is portrayed by Michael Michele.

The matriarch of the Colby family and half-sister of Blake Carrington, Dominique is a fabulously elegant, self-made woman, known for her outrageous fashion sense and penchant for drama. Dominique returns to Atlanta after a long stint in New York City where she spent the past decade seeking fame and adulation... to no avail. Now Dominique is home to reconnect with her estranged children, but both the Carringtons and the Colbys remain suspicious of her true motives, Jeff and Monica dreading their mother disappointing them all over again.

Dominique's determination for fame and fortune come at the expense of her children's trust, including that of her secret stepdaughter Vanessa, who Dominique grooms to achieve the stardom that she never could. Further estrangement from her children and the sudden death of her mother cause Dominique to self-reflect and finally rediscover the maternal instinct that she lost long ago. This, in turn, opens the door to a new career path in the fashion industry and, with Jeff's backing, puts her at the helm of her own successful company, *Dom-Mystique*.

## Biography

### Early Life

Dominique has everything to become a celebrity - talent, looks, and numerous secrets.
The mother of Jeff and Monica, she spent ten years estranged from children after walking out on them and her husband, Cecil Colby, who was convinced that she had been having an affair with Blake Carrington. This caused Cecil to act out and attempt to murder Blake, which led to his sentencing of ten years in prison.

It was later revealed that Blake was never sleeping with Dominique and was protecting a family secret. This is further explained by Alexis when she reveals that Tom Carrington had an affair with Dominique's mother which led to a pregnancy. This makes Dominique the daughter of Tom Carrington, the half-sister of Blake Carrington, and her children cousins to the Carringtons.

### Season 2

Jeff leaves a message for his mother, and invites her to Atlanta for a reunion. Monica, still furious over their mother's abandonment, calls Dominique and threatens a confrontation if she gets on the plane Jeff sent. Jeff is dejected when their mother does not come, or even call.

Dominique later reappears as Jeff recovers at home. She and Monica clash over Dominique's abandonment, and though Dominique is apologetic, she asserts that Jeff and Monica were better off being raised by their grandmother. Dominique confesses that she has been lying about having a successful career, and Jeff writes his mother a check for $1 million as a trap to see if she only came back for money. Jeff and Monica catch Dominique trying to leave, but she has thrown the check in the trash. Dominique takes a secret phone call, revealing that she is manipulating Jeff and Monica, and that she has other children in New York.

Dominique visits Blake, who has been paying her for years to keep secret the fact that she is his half-sister. The payments have recently stopped, and Dominique wants what she is owed. Blake says she can have her money when she gets Jeff off his back.

Jeff and Dominique stage a crime scene with Jeff's blood and Adam Carrington's cufflink to make it look like Adam murdered Jeff, who leaves the country. Dominique, however, removes the cufflink and calls Blake to confirm that his payments to her will resume now that Jeff is out of the way.

### Season 3

Dominique uses the press surrounding Jeff's disappearance and the Carrington Foundation Fundraiser as her reintroduction to Atlanta society. Dominique makes an enemy out of Blake's fiancée Cristal, sending a journalist to investigate the Flores family as part of her plan to take control of the Carringtons' dynasty.

Monica grows impatient with the pacing of Jeff's investigation and both she and a recently returned Jeff discover Dominique sabotaged their plan for Blake. Feeling betrayed, Jeff kicks Dominique out of his home.

Dominique works to earn Jeff and Monica's forgiveness, agreeing to help sabotage Blake's winery, his last remaining business since being imprisoned. Though she initially spoils the wine, she later takes credit for a gas explosion that blinds Adam.

Dominique's stepdaughter Vanessa Deveraux arrives in Atlanta to the former's dismay, not ready to include Vanessa in her master plan. Dominique uses the grand re-opening of the hotel La Mirage as a time to bond with Jeff as well as get Vanessa recognition as a performer. Dominique and Vanessa drug the artist Ashanti, who was scheduled to perform, and Vanessa sings in her place.

Dominique works on getting Vanessa signed to Fallon and Monica's record label while Vanessa develops a relationship with Michael Culhane. However, Vanessa accidentally lets it slip that Dominique is also her stepmother. Michael confronts Dominique, demanding she tell Jeff and Monica the truth about Vanessa, but Dominique blackmails Michael into silence after making a deal with Blake to stop the monthly payments in exchange for information. However, Vanessa goes against Dominique's wishes and tells Monica the truth at Thanksgiving dinner. Dominique works to make amends with her children yet again, but while Jeff has made his peace with Dominique's continuous antics, Monica decides to take an indefinite trip to New York. She invites Vanessa to go with her, who accepts the offer, leaving their mother alone. Dominique is stunned to see Alexis Carrington return to testify at Blake's trial, now married to Jeff.

Dominique warns Jeff against Alexis, but Jeff swears allegiance to his new wife. Dominique revels in Alexis' failure to get Blake convicted of murder and exaggerates a fall and neck injury when Alexis pushes her. She later announces she's going back to New York for the time being.

