As “The Young and the Restless” celebrates its 50th year on television, the daytime drama series continues to highlight fan favorites from the show’s past with the return of Vail Bloom as Heather Stevens.
Joining the series in 2007 and playing the character until 2010, Bloom returns for a visit to Genoa City next month alongside daytime newcomer Lily Brooks O’Briant who joins the series as Lucy Romalotti, Heather and Daniel’s (Michael Graziadei) daughter.
Since departing the soap, Bloom has gone on to appear in the films “The Ghost Beyond,” “Orphan Horse,” “Life at the Resort” and “Too Late.” She also played herself in one season of Bravo’s “Vanderpump Rules” and appeared in episodes of “Aspen: The Series,” “Castle,” “Cold Case” and “Entourage,” among others.
Outside of a few child actors before her, following Bloom’s departure the role of Heather was later played by “All My Children” alum Eden Riegel who departed the series in 2011. “As The World Turns” alum Jennifer Landon also had a brief stint playing the character in 2012.
Fans might recognize O’Briant, a series regular on the Netflix comedy “The Big Show Show,” starring opposite WWE heavyweight fighter Paul Wight (aka: The Big Show). She has also appeared in the Amazon Original series “The Tick” and the TV movie “Crash & Burn.” More recently, she played the title role in the Apple TV+ series, “Life by Ella.”
In December, O’Briant completed work as a first-time director on “Sharing the Floor,” an original short film that she also wrote. She shared her thanks for those who helped her tell the film’s story and bring “my vision to life” in a post on Instagram, describing the project as “a story that means so much to me and is something that I know some of you might even relate to as well. This was my directorial debut as well as the first script I have ever written.
“I learned so much from every day of filming and am so grateful to have had so many talented friends supporting me every step of the way. I can’t wait for you all to see ‘Sharing the Floor’ come to life!”
Check out a sneak peek photo of Bloom standing alongside Graziadei on the “The Young and the Restless” set.
Photo by Howard Wise/JPI Studios