The Young and the Restless Michelle Stafford Credits Her Sister For Pushing Her Into Acting

What would the land of The Young and the Restless look like without its leading lady, Phyllis Summers? It wouldn’t be as exciting, dramatic, or chaotic as fans would like, right? With that said, the character’s portrayer, Michelle Stafford, is the biggest reason why Red is such a fan favorite.

The actress recently revealed that her sister acted as an inspiration in her acting career.

Michelle Stafford Is Far More Than Phyllis Summers

During her tenure as Phyllis, a role she entered in 1994, Stafford has racked up 13 Daytime Emmy award nominations and snagged the statue twice: once in 1997 in the Outstanding Supporting Actress category, and once in 2004 for Outstanding Lead Actress.

Still, Stafford is far more than just Phyllis, working on prime-time television shows like Tribe, Models Inc., and JAG – just to name a few. In addition, from 2014 to 2019, she played General Hospital’s OG Nina Reeves.

Stafford Gives Thanks To Her Sis

Stafford gave a nod to her sister when it comes to her acting career, during a Q&A session on the Y&R Insider’s YouTube channel. Stafford notes, “I think the reason, really, that I’m an actor is because of my sister.” She adds, “Because my sister loved movies, particularly old movies.

So, she was older, and I couldn’t change the channel back in the day when we changed channels. But she had control of the TV, and so I had to watch it with her.”

Stafford goes on to say, “I learned from these great actors, and I think … I really think that’s the reason. I never answered it like that before, but I think that’s why I’m an actor. And I just always wanted to do it.”

Who knew, right? Thankfully, Stafford’s older sister exposed Michelle to the world of older movies, or else soap viewers may not have enjoyed watching her talents on daytime drama all these years!

Are you a fan of Phyllis (and Michelle Stafford)? Comment below! Check out the CBS soap daily to catch all the drama in Genoa City and visit this site often for the best Young and the Restless updates, news, and spoilers.