What Happened to Harmony aka Yolanda Hamilton On Young and the Restless?

CBS recently announced exciting news about Devon and Abby’s upcoming wedding on The Young and the Restless. While there are plenty of Newmans and Abbotts to fill up Abby’s side of the aisle, Devon needs to seriously beef up the Winters family section. So, the fact that his mother, Yolanda, and half-sister Ana are returning for the festivities is welcome, considering the characters haven’t been in town for a while. Let’s refresh our memories of Chene Lawson’s character, Yolanda Hamilton.

The Early Years

Chene Lawson originated the role of Yolanda Hamilton from 2005 – 2006. Later, legendary soap actress Debbi Morgan, best known for playing Angie Baxter Hubbard on All My Children, took over the role and played the character from 2011-2012.

Yolanda (Chene Lawson) was a crack addict who couldn’t get her act together for years. She would ultimately give up her children — Devon (Bryton James) and Ana (Jamia Simone Nash) — after succumbing to her demons.

Her backstory included life as a teen groupie who would follow rock bands around. Yolanda was an unwed mother, a crack addict, and a prostitute, and after she overdosed, she let Devon’s grandmother raise him. That is before the foster homes and before the Winters adopted him. Meanwhile, Yolanda’s 15-year-old sister, Tyra (Eva Marcille), raised Ana.

Yolanda had a fling with Tucker McCall, which resulted in Devon. Ana’s bio dad was Jett Slade (Gilbert Glenn Brown), a former R&B singer. She was sometimes unhoused or missing in action altogether. At one point, when Devon caught up to her after he was living with the Winters, he found her sleeping on a park bench, looking rough.

After she overdosed again, she went to rehab and then lived with Devon and the Winters after she got out. She tried to clean up her act, and she did, but she ruined it when she attempted to hit on Neil (the late Kristoff St. John). She left town shortly after.

READ THIS: What happened to Ana Hamilton on Y&R?

Fresh Start

Years later, Yolanda (Debbi Morgan) showed up back in Genoa City. However, she now called herself Harmony, a name to go with her fresh start in life. She was clean and sober, and she wanted to reconnect with Devon. She dealt with Devon’s biological father, Tucker (then Stephen Nichols), during that time. Originally, she wanted to stop his wedding to Ashley (Eileen Davidson), but Neil intervened.

Harmony also returned to town to reconnect with her other child, Ana (Loren Lott). Plus, she established connections with Genoa City’s elite, including Katherine Chancellor (the late Jeanne Cooper) and Nikki Newman (Melody Thomas Scott). In addition, she helped Tucker develop a relationship with his son. Major steps were made when she aided Tucker in figuring out how to help Devon when his hearing issues returned.

However, not everything was drama-free. While she again flirted with Neil, she ended up having a one-night stand with Tucker. Later on, Devon actually gave his approval to Harmony and Neil so they could start dating. Unfortunately, the relationship didn’t last. She eventually left town to go help her daughter, who was having trouble at her school in New Hampshire.

READ THIS: A Winter Preview for Y&R.

The Present

When Harmony returned to Genoa City in 2023 for a short stint, Chene Lawson once again played the character. And now she and Loren Lott will return to their Y&R roles starting Wednesday, November 13. This just so happens to be the number one soap’s milestone 13,000th episode. What’s great is that the women will stick around for a few episodes, so they should really be a big part of the festivities.

We will see how they react to any of the drama that materializes at the wedding or because of the wedding. Bryton James (Devon) recently hinted at what could happen at the much-anticipated event.