The Young and the Restless is the highest-rated daytime drama on American television, and has scooped a stunning 11 Daytime Emmy Awards for Outstanding Drama Series. The cast of The Young and the Restless has produced a selection of devious, diabolical, and delightful characters who have helped tell epic, sprawling stories throughout the show’s 50+ years on the air.

The Young and the Restless has never been afraid to employ the clichéd soap opera tropes of having prominent characters die, only to come back at a later date, but that didn’t make their deaths any less shocking. Across the soap’s run there have been many tragic and devastating deaths, some of which still hit hard for viewers.

10

Cole Howard

Legionnaires’ Disease

What made Cole’s death so tragic was that he had only recently returned to Genoa City, and had welcomed the daughter he’d believed to be dead into his life. However, his newfound happiness would not last, as it was revealed that Cole was suffering from the lung infection Legionnaires’ disease.

He passed away with just Victoria and Claire by his side, as the rest of the characters were in France, caught up in the Aristotle Dumas storyline. Cole’s Y&R death from Legionnaires’ disease is one of the most tragic on the show because of how suddenly it happened, and how it has left a hole in the lives of Claire and Victoria.

9

Brad Carlton

Drowned

Brad Carlton was one of the most tragic deaths on the show, despite his morally gray nature. His love for Sharon Newman indirectly led to his death, when he followed her to Jack’s cabin to apologize and confess his love for her, but left heartbroken after she failed to reciprocate his feelings.

Brad actor Don Diamont also portrayed the character for a two-year stint on Y&R‘s sister show The Bold and the Beautiful.

Upon leaving the cabin, on the road home, he encountered Noah Newman, who was drowning in the freezing lake. After pulling him to safety, Brad tragically fell in, and was swept under the frozen lake, drowning. His tragic death came just after the selfless act of helping another, and he died a hero.

8

Colleen Carlton

Drowned

Traci Abbott and Brad Carlton’s daughter, Colleen, was something of a daddy’s girl who rebelled in her teenage years, and though the character was polarizing, her death meant that Traci had lost both Colleen and Brad. After being held hostage by Patty Williams, she escaped to a nearby lake by canoe, before falling out and almost drowning.

Tammin Sursok, who portrayed Colleen during her death, played Jenna Marshall in Pretty Little Liars.

Jack rushed her to hospital, where she was declared braindead, and Traci had to make the heartbreaking decision to take her daughter off life support. The red balloons released at her memorial service remains one of the most touching scenes the soap has managed to do.

7

Diane Jenkins

Faked Her Death

Diane’s death and subsequent return was one of the most surprising moments in Y&R. After trying to take down her ex Victor Newman, and being rejected by long-term on-again-off-again lover Jack, Diane sent her son Kyle away, tried to extort Victor, and was later found murdered in a park, after texting everyone who’d wronged her.

Nikki Newman and Diane’s then-husband Deacon Sharpe were both implicated in killing her, but shockingly, Diane returned to Genoa City in 2022. She revealed that she had faked her own death in a delightfully absurd and convoluted way, and set about making amends with her son and friends.

6

Adam Newman

Faked His Death

One of The Young and the Restless‘ most lovable villains, Adam Newman was introduced as the son of Victor Newman and Hope Wilson. A walking red flag, Adam has done many terrible things during his time on the soap, and has even committed murder several times, but one of the most shocking deaths was his own… though not all was as it seemed.

Tracker star Justin Hartley played Adam Newman between 2014 and 2016.

When Delia’s father Billy discovered Adam had killed his daughter (accidentally) he held him at gunpoint and demanded he drive to all the places his daughter loved. When Adam went for the gun, there was a struggle and the car crashed; Adam’s body was thrown from the car and presumed dead, but it later turned out he’d faked his death.

5

Dina Mergeron

Alzheimer’s

One of the longest-running Y&R characters, Dina debuted in 1983, becoming a mainstay on the soap. In her later years, the character developed Alzheimer’s, and suffered with memory loss and mood swings. After telling her family of her condition, she experiences mixed moments with them, before entering a Genoa care facility in 2019, where she dies a year later.

Dina actress Marla Adams, who played the role from 1983-2020 died from cancer in 2024.

What made Dina’s death so horrible was the fact that she had struggled her whole life to be a good mother, and only really mended bridges with her children towards the end. It was sad to see such a legendary character reduced to a bumbling, forgetful, frightened woman, but her legacy on the show lives on.

4

Cassie Newman

Car Accident

Cassie Newman’s death was one of the most jaw-dropping and heartbreaking on The Young and the Restless, and still stands out as one of the soap’s most shocking moments. Cassie was an outsider who just wanted to fit in at school, resulting in her rebelling and sneaking out to a party where she was injured in a car crash driving a drunken Daniel home.

Cassie actress Camryn Grimes became the youngest-ever recipient of a Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Younger Actress in a Drama Series at the age of 10.

Both were rushed to the hospital, where Cassie succumbed to her injuries and died at just 14-years-old, but not before promising her mother and father, Nick and Sharon, that they would have another daughter. Her tragic death devastated her parents, whose marriage eventually dissolved. The character continued to appear sporadically via flashbacks, hallucinations, and dreams.

3

Cordelia “Delia” Abbott

Hit & Run

Delia Abbott’s death is one of the most tragic and heart-wrenching in The Young and the Restless, and came when the young girl was traveling home from her school production with her dad, Billy. When Delia let her dog, Dash, out of the car, he ran across the road, and she chased him, and was hit by a car.

Billy called an ambulance, and Delia was rushed to the hospital where she later died of her injuries. What made Delia’s death so heartbreaking was the very young age of the girl, as well as the fact she had totally transformed Billy’s life, encouraging him to become a better man and father.

2

Ryan McNeil

Gunshot Wounds

What made Ryan McNeil’s Y&R death so tragic was the fact that he was gunned down on his wedding day. After reconnecting with former flame Victoria Newman, the pair decided to get remarried. However, Ryan’s jilted ex, Tricia Dennison, arrived, locking Victoria in a closet, and holding Ryan at gunpoint to get him to remarry her instead.

Ryan actor Scott Reeves earned a Soap Opera Digest Award, as well as two Daytime Emmy nominations for his work.

Victoria broke free and rushed to the chapel, where Tricia fired two shots at her, but Ryan dived in the path of the bullets, protecting Victoria, and dying from his wounds. He left Victoria alone and devastated, and later appeared to her in a dream, where they got married and exchanged their vows. Heartbreaking.

1

Victor Newman

Seemingly Died, Or Faked His Death

Eric Braeden’s iconic Victor Newman has come back from the dead more times than a Winchester brother. Genoa City’s greatest villain has seemingly died multiple times over the years. He first faked his death in 1984, was believed to have died in 1993, faked his death again in 2008, and was seemingly killed in a dock explosion in 2012.

Every time, Victor has returned to Genoa City. Another example came in 2019, when he once again faked his own death to teach his son Adam a valuable lesson, but also wound up driving a wedge between his family. Victor is such an iconic part of The Young and the Restless that it seems improbable the show would ever truly kill him off for good.

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