Katherine Shepherd Chancellor

Deceased

Actor History

1973 to May 3, 2013; contract; in flashbacks to Present

Gisele Mackenzie

temporary replacement; 1986

Michael Learned

temporary replacement; November 10, 2011 to December 22, 2011

Lifeline

Other Names

Occupation

Residence

Marital Status

Past Marriages

Relatives

Children

Flings & Affairs

Health and Vitals

Crimes Committed

Brief Character History

When viewers first met Katherine, she was married to the handsome, wealthy head of Chancellor Industries, Phillip Chancellor II, and they lived at the luxurious Chancellor Estate. Her former husband, Gary Reynolds, and Phillip were college buddies and friends until Gary died, when he was head of the Reynolds family company. Then Katherine and Phillip grew close, eventually married, and Katherine made Phillip head of the business which she renamed Chancellor Industries. One of Katherine's best friends since childhood had always been John Abbott. They were lovers with fond memories of skinny-dipping at the lake together in high school when she was Katherine Shepherd, and one time, all their clothes disappeared. Later, viewers learned of Brock Reynolds, her son from her marriage to Gary. Brock was cavorting on his inheritance in Europe with Lorie Brooks, daughter of newspaper editor Stuart Brooks, while attending college.

After many years of a loving marriage with Phillip, Katherine became an alcoholic and heavy smoker, and began having sex with the stable boys. She blamed it on boredom, Phillip's long hours, her fading looks, and her estrangement from her son, Brock. Phillip tried to convince her that she was destroying herself, as well as their marriage. He threatened to leave her, suggesting she find something to occupy her time. Katherine responded with a suicide attempt. Then Katherine took a liking to her poor and innocent young manicurist, Jill Foster, so Katherine hired Jill as her paid companion, maid, and hairdresser. Jill's mother Liz also worked at the estate as a maid.

Jill liked Katherine, and was very supportive in Katherine's struggle with her vices. About that time, prodigal son, Brock, returned home a changed man, very religious and a practicing lawyer. Even Brock could not convince "The Duchess", as he called her, to join Alcoholics Anonymous. Phillip and Jill began to get close, but he told Jill that although he knew he was falling in love with her, he would never leave Katherine when she needed him. Witnessing Jill and Phillip's parting embrace, Katherine realized that she was losing him, so she began going to AA, and bugging their conversations. Jill felt so guilty, she made plans to leave. Katherine offered to pay for her to get a college education, but Jill turned it down. Jill went to Phillip to say goodbye, but they ended up consummating their love with Katherine watching, unseen.

Katherine arranged for her son, Brock, who was attracted to Jill, to propose to her. Jill accepted, and Brock married them himself. Before they consummated the marriage, Jill found out that she was pregnant and told Phillip. Phillip was overjoyed, and asked Katherine for a divorce, which sent her back to the bottle. Katherine signed the papers in a drunken stupor, crossing out the property settlement saying that without him, she wanted nothing, not even the estate. Phillip flew to the Dominican Republic for a quickie divorce. Meanwhile Jill broke the news to Brock, who agreed to back out of their marriage, which was not legal anyway.

Upon Phillip's return, Katherine met him at the airport and offered to drive him home. Katherine made a last-ditch effort to convince Phillip to change his mind about their marriage. But when he turned her down, she hit the accelerator while rounding a curve, and the car sailed off a cliff. Katherine sustained serious injuries, and Phillip was in critical condition. Jill hovered at his bedside. Phillip asked the hospital chaplain to marry them, and soon afterward, Phillip died. Thus began the life-long feud between Jill Foster and Katherine Chancellor with Jill accusing Katherine of murdering her true love, and Katherine accusing Jill of stealing hers. Katherine decided, in Phillip's memory, to go "on the wagon" for good.

Jill delivered a son, whom she named Phillip Chancellor III. Katherine tried to buy him from Jill for a million dollars, but instead, Jill sued for half of Phillip's estate. Katherine hired attorney Mitchell Sherman to have Jill's marriage annulled, thereby stopping any inheritance, due to the fact that the divorce papers had been signed when she was drunk. In retaliation, Jill planted alcohol around the estate so that Katherine would go off the wagon, and also attempted to drive Katherine insane.

Years later, Katherine fell in love with and tricked hairdresser Derek Thurston into marrying her. Derek was really in love with Jill Foster. But Derek took Katherine up on her deal. If he lived with Katherine for a year, she would set up a $100,000 trust for Jill's son and set Derek up in his own salon. Then Derek's ex-wife, Suzanne Lynch, arrived in town, intent on getting Derek back. She befriended Katherine, and gave her candy laced with drugs, which drove Katherine into a sanitarium.

Katherine's roommate went berserk and set fire to the room. Katherine escaped, but the roommate's body was identified as Katherine because she had been wearing Katherine's ring. Derek found himself free of both wives, inheriting the Chancellor wealth, and free to marry Jill. But Katherine showed up at their wedding -- very much alive. Katherine reclaimed her fortune and Derek, and named him head of Chancellor Industries. In 1981, Katherine and Derek went on a cruise, and during a fight, Katherine jumped overboard. Felipe Ramirez rescued her and held her captive. They fell in love, and he set her free to return to her world where she divorced Derek.

In 1984, Brock returned from India to attend a Newman wedding, finding that his mother had finally became sober and had a face-lift. Then former Genoa City Country Club tennis pro Brent Davis returned to town and began an affair with Katherine. When Brent found out that he was dying, he wanted to reveal to Ashley that he had been her mother Dina's lover and Ashley's biological father. Dina and Katherine tried to talk Brent out of it, but he told Ashley, and she was traumatized by the news. Ashley turned up later with no memory at a roadside diner where she took the name "Annie" and worked as a waitress. When Brent and Katherine returned from a vacation together, Dina confronted Brent about what he had done. Dina shot Brent but missed, and the bullet struck Katherine instead. Ashley forgave Brent just before his death, and vowed that John Abbott would never find out. Only Dina, Jack, Jill, Katherine, and Victor ever learned the secret of Ashley's real parentage, and John never found out before his death.

By 1988, Jill had found a bum on a park bench, cleaned him up, named him Rex Sterling, and paid him to romance Katherine Chancellor. Rex was actually Bryan Romalotti, the ex-con father of Danny and Gina. What started out as another trick of Jill's, ended up a wonderful romance. Katherine found out who Rex was, but loved him so much, she didn't care. They were married, and Rex signed a pre-nuptial agreement to show his trustworthiness. Rex brought a new youthfulness to Katherine as they spent a lot of time on his motorcycle and she would sing to him "I'm gonna live until I die."

A year later, Rex's former cellmate, Clint Radison, found a woman named Marge Catrooke working at a diner; Marge was a dead ringer for Katherine. Clint and his cohorts, Morey and Lil, went to work for Katherine as houseman Robert and maid Shirley. They trained Marge to pass for Katherine, then held Katherine and her maid Esther captive. Meanwhile, Rex found himself increasingly baffled by his "wife's" unusual behavior. No longer able to tolerate her new eccentricities and boorish behavior, Rex moved out and took up residence with Jill. Jill persuaded Rex to file for divorce from Katherine and marry her.

Marge sold Chancellor Industries, and since Rex was gone, Clint was free to liquidate the rest of Katherine's assets. But Katherine's son, Brock, made a surprise return from his missions in India. Brock, with the help of Mitchell Sherman, discovered the ruse, and rescued Katherine and Esther who was pregnant by a one-night stand with Tiny the Plumber. Marge had gotten to know Katherine, and like her. Clint and his cohorts went to prison, but Marge was released as an innocent dupe, thanks to Katherine's intervention. Once Esther's baby was born, she was named Kate, after Esther's dear friend and employer Katherine.

Katherine was devastated to learn that during her absence, Rex had married Jill. With her lawyer Mitchell's help, Katherine pointed out that the marriage wasn't legal because the divorce papers had been signed by Marge, not Katherine. But Katherine agreed to accept Rex's marriage to Jill, provided they wait six months before legally remarrying. During the waiting period, Jill began seeing her ex-husband, John Abbott. Complicating matters was Rex's unusual romance with Leanna Love, whom he pursued while posing as a man named Roger. Katherine decided to blow everyone's cover by arranging a party where she took delight in watching Jill and Rex's love lives explode as Rex's tricks were exposed. Rex and Katherine remarried after Rex pretended that he was dying from a heart attack. They would have lived happily ever after if it were not for Esther's poor choice in men.

