Happy Birthday to THE YOUNG & THE RESTLESS Star Gina Tognoni — Relive Her Daytime Career!

By Chris Eades Updated: November 28, 2018

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Best wishes to daytime powerhouse Gina Tognoni, who celebrates her birthday today! The Emmy-winning actress has played roles on multiple soaps on both ABC and CBS, earning legions of loyal fans from across the world!

(Photo Credit: John Paschal/jpistudios.com)

Tognoni made her daytime debut in 1995 as Kelly Cramer on ONE LIFE TO LIVE, where she stayed until 2001. After a series of appearances on shows like FASTLANE, LAW & ORDER: SPECIAL VICTIMS UNIT, and THE SOPRANOS, the actress returned to soaps, joining the cast of GUIDING LIGHT in 2004 as a recast of Dinah Marler. During her time on GL, Tognoni earned two Daytime Emmy Awards for Outstanding Supporting Actress, in 2006 and 2008.

After CBS canceled GL in 2009, Tognoni reprised her role of Kelly on OLTL, but left shortly before its final episode on ABC in 2012. In 2014, she joined the cast of THE YOUNG & THE RESTLESS as Phyllis Summers, stepping into the shoes of fan-favorite Michelle Stafford. Not only did Tognoni win over Y&R fans with her work, she also nabbed another Daytime Emmy Award in 2017, this time for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series!

While Tognoni’s daytime alter egos have had rough lives and struggled to find true love, the actress herself had no problem in real life, having been happily married to her husband, Joseph Chiarello, since 2009.

Celebrate Tognoni’s big day with a look back at her impressive daytime career in our special flashback gallery below!

For more on your favorite stars, keep reading Soaps In Depth magazine!