Dominique later returns to Atlanta, wanting to stay with Jeff, who turns her away. She runs into Michael at a bar where she gets him drunk and the two have sex. However, Michael later reveals that Vanessa is back in town and the two are back together, begging Dominique to keep their one night stand a secret. Dominique, meanwhile, assists Blake in breaking into Jeff's office in order to get information on the re-sale of Carrington Atlantic, demanding something big in return. Once Blake gets what he wants, Dominique moves into Carrington manor.

Blake and Cristal are dismayed with having to live with Dominique for the next year, who later pitches a reality show - *House of Deveraux* - about herself and Vanessa set in the manor. The producer is more interested in the immediate Carringtons, so Dominique works to put together a sizzle reel with Cristal, leading to her discovery of Cristal potentially having an affair.

Dominique confronts Cristal, agreeing to keep quiet in exchange for Vanessa also getting to live in the manor. Dominique closes the deal on the reality show by leaking a recording of her and Michael having sex, resulting in a dramatic confrontation between her and Vanessa at Fallon and Liam's engagement party.

Dominique works with Vanessa to get Michael to join *House of Deveraux*. He agrees to shoot a few scenes as a peace offering to Vanessa, but once officially getting him on board, the two women celebrate Vanessa manipulating him. The manipulation continues when Dominique insists on a huge birthday celebration for Michael at La Mirage. Anders later obtains video evidence of Dominique and Vanessa conspiring in private, which he shows to Michael. Dominique, Vanessa, and Michael get together to discuss deals for a second season of House of Deveraux, but when Dominique receives a better offer elsewhere, she provides a long list of demands for the network. House of Deveraux is cancelled, and Dominique and Vanessa come to learn that Michael played them and that there was never a better offer. With the reality show cancelled, Vanessa fires Dominique as her manager, leaving her with nothing.

### Season 4

Dominique meets with her business partner Barbara to discuss her new sleepwear line, only to learn that Barbara is pulling investment due to the cancelation of *House of Deveraux*. Dominique offers to scrape together 25% but Barbara wants double, leaving Dominique with three days to gather the funds before production begins. She leaves her proposal with Blake, but even if he wanted to help, his finances are tied up. Dominique then condemns Blake for the privileges he was granted by their father that she was long deprived of, implying that their roles could have been reversed had Thomas chosen differently. Dominique later makes her pitch to Fallon, who declines, so before the toast of her rehearsal dinner, Dominique pockets Fallon's "something old", a clock belonging to *her* aunt Lily. Just as she's leaving, however, Dominique runs into Jeff and her purse starts to ring. Jeff criticizes his mother's short-sighted attempts to get rich and has the clock returned. Dominique then visits her own mother, who she has not spoken to since she learned her paternity. Dominique apologizes to Lo, who gives her a key left by Thomas' attorney to a safety deposit box. Lo hopes that whatever the box contains may help her heal, but she insists Dominique must repair her relationships with her mother and children. ("That Unfortunate Dinner")

As it turns out, the safety deposit box contains a deed for all mineral rights underneath Carrington Manor. Dominique brings this to Blake, offering to sell him the mineral rights as she does not have the time or money to excavate the land. Blake passes, having never heard of *his* father splitting property rights or leaving Dominique anything. She believes Blake is making a mistake, and later discovers that he lost ownership of the manor to Alexis. Dominique approaches her new landlord and once again reveals that she possesses the mineral rights to the entire manor property. While Alexis may own everything above ground, Dominique owns everything beneath... unless she sells the rights to Blake, who she thinks would be interested in buying now. Alexis admits she may not be able to compete with his offer, Dominique thinks they can make arrangements so long as they keep it between them. From there, they conspire to get Jeff's financial backing; however, Dominique's involvement is hidden from her son. ("Vows Are Still Sacred")

Dominique questions Alexis' loyalty when she returns late from a meeting with Jeff, suspecting that Alexis already regrets her pending divorce. They discuss the logistics behind the excavation process and convincing Jeff to split the fortune three ways instead of two, still in the dark about his mother holding the mineral rights. Alexis says she is holding a small press event for the ground breaking ceremony to launch her new diamond empire, but Dominique threatens to shut it all down before letting Alexis steal the spotlight.

The backyard honeymoon is sourly interrupted by Alexis’ ground breaking ceremony. That isn’t the only interruption, though, because Jeff has come to rain on Alexis’ parade. He knows that “Bob” isn’t actually her cousin and even found out his real identity. He wants her to tell him who the third partner is. Suddenly, Dominique steps up and claims it’s her. Jeff tells Alexis he can’t trust her anymore and pulls his money out of the company.

