Diane Jenkins
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| Diane Jenkins | |||||||||||
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 Susan Walters as Diane Jenkins |
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| The Young and the Restless | |||||||||||
| Portrayed by | Alex Donnelley (1982-1986; 1996-2001) Susan Walters (2001-2004) |
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| Profile | |||||||||||
| Gender | Female | ||||||||||
| Residence | Chicago, Illinois | ||||||||||
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Diane Jenkins (formerly Richards and Newman) was a fictional character on the American television soap opera The Young and the Restless. Played by two actresses during two widely-spaced intervals, 1982-86 and 1996-2004, she was a part of the plotline for a total of twelve years. Alex Donnelley originated the role in its first four-year period and returned ten years later to play the part for five additional years. Upon Donnelley's departure in 2001, the character was portrayed for three more years by Susan Walters. Diane has not been a part of the show since Walters left The Young and the Restless in late 2004.
[edit] Character
In the early 1980s, Jack Abbott (Terry Lester) had a reputation as a "playboy" who had flings with nearly all of the Jabot Models. Diane initially allowed herself to be pursued by Jack because she believed it would increase her chances of becoming Jabot's top model. But when Diane fell in love with Jack, she began to delude herself that she would end up becoming Mrs. Jack Abbott. But Jack decided to marry young and innocent Patti Williams (Andrea Evans), but only to prove to his father that he had finally "grown up". Jack was even found in bed with Diane by his sister Ashley (Eileen Davidson), which caused him to be late for his wedding to Patti. Diane continued seeing him even after his marriage and threatened to tell Patti if she didn't get the lead model job at Jabot. Jack gave her the lead for the summer but, ultimately, it was Julia Newman (Meg Bennett), not Diane, who was appointed spokesperson for Jabot's new line of products. When a pregnant Patti was prompted by a scheming Jill (Brenda Dickson) to visit Jack at his office, she found him making love to Diane. A traumatized Patti tripped over a plant in the lobby, and later miscarried. After her recovery, Patti told Jack that she wanted another baby, and to move out of the Abbott Mansion into their own house. When she later overheard Jack making plans for a vasectomy, and telling Jill he only married her so John (Jerry Douglas) would make him president of Jabot Cosmetics, Patti shot Jack three times. The shooting left Jack temporarily paralyzed, though he eventually recovered. Patti had lost any memory of the shooting or what led to it, and only Jack knew who shot him. Meanwhile various others, including Jill Foster, were suspected of committing the crime, and were heavily investigated by the detective on the case, Patti's father Carl Williams. Jack and Patti's psychiatrist forced her to remember by re-enacting the shooting. Once she remembered, she left Jack and divorced him.
Diane, finally realizing that Jack would never commit to her, became involved with Andy Richards (Steven Ford), partner in the Paul Williams Detective Agency. At first, Diane embraced the simple and uncomplicated life offered by Andy. But several months into their marriage, Diane was again tempted by Jack and they had an affair. Thinking that a gift Jack had for her was an engagement ring, Diane informed Andy that she wanted a divorce. But the gift turned out to be a bracelet and an admission that Jack would never commit to her. Diane left Genoa City for Europe. While there, Diane realized that she actually loved Andy. She returned to Genoa City to tell him, but discovered he was engaged to Faren Connor (Colleen Casey). Diane considered fighting for Andy, but seeing him with Faren, gave up the idea and left Genoa City.
Ten years later Diane, now a well-respected architect, returned to Genoa City. Jack (played since 1989 by Peter Bergman) had also gone through several changes in his own personal life, including two failed marriages, and was excited to see Diane again. But Diane's memories made her mistrust Jack. To ensure he was able to see Diane on a regular basis, Jack hired her to design a lake home for him. Ashley (played by Shari Shattuck from 1996 to 1999) was livid that Jack and Diane were seeing each other again. She tried to pressure Diane into staying away from Jack, but thanks to Jack's continual persuasion and romantic overtures, Diane admitted to Jack that she still had strong feelings for him. They rekindled their romance and eventually became engaged. Victor Newman (Eric Braeden) then decided to begin romancing Diane, originally to get back at Jack, but ended up falling for her. Victor offered Diane a top secret assignment to design the Newman Towers, and mesmerized her with lavish gifts. Diane's feelings were once again in a state of confusion. Victor stole Diane away on business and proposed on the jet. They married in Nevada, and honeymooned in the Greek Islands.