Esther answered a personal ad in the paper and met con man Norman Peterson. In an effort to impress him, she posed as lady of the manor, and Katherine and Rex went along with it and dressed up as her servants. Norman coerced Esther into convincing Katherine to include Esther in her will and marry him, but Katherine and Rex were suspicious, so they arranged a fake will and wedding. Then, unwilling to wait for Katherine to die to be rich, Norman broke into the estate safe, and Rex caught him. Startled, Norman shot and killed Rex, leaving Katherine devastated. Norman was arrested for murder, and Esther was forgiven and then legaly named in Katherine's will. Esther's daughter, Kate, later attended boarding school courtesy of Katherine Chancellor.

The next chapter in the Jill vs. Katherine saga began with Jill living temporarily at the Chancellor Estate after her failed second marriage to John Abbott. Living there gave Jill flashbacks to her early days of love with Phillip, which prompted her to rummage in boxes in the Chancellor attic. She found a deed and letter declaring his love and giving her the Chancellor Estate. Jill used these and the crossed-out Chancellor divorce property settlement to sue Katherine in court, won half of the estate, and moved back in permanently.

The constant battle of living with Jill drove Katherine close to the bottle again. Rather than succumb, she ran off into the night, contemplated suicide on a bridge, and ended up lost in the streets, her purse stolen, cold, and alone. A homeless girl, known only as Mac, rescued Katherine and took her to the Genoa City Shelter. The elegant, rich Katherine Chancellor managed to blend in with the group, befriending Mac and an alcoholic named Birdie. Mac finally trusted Katherine enough to confide in her the letter she carried next to heart -- a letter from the father she had never met which had been written to her mother.

Amazingly, the father turned out to be Katherine's son, Brock, and Katherine realized that Mac was her granddaughter. Mac's mother, Amanda, and Brock had been in love and worked together in India. They split up when Amanda wanted to return to the states, but Brock felt his calling was helping the needy in India. Amanda did not find out that she was pregnant with Mackenzie until long after she had returned to the states. Rather than burden Brock with a choice between them and his calling, Amanda had chosen not to tell him. The trio of Mac, Katherine, and Birdie became close, each helping the other. Katherine eventually decided she was ready to return home to the estate to face Jill, with her friends Mac and Birdie in toe.

Katherine decided to track down her son in India so he could meet the daughter he never knew he had, but returned from her search without him. Shortly afterward, Katherine received a call telling her that Brock was presumed dead. Then Brock suddenly showed up, and they were reunited after many years. Mackenzie returned to the estate to get her things, intending to leave town, just as her father walked in and he finally met his daughter. Jill took an instant dislike to Mac. Birdie stopped drinking, got a job, and eventually moved out to her own place, hoping to clean up her act and reclaim her own daughter. Mac and Brock lived at the Chancellor Estate, slowly learning to trust and love each other. Though he wanted to be a father to Mac, Brock's need to help people sent him to volunteer in Louisiana, building houses for the poor.

Afraid that Mac's mother, Amanda, would show up in Genoa City and take her back, Katherine petitioned and was awarded legal custody of Mac. When Amanda did show up, Mac rebuffed her and sent her away. But they learned that Amanda had run away from Mac's stepfather, Ralph, and was living at the same homeless shelter where Mac and Brock were volunteers. With her boyfriend Billy Abbott's help, Mac and her mother accepted each other in their lives again. Katherine asked Amanda to move to the estate, and Amanda agreed. Then Mac's stepfather, Ralph, showed up in town and began stalking Amanda, and he coerced Amanda into helping him steal from the Chancellor Estate.

Amanda let him in the mansion while everyone was at the prom, but Mac returned home unexpectedly and, much to her horror, was met by Ralph. Billy arrived on the scene as Ralph was about to molest Mac again. Billy confronted him and whacked Ralph over the head with a fireplace poker. Thinking he had killed Ralph, Billy took Mac to hide out in the old Abbott playhouse. Ralph kidnapped Katherine after she returned from chaperoning at the prom, and took her to a motel room where he tied her up. Ralph, disguised as a cop, talked Mac's friend Raul into telling him places where he might find Mac. Meanwhile Jill's paramour, Larry Warton, found and rescued Katherine.

Ralph showed up at the playhouse, too late, but found Billy and Mac at a campsite where Raul and Billy had played as kids. Ralph knocked Billy out by hitting him over the head with a rock and grabbed Mac, but Larry showed up in time to rescue her. Larry and Ralph fought, and just before the police arrived, both ended up going over a cliff to the lakeshore below. The next morning Ralph came to and tried to kill an unconscious Larry with a rock, but was scared away by the arrival of the police. Larry recovered with minor injuries and major thanks from Billy's mother, Jill, for saving her son's life. Because Jill had video evidence that Amanda had stolen Jill's jewels, and nearly gotten her own daughter and Jill's son killed, Amanda agreed to leave town if Jill would drop the charges. Mac left Genoa City that fall to attend Northwestern University. By spring, Billy proposed, and they were to be married in June in a lavish wedding courtesy of Katherine.

Out of the blue in 2003, Jill's mother and Katherine's friend, Liz, showed up in Genoa City from her home in England with the news that Liz was to undergo brain surgery, and knowing she might not survive, felt it was time to admit to Jill that Jill was adopted. All Liz knew was that her husband, Bill, had brought Jill home to her, wrapped in a blanket, as a baby. Jill was desperate to know who she really was. Liz survived her surgery. After Jill and Larry's aborted attempts to con and steal her birth certificate from the hospital records, Jill's friend, banker Frederick Hodges, contacted a search agency. They were able to arrange a meeting between Jill and her birth mother, the always-tipsy, crusty, down-on-her-luck, Charlotte Ramsey. Liz gave her blessing to the meeting, while Katherine fumed at how Jill was so quick to abandon Liz.

Jill and Charlotte were becoming close, while John Abbott was getting suspicious that Charlotte was more interested in Jill's money. John realized that he had dated Charlotte's sister Eileen in high school, and without telling Katherine why, he quizzed her for what she knew about the family. Katherine, after much agonizing, revealed the story of how she had once helped Eileen's sister Charlotte get an illegal abortion, from which she had nearly died, which left her unable to have more children. John then realized that it was impossible for Charlotte to be Jill's mother.

John confronted Charlotte, who broke down and told him that she and Katherine "ran the town together" during a year of separation from Katherine's first husband Gary who had taken young Brock to Europe. During that time, Katherine had gotten pregnant by Gary's golfing buddy, Arthur Hendricks. To protect Katherine's reputation, Charlotte had agreed to take Katherine's newborn baby girl to a place to be adopted in exchange for a lot of cash and a promise to disappear. The agency refused to take the child without a name on a birth certificate, so to protect young socialite Katherine, Charlotte had used her own name. Charlotte went to Katherine to tell her story before John did. Katherine had a stroke when she realized that the baby she had given up many years before was her own worst enemy, Jill.

Charlotte told poor Liz the truth and abruptly left town, leaving Liz to tell Jill that her nemesis, Katherine, was her birth mother, and to tell Brock that Jill, the young girl he had once married but whose marriage was fortunately never consummated, was actually his half-sister. And worst of all, Liz had to tell Mac and Billy, who were about to be married, that they were actually cousins. Devastated by the news, Mac and Billy left town separately. Jill was left to care for Katherine, who could not move or talk following the stroke.

Katherine did not let Jill know that she was getting better, testing Jill to see if she might care for Katherine like a mother. Eventually thanks to the influence of Larry, Jill was able to begin to come to grips with how she really felt about Katherine. Jill and Katherine fought over the disruption of having Esther around, so Katherine and Esther moved into the Genoa City Hotel to give Jill some space. Jill then became so obnoxious to Larry that she drove him away too. Jill was very much alone and turned to the bottle a little too often. Her only friend appeared to be the shady strip club owner and former mobster, Bobby Marcino.

Jill began her outlandish plans to renovate the mansion to make it her own. Once Katherine saw the workmen demolishing the foyer ceiling of her beloved home, she flipped out and began drinking again after 20 years on the wagon. Jill felt guilty that she had driven her newly discovered mother to drink, and asked Katherine to move back home. The mansion was restored back to the way it had always been, but Katherine was still drinking. Judge Arthur Hendricks, Jill's biological father, suddenly showed up in Genoa City to visit Katherine after a nearly 50-year absence. Jill hoped he would be just the ticket to make Katherine care about life again. Meanwhile Jill got to know her father, and he moved into the mansion.

Then Mackenzie returned after spending time in the Southwestern US teaching kindergarten and preschool children on an Indian Reservation. Katherine's dear friend and maid, Esther, became a trained alcohol abuse counselor. With Esther's help, Jill, Arthur, and Mac staged an intervention, attended by Brock and her friends Nikki Newman, Liz Foster, and Lauren Fenmore. Katherine found out, and welcomed them with a catered party with a full bar. They all pleaded with Katherine, and then bid her farewell, and left.

