Katherine Chancellor
| Katherine Chancellor | |||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Young and the Restless character | |||||||||||||||||
| File:Jeanne CooperCBS.jpg Jeanne Cooper as Katherine Chancellor (2007) | |||||||||||||||||
| Portrayed by | Jeanne Cooper | ||||||||||||||||
| First appearance | November 1973 | ||||||||||||||||
| Created by | William J. Bell | ||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||
Katherine Chancellor (née Shepherd; formerly Reynolds, Thurston, and Sterling) is a fictional character on the CBS daytime soap opera The Young and the Restless portrayed since 1973 by actress Jeanne Cooper. Much of her history on the series revolves around her long-running conflict with her former paid companion, Jill Foster Abbott (portrayed primarily by Brenda Dickson and Jess Walton). Their feud is one of the longest rivalries on any American soap opera.
Character
The character of Katherine Chancellor was introduced in the fall of 1973, several months after The Young and the Restless premièred that March. Show co-creator William J. Bell was disappointed with the weak ratings, and thus hired veteran actress Jeanne Cooper as a quick fix to add some controversy to the program.[1]
Katherine (Kay to her closest friends, Mrs. C to her long-time maid Esther Valentine and Amber Moore) is a wealthy pillar of the Genoa City community. She owns Chancellor Industries and, through that, also owns Jabot Cosmetics. Katherine's net worth was estimated to be between 1 and 1.5 billion dollars as of November 2008. She is widely considered the grande dame and matriarch of Genoa City.
Katherine has two children:
- Brock Reynolds (Beau Kazer) is Katherine's elder child and only son, with her first husband Gary Reynolds. Brock was briefly married to his half-sister, Jill, when they didn't know they were brother and sister (the marriage was never consummated).
- Jill Foster Abbott (Jess Walton) is Katherine's younger child and only daughter with ex-flame (and best friend of Gary Reynolds) Arthur Hendricks. Jill has two children--Ethan "Cane" Ashby (the real Phillip Chancellor III) and William "Billy" Abbott. Jill and Katherine have spent most of their time on the show feuding with each other.
Katherine also has four grandchildren:
- Mackenzie Browning(Clementine Ford) is the only child of Brock Reynolds and Amanda Browning. She is currently living in New Orleans with her father.
- Ethan "Cane" Ashby (Daniel Goddard), born Phillip Chancellor III, is the son of Jill and Phillip Chancellor II. He was switched with another baby shortly after his birth by Katherine and a woman named Violet, whom she met at a bar. For many years this fact was kept secret, until the memory tortured Katherine into a confession. He spent most of his life in Australia before moving to Genoa City in search of his biological mother. The first person to deduce Cane's true identity was Amber Moore, followed quickly by others. Cane now works in the family business at Chancellor Industries.
- William "Billy" Foster Abbott (Billy Miller) is the only son of Jill and the late John Abbott. Billy just recently moved back to Genoa City. He once married his cousin Mackenzie, shortly before they found out they were cousins, and subsequently had the marriage annulled.
- Phillip Chancellor III Phillip the III is Katherine's adopted deceased Grandson and the father of Phillip the IV.
Katherine also has two great-grandchildren:
- Phillip Chancellor IV Son of Phillip Chancellor III and Nina Webster.
- Cordelia Katherine Valentine Ashby Daughter of Billy Abbott and Chloe Mitchell born Feb. 14, 2009 (on-screen day Feb. 16).
Katherine Chancellor vs. Jill Foster Abbott
Katherine's rivalry with Jill Foster Abbott has been a key plot element since the 1970s, when Jill had an affair with Katherine's then-husband, Phillip Chancellor II (Donnelly Rhodes), resulting in Jill becoming pregnant with his son. Phillip subsequently died from injuries related to a car crash caused by a drunken Katherine (she was presumed dead but was then found to be alive in the crash); however, he married Jill on his deathbed. After Phillip's death, Katherine moved to have Phillip's marriage to Jill declared invalid (Katherine had been drunk when she signed divorce papers), putting Jill and Katherine at odds from that moment on. After years of torment from Katherine, Jill turned the tables on her in July 1998 when she discovered a letter penned by the now-deceased Phillip, naming Jill as the sole owner of the Chancellor Estate. Jill evicted Katherine, who then found a legal loophole which resulted in Katherine and Jill being forced to live at the Estate together.
Other Romances
Phillip Chancellor II was not Katherine's only husband, and he certainly wasn't her only lover over the years...he also wasn't the only man Katherine and Jill were in competition over. As part of one of her more devious schemes, Jill hired a conman named Brian Romalotti (the father of Danny Romalotti and Gina Roma), who she dressed up as a wealthy man and rechristened "Rex Sterling". Jill's plan backfired, though, and Katherine and Rex eventually fell in love for real. Unfortunately, their romance ended tragically when Rex spooked a prowler in the middle of the night and was subsequently shot. There was also Gary Reynolds, Katherine's first husband. She has spoken of him very little over the years. Other than the fact that he is Brock's father, and that they spent a year apart near the end of their rocky marriage, little is known about Gary. Judge Arthur Hendricks was Gary Reynold's best friend, and the man with whom Katherine conducted an affair during her time apart from Brock's father. Arthur, as we would learn in 2003, would connect Katherine and Jill in a way that none other could...and neither woman would even know it for many years.
