2020 ICYMI: Y&R’s Victoria Rowell Shares Important Holiday Message

A beautiful message from 2020 that bears repeating: Fans of Victoria Rowell know that the actress grew up in the foster care system and has been a tireless advocate for youth who are doing the same. Now, the actress/author, best known to daytime fans for her role as Dru on The Young and the Restless, is sharing a special holiday message.

Victoria Rowell: A Different Thanksgiving

“To my foster youth/alum community who know all too well the dread of holidays & no where to go after emancipation,” Rowell shared on Twitter. “Many of us prefer to be alone. Be kind to yourself. If dinner isn’t available w/1 other person, take a walk, meditate & give thanks 4life, breath & look beyond a day.”

In a follow-up post, she tweeted about ways in which people can spend the holiday. “#HappyThanksgiving from #auntievicki …keep it simple this year — this holiday season will be like no other,” the Daytime Emmy-nominated star says. “If alone, give thanks for life, for breath. Do something kind for yourself or do something good for someone else. #MotherNature we give thanks.”

Rowell came onto Y&R in 1990 following a short run as the character Nella Franklin on the CBS soap opera As the World Turns. Viewers learned that Dru ran away from home after years of her mother Lillie Belle (the late Norma Donaldson) favoring her older sister, Olivia (Tonya Lee Williams).

Dru found support from her aunt Mamie (Veronica Redd), landed a job at Jabot Cosmetics where she met the great love of her life, Neil Winters (the late Kristoff St. John). Dru and Neil married and shared a child, Lily (Christel Khalil), who was actually fathered by Neil’s half-brother Malcolm (Shemar Moore).

Dru met a tragic end when she struggled with rival Phyllis (Michelle Stafford) over a cell phone that contained info Dru preferred to keep quiet. Dru and her pal Sharon (Sharon Case) went over the side of a cliff. Sharon survived, but Dru is presumed dead, her body never having been found.

Rowell returned to YR two years ago not as Dru, but appeared as herself in a special tribute episode to the late St. John. The Young and the Restless (YR) airs weekdays on CBS. Check your local listings for airtimes. For more about what’s coming up in Genoa City, check out all the latest that’s been posted on Y&R spoilers, and for an in-depth look at the show’s history, click here.