Alone and drunk, Katherine passed out and had a vision in which her dear husband Rex and grandson Phillip returned from the dead to make one final plea. Katherine awoke, sure that it was a dream, until she found that the glass she had fallen asleep with in her hand was instead on the table where Rex had put it in the dream. Katherine checked in to rehab and later returned to the Chancellor estate clean and sober again.

While sitting in on a Chancellor Industries board meeting for Katherine, Jill noticed irregularities, so she decided to get more involved. With Jack's help, she discovered financial discrepancies that indicated that CEO Elliott Hampton was living high on company funds. Jill confronted the slimy Elliott, but he conned her with excuses and charm. Jill then got a tip from Bobby Marcino that someone was trying to contract a hit on her. Elliott ended up charming Jill into accepting his marriage proposal, but shortly afterward, an investigation proved that Elliott had embezzled millions. When Jill confronted him, he tried to talk her into marrying him and running away together with the millions. Jack Abbott arrived in time to see Jill regretfully turn him down. After Elliott fled, Jack admitted that he had gotten all of Elliott's offshore accounts frozen pending the investigation.

No sooner had Arthur proposed to Katherine, than his stepson Harrison Bartlett showed up claiming that Arthur had killed his mother, Eleanor, for her fortune. Jill had Arthur investigated, but it only proved allegations were made but never proven, and Arthur had never been charged. Jill and Katherine confronted Arthur, but he refused to explain, saying that Bartlett had ruined his career and his life. Jill was still skeptical, but Katherine was determined to take a leap of faith and marry Arthur anyway. But Arthur said goodbye and left town, saying that he couldn't live under a cloud of suspicion. Katherine blamed Jill for losing Arthur, and their feud began once again.

Katherine made Jack Abbott CEO of Chancellor Industries, and Jack wrangled a deal to rescue Jabot by making it a subsidiary of Chancellor. Jill was given the Jabot CEO position after she and Katherine finally made amends.

After Bobby Marcino went into the witness protection plan, Katherine Chancellor invited his wife, Brittany, and her baby, Joshua, to live at the Chancellor Estate with Mac and her boyfriend J.T., which would be more secure for all of them. Months went by, and finally Brittany shared a short visit with a heavily guarded Bobby. Not long afterward, she received word that Bobby had been killed by a hit-and-run driver. Brittany was devastated, and she and her baby moved to New York City to live with her parents.

In 2006, Jill's ex-husband and Katherine's close friend, John Abbott, had a stroke and was rushed to Genoa City Memorial in grave condition. The doctors made the family aware that John would never emerge from his vegetative state and had signed a 'Do Not Resuscitate' order. After much bickering between his wife, Gloria, and son, Jack, Gloria decided to use her authority in the DNR to allow John to die. Katherine and Jill said their farewells to John in the hospital before he died.

Shortly after getting a DNA test that confirmed Jill was her daughter, Katherine began having disturbing nightmares of a baby crying. Through the help of psychic Silvia Brown, whose card reading turned into a séance with Jill's dead son Phillip, Katherine began to remember a ring and a scene where she was handing over a baby. When it finally came back to her, Katherine was forced to reveal to Jill that she had switched Jill's son Phillip for another baby shortly after his birth, and had given a woman named Violet an expensive ring to secure the deal. Apparently because of her heavy drinking and shame, Katherine had blocked the memory for years.

Jill was torn between being livid with Katherine and relieved that her son Phillip was not dead after all. They hired private detective J.T. Hellstrom to try to track down the real Phillip Chancellor III, and Amber Moore also did her own research consulting tarot cards, psychics, and the Internet. Amber found Cane, whose adopted mother was named Violet. He was searching for his mother and arrived in Genoa City from Australia on Amber's lead. A DNA test later proved him to be the real Phillip Chancellor, and the son of Jill. Violet had died while Cane was still a baby, and her brother Langley had taken the baby home to Australia and raised him as his own, naming him Ethan "Cane" Ashby.

Phillip's III's body was exhumed, and it was confirmed that he was not Jill's biological son, though the corpse's true identity was never revealed. Katherine asked Cane to take a position with Chancellor Industries as Clear Springs Property Manager, but he refused, saying that he was not qualified and not wanting a handout. But he was talked into taking it temporarily until Katherine could find someone.

Due to a mini-stroke in 2007, Katherine decided it was time to put her house in order. She took a liking to Amber Moore, seeing a lot of herself in the young woman, and hired Amber to assist in writing her memoirs. Katherine made Jill CEO of Chancellor Industries, Cane Director of Acquisitions and later Vice President of Jabot, and made her friend Nikki Newman CEO of Jabot.

Katherine began having some recurring memory loss, but was covering it up pretty well. Gloria Bardwell who worked at Chancellor, took advantage, pulling tricks to convince Katherine she was losing it in an attempt to get enough of Katherine's Jabot stock to have controlling interest. Luckily Jill caught and stopped her, just as Katherine was signing over the stock. Esther, Cane, and Jill wondered if Katherine was still capable of driving, let alone overseeing Chancellor and Jabot, even with Jill and Cane in charge of each, so Jill took away Katherine's car keys.

Marge Catrooke returned to Genoa City and was spotted drunk by Jeffrey Bardwell, who assumed it was Katherine. Katherine got $75,000 in cash from the bank to get Marge into rehab, but on her way, she left the bag with the money at Crimson Lights, and the owner, Kevin, unable to catch her, locked it in his safe. Jill and a Chancellor lawyer forced Katherine to get checked out for her memory problems. While Katherine was waiting for the doctor, Nikki discovered how bad Katherine had gotten when Katherine referred to Nikki's dead husband David as though he were still alive. After seeing the doctor, Katherine talked them into giving her another day to check into the hospital so that she could secretly help Marge, then Katherine disappeared.

Katherine and Marge had been in a bad car accident on the way to rehab. Katherine was thrown clear, but Nikki and Jill, who were out looking for Katherine, found Marge dead in the car. Not knowing about Marge's reappearance, they assumed it was Katherine's body. A funeral was held, and several people from Katherine's past attended: her son, Brock; her late grandson Phillip's wife, Nina; her stepson and stepdaughter, Danny and Gina; her attorney, Mitchell; and her old friends Liz Foster, Traci and Ashley Abbott, and Dina Mergeron. Daniel Romalotti sketched a picture of Katherine, which was framed and placed on her casket.

Katherine's will was read, and son Brock received one percent of her billion-dollar-plus worth in trust to continue his good works and was named Chairman of the Chancellor Foundation. Her stepchildren, Gina and Danny, received one-half of one percent in cash. Esther received one tenth of one percent and Katherine's half of the mansion, so that Esther could live her life in financial freedom. Nikki received all of Katherine's jewelry, including a family heirloom emerald and diamond ring given to Katherine by her mother. Grandchildren Cane, Billy, McKenzie, and Phillip received one-quarter of one percent in trust. Katherine left one fifth of one percent to Amber, so that she and Daniel could pursue their artistic goals, and gave Amber the sole rights to her memoirs, which Jill had forbidden Katherine to publish. Jill was left the remainder of the assets, including all but five percent of Katherine's Jabot stock. That five percent, in addition to a Ming vase, was left to Gloria because her late husband John Abbott had given both to Katherine. Jill was livid, knowing that the Chancellors now were no longer majority stockholders. Esther's child Kate, who was now known as Chloe, announced that her expected baby was going to be a girl, and her middle name would be Katherine.

Esther and Jill had a rough time getting used to being housemates rather than maid and owner, but Esther held her ground. Meanwhile Marge's friend Murphy discovered Katherine's comatose body lying by the creek near the accident, and assumed it was Marge. He took her to his house trailer and nursed her back to health. But Katherine's memory was fuzzy, as she was working at the diner trying to be Marge and remember her life. Murph and Marge's co-worker, Pearl, were curious about Marge's elegant emerald ring, so Pearl took it to the pawn shop, where they offered her $5000 for it. So when Marge found out that Murphy's bait and tackle shop was near bankruptcy, Marge took the ring in, and the real Katherine emerged as she haggled with the same clerk to get $10,000 for Murphy. As she left, the clerk admitted on the phone that it was worth at least $250,000.

A Jabot shareholders meeting was called, and to Jill's shock, Gloria and Jeff Bardwell and Billy Abbott announced their takeover, with the majority of Jabot shares and proxies from Traci and Ashley. Jack was present, and Jill reminded them that Jack was still legally banned from having anything to do with Jabot. Total confusion about who was in charge was calmed when Ashley Abbott arrived and announced that she was once again the rightful CEO of Jabot.

