For three decades, Sheila Carter has been a soap opera character that fans love... or hate... or love to hate. She has blackmailed, poisoned, drugged, threatened, and released the hounds -- and that's just before lunch. Okay, maybe that's a slight exaggeration, but it's that long list of misdeeds that has made Sheila a character that fans love, hate, or love to hate. And what better way to celebrate one of soap's baddest bad girls than with a special episode that will air on Halloween?!
Sheila was first introduced on The Young and the Restless in 1990 as a nurse who became obsessed with the handsome Dr. Scott Granger (Peter Barton). He was married to Lauren Fenmore (Tracey Bregman) at the time, but fans soon discovered that Sheila was the type of person who refused to allow a little thing like a marriage commitment to stop her. She drugged Scott and ended up pregnant with his child, but unbeknownst to the doc, his wife was also pregnant. When the truth about the paternity of Sheila's baby came to light, Scott divorced Lauren and married the mother of his other unborn child. Sheila lost the baby during childbirth, and in order to keep Scott in her clutches, she switched Lauren's newborn with a black-market baby so that she could raise Lauren's child as her own. Sheila's crimes were eventually discovered, and the baby-stealing nurse fled Genoa City while everyone assumed she had perished in a fire.
Like the phoenix that she is, in 1992, Sheila turned up alive and well in Los Angeles, where she began her 30-year reign of terror on The Bold and the Beautiful. She worked her way from nurse at Forrester Creations to being the nanny of Eric Forrester's (John McCook) son Rick after setting her sights on the business mogul. She found herself in yet another baby drama when Brooke Logan had a paternity test to find out if her daughter Bridget was fathered by Eric or his son Ridge (then played by Ronn Moss). Again, not one to let things like family get in the way of her heart's desires, Sheila switched the test results to say that Ridge was the father.
Two of Sheila's favorite people to torture were Lauren Fenmore and Stephanie Forrester (Susan Flannery). Her crimes against the Forrester matriarch included poisoning and attempted drowning. And as for Lauren, Sheila once tried to get her to jump off a roof, and Sheila attempted to kill her in a boat explosion. One of the most memorable battles between these two was when she blackmailed Lauren with photos, in the form of puzzle pieces, taken of Lauren and Brad Carlton (Don Diamont) in bed.
In a 2021 interview with Soap Central, Brown said, "Ruffling Stephanie's feathers was always fun. And it didn't take much to get them ruffled, but she ruffled mine right back! And I think that's what I really liked about the dynamic between the two of us, because she'd throw stuff my way, and I would throw it right back, and if I threw it at her, she'd throw it right back. She was a very strong woman and a very strong character, and Sheila was more vulnerable in certain ways, but nothing trumps evil, so I really enjoyed that. I truly did. And then, obviously, Tracey Bregman when she would come over, and her feathers would really be ruffled, because she was afraid of Sheila; when you have people afraid of you, it really puts you in a position of power. My character has been that way with a lot of people, men and women alike. But with John McCook, Eric's feather, I would never ruffle -- I never wanted to ruffle, because that's the man I truly love. I always have, and probably always will. Stephanie is the one that really, when you think about it, made sure that their happiness was never going to be... and that's when Sheila's life turned into a little bit of a nightmare. But yeah, I'm trying to think because I guess I never really thought of my character as being somebody that ruffles feathers. She just does what she does."
Brown also said, "It's really hard to break away from old habits. That's the beauty about being Sheila. I can have these incredible breakthrough moments and then have somebody do something that triggers me that sets me right back to where I was! She really is so fun to play because there's no wrong. There is no wrong. The very first time I started playing Sheila, the note to me from [executive producer] Brad Bell that came from Ed Scott was, "There's no wrong, and remember that when you're playing her. You can take it as big as you want. Go as dark as you want." I really embraced that, and what was supposed to be three months has turned into 30 years."
After a three-year absence, Sheila returned in 2021 during the wedding of Steffy Forrester (Jacqueline MacInnes Wood) and John "Finn" Finnegan (Tanner Novlan) and announced that she was his birth mother. The mother and son reunion took a dark turn when Sheila accidentally shot her son after he stepped in front a bullet meant for Steffy. She is currently taking up refuge with Deacon Sharpe (Sean Kanan) after staging her death by making people believe she was mauled by a bear.
The Bold and Beautiful recently celebrated Brown's 30 years on the show. In an Instagram post, she shared a photo taken with the show's executive producer and head writer, Bradley Bell. The caption read, "30 years on @boldandbeautifulcbs today! Such a special and amazing day with everyone. So humbled, so grateful, so happy to be where I am. #theboldandthebeautifulcbs #boldandthebeautifulcbs #kimberlinbrown #sheilacarter #sheila30years #30yearsstrong"
Brown also shared an Instagram reel that showed Bell giving the actress a heartfelt speech. During the speech he joked about how she terrifies him, the cast, the crew, and fans. In the caption, Brown wrote, "Such a wonderful day. So honored. I'm at a loss for words. Thank you all. @boldandbeautifulcbs #30years #anniversary #bradleybell #teamsheila #sheilacarter #celebration"
In a second Instagram reel shared by Brown, B&B's supervising producer Edward Scott proudly listed several words to describe Brown and Sheila, including "attempted murderess, schemer, ratings grabber, strong, gentle, escape artist, brave, bold, and beautiful."
If you would like to relive some of Sheila's wildest moments, be sure to check out The Bold and the Beautiful on Monday, October 31, for a special stand-alone episode of her "greatest hits." This will be a fun look back at the shenanigans that made this character a fan favorite.
Ready for a scary good Halloween episode? 🎃 Tune in to #BoldandBeautiful on Monday 10/31 to see Sheila Carter's greatest hits! 👏 pic.twitter.com/zVYYAmzx8v
- Bold & The Beautiful (@BandB_CBS) October 27, 2022
The Young and the Restless' Tracey Bregman announced on social media that she will be a part of Monday's special episode.
Prior to Brown's most recent return in 2021, her previous stints on the CBS soap ran from 1992 to1998, 2002 to 2003, and 2017 to 2018. She received Outstanding Supporting Actress nominations at the Daytime Emmys in 1993 and 2022. Her work in daytime includes Santa Barbara (Candace Durrell), Another World (Shelly Clark), Port Charles and General Hospital (Rachel Locke), One Life to Live (Dr. Paige Miller), and All My Children (Judge Cressman). Other projects include primetime shows Dragnet, Diagnosis: Murder, and Six Feet Under.
What are you some of your favorite Sheila Carter moments? Are you looking forward to seeing her stand-alone episode? We want to hear from you -- and there are many ways you can share your thoughts.
