Which character did Jennifer Gareis portray on The Young and the Restless? Everything you need to know

Jennifer Gareis is known on The Young and the Restless as Grace Turner, a role she assumed in 1997 after actress Josie Davis. Grace was initially introduced in 1996 as the best friend to Sharon Collins and was soon at the center of big storylines.

Her on-screen persona was instrumental in the storyline with Sharon's long-lost daughter, Cassie. Grace was also romantically involved with some of the show's most important characters, namely Nick Newman and Tony Viscardi.

Gareis was under contract until 2000, subsequently returning for short storylines in 2002, 2004, and once more in 2014. Jennifer Gareis is also noted for her 20-year stint playing the role of Donna Logan on The Bold and the Beautiful.

Jennifer Gareis played Grace Turner on The Young and the Restless

Grace Turner was a fictional character on The Young and the Restless, played most famously by Jennifer Gareis. Grace entered as Sharon Newman's closest friend, coming to Genoa City with her boyfriend, Tony Viscardi. She assisted in finding Sharon's first child, Cassie, with the aim of comforting Sharon after the expected loss of her baby son, Noah.

When Noah survived, Grace decided to keep Cassie's secret, passing her off as her own niece. Later on, she revealed the truth. Grace then pursued Nick Newman, seducing him and blackmailing him into hiring her. Her obsession with Nick ended her relationship with Tony. After a brief affair with Michael Baldwin, Grace left town.

She returned in later years, including during the Cameron Kirsten storyline, where she was involved in a plot against Sharon. She ultimately helped expose Cameron’s crimes. In 2014, Grace returned when Nick asked for her help regarding Cassie's look-alike, Mariah. She later visited Sharon and clashed with her again before leaving Genoa City.

In an interview with Soap Opera Digest on August 18, 2014, Gareis said the following about her return,

“That was my first role, when I came to L.A. I got that probably a month after I moved here. Y&R was like my home away from home. Being able to go back to that was awesome. It was the best.”

About Jennifer Gareis

Jennifer Gareis is a former beauty queen and American actress. She was born on August 1, 1970, in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. Gareis has a degree in accounting from Franklin and Marshall College. Later, she earned a Master of Business Administration degree from Pepperdine University.

She is most famous for her work in daytime television. Gareis played Grace Turner on The Young and the Restless from 1997 to 1999, appearing off and on in later years. She was added to The Bold and the Beautiful in 2006 as Donna Logan, which she still plays.

In an interview with Soap Opera Digest on December 19, 2018, Gareis commented on her acting career, saying,

“I’ve done acting for a lot of years, even before L.A. I did commercials and modeling, and a little bit of acting in New York, but it’s not who I am. It happens to be what I do for a living. During the time I took a break to raise the kids, every once in a while, somebody was like, ‘Aren’t you from…’ ‘Yeah, that was me,’ and I actually forgot that I did it for a living because it’s not the core of who I am. I like doing it, but then I come home and I don’t do it.”

Catch The Young and the Restless on CBS.