Katherine's book of memoirs Live Until I Die was released in time for Christmas 2008. Katherine fell on the ice at Murphy's, hit her head, and when she came to, partial memories began returning. She suddenly declared to Murphy that she was actually Katherine Chancellor. Murphy didn't believe her but found the obituary with a photo that looked like Marge and the story of the accident, which had occurred near where he'd found her. Sad that it meant his friend Marge was probably dead instead, he agreed to accompany Katherine to the mansion.

Murphy felt uncomfortable at the mansion and left Katherine, who was expecting to be welcomed by the daughter she remembered as Jill. But Jill refused to believe Katherine, and Katherine could not convince Jill with the little bit of memory intact, and Jill called the police, who threw Katherine in jail. While visiting Gloria Bardwell in jail, her son Kevin met the woman posing as Katherine Chancellor. He and Gloria believed her, and Kevin and Jana, joining forces with Amber and Daniel, used Katherine's money that was still tucked away in the Crimson Lights safe to bail her out of jail. Then hired Michael Baldwin to represent her to prove that she was Katherine.

Meanwhile, Marge's old cohort, Clint, got out of prison and returned to Genoa City, again plotting to get some of the Chancellor fortune. Clint found out that Katherine was assumed dead, and that Esther had inherited one tenth of one percent of Katherine's assets and Katherine's half of the mansion. But he also heard the rumor that it was Marge who was killed, and that Katherine was trying to convince everyone that she was still alive, so he instructed his cohort, Roger Wilkes, to woo Esther and marry her as fast as possible, or he might have to do something to keep Katherine from "coming back from the dead." Clint kidnapped Katherine just before the DNA proof results were due. Katherine told Clint that she remembered kneeing him in the groin after she was freed from the first kidnapping, which convinced Clint that she was Katherine and not Marge.

Surprisingly, the DNA results between Katherine and Jill did not match. Then Roger and Esther's marriage plans were delayed when her daughter, Chloe, went into labor. Roger surprised Esther with a justice of the peace and impromptu wedding in her hospital room. Esther took Chloe and her granddaughter home to the estate, and Jill offered them space in her wing so she could be closer to her granddaughter. Jill gave Esther proof that Roger was a bigamist who made a living marrying rich women, but Esther would not believe it. Meanwhile back at the hotel, Katherine's captor Annie had been reading Katherine's book and admiring her. Katherine began to convince her that she was really Katherine, and that Clint and Roger were using Annie -- to which Annie admitted that she was the first and only legal Mrs. Roger Wilkes.

Roger left the estate, with Esther following him to the hotel where they were holding Katherine. Roger walked in finding Katherine free of her bonds after convincing Annie to escape with her. Esther walked in and joyfully realized that Katherine was still alive. The three women were about to leave as Clint arrived, and stopped and threatened them. Meanwhile, Amber and Kevin realized that the first letter of every sentence of the note "Marge" had left when she had disappeared spelled out the name Clint.

Clint met Amber at a bar, hoping to convince her that he had witnessed Katherine leaving town. As Clint left, Gina spotted him and warned Amber and Kevin that he was her dangerous scammer ex-husband. Kevin and Amber tracked him down to the hotel where he was holding Katherine and Esther, but Annie bluffed them into leaving. Kevin returned later, and Clint captured him too. Clint, Annie, and Roger left Katherine and Esther in the hotel room with a bomb rigged to go off, drugging and framing Kevin for it, and taking him along locked in the trunk of the car.

Amber and Gloria arrived in time to untie Katherine and Esther, and the bomb went off, but no one was seriously hurt. Meanwhile, between Kevin's claustrophobia and the drugs, he began to believe that Clint was his dead abusive father, Terrible Tom, which turned Kevin into a whimpering child. Once Clint realized this, he took advantage of Kevin, coercing him to rob banks for him in a chipmunk head disguise. When Kevin successfully returned from his last robbery, a jubilant Clint had a heart attack and fell dead. Poor Kevin told him he was a bad dad and put him in the closet.

Thanks to the jolt of the bomb blast, Katherine's memory returned, and she managed to convince her friend Nikki that she was really Katherine. Together they connived to get a strand of Jill's hair for another DNA test, but it too proved no match to Katherine's DNA. Nikki's husband Victor also realized that she was Katherine, so he made a deal with Jill to agree to exhume the body in Katherine's grave to prove who it was, in exchange for his Jabot stock. The test proved that Jill was not a match to her, either, but when Brock arrived, a blood test proved that he was Katherine's son, which ultimately meant that Jill was not Katherine's daughter after all.

Throughout this ordeal, Murphy and Katherine fell in love. Murphy proposed, and she accepted. Katherine tried to assure Jill that she still loved her like a daughter, and that nothing needed to change. But Jill was having none of it, accusing Katherine of marrying "trailer trash" just like Katherine had scorned Jill for being. They ended up in a wedding cake fight at Billy and Chloe's wedding over it. Mac also arrived to celebrate the return of her grandmother, and after some persuasion by Murphy that Katherine needed her, Mac decided to stay in Genoa City. Katherine's attorney Mitchell Sherman arranged for Katherine's death certificate and will to be nullified, and all bequests to be returned. Katherine regained control of Jabot and made Jack CEO again. Katherine offered Cane a job at Chancellor, but instead, he chose to get out of the corporate rat-race, bought Billy's favorite escape, Jimmy's Bar, and hired Mac as a waitress when she walked in looking for a job.

Eighty-year-old Katherine married Patrick "Murph" Murphy in the Chancellor garden in a service officiated by her son, Brock. Nikki was matron of honor, Victor was best man because Kevin was still locked up, and Amber and Mac were bridesmaids. Ana Hamilton sang "Let Met Call you Sweetheart," and the catering was by Joe's Diner, complete with chicken nuggets. Amber designed Katherine's white lace suit dress, and Nikki caught the bouquet. Michael got Kevin out on bail just in time to attend.

Nina showed up in time to catch Jill arriving drunk, and locked her in a closet before she could make a scene. Lauren arrived soon after, and let Jill out, but Cane made Jill sit down and shut up during the ceremony. But afterward Billy and Cane had to drag Jill out while she raved at Katherine. Then Billy and Mac danced and shared how this wedding reminded them of their own long ago. Mac resisted Billy's advances, and when he grabbed and kissed her, she slapped him. His new bride, Chloe saw it, kissed his smarting cheek, and took him home.

Nina decided to stick around awhile, writing a screenplay of Katherine's book Live Until I Die in collaboration with Amber. Nina felt the movie should focus on Katherine's evil deeds like the feud with Jill and baby switch, but Amber felt it should focus on Katherine's goodness. Katherine felt that anything Nina thought was important to the script, to leave it in. Amber gave Nina some background on how the baby switch had happened and how they'd found Cane, but Nina seemed skeptical.

Katherine invited the governor to dinner to request amnesty for Kevin and Amber, but Jill told him it would ruin his career, and when Kevin and Amber showed up, Jill maligned them and Katherine in front of the Governor. Jill hit on the governor and took him into another room; he emerged very happy, and Jill gloated that she had changed his mind. While Katherine and Jill were sparing, Murphy convinced the governor to grant the amnesty with the gift of his military rifle from one Korean War veteran to another.

Cane and Lily Winters were married in the Catholic Church, and Katherine read a scripture. Their reception was held at Indigo, where Jill asked Cane to consider taking the Chancellor name, Katherine agreed, saying she'd always thought of Phillip as her own, and Cane too.

On Memorial Day 2009, Katherine and Murphy threw a barbecue around the Chancellor pool with Esther, Billy, Chloe, Delia, Mac, Amber, Nina, and Jack in attendance. Later Sharon, Neil, Tyra, Kevin, and Jana arrived. Raul Guittierez surprised everyone when he walked in. After reuniting with Billy and being introduced to Katherine's new husband Murphy, and Billy's new wife Chloe and their baby, Mac walked in and she and Raul embraced and passionately kissed. Mac had earlier revealed that there was someone she worked with in Darfur, Africa, and their year-long relationship was "serious, but didn't work out" -- and it turned out to be Raul. After Billy reluctantly gave them his blessing, Raul asked Mac to marry him and return to Washington, DC, with him, but she later called it off due to her lingering feelings for Billy.

While Nina was in Genoa City to work on the screenplay adaptation of Katherine's memoirs, she grew skeptical of Cane's story and questioned him about it. Cane called his "uncle Langley" in Australia saying, "Phillip, your wife is going to find out you're still alive", but Phillip told Cane not to worry, it would lead nowhere and blow over. Private detective Paul Williams found out that Violet had been in a hospital in Arizona at the time of the baby switch, so that part of Cane's story had been a lie, but Jill and Katherine refused to believe that Cane was not genuine. Nina was anxious to confirm the identity her son's father to confirm or rule out her son's possible diagnosis of Huntington's disease. When she called the lab to get the sample from the prior exhumation re-examined, she was told they had no sample, nor any record of it at all in their files. So she had the body exhumed again, but the coffin was found to be empty. Further tests showed there had never been a body in that coffin, just bags of sand to give it weight.

