Ashley Jones Reveals How THE YOUNG & THE RESTLESS Changed Her Life
With THE YOUNG & THE RESTLESS celebrating its 50th anniversary in March, many of the soap’s stars are looking back fondly at their time in Genoa City, including those who no longer reside in the dramatic little hamlet.
“I was a teenager when I got a call from Ro Diamond and Steven Kelly Jang (still my agents) that Bill Bell hired me as a possible recurring guest star on his hit show Y&R to play Megan Dennison,” Ashley Jones recalled on Instagram sharing a baby-faced old gallery photo of herself at the time (see above!) and a couple of screengrabs from the soap.
Jones played the role of Megan Dennison from February 1997 until May 2000, making a brief appearance in August 2001. Good girl Megan’s roller-coaster romance with bad boy Tony Viscardi ended tragically when he died and she decided to leave town.
“It turned into a long run with the Bell family,” Jones happily declared, “with two Emmy noms for playing sweet Megan. (I lost both times to castmates on Y&R: the amazing Camryn Grimes (ex-Cassie; now Mariah) and my dear, immensely talented Heather Tom (ex-Victoria; now Katie on THE BOLD & THE BEAUTIFUL). I’ve always said Bill Bell changed my life. Many of us could say that, actually.”
Jones continued working for the Bells when she joined the cast of B&B as the new Bridget Forrester in 2004 and continues to reprise that role occasionally to this day. She also enjoyed a run as Parker Forsythe on ABC sudser GENERAL HOSPITAL and continues to appear in TV movies like Saving My Daughter and What Happened to My Sister? as well as primetime series like 9-1-1, THE ROOKIE, ALL RISE, and SO HELP ME TODD.
“Next week we celebrate 50 years of Y&R,” Jones marveled. “I cannot wait to celebrate with many friends new and old. And to celebrate with y’all! Soap fans are the best fans. I’ll make sure to take lots of behind-the-scenes stuff at the party.”
And we can’t wait to see!