Later,Dominique and Alexis are carrying out a toast. Jeff walks in and immediately argues with Alexis for not signing the divorce papers. He knows she just wanted more money and then goes after Dominique for choosing sides. Jeff says that neither of them are getting any of his money, and Alexis claims it’s going to get ugly. Jeff claims that as long as they’re still married, he owns half of the manor and he plans on moving in until everything is settled.

Dominique is present when Alexis and Jeff create havoc and which causes Fallon to lose the interview she desperately needed.
Jeff confronts Dominique for choosing Alexis over her own family. He says the Carringtons have always come first but Dominique notes that Jeff was equally obsessed. Jeff says he’s giving Alexis the money she needs, and he’s leaving.

## Personality

Dominique is an extremely selfish and narcissistic person. Time and again, she has put herself and her own needs and wants above those of her children and her loved ones. She lacks a maternal instinct and typically only uses her children's ailments as a stepping stone in a larger plot. She is highly intelligent and capable of seeing the long-game and can think multiple steps ahead. She is cunning, diabolical, and witty. In sum, she can be the life of the party or the one who brings it down.

## Trivia

* On May 17, 2018, The CW released a press release that confirmed Dominique Deveraux would appear in the second season. However, the synopsis contains an error, listing the character as Blake's "stepsister" rather than his "half-sister."
* The title of Dominique's debut episode, "New Lady in Town," is the same for both the *Dynasty* reboot and the 1980s iteration of the character.
* According to Monica, "Dominique Deveraux" is Millie's stage name. ("New Lady in Town")
* When asked by a fan to describe Dominique in one word over Instagram Live, Michael Michele said "purposeful" and, as a close second, "fierce."
* Dominique is Daniella Alonso's (Cristal Carrington) favorite character and who she would play if she could play any other character on the show.
* According to writer Liz Sczudlo, Dominique's husband Brady is not the father of her stepdaughter Vanessa; Dominique met Vanessa's father a year or two after Brady left her, thus her marriage to Vanessa's father was legally invalid.
* Dominique's fans call themselves the "Dominos." ("Mind Your Own Business")

## Gallery

* Designing Dynasty
* Season 2
* Season 3
* Season 4
* Season 5

In Jeff's Dream

## References

1. ↑ In "Dead Scratch", it's revealed that Thomas' father founded Carrington Atlantic. In "Vows Are Still Sacred" it's revealed that he was married four times.
2. ↑ In "Let's Start Over Again", Blake reveals that his Nana Carrington was an alcoholic who drove her car into a lake.
3. ↑ In "Vows Are Still Sacred", her aunt Lilly's clock, a priceless family heirloom, is used as Fallon's "something old" for her wedding to Liam.
4. ↑ The events of Our Turn Now
5. ↑ The events of A Line From the Past.
6. ↑ The Sight of You. *Dynasty*. Season 2. Episode 11. The CW.
7. ↑ New Lady in Town. *Dynasty*. Season 2. Episode 20. The CW.
8. ↑ Thicker Than Money. *Dynasty*. Season 2. Episode 21. The CW.
9. ↑ Deception, Jealousy, and Lies. *Dynasty*. Season 2. Episode 22. The CW.
10. ↑ Guilt Trip to Alaska. *Dynasty*. Season 3. Episode 1. The CW.
11. ↑ Wild Ghost Chase. *Dynasty*. Season 3. Episode 3. The CW.
12. ↑ Something Desperate. *Dynasty*. Season 3. Episode 4. The CW.
13. ↑ Mother? I'm at La Mirage. *Dynasty*. Season 3. Episode 5. The CW.
14. ↑ Shoot From the Hip. *Dynasty*. Season 3. Episode 7. The CW.
15. ↑ The Sensational Blake Carrington Trial. *Dynasty*. Season 3. Episode 8. The CW.
16. ↑ The Caviar, I Trust, Is Not Burned. *Dynasty*. Season 3. Episode 9. The CW.
17. ↑ Battle Lines. *Dynasty*. Season 3. Episode 12. The CW.
18. ↑ You See Most Things in Terms of Black & White. *Dynasty*. Season 3. Episode 13. The CW.
19. ↑ That Wicked Stepmother. *Dynasty*. Season 3. Episode 14. The CW.
20. ↑ Up A Tree. *Dynasty*. Season 3. Episode 15. The CW.
21. ↑ She Cancelled.... *Dynasty*. Season 3. Episode 17. The CW.
22. ↑ Robin Hood Rescues. *Dynasty*. Season 3. Episode 19. The CW.
23. ↑ This page uses Creative Commons Licensed content from Wikipedia (view authors).
24. ↑ The Aftermath. *Dynasty*. Season 4. Episode 3. The CW.
25. ↑ Everybody Loves The Carringtons. *Dynasty*. Season 4. Episode 4. The CW.
26. ↑ The CW Network Announces New Six-Night Primetime Schedule for 2018-19 by *The Futon Critic* (May 17, 2018)
27. ↑ https://twitter.com/lizsczudlo/status/1442579903069573121