Meanwhile Cane was frantically trying to get hold of "Langley." Jill reluctantly requested another DNA test, and viewers saw Cane pull a vial of blood marked "Langley" from a freezer of dry ice. The blood test was done at the Chancellor estate, but Cane distracted everyone while he substituted the blood vials. The results came in, and all but Nina were thrilled that Cane proved to be Jill's son. Then Paul delivered more news to Nina; tests showed the blood had been frozen, so Nina confronted Cane, asking where he had gotten the blood to pass the test. Cane admitted to Nina that he was a fraud, in front of Katherine, Jill, Murphy, Chloe, Neil, and Lily, saying it was not for the money. He insisted he never wanted to hurt anyone and had only meant to heal them, and that they had become family to him.

When Cane was asked how he could do that to the people who had given him nothing but love, Jill's son Phillip emerged to say that he had done it; it was his plan. All were stunned to see Phillip alive. Katherine had another mini-stroke and was rushed to the hospital by ambulance. Murphy, Jill, and Nina were with her when Phillip arrived and assured everyone he was very much alive, explaining that at 19 he had found himself overwhelmed with responsibilities as a young executive at Chancellor and a new father. As an alcoholic suffering depression, he had attempted suicide by crashing his sports car. When he awoke still alive in the hospital, he managed to pay off a doctor and a policeman to aid in faking his death, then escaped to Australia and began a new life as Langley.

Five years prior to his return “Langley” had met Cane, who had gone to work as a bartender in Phillip's bar, and they had become friends. Cane had grown up alone without a family and helped Phillip to realize what he had probably put everyone through with his death. So they concocted the plan to give Jill and Katherine a new son in Cane, to make them all happy. He told Nina that he had justified leaving her and their son because he had believed they would both be better off without him. Meanwhile back at the Chancellor Estate, Lily was crushed that Cane had lied to her for years, Neil told him to stay away from Lily, and Billy arrived in time to punch Cane out. Then Phillip dropped a bomb on Nina, telling her the other reason he was so desperate to die or to leave town was that he was gay.

A few days later, Cane went to the Chancellor Mansion to say goodbye and apologize to Katherine and Jill. Phillip tried to get them to stop Cane from leaving, reminding them that they had loved him just a few days before. But Cane slipped out while they were welcoming Nina's grown son, Phillip IV, whom she called Chance, who had just returned from Iraq. Chance unexpectedly discovered his supposedly dead father as part of his welcome home. Chance's reaction was abnormally calm as he shook his father's hand, saying he was relieved, and that “dead people never came back" where he'd just been. His father, Phillip gave them all some relief by announcing the results of his blood test, that he was not a Huntington's carrier.

Chance told Phillip he was not interested in Phillip's explanation, that Ryan was the only father Chance had ever known. Chloe and Chance began getting to know each other, and Chance admitted that he had been discharged from the Army, was lonesome for his mother and grandmother, intended to stay, and was still a virgin. Katherine told Phillip that what he had done to them was unforgivable. But after what Cane had done to save Lily by getting her to return and have surgery to cure her cancer, Katherine felt that Cane was a good man; she forgave Cane and asked him to stay in Genoa City. Billy was livid that his "fake brother" was once again the favored son and grandson.

When Katherine asked where she could find Jill, Gloria sent her to the nail salon. Shocked to find Jill working there, Jill explained while she did Katherine's nails. Katherine was touched and handed Jill a tip as she left - a check for $100,000 to pay her taxes. Phillip, Nina, and Chance threw Jill a birthday dinner. Katherine was a surprise guest, and her gift to Jill was a card requesting she return to work at Chancellor. Katherine later made Jill an equal partner with Jack at Jabot, and hired Neil Winters as CEO. Jack later found out that Katherine was taking Chancellor Industries public, and she was aware that he was hoping to get enough shares to get Jabot back for his family. But Katherine was approached by Tucker McCall and ended up selling all the shares to Tucker instead.

Daniel got Katherine a quick online minister ordination, and she officiated at his wedding to Amber Moore.

Jill and Katherine mended fences and admitted that they felt like mother and daughter again. But Jill decided it was time Katherine found the real daughter that she had given to Charlotte Ramsey, so she hired Paul to investigate, swearing him to secrecy from Katherine. Paul discovered that Charlotte had not only disappeared, but every record and every trace of her was also gone. He tracked down the baby and discovered that she been given to the Gray Nuns at the Sisters of Charity orphanage near the Canadian border. Jill presented Katherine the name and whereabouts of Katherine's child as a gift for Christmas 2009. Jill and Katherine flew to South Dakota and met JoAnn "JoJo" Glover, proprietor of JoJo's Bail Bonds.

JoAnn was a tough crude woman with a police record of assault, weapons possession, and grand theft. She had served ten years in Federal prison in Dublin, CA, for extortion, money laundering, and trafficking in stolen goods, and was involved in a motorcycle gang Federal RICO prosecution. They told JoAnn that she was Katherine's daughter and took her home for a visit. It wasn't long before they were insisting on a DNA test, in hopes they could prove she was not Katherine's daughter. JoJo refused, so Murphy got a DNA sample from one of her beer bottles.

Jill met wealthy industrialist Tucker McCall on a business trip, but he let her assume he was just a bartender, and they had an affair. Tucker soon showed up at Chancellor to advise Katherine and Neil to buy out a company named "Cell Tron" with Chancellor stock. Jill was shocked to walk in on the meeting and discover Tucker real identity, but he managed to talk his way out of it later, and they continued their affair. When the DNA test proved JoJo was not Katherine's daughter, it was discovered that Tucker had set JoJo up as part of his plot to get revenge on Katherine because Tucker was her missing child. Another DNA test proved it.

Tucker turned out to be the only stockholder in "Cell Tron," so he owned majority interest in Chancellor, which devastated Katherine. When Katherine found out about Tucker and Jill's relationship, she accused Jill of being in on his plot, and fired Jill from Jabot and Chancellor. Victor and Adam staged a public fight, and Victor ran an article in Restless Style, exposing Adam as part of Nick's idea to get Chancellor back to Katherine. So Tucker's first steps were to hire Adam Newman, J.T. Hellstrom, and Kevin Fisher, dump Jill as a lover, and sell Jabot. Because Victor got Adam to disclose the sealed bids, Newman was able to outbid the Abbotts for Jabot, and Victoria was to be made CEO.

Jack was livid when Victor fired him, accusing Victor of dirty dealing. Jill talked Billy into hiring her at Restless Style, and they worked together to expose Tucker. Katherine, also trying to get something on Tucker to get Chancellor back, discovered that Tucker had paid off Alexander Thomas, the Cultural Minister of Yugoslavia, with a Griffin painting worth millions to promote the band that had launched his career 25 years earlier. She confronted Tucker and threatened to ruin him with a charge of international corporate bribery. But her guilt over abandoning him as a baby got the best of her, and she backed off.

After signing over Jabot to Victor, Tucker received word that Jack had gotten a judge to block the sale, pending investigation of Adam's part in it. When Tucker realized that Katherine had given up the chance to get Chancellor back, he stopped the pending sales of other Chancellor assets, and made a deal with Katherine so she could buy enough shares to be equal partners in Chancellor. Katherine and Tucker got close, and Katherine talked him into selling her 51%. Jill became jealous, and published the story to expose Tucker. Tucker thought they had tricked him, so he prepared to sell all the Chancellor assets within the thirty days before sale closed.

Katherine swore that Jill had acted alone and Jill confirmed it. Later Tucker made a substantial donation to Katherine's annual charity ball, which benefited the homeless, so she was hoping she had convinced him. But weeks later Tucker informed Katherine that he wanted Jabot, or he would expose the security tape he had of Adam opening the sealed bids, which would invalidate the sale to Victor. Katherine capitulated, and Tucker asked Ashley Abbott to be CEO of Jabot Cosmetics. She had second thoughts about working for someone like McCall, but she later accepted, hoping that by working there she could somehow get Jabot back in the Abbotts' hands, where it belonged.

In June 2010, Liz Foster returned to Genoa City to see Jill, but was carried off the plane on a stretcher, accompanied by her son, Snapper. Jill and Katherine met them at the hospital, where Dr. Snapper diagnosed Liz with Wegener's disease - a rare, autoimmune disease. Fearing that she might die, Liz confided one last secret about Jill's parentage to Snapper, who told Katherine, saying that he intended to tell Jill the truth. Katherine and the Fosters each spent some final time with Liz, talking mostly about the past and about Jill. Later as she was about to finally tell the secret herself to a very distraught Jill, Liz passed away.