Mother and Daughter
Katherine and Jill were mortified when, in 2003, they discovered that they were in fact mother and daughter. While her then-husband, Gary Reynolds, was spending time overseas with their son Brock, Katherine had an affair with Gary's best friend, a local judge named Arthur Hendricks. Shortly before Gary returned, Katherine gave birth to Jill and handed her over to a friend from school named Charlotte Ramsey, with instructions to give her up for adoption. Unfortunately, Charlotte was unable to drop the baby off as planned, and was forced to give her own name as the child's birth mother.
Many years later, the woman Jill had always thought of as her mother, Liz Foster, discovered she had a brain tumor. Fearing that her time on Earth was limited, Elizabeth Foster decided to tell Jill that she was adopted. Elizabeth survived, but the secret left Jill reeling. After a long search, she discovered Charlotte Ramsey's name on her birth certificate.
Katherine was shocked when she saw Charlotte back in Genoa City a short time later, but still didn't piece together her connection with Jill. It wasn't until John Abbott, also a former schoolmate, recognized Charlotte that the truth started to come out. He eventually tricked Katherine into revealing that Charlotte had an abortion, which left her unable to carry children, when she was younger. With the truth about to surface, Charlotte went to the Chancellor Estate and confronted Katherine on May 20, 2003, when Kay realized that Jill was her daughter.[2]
Stroke
The revelation that Jill was her daughter caused Katherine to have a massive stroke, which left her nearly catatonic for quite a while. Still, there was an even greater sadness attached to this newly-revealed family connection. For years, Jill's son Billy and Katherine's granddaughter Mackenzie Browning had been in love. However, the mother-daughter connection between Katherine and Jill meant that Mackenzie and Billy were first cousins. Unbeknown to them, the young couple was married, while a paralysed Katherine could do nothing but watch. A horrified Jill and John tried to stop the wedding, but they were too late. Eventually, Jill managed to inform the newly-weds of the shocking news before the marriage was consummated. Heartbroken, Billy and Mackenzie (played at the time by Ryan Brown and Kelly Kruger respectively) had their union annulled, and the two separately left town. Jill helped her mother to recover and the two eventually resolved their differences.
More Obstacles
Despite several obstacles along the way, the two former enemies have begun to form a true mother-daughter bond. Nevertheless, their feud was decades old, and it remains to be seen if Katherine and Jill can continue to be cordial--recent events have caused their deeply-rooted enmity for one another to resurface. Katherine began to have disturbing nightmares involving a baby. She soon determined that they were actually fragments of a repressed memory. Eventually Katherine recalled that years ago--unable to accept the fact that Jill had given birth to a child with her deceased husband Phillip--she kidnapped the baby, and gave him to a woman named Violet Montgomery, whom she met in a bar. Violet was to place the child with a different family. The woman then gave Katherine a different baby that Jill raised as her son, Phillip Chancellor III.
While Jill adamantly refused to believe this at first, DNA testing of Phillip's remains confirmed that he was not Jill's biological son. It was then revealed that Jill's real son was, in fact, new-in-town Cane Ashby, who had recently married Amber Moore (Adrienne Frantz). Cane eventually ended his relationship with Amber, after he discovered that she had faked their wedding (with help from her friend Alison Stewart of As the World Turns).
Katherine, however, formed a bond with Amber after being trapped with her under the Clear Springs wreckage in October 2007. She sees a lot of herself in the young woman, and often offers her advice and a shoulder to lean on when others turn against her. Katherine was again furious with Jill upon learning that her daughter was planning on eloping with Ji Min Kim (Eric Steinberg). She offered Ji Min a bribe not to marry her daughter, but Ji Min declined. He was murdered before he could marry Jill and the investigation proved that David Chow murdered him to pay off some of his gambling debts (associated with the mob).
On January 25, 2008, Katherine collapsed while talking to Amber. She was then examined at her home by a physician and informed on January 30, 2008 that she had a mini-stroke. Following this terrifying experience, Katherine enlisted Amber's help in writing her memoirs--the prospect of which could be frightening to many Genoa City residents. A year later, on January 22, 2009 while still trying to reclaim her true identity as Katherine, Amber accompanied Katherine to the doctor's office for an evaluation including being tested for Alzheimer's disease.
