Y&R Next Generation: Claire Grace and Nikki Newman

From the moment Claire Grace popped up on The Young and the Restless, we knew she reminded us of somebody. We speculated that she was the daughter of Sharon’s old high school frenemy, Grace. We speculated that she was the daughter of Sharon’s stalker, Cameron. But now, we think we understand why Claire seems so familiar. Claire is a young Nikki Newman! Here’s why.

Nikki Newman: Those Golden Years

First, there’s the beautiful blonde thing. Nikki (Melody Thomas Scott) is a beautiful blonde. Claire (Hayley Erin) is a beautiful blonde. But, it goes more than hair deep. When viewers first met Nikki, she wanted more out of life than what she had.

First, she set her sites on a doctor and married him. Unfortunately, she found married life boring…so, she took to stripping. That was definitely not boring. It was also where she caught the eye of a rich, wealthy man who wanted to mold her into the perfect woman. These days, we call that grooming. Back then, we called it romance.

Executive Suite

The rich man Nikki attracted — and eventually married — was Victor Newman (Eric Braeden). Victor was powerful and decisive and he ran Newman Enterprises with an iron fist. Victor still thinks he’s that Victor today, 40 years later (even though we know he isn’t). His children think so, too — one of his children has a boyfriend who agrees with her. Nate (Sean Dominic) firmly believes Victor should go get some tests done, while Victoria (Amelia Heinle) takes over the company. Just for a while.

Driver’s Seat

If Victoria was running the company, then Nate would have been right there. What if Claire had figured out that Nate was the next power broker of Newman and that’s where she’s set her cap? You know, like Nikki did. After all, Claire did say her dream job was being Nikki’s assistant so she could learn from the best. She didn’t say learn what…though if that was her plan, she may want to revise it now.

The Young and the Restless airs weekdays on CBS. For an in-depth look at the show’s history, click here.

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