Afterward, Snapper told Jill that her real father had been a very young Neil Fenmore, who had gotten a girl pregnant. Neil's family had refused to let him marry the girl, so she had abandoned her baby at the hospital and committed suicide. Neil's daughter, Lauren, was disbelieving when Jill told her the circumstances that made them half-sisters. Katherine let Snapper know that she would look out for Jill. A DNA test proved Liz's story was true. But Lauren told Jill she was not interested in welcoming Jill to the family, so Jill consulted a lawyer about her legal options. At Katherine and Murphy's Fourth of July picnic, Jill announced how proud she was to be a Fenmore, and that she had legally changed her name to Jill Fenmore.

Murphy and Katherine continued to be happy together between his fishing trips and her charity events. But in October 2010, Victor sent Meggie McClain to the Harvest Festival to give Murphy a check for Victor's donation for the cause. Murphy and Meggie recognized each other, and she dropped the check and ran. Murphy got into his car and called Victor to warn him, saying he would "not let this happen again."

Meggie got in the car, grabbed the phone out of Murphy's hands, and threw it out the car door. Murphy got so angry that he had a heart attack. Murphy reached for his heart medication. Meggie grabbed it away and threw the pills on the floor of the car, and left him there to die. Later in the hospital as Murphy recovered, Meggie injected something in his I.V. that gave him another heart attack and a stroke. Just as Katherine was about to make the decision not to put Murphy on life support, he opened his eyes. Unable to speak or move due to "locked-in" syndrome, Murphy's eyes focused on Meggie across the room.

Meggie visited her safe deposit box for what was apparently the same drug she had used on Murphy’s son, Francis. Meggie had made plans to drug Victor, fly to Las Vegas and get married; then afterward make sure that Victor died from a sexual enhancement drug reaction on his newly transplanted heart, which would make her a rich widow. Meanwhile, Murphy had finally gotten through to police detective Ronan by tapping his finger with Morse Code to warn him of danger. All went as Meggie had planned. They returned to the ranch, and once Meggie had given Victor the drug, she got cocky, asked him how he felt and told him that he was about to die and make her a rich widow. But Victor suddenly came out of his stupor, grabbed Meggie by the hair, and told her he was on to her, saying that he had tricked her into confessing her intention to murder him. Ronan and D.A. Heather walked in, along with Murphy in a wheelchair being pushed by a policeman, his eyes zeroing in on Meggie accusingly. Meggie squirmed while Ronan explained that Murphy had exposed her by using Morse Code. Heather informed Meggie that they knew about her reputation as a black widow and that she was wanted in several states for suspicion of murder. Meggie was arrested and taken to jail. Later back at the Chancellor Estate, Murphy was able to speak and told Katherine, “I love you old girl.” Meggie was later extradited to Alaska, where they had an airtight murder case against her and expected to get a conviction. Murphy explained that his son Francis had been in a serious accident which left him in a vegetative state, and Meggie, as his wife, had signed the consent to take Francis off life support. After his son’s death Meggie had collected the insurance money and left town.

Loyal friend Katherine told Victor about the deals that Jack and Victoria had made with Tucker to get Beauty of Nature from Victor to merge it with Jabot once they were awarded it in the arbitration hearing over his children's trust funds. They decided that together, Victor and Katherine would outwit them all. Katherine then went to Tucker and told him that his wedding to Ashley could no longer be held at her estate, because he was no longer welcome there.

Instead of accepting his children's settlement offer, Victor held a press conference to announce that he was taking Newman public. The Abbotts and Newmans, plus Tucker and Katherine, watched the television at Victoria's house in shock, knowing that Victor had always promised that would never happen. Katherine denounced them for causing it, saying she was ashamed of them. Nikki said she just wanted it all to stop, and left too. Billy left for the press conference, and arrived in time to ask if Victor had done this rather than give his kids the settlement they were granted. Victor replied that he loved his kids, but they were influenced by some unsavory characters, and that he was saddened that they were not there to enjoy the new era of Newman.

In the end, Tucker fired Jack for not bringing him Beauty of Nature, as promised, Victoria and Nick were arranging to buy up stock, as were Jack and Ashley. Abby just wanted her settlement in cash, and Tucker asked Katherine to buy stock with him to stop the kids from gaining control. Katherine called it a scheme, said she was not a fool, and would have no part of it. Then Katherine went to Victor offering to pool her funds with his so that none of them could seize control of Newman from him. Tucker offered to buy Abby's stock options but her resentment of Tucker made her sell them to Jack. Jack later offered them to Tucker in exchange for Jabot, but was turned down. Tucker then proposed to the Chancellor board that they buy Newman stock, resell it to Tucker at a loss and take a tax write-off. When Katherine found out about it, she met with Victor, ready to bring Tucker down.

Tucker was in critical condition after being struck by a car. With a fractured skull and subdural hematoma, Katherine gave permission for surgery to relieve pressure on the brain. Afterward, the doctor reported that they had found another bruise on the brain which caused a coma from which Tucker might not survive. Tucker's attorney, Nelson McGinnis, was called in to announce that Tucker had a living will stating that no extraordinary measures were to be taken to save his life. Katherine refused to allow it, but following his instructions, the doctors took him off the ventilator, expecting him to die. But Katherine made Tucker breathe by shear willpower.

Nelson called a meeting to announce that Tucker had named Katherine to take over the company as conservator if he were to become incapacitated, and that Tucker had a son whom he had never been able to locate. Katherine took over, and she began to foil Tucker's plans to buy up Newman stock once it went public. She also hired Paul to search for Tucker's son.

Victor offered Katherine an irresistible sum of money for Jabot. As she was thinking it over, Jack presented Katherine with a new marketing plan, logo, and a new skin care product made from cactus pectin which had been developed by Ashley. Jack had lined up department stores and a home shopping network to sign on only if Jack were appointed CEO of Jabot. Jack promised Katherine that they could put Jabot back on top again, and reminded her that selling to Victor would lose all of that.

Katherine was pleading with a comatose Tucker to help her decide what to do, when she was visited by the presence her deceased friend John Abbott who gave her counsel. Jack walked in, having just been counseled by the spirit of John as well about his obsession to return Jabot to the Abbotts. Jack told Katherine to go ahead and take Victor's offer if she felt it was one she couldn't pass up, and that he knew that she would do what was best for Jabot, and that their friendship was more important. But in the end, Katherine hired Jack back to head Jabot. Tucker came out of his coma, and was livid when Katherine admitted that she had been compelled to fire Ashley and hire Jack rather than accept Victor's offer to buy Jabot. Tucker married Ashley and asked her to take over his company and to not tell anyone how much his thought processes were impaired or the company would nosedive. Ashley assured him he would be back to normal in no time.

Jabot's national launch of its new cactus pectin product line and new Jabot logo was held at Fenmore's, and hosted by Lauren, Jill and Michael. The Abbotts were represented by Jack and Abby, and McCall by Katherine. Ashley, who developed the product, was with Tucker who was being dismissed from the hospital and insisted on attending the launch party. Ashley objected, fearful that the reporters and paparazzi would ask him questions and figure out his mental limitations. But Tucker and Ashley arrived to everyone's applause in the middle of Jack's speech, and when Tucker was stymied by a question, he turned things over to Ashley.

Weeks later, as a judge was considering revocation of conservatorship of Tucker McCall Unlimited he was interrupted by Katherine, who proved that Tucker was not fully recovered. The judge decided not to revoke the conservatorship until Tucker could demonstrate his competency. Once Katherine was able to convince the Chancellor Board to buy Jabot back from Tucker Industries, she gave the contract to Tucker inserted among other things to sign. Tucker made a strong showing at his next competency hearing and was declared competent to run his company again. Then Katherine divulged that Tucker had signed the contract selling her Jabot, and Tucker was put on the spot having to admit he knew what he was doing, or he would have lost his competency decision. Katherine put Jack back in charge of Jabot as CEO.

When questioned by Ashley about his unknown son, Tucker admitted that he had a lot of one-night-stands with groupies when he was on the road with his rock bands in the 1970s. Tucker said he received a note from an unknown groupie telling him that he had a son that he would never know, and he had figured this was payback for growing up without a father himself. Meanwhile Paul was led by an old photo to another groupie, Amy Koslow, who told him about the groupie known as "Candy Cane," who had a big crush on "Mick", the nickname that McCall went by then, and that when Candy had disappeared, she was rumored to be pregnant. This clue led Paul to discover that "Candy Cane" was Yolanda Hamilton, and that Devon Hamilton Winters was Tucker's son. After reporting the news to Katherine, Paul was told not to tell anyone since Tucker obviously didn't care enough to track him down on his own. Later that same day when Katherine heard that Tucker had fired Devon who worked for Tucker as a record producer, she met with Devon and asked him to become president of a new yet-to-be-named entertainment division of Chancellor Industries. Devon was shocked but accepted the job.