Other
Back in 2005, while eating lunch at the Café Russe in Los Angeles, Katherine was approached by Massimo Marone (Joseph Mascolo). Massimo introduced her to friend Stephanie Douglas Forrester (Susan Flannery), the daughter of an old business acquaintance (John Douglas) belonging to Katherine. It was learned that Katherine was the actual owner of Forrester Creations, via the Stephanie Douglas Trust, which her associate’s daughter sought to reclaim from her estranged husband (Eric Forrester). With Katherine's blessing, Stephanie achieved her goal, leaving the grand dame of Genoa City free to focus on her numerous other assets. (October 31 – November 01, 2005)
On May 25th, 2008 Kay, in the name of Chancellor Industries, gave 5 million to the Presidential Campaign of Hillary Clinton.
The "Death" of Katherine Chancellor
Recently, Katherine had been having a series of memory lapses that had gotten progressively worse over the weeks. She resisted attempts to get a medical diagnosis on what exactly was happening to her. She has also been trying to help her look-alike friend, Marge Cotrooke, stop drinking and enter rehab. The November 7th episode went off the air with Katherine driving Marge to the rehab center and then getting into a serious car accident during a heavy rainstorm. On the November 11th episode, she was pronounced dead, but her family and friends don't know that it was Marge who died, and that Kay was still alive, lying near the river. Kay was rescued by Marge's friend Murphy (Michael Fairman), who thinks Kay is Marge, and taken back to his mobile home.
The Chancellor Empire/The Will
Katherine Chancellor has been credited as a billionaire. Her fortune came from a variety of sources, including: her wealthy family, first husband Gary Reynolds, second husband, Phillip Chancellor II, and from the many business dealings she conducted as CEO on and off over the years at Chancellor Industries. Her net worth in November 2008 was said to be between 1 and 1.5 billion dollars. Katherine's will included the following people:
- Brock Reynolds - Kay's elder child. Brock is said to receive 1% of her estate in trust (roughly 10 million dollars), so he may continue his good works in whatever manner he sees fit. In addition, he was also named Chairman of the Chancellor Foundation.
- Gina Roma and Danny Romalotti - Kay's former stepchildren. Both are said to receive 1/2 of 1% of her estate in cash (5 million each).
- Esther Valentine - Kay's long-time maid, confidant, and surrogate daughter is said to receive 1/10 of 1% in trust (1 million dollars), so that she could live her life in financial independence. In addition; because of the great care that she provided to Katherine in her home, Esther received Kay's entire 50% ownership of the Chancellor Estate.
- Nikki Reed Newman - Katherine's dear friend and surrogate daughter is said to receive all of Katherine's jewelry, including her favorite Victorian emerald and diamond ring, a family heirloom, which belonged to her mother.
- Cane Ashby - Katherine's elder grandson is said to receive 1/4 of 1% in trust (2.5 million dollars).
- Billy Abbott - Katherine's younger grandson is said to receive 1/4 of 1% of her estate in trust (2.5 million dollars).
- Mackenzie Browning - Katherine's only granddaughter is said to receive 1/4 of 1% of her estate in trust (2.5 million dollars).
- Phillip Chancellor IV - Katherine's great-grandson is said to receive 1/4 of 1% of her estate in trust (2.5 million dollars).
- Amber Moore - Katherine's young friend is said to receive 1/5 of 1% in trust (2 million dollars) so that she and Daniel Romalotti will never have to worry about funding as they continue with their artistic pursuits. Amber receives sole rights to Kay's memoirs as well.
- Jill Foster Abbott - Katherine's younger child and only daughter is said to receive the remainder of her estate (valued between 1 and 1.4 billion dollars). The remainder includes complete ownership of Chancellor Industries (and effective control over all of its vast assets), the Chancellor fortune, as well as 46% ownership of Jabot Cosmetics.
- Gloria Bardwell - Katherine's on and off again friend, John Abbott's widow, is said to receive her favorite Ming Dynasty vase, a gift from John. She is also said to receive 5% of Katherine's 51% controlling interest shares in Jabot Cosmetics.
Katherine's Return
In late December 2008, Katherine finally regained enough memories to realize she was Katherine Chancellor, not Marge Cotrooke. She convinced Murphy to take her to the Chancellor Mansion. He did, and minutes after she arrived, Jill also arrived and was obviously shocked to see her. After the shock wore off, however, Jill was convinced that Katherine was Marge, seeing as Jill remembered Marge from years ago. Katherine, having little memory still, couldn't disprove Jill's theory, and was arrested for trespassing and fraud. She has already remembered an incident with Gloria Abbott Bardwell upon encountering her at the jail. Time will tell if Katherine will be able to return home where she belongs, or if she will reside in the Genoa City Jail. Katherine subsequently failed a DNA test which would have proven her identity (which calls into question whether she is actually Jill's biological mother). As of March 12th, she has more than just Amber and Murphy believing in her true identity; she also has Nikki Newman who finally believes her.
Notes
- ^ "The Young and the Restless". E! True Hollywood Story. 2001-05-20. E!.
- ^ Episode airing May 20, 2003