In Honor of Its 12,000th Episode, 12 Stars Who Appeared on The Young and the Restless

From Penn Badgley to Eva Longoria, you might recognize some of these familiar faces from their time on the long-running daytime soap opera 

By Andrea Wurzburger
December 01, 2020 11:38 AM

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Eva Longoria

Credit: CBS

Before she moved to Wisteria Lane and joined the Desperate Housewives, Eva Longoria enjoyed a two year run on The Young and the Restless from 2001-2003 as Isabella Braña. 

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Shemar Moore

Credit: Sonja Flemming/CBS via Getty

The Criminal Minds star got his start in 1994 as Malcolm Winters on The Young and the Restless and has revisited his role a few times, in 2009, 2014 and 2019. 

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Vivica A. Fox

Credit: CBS

Fox got her start in soap operas, first on Days of Our Lives, then Generations, and then on YATR, on which she played Stephanie Simmons from 1994 to 1995. 

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Tom Selleck

Credit: Archive Photos/Getty

The '80s icon (with the most memorable mustache in the business) played Jed Andrews on The Young and the Restless from 1974 to 1975. 

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Justin Hartley

Credit: 12399748

Hartley doesn't mind being known as a soap opera actor. He told Glamour, "It comes with the territory, and there are worse things. I love acting, and so whenever I get the opportunity to act, I’m happy. I’m easy to please when it comes to that kind of stuff. I don’t know what I’d do without it." 

He had a stint on The Young and the Restless from 2014 to 2016, just before landing his big role on This Is Us. 

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Chrishell Stause

Credit: CBS

Before she was dealing luxury real estate on Selling Sunset, Hartley's ex-wife got her start in daytime television. She first starred on All My Children, later playing Bethany Bryant on The Young and the Restless in 2016. 

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David Hasselhoff

Credit: CBS via Getty

Prior to running in slow-motion down the beach on Baywatch and speeding off in KITT on Knight Rider, Hasselhoff got his start on The Young and the Restless, playing Dr. William "Snapper" Foster from 1975 to 1982. Hasselhoff reprised the role briefly in 2010. 

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Eddie Cibrian

Credit: CBS Photo Archive/Getty

The heartthrob with dimples for days starred on the soap opera from 1994 to 1996, playing resident bad boy Matt Clark. 

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Paul Walker

Credit: CBS

The late actor was just 19 when he appeared as Brandon Collins on the soap from 1992 to 1993. 

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Justin Baldoni

Credit: CBS

Before he was Rafael on Jane the Virgin, Baldoni starred in soap operas like The Bold and the Beautiful and Everwood. But his very first acting gig was on The Young and the Restless. 

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Penn Badgley

Credit: CBS

In 2000, when future You actor Badgley was just 14 years old, he starred in a 10-episode arc as Phillip Chancellor IV. 

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Adam Brody

Credit: CBS

Before he got his big break as Seth Cohen on The O.C., Brody appeared in a small walk-on role on the series. 

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By Andrea Wurzburger