Tucker sabotaged Jabot by getting suppliers to cancel contracts and by creating work stoppages. Jack gathered the suppliers, freight and dock workers together and appealed to their sense of fair play, offering them bonuses if Jabot did well, and they agreed. After Jack told Katherine that he handled it, and she blew up at him, he agreed to Tucker's offer to help Tucker get back Jabot, if Jack would have complete control as CEO.

Tucker sued Katherine to overturn the sale of Jabot, citing that he could have gotten a better price. Tucker made a deal with Jack that if Tucker won, he would sell Jabot to Jack. Torn by loyalty to Katherine, but bolstered by a visit from the spirit of his dead father, John, Jack showed the judge a contract to buy Jabot for 50% more than Katherine had paid for it. Deciding that the sale was made under a cloud of secrecy, the judge found in favor of McCall. After the decision, Katherine collapsed while yelling at McCall. At the hospital Katherine was unconscious, and it was confirmed that she had a stroke brought on by hypertension.

Outside Katherine's hospital room, Tucker overheard Jill and Katherine's lawyer Mitchell discussing Devon's recent inclusion in Katherine's will, and guessed that Devon was his long lost son. Tucker tracked down Devon and told him that he was his father, but he was rebuffed. Once Katherine regained consciousness and Jill admitted that Tucker knew about Devon, she yelled at everyone who visited her except for Murphy, until Brock was the voice of reason.

Phyllis broke the story of Devon's paternity in Restless Style, Yolanda saw the webcast, and asked her boss at a Milwaukee diner for time off to see her son. Tucker held a news conference and said that he was happy to welcome Devon, a fine, bright, gifted young man to his family, and that he was looking forward to a relationship with his son.

Yolanda showed up at Devon's, clean and sober, telling him that she finally had her life together, and that she had changed her name to Harmony when she changed her life. Harmony explained that back in the late eighties, she had been jealous that Tucker had taken up with another groupie, and after she gave birth she had let Tucker know that he was a father with an unsigned note. Later after Devon had left, Tucker arrived and was confronted by Harmony. She told Tucker how Rubin, his road manager, had tried to give her cash to have her pregnancy "taken care of". Tucker swore he had not known, and that she should have come to him. Later Tucker apologized to Devon, admitting that he had not tried hard enough to find him, and how guilty he felt for all Devon had gone through when Tucker had the means to change it. Tucker tried to pay off Harmony to leave town, but she refused, was determined to stay and make things up to Devon, and find a way to restore Devon's trust. Katherine ran into Harmony and asked her to stay at her estate while she was in town. Harmony told Devon that she was grateful for the Winters family giving him a secure and loving home, but she respected his wishes to leave and gave Devon her contact information in Milwaukee, assuring him that she would always be there for him if he needed her.

Although Tucker received an anonymous bid for three times what Jack had offered, he went through with his promise and sold Jabot back to Jack. The Abbotts were finally owners of the family company again.

Tucker's therapist opined that he could not expect Devon to forgive and accept him for not being a part of this childhood if Tucker could not forgive Katherine for not being a part of Tucker's. So Tucker brought Katherine her favorite candy "Red Hots" as a peace offering, but once he saw that Harmony was living there, he immediately decided that she and Katherine were plotting to get Devon to their side against him. They had words and then he left. Not long afterward, Devon showed up to return the investment money that Katherine had given him for his recording company. He told Harmony that she looked and sounded sincere, but to not be taken in by "people" who were just using her to get what they wanted. But as time went by, and with Katherine's help, Harmony stayed sober, she and Devon began establishing a guarded relationship. Harmony took an interest in his recording business, and got a job in the same building as a receptionist at Restless Style.

As Christmas 2011 neared, Harmony volunteered to be in charge of the Children's Christmas pageant at the church. Katherine arranged for Harmony's daughter Ana, who was appearing in a concert nearby in Chicago, to come to Genoa City to sing "Oh Holy Night" at the pageant, as a surprise for Devon and Harmony. Harmony was shocked to see her daughter with whom she'd had no contact since Ana was a small child. Ana handled it well, keeping it light, and was obviously receptive to knowing Harmony. Ana left with Devon, and Harmony ran out of the room overwhelmed with Katherine following. Harmony was grateful for the gift, and told Katherine how hard it must be for Ana and Devon to see all those happy families there, knowing they had been cheated of that by her. Katherine told Harmony not to look back, but to do what she could to change things for the future. Ana and Devon discussed their circumstances later at Crimson Lights and Ana had similar advice for themselves.

Harmony convinced Devon to thank Katherine for the visit from Ana, and then convinced Tucker to work on reconciling with Katherine, if he ever hoped to have Devon do the same with him. Running into Neil, he praised Harmony for the turnaround she was making in her life, and after Tucker came over to wish Katherine a happy new year, she thanked Harmony for being there for her too. Later that evening, Katherine was visited by Nikki whose heart had been broken by Victor once again when he asked Sharon to marry him.

After Devon confided in Harmony that he was having some trouble hearing the finer parts of the tracks in editing Angelina's song, Harmony suggested to Tucker that he look further into some Cochlear implant research that his company was already funding to help Devon. Devon initially refused help from Tucker when he found out, but Harmony and Neil talked him into giving Tucker a chance to help his son. Devon was scheduled for surgery, and Tucker let Devon use his private jet to go to Dallas. Devon asked Neil and Harmony to accompany him. Katherine thanked Tucker for doing this for his son, and Tucker touched Katherine lovingly, and said "Thanks, Mom." Later Tucker convinced Devon to allow him to go along, saying that he needed to be there "to make sure everything goes all right."

It wasn't long before Cane and Lily decided to remarry, and they joyfully gathered their family in the park to announce the wedding date would be Valentines Day, and included Katherine and Murphy. But the day before their small wedding, Katherine surprised them by moving the wedding to a friend's villa in Provence, France, and flying friends and family there in her private jet. The wedding was held on the beautiful grounds of the villa with Abby as maid of honor, Devon as best man, and Neil giving away the bride. The vows were spoken informally about second chances, and they exchanged both their old and new rings. Afterward, a reception was held in the garden, but Katherine had stayed home for Delia's birthday party.

After Devon returned from his implant operation temporarily deaf, Katherine impressed him by using sign language to ask him for forgiveness. Devon said that he was not ready to forgive yet until Katherine reminded him that she doesn't have as much time to wait as Devon. Devon then agreed to forgive, but not forget. When the implant devices were finally turned on, the entire family was there to rejoice that Devon could hear clearly again.

In 2012, Katherine decided to step down and turn her annual chairmanship of the Arts Council gala over to Chloe and Abby Newman. On May first of that year, Katherine and Murphy celebrated their third wedding anniversary back with the old gang at Joe's Diner.

The theme of the 2012 annual Chancellor 4th of July pool party/barbeque turned out to be forgiveness. While Murphy tended the grill, Devon forgave Katherine and Tucker, with his girlfriend Roxanne and sister Ana beaming their approval.

After Katherine found out that Tucker had known the location of the presumed dead Victor Newman, and used that information to manipulate Sharon into taking over the company to influence the Newman stock, plus had been responsible for Victor nearly being killed, Katherine made derogatory comments to Tucker, and Devon told him that he was not a good person. Katherine told him that she had been proud that Tucker McCall, her son, had built his own empire without her help. She had been honored to pass on her legacy, but had now decided to cut Tucker out of her will, and told him it now would go to his son, Devon, instead.

Tucker asked Jill to return to from Australia to rescue Katherine who had decided to come out of retirement and return to the CEO position at Chancellor. Although suspicious of Tucker's motives, Jill was able to convince Katherine of their concern for Katherine's heath and that she cared. The three met over lunch where Jill proposed that she and Katherine become Co-CEO's of Chancellor, and Katherine agreed.

Katherine caught Tucker sneaking out after spending the night with Jill. Jill took up for Tucker and tried to get Katherine to reconcile with him. While arguing Katherine had a heart episode, and Jill thinking she was faking again, walked away. But she came back later, and was able to awaken Katherine who said she merely had a headache. Tucker showed up at the Chancellor Estate Christmas 2012 with gifts for Delia, Jill, and Katherine. Jill helped him to get Katherine to agree to have dinner with him. Jill warned Tucker that her doctor had told her to cut out stress in her life, so he had better behave. Katherine ended up telling Tucker that he could regain her favor only if he could prove himself to Devon.

