Heather Tom

With the 40th Annual Daytime Entertainment Emmy Awards slated to happen today (Sunday, June 16), the entire daytime industry has been abuzz with excitement and preparation. Friday’s Creative Arts Emmys kicked off the weekend-long celebration, and some of soap operas biggest stars came out to support the behind-the-scenes teams responsible for bringing “The Bold and the Beautiful,” “Days of our Lives,” “General Hospital,” “One Life to Live” and “The Young and the Restless” to life! Read on for the scoop on that, as well as to find out how some are prepping for today’s star-studded event!

The 40th Annual Daytime Entertainment Emmy Awards will be a star-studded night with appearances from some of televisions brightest stars — some of which will also be presenting awards on stage during the big night. But just who are the lucky personalities who will be handing the Outstanding Lead Actor winner and the Outstanding Lead Actress winner their coveted awards? Read on to find out!

CBS Daytime has announced a week-long Twitter event leading up to the “40th Annual Daytime Entertainment Emmy Awards,” which airs live from the Beverly Hilton Hotel on Sunday, June 16 from 8:00 – 10:00 PM ET on HLN.

“The Bold and the Beautiful’s” Heather Tom has taken home the Emmy for Outstanding Lead Actress for her work as Katie Logan the past two years in a row, and with yet another year of both suburp storylines and emotional work, the actress just may nab the award again! “It doesn’t get old; it’s very fun, and I’m very grateful,” she says of the nomination, adding that she chose the episodes in which Kate, in the throes of her post-partum depression, leaves Bill and Will. “I was really proud of it, and it’s funny, because I was so pregnant doing it, and it was my catharsis. I would come in and be like, ‘I’m crazy today, so I’m just going to bawl all day long and get it out of my system and then go home!’”

“The Young and the Restless” will air a special tribute episode to the late Jeanne Cooper on Tuesday, May 28 (12:30-1:30 PM, ET; 11:00 AM-12:00 Noon, PT) on the CBS Television Network. Cast members and friends of the beloved actress, including Melody Thomas Scott, Christian Le Blanc, Tracey E. Bregman, Eric Braeden and “The Bold and the Beautiful’s” John McCook and Heather Tom, as well as family members such as her son, Corbin Bernsen, recently gathered on set to shoot a celebration of the life of their late friend, who passed away earlier this month at the age of 84. Cooper, the Emmy Award-winning actress who portrayed Katherine Chancellor for more than 39 years, is the show’s longest-running cast member.

On Friday, May 21, 1999, Susan Lucci won her first Daytime Emmy Award in any category after portraying the iconic Erica Kane for (at the time) nearly 30 years on ABC’s “All My Children.” On Tuesday, May 21, 2013, 14 years after winning in the category of Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series, fans are still pondering whether the actress will reprise her role on the soap opera now that it’s back in production via Prospect Park’s The OnLine Network. In the meantime, tell us where you were on that special night when one of daytime television’s biggest stars won the coveted award.

When Jeanne Cooper first stepped into “The Young and the Restless’” Genoa City as Katherine Chancellor back in 1973, soap opera history was made. Written by show creator William J. Bell specifically to convey controversial storylines that would boost weak ratings, Katherine was everything the wealthy wife of Phillip Chancellor II shouldn’t be: a drunk, a heavy smoker and a bit of a slut who had illicit affairs with stable boys. Despite the character’s many problems, fans fell in love with Katherine — as well as the actress who so effortlessly brought her to life.

News that “The Young and the Restless’” Jeanne Cooper (Katherine Chancellor) passed away this morning has rocked the entertainment community, and the beloved actress’ colleagues have responded with an outpour of memories, loving words and final farewells via Twitter. Soap Opera Network has rounded up all of the sentiments written so far, which include kind words from her “Y&R” co-stars and beyond.

Quite a few familiar faces will resurface on “The Bold and the Beautiful” next week:

Looking at how daytime television has become the pre-primtime of the entertainment landscape in more ways than one, Variety.com, now part of Penske Business Media, LLC (owners of Deadline.com and TVLine.com), has highlighted several of daytime’s biggest stars in front of and behind the scenes who help make the daily drama, the fun & games and the topics of discussion millions of viewers tune into each and every weekday. Those featured in the article include Angelica McDaniel (Senior Vice President, CBS Daytime), Frank Valentini (Executive Producer, “General Hospital”) Kelly Ripa (Tak Show Host, “Live with Kelly and Michael”; ex-Hayley Vaughan Santos, “All My Children”), Heather Tom (Katie Spencer, “The Bold and the Beautiful”), Katie Couric (Talk Show Host, “Katie”), Judge Judy Sheindlin (Judge, “Judge Judy”), Carla Hall and Clinton Kelly (Co-Hosts, “The Chew”) and many more.