Why Beth Maitland Is Beloved As Young and the Restless’ Traci Abbott

There’s only one Traci Abbott on The Young and the Restless, and Beth Maitland embodies the Abbott family conscience. In 1982, the Daytime Emmy-winning actress originated the role of John Abbot’s youngest daughter. There’s nobody quite like Traci, and fans adore her on the daytime drama.

Beth Maitland — From Insecurity and Jealousy to Kindness and Reason

Maitland remained a regular contract player on the soap from 1982 until 1993. Since then, she’s brought Traci back to the screen multiple times over the years.

From her early days, viewers seemed to connect with Traci’s deep insecurity and jealousy toward her seemingly perfect sister Ashley Abbott (Eileen Davidson). Maitland’s portrayal of Traci’s vulnerability helped fans see parts of themselves in the character she brought to life on the small screen five days a week.

The moment that defined and changed Traci forever — Colleen Carlton’s (then Tammin Sursok) death — made her all the more relatable to viewers who’ve suffered losses. Beth Maitland portrayed the role of a grieving mother over the years, showing how Traci changed and grew around her grief as time slowly passed.

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Most recently, she returned as her mother Dina Mergeron’s (Marla Adams) health deteriorated. While helping care for her mother, Traci also penned a novel and helped write up her family’s history. Perhaps it’s Maitland’s innate ability to convey nuances in the story that allows her to create such a compelling character in Traci.

Since Dina’s death, Traci appears pretty regularly in storylines. She even got a job with ChancComm, but since Jill Foster Abbott Atkinson (Jess Walton) plans to sell the company, it’s unclear what Traci intends to do.

Although Traci no longer deals as much with the insecurity of her earlier days, she still has flashes of it, like when Dina couldn’t remember her. However, Maitland manages to play Traci’s growth through the years, revealing her strength, which viewers love to see because it gives them hope. We’d love to see a whole new storyline for Traci and much more of Beth Maitland on Y&R in 2022. Who knows? Perhaps she and Lauren Fenmore Baldwin (Tracey Bregman) can revisit their earlier fighting days with a bit more maturity and grace.

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.