Tucker interrupted Katherine and Murphy on their dinner date, causing Murphy to get so upset that he started to choke. Tucker saved Murphy, and Katherine thanked and hugged Tucker. Tucker admitted to Katherine that he knew he needed to change, and that he needed to get to know his mother and his son, and would never stop trying. Tucker made a deal with Victor to sell him half his shares of Newman stock, enough for Victor to regain control, to make amends to Katherine. Victor accepted the deal but warned Tucker not to double cross Katherine.

Tucker visited Katherine, who from her responses was obviously having some memory problems. Tucker told Katherine that he was leaving town. He said that he forgave her for giving him up as a baby, and that he was grateful for the time they had had together, the good and bad. Asking her to promise to take care of herself, Tucker tearfully hugged her goodbye. Katherine tried to tell him how she felt, but couldn't, then burst into tears after he had left.

Noah Newman's former girlfriend, Adriana Chavez, happened on Katherine who was trapped in her car during a bad winter storm, rescued her, and took her home. Katherine gave Adriana a job as her personal assistant to handle annoying details so that Katherine would have more time for important things. Jill called Adriana a vulture, but Katherine was adamant. Adriana worked with Katherine and continued to be Katherine's "memory". When Katherine realized that she had forgotten to go to Victor and Nikki's remarriage, she was shocked, but fearing Alzheimer's, she did her best to keep it secret. Cane finally realized her problem and coaxed Katherine to see a doctor. She was diagnosed with a brain tumor. Although he tried to persuade her to tell her loved ones, Katherine swore Cane to secrecy, allowing him to tell only Lily.

Katherine went in for surgery to remove the tumor and have it biopsied. Jill and Murphy showed up out of the blue, and offered to call Brock, Devon, Nina and Esther. Before her surgery Katherine asked Cane to run Chancellor if something happened to her, and he agreed. Jill ran into Nikki and told her about Katherine's surgery. Nikki told Katherine that she understood about her not telling anyone, but had learned from her own M.S. that they had to let the people who love them get them through it.

With good news that the tumor had been benign, Devon, Murphy, Cane, and Jill assembled around Katherine's hospital bed until she finally awakened, feisty as ever. She announced that she was stepping down as CEO, and named Cane as her successor. Katherine went home from the hospital on her May first anniversary, and was surprised by the family with champagne and cake. Left alone with Jill, they had a heart to heart about Jill being overlooked for Cane, then Katherine weakly ascended the stairs to bed, refusing Jill's help.

As part of her new job at Chancellor as head of the new Bio-tech division, Jill began planning a charity ball to benefit brain tumor research to celebrate Katherine's recovery. Meanwhile, Katherine and Murphy vacationed at Lake Louise, then took a trip around the world, with Katherine sending postcards but uncharacteristically not keeping abreast on Chancellor.

Three months later at 8:00 P.M. during an ominous thunderstorm, Jill, Victor and Nikki, Cane and Lily, Esther, Chloe, Devon, and Kevin gathered in the Chancellor living room having each received instructions by mysterious postcards from Katherine which arrived from locations around the world. Murphy finally arrived alone and told them what an exhilarating trip they had taken, hitting all the famous locations on Katherine's "bucket list", even including a ride on the world's tallest wooden roller coaster in Germany, dancing the flamenco in Barcelona, and zip-lining in the Sacred Valley. He said that their final stop had been Hong Kong where they met up with Tucker for dinner, which was cordial, almost pleasant. Afterward Murphy and Katherine had sung together in a karaoke bar and gotten a standing ovation, but later that same night Katherine had died in her sleep. Everyone was shocked and saddened by the news. Murphy admitted that the doctors had told Katherine that she did not have long live, so she had decided to take the trip. Jill reacted accusing her of being selfish because she had told them that she had been cured. Murphy asked everyone to forgive her and to remember the love and special moments that she had shared with each of them. Murphy gave Nikki a letter to read aloud that Katherine had penned for them which asked them to remember her spirit of hope and determination in life, not her death. It ended with "You are not getting rid of me this easily. I will still be watching from another room." When Jill reread this line the next day, a book suddenly fell from the mantle onto the floor, and Jill believed that it was true.

Murphy later delivered letters from Katherine to each of her loved ones. Per Katherine's instructions, Jill and Nikki arranged a celebration of life to be held in a park at Lake Delaney. Delia made the invitations which were titled "Being Free", and guests were instructed that there be no sadness, tears, or regrets, no wearing black, but happy bold colors instead. Father Todd came from Michigan to officiate, and Danny sang. Brock, Nina, Amber, and Gina also came from afar, but Tucker and Mac sent their regrets. All of Katherine's loved ones had words to say about her, and afterward they put a flower on the altar next to her urn. Then Murphy revealed a plaque saying Chancellor Park. In loving memory of Katherine Chancellor. Paul received his letter from Katherine during the ceremony which inspired him to propose to Christine, and Father Todd married them right then and there. Nikki and Jill stayed after everyone had left. They shared how each of their letters had left them quests. Then they both saw a vision of Katherine smiling at them as they hugged.

Days later when Katherine's will was read by Katherine's attorney, David Sherman (son of Mitchell), Murphy was bequeathed her vintage automobile collection, one quarter of her money, the cabin on Lake Michigan, and a fishing pole that she never could master. Tucker was bequeathed only her vinyl record collection. Esther, who was expecting to inherit the mansion, was bequeathed $20,000 a month so long as she stayed on and cared for mansion. Mackenzie, Phillip, Chance, Brock and Nina were bequeathed one quarter of her estate to be shared equally. Cane was bequeathed the management of the Chancellor corporation. But ownership of the corporation was to remain confidential. Devon was was shocked to be bequeathed two billion, 475 million dollars. Nikki was not in attendance, but was bequeathed all of Katherine's writings and her heart. And Jill, who was expecting to inherit everything, was disappointed when all of Katherine's assets were doled out leaving her for last. Jill was bequeathed only Katherine's half of the mansion "which must remain in her hands in perpetuity", and what Katherine called her most prized possession, a red music box which was given to her on October 25, 1940 - her 12th birthday. Jill was furious and perplexed by the music box. Victor later revealed that Katherine had willed sole ownership of Chancellor Industries to him. Despite the fact that Katherine had willed Cane the CEO position, it became evident that Victor was only willing to give him a lesser job, so Cane quit.

Months later, during Jill's search for the secret behind the music box, it was mentioned that Katherine's late father, Walter, had been an Army intelligence officer during World War II. Nearly a year later with the music box secret still unresolved, Jill threw a pillow at Colin, it hit the chandelier, and Katherine's favorite necklace fell to the floor with a note from Katherine requesting that Jill wear the necklace on her journey to find out what was really important. Colin declared that the music box had meant nothing. An appraisal confirmed the value of the necklace at eighteen million dollars.

Jill and Colin returned from the Caribbean to a letter from Katherine, written before her death. It jokingly said that one year had passed so she must be genuinely dead this time. Katherine said that she hoped that Jill had stopped cursing her over the music box, and had found the necklace and would wear it well and think of her. Katherine requested that they throw a one year anniversary party, and gave detailed instructions. Jill and Esther began to set the plans in motion, and Murphy arrived with more instructions. All her old friends were there, including Nina who came from California. Following a tradition Katherine had learned in her bucket list travels, each guest wrote on paper their desires and fears, then the papers were lit on fire, in hopes of clarifying them, or to imagine her giving them the advice she knew they were missing from her. Nina thanked her for getting her over her writer's block, and she was working on a novel about a feisty business woman just like Katherine. Murphy admitted that he was taking ballroom dancing just for Katherine. Nikki admitted that she had had a couple of drinks that day, and "if only you were here to stop me." Jack said he hoped that she and John were enjoying being together again. Esther admitted that she was putting up with Jill just fine, but that the house was not the same without Katherine in it. Stubborn Jill, refused to write anything on the paper. But later after everyone had left she had a chat with Katherine's memorial saying that she knew the mystery behind the music box was "don’t look for hidden agendas, to trust, and to love". Leaving the music box there, she walked away smiling. The next morning, Jill realized that she still wanted it, went back, but it was gone.

In November 2014, one of Katherine's goddaughters, Victoria Newman, gave birth to a baby girl, whom she named Katherine Rose, to be called Katie, to honor Katherine's memory.

Jill returned from Hong Kong telling how she and Tucker had had spent the second anniversary of Katherine's death at the same karaoke bar, singing all the songs they could think of that she would have sung. Another memorial to Katherine was held in the park bearing her name. Murphy was unable to attend after he had broken his leg in a fishing accident. Paul read a letter from Katherine, where she requested it be read by Jill, complete with shots at Jill, reminding them that last year they were instructed to do something that would make her proud. Jill told how she had reclaimed Katherine's company, Victoria about her baby she had named Katherine Rose, and Nikki said she had reclaimed her sobriety.