Things You Didn’t Know About Y&R Star Michelle Stafford

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9. Short-Term Y&R Stint

Four years later, Michelle would land her legendary Y&R Phyllis role and officially enter the land of Genoa City. While she would portray this character (on-and-off) for about two decades, the part was originally meant to be a short-term thing. However, the show’s producers were taken away by Stafford’s work and Phyllis soon became a staple character on the popular soap. Her contract was extended and the rest is history!
© Aaron Montgomery/JPI

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8. Prime Time Goals

Three years into playing Y&R’s Phyllis, Michelle had prime time aspirations. She left the show in 1997 and Sandra Nelson was recast as Red. Stafford then headed to a prime time soap produced by the iconic Aaron Spelling entitled Pacific Palisades to play the lead character. Sadly, after 13 episodes the show was cancelled.

A post shared by therealstafford (@therealstafford) on Jul 31, 2014 at 10:25pm PDT

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7. Other Shows

After Pacific Palisades was cancelled, Stafford picked herself up and dived into guest appearances on many popular primetime shows. From 1998 to 1999, fans of Michelle may recall seeing her on episodes of Diagnosis: Murder, Two Guys and a Girl, Players, as well as JAG.

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6. The Stafford Project

Once 2000 hit, Michelle was once again back in Genoa City wreaking havoc on Y&R. For thirteen years fans marvelled at the schemes, romances, and shenanigans that Phyllis dove into. In 2013, Stafford decided to leave the world of daytime drama behind and embarked on her own web series, entitled The Stafford Project. The web show was all about her own personal life. It aired on her YouTube channel in the late summer of 2013.
© ChrisD/jpistudios.com

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5. Mom Life

Stafford is so much more than a soap actress… she’s a mom, too! However, the struggle to become a single mom could’ve mirrored any dramatic soap opera storyline. Stafford started out with the idea of adoption, but after some barriers, decided to go the gestational surrogate route. In late 2009, her dreams of becoming a mom came true when Natalia Scout Lee was born. Six years later, Michelle welcomed baby number two in the form of her son, Jameson Jones.
© Howard Wise/jpistudios.com

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4. She’s Bilingual!

Michelle was born in Chicago, but raised in Montrose, California. She graduated from high school and immediately decided to pursue her dreams to become a model. Another interesting fact that some may not know about Stafford is that she speaks Italian. Who knew?
© Howard Wise/jpistudios.com

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3. Product Line

Stafford is clearly beautiful, both inside and out. With all the wear and tear of television makeup and long work hours, you’d think this would take a toll on her. However, at the age of 55, she’s as beautiful as ever. In 2016, she decided to share her self-care tricks and tips by launching her own line of care products. Her company specializes in organic and natural products that are also cruelty, gluten, and vegan free.

A post shared by therealstafford (@therealstafford) on Jun 7, 2017 at 3:22pm PDT

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2. Hockey Fan

Gorgeous and loves sports? What a catch! Some Stafford fans may or may not know that Stafford is a hockey enthusiast. In fact, she’s spent time on multiple sports programs, including The Best Damn Sports Show Period, as a hockey correspondent in 2014. Talk about mixing your passion for hockey and your celebrity status! That stint must’ve been a blast for Michelle.

A post shared by therealstafford (@therealstafford) on May 24, 2014 at 6:45pm PDT

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1. No Coffee?

The life of a working-single mom and soap opera star (no less) must be hectic. One look at Stafford’s Instagram page and she is clearly balancing it all well! One can only imagine that she stays on top of everything with a good diet, exercise, and LOTS of caffeine. Well, the first two may be right. She revealed in a Entertainment .TheNet24h .com interview that she doesn’t drink coffee. Interesting tidbit!

A post shared by therealstafford (@therealstafford) on May 14, 2015 at 7:33pm PDT

Dorathy Gass

Dorathy Gass is an avid fan of daytime drama and has been watching Days of Our Lives, General Hospital, and Young and the Restless for over two decades now. As a full-time freelance writer, she gets to combine her love of soap operas and writing through her Fame 10 articles. Also a mother of two busy girls and a mommy blogger, she's been published multiple times over in Huffington Post Parents and Scary Mommy.