The Young and the Restless Star Melody Thomas Scott Celebrates Amazing Nikki Milestone

Melody Thomas Scott is synonymous with The Young and the Restless. The Daytime Emmy-nominated star recently celebrated a major milestone with the CBS soap — her 42nd anniversary in Genoa City!

Congratulations, Melody Thomas Scott

The actress debuted as Nikki Reed on YR on February 20, 1979. Scott had a few storylines, early on including one in which she fell into a cult and survived an obsessive neighbor, but it was the character’s romance with Victor (Eric Braeden) that catapulted the actress and her alter-ego to super-soap stardom!

Scott took pen to paper, detailing her life from child actress to wife and mother and long-running star of YR in her 2020 memoir Always Young and Restless.

The actress made her big-screen debut in the Alfred Hitchcock film Marnie and went on to appear in films and TV shows, working alongside such legends as John Wayne and Clint Eastwood. She had a recurring role on The Waltons as Ben’s (Eric Scott) girlfriend when she received two opportunities — a sitcom pilot for NBC (that didn’t get picked up) and the part of Nikki.

Scott’s agent encouraged her to take the daytime role and the rest, as they say, is history! Over the years, Scott has emerged as one of YR’s most popular stars. Nikki’s been married many times. Her husbands include Greg Foster (Wings Hauser), Kevin Bancroft (Christopher Holder), Jack Abbott (Peter Bergman), Dr. Josh Landers (Heath Kizzier), David Chow (Vincent Irizarry), and Deacon Sharpe (Sean Kanan), but, of course, Victor remains her one true love.

Nikki has three children: a son, Dylan (Steve Burton, fathered by Paul Williams), a daughter, Victoria (Amelia Heinle), and a younger son, Nicholas (Joshua Morrow).

Two years ago this month, there was a gala on the YR set honoring Scott for her four decades as Nikki. Today, Nikki and Victor are happily wed, keeping watchful eyes on the lives of their children and grandchildren.

Soap Hub congratulates Melody Thomas Scott on 42 years as Nikki! The Young and the Restless airs weekdays on CBS. Check local listings for airtimes.