Drucilla Winters

Drucilla Winters
The Young and the Restless character
File:VictoriaRowellL.jpg Victoria Rowell as Drucilla Winters
Portrayed by	Victoria Rowell
First appearance	1990
Last appearance	April 5, 2007 (Canada) April 6, 2007 (U.S.)
Created by	William J. Bell
In-universe information Occupation Director of Newman Enterprises Consolidated Cosmetics Division Former Supermodel Parents Walter Barber (father) Lillie Belle Johnson-Barber (mother) Siblings Olivia Hastings (sister Spouse Neil Winters (divorced, first time) Neil Winters (current, second time) Children Lily Winters Romalotti (daughter, with Malcolm Winters, adopted by Neil) Devon Hamilton (adopted son with Neil) Aunts and uncles Mamie Johnson (aunt) Other relatives Nathan 'Nate' Oliver Hastings Jr. (nephew)

Drucilla Winters (née Barber) is a fictional character that appeared on the CBS soap opera The Young and the Restless. Victoria Rowell portrayed the character from 1990 to 2007 (she departed the show in 1998, returned in 2000 and then returned again in 2002). She was temporarily replaced by Dawn McMillan in 1996 and by Kent Masters King in 2000.

Character biography

Drucilla "Dru" Barber ran away from home as a teenager, due to her problematic relationship with her mother and went to stay with her aunt Mamie Johnson (played by Veronica Redd) who was a housekeeper for John Abbott, Sr. In so doing, she sacrificed her opportunity for a promising career as a ballerina. Drucilla was illiterate, but was taught to read by private detective Nathan Hastings, who would later marry and father a child by Dru's successful physician sister Olivia. Drucilla eventually married Neil Winters (Kristoff St. John), but only after many trials and mistakes. One such misstep, was posing nude for Sensuality magazine, though Jill Abbott (Jess Walton) discovered and destroyed the film. Over time, Dru eventually evolved into a glamorous model. Dru's marriage to Neil ultimately collapsed because her desire for a career clashed with his desire for a wife who stayed home. However, they remarried in Japan in 2003.

Paternity storyline

One of Y&R's major plot elements over the past decade has been the mystery surrounding paternity of Dru's daughter, Lily (Christel Khalil). Dru, who was incapacitated due to medication, had sex with Neil's brother, Malcolm (Shemar Moore) nine months before Lily was born. Dru and Malcolm agreed to keep this incident a secret from Neil, and decided against a paternity test. In 2004, a presumed dead Malcolm returned to Genoa City with a new outlook on life, and after forcing Dru to submit to the paternity test, he was revealed as Lily's biological father.In early 2006, Lily (then played by Davetta Sherwood) and Neil learned the truth.

Carmen Mesta Fiasco

Neil wondered if he would ever be able to forgive Dru for her betrayal, and began a flirtation with Carmen Mesta (Marisa Ramirez). Drucilla showed up at an important Newman function, got drunk and made a fool of herself, slandering Carmen Mesta in front of eveyrone. She later lied to the maid at the Genoa City Athletic Club and used scissors to ruin many of Carmen Mesta's expensive clothes. Drucilla attacked Carmen in the offices at Newman Enterprises. The entire attack was caught on a video tape found by Phyllis Newman (Michelle Stafford), who gave a copy to Carmen. After Carmen gave copies of the tape to the district attorney and her former lover David Chow (Vincent Irizarry), Victoria Newman (Amelia Heinle) was forced to fire Drucilla. Dru was arrested, and though Neil was very much attracted to Carmen, he ended their relationship to focus on the family's problems Drucilla caused. Dru ended up receiving probation for her crimes, and court ordered therapy.

Dru's attention shifted to focus on Indigo, a night club she and Neil were opening. The night it opened, Carmen was murdered and her body was discovered behind the club. Dru's adopted son Devon Hamilton (Bryton) was arrested for the crime, and Drucilla's sanity crumbled as she began to see Carmen around town. Drucilla became convinced that Carmen was still alive, and after accidentally injuring her daughter, Neil had her voluntarily committed to a mental hospital. After Devon was cleared of all charges, it was revealed that Carmen's former lover David and her look alike cousin Ines were responsible for the hauntings that sent Dru over the edge and Crimson Lights worker Jana Hawkes (Emily O'Brien) was responsible for Carmen's death.

Things were looking up for the family, as Neil received a promotion to the board of directors at Newman Enterprises, Drucilla regained her job, and Lily and Devon received high marks in their college courses. After Sharon Newman (Sharon Case) asked Dru to be her maid of honor at her upcoming wedding to Jack Abbott (Peter Bergman), Dru accompanied her and their mutual enemy Phyllis to a cliff side photo shoot for NVP. When Phyllis threatened to use her cell phone to reveal Sharon's affair with Brad Carlton (Don Diamont) to their friends and family, Drucilla reached for Phyllis' cell phone, and Phyllis caused Sharon and Drucilla to fall into the water below. As Lily and her husband, Phyllis' son Daniel (Michael Graziadei) looked on, Phyllis fell back to the ground with her phone in hand. However, Drucilla fell over the cliff to her apparent death. A nearly dead Sharon, who fell from the cliff with her, was eventually pulled from the freezing water, and was taken to the hospital to recover. After search and rescue found Drucilla's jacket, the police reclassified the rescue attempt to a recovery operation searching for Dru's body. Drucilla died from the fall from the cliff. Her body was never recovered, and on April 6, 2007, she was presumed dead.

External links

• Victoria Rowell's Official Site