The marriage was going well, and Diane decided she wanted a baby. Victor countered that notion by having a vasectomy behind her back (at the suggestion of his former wife Nikki), but made a deposit at a sperm bank prior. Diane was furious when she found out about the vasectomy. Then Nikki (Melody Thomas Scott) was shot by her new husband Joshua's (Heath Kizzier) former wife, Veronica (Candice Daly). Victor arranged with Diane for a quick divorce so that he was free to remarry Nikki on her deathbed, so Nikki could die happy. The plan was for Diane and Victor to remarry after Nikki's death. But Nikki lived and, due to his divorce from Diane being declared illegal, the marriage to Nikki was voided. Victor then legally divorced Diane, and another wedding to Nikki was being planned. Diane was bent on revenge for being used and made a fool of. Victor ended up having to give her a Board seat at Newman to persuade her to settle the divorce. She then became engaged to Jack, who was using her, to sway the Board vote against Newman. She also moved into the Abbott residence, but this created tension with Ashley. After Jack achieved his objectives, he broke off the engagement and she moved out of the Abbott residence.
Diane, now living alone in Victor's penthouse at Newman Towers, intercepted Victor's notice from Robertson Labs saying that the renewal time was due on his sperm deposit. Feeling that Victor deprived her of the baby that should have been rightfully hers, Diane decided to steal the sample in order to become pregnant. Posing as "Mrs. Victor Newman", she showed up at the lab with Victor's answer to the notice. She had purchased the appropriate freezer and arranged to have the deposit delivered to the penthouse where she kept it in the closet of a locked room. Both Ashley (since 1999, again played by Eileen Davidson) and Nikki found out that Diane had the deposit, and Michael Baldwin (Christian LeBlanc) and Brad Carlton (Don Diamont) knew about it too. About a month later, the sperm was mysteriously returned to Robertson Labs. Diane intercepted another letter stating, to her shock, that the sperm sample was back at the lab. She quickly went to a doctor who had the sample checked out, and she was artificially inseminated. After the baby's birth, she told Victor the boy was his and he insisted on DNA tests. Diane was shocked to learn the test showed her baby, Christian Victor Newman, was not Victor's child after all. Soon afterward, Diane left town with her baby.
It was later disclosed that Nikki, with the help of Jack, had employed a detective's operative to get into Robertson Labs and switch the sperm samples to thwart Diane. But Nikki's attempt to help Victor resulted in Jack being the father when the man grabbed Jack's deposit as the nearest sample to replace Victor's. Nikki discovered this, and was torn over whether to tell Jack he was a father - especially now that he was happily married to Phyllis Summers (Michelle Stafford) and they trying to have a baby of their own. So she decided to track down Diane in Milan to determine if she was a good mother. Diane proved to be a great mother, but Nikki was even more torn when she returned to the news that Phyllis could not have children. About that time, Diane, suspicious over Nikki's surprise visit, returned to Genoa City with her baby, now renamed Kyle Jenkins after Diane's father.
The discovery that Diane Jenkins' baby, Kyle, was fathered by Jack's stored sperm was the turning point for the couple. Nikki finally told Jack he already had the baby he had always wanted to raise in Kyle. Phyllis was torn between supporting Jack as he sued for sole custody of his son, and wanting scheming Diane out of their lives. Phyllis went to friend and former lover, Michael, for help, but refused his suggestion to throw the case by her testimony. Diane also went to Michael to represent her on the case. Torn between two friends, Michael decided to bow out and let female lawyer Sydney handle the case. However, once Phyllis was on the witness stand, Michael knew he had to take over the questioning and save both Phyllis and Diane. He badgered Phyllis about her former life and being declared an unfit mother so her own child, Daniel (Michael Graziadei), was taken from her until she broke down and blew the case. Phyllis was furious with Michael when Jack lost custody, but Diane retained her child and Phyllis thought she was free from Diane. Diane, plotting to get Jack by using Kyle, moved into the Abbott pool house.
On the evening of Victor and Nikki's wedding, the Abbott pool house burned down and the police suspected arson. Diane said she was asleep after taking a sleeping pill and barely managed to escape. Phyllis said she left Jack and Kyle (Cooper and Oliver Guynes) at the wedding because of a call that she was needed at work. She was later seen stopping at the Abbott mansion by Diane's friend Isabella (Eva Longoria) about the time of the fire. Phyllis explained she had to change her gown after she sat on an ink pen. Evidence was gathered against Phyllis, who was arrested for arson and attempted murder. Phyllis finally convinced Jack that Diane set her up so that she could have him, and they resolved to expose Diane - to such lengths that Jack took Diane to bed and seduced her into a confession. Phyllis was acquitted, then found the note that Diane had written to pay a bum to call Phyllis away from the wedding. Jack and Phyllis used this as blackmail to get Diane to turn over custody of Kyle.
Diane used her Newman millions to help bail out financially strapped Jabot Cosmetics with "no strings attached" and set up offices at Jabot. Due to the friction caused by Jack working for Jabot and Phyllis working for Newman, Jack eventually gave his son Kyle back to Diane. After a failed flirtation with Damon Porter (Keith Hamilton Cobb), Diane left town with Kyle and, when last heard from, was living and working in Chicago.
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