In 1980, the focus of “The Young and the Restless” shifted from core stories involving the Brooks and Foster families to core stories involving the Abbott and Newman families. While the Brooks and Fosters have remained a part of the show in some fashion, it’s the Abbott and Newman clans that have been drawing stories for years, with other families like the Winters and the Chancellors also taking center stage every once in a while.
Family patriarch and cosmetics mogul John Abbott led Genoa City’s Abbotts for years until his untimely death in 2006, per Soaps.com. However, actor Jerry Douglas, who passed away in 2021, would often make ghostly appearances to his family.
John had three children with first wife, Dina (Marla Adams): Jack (Peter Bergman), Ashley (Eileen Davidson), and Traci (Beth Maitland). Although Ashley eventually learned she was fathered by someone else, she never let John know. Dina left the family to travel the world when her kids were growing up but would flit in and out of their lives for years until she was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease and died in the care of her children in 2020.
John and Dina’s son, Jack Abbott
Often known as Smilin’ Jack because he always seemed to wear a sly smile, Jack Abbott was first played by the late Terry Lester from 1981-1989, when Peter Bergman took over the role (via Soaps In Depth). Bergman has been playing him ever since. Jack only has two known children: a son named Keemo as a result of an affair he had in Vietnam, and another son named Kyle.
Jack has barely ever mentioned Keemo in years, but Kyle (Michael Mealor) is still on his mind because at least he sees him on a semi-regular basis and was a recent “The Young and the Restless” leading man. Kyle moved to Italy to be with his new wife, Summer Newman Abbott (Hunter King), who has a job with an Italian design firm. Kyle also gave Jack his first grandson in the form of young Harrison. However, since nobody talks about Keemo, nobody knows if he gave Jack any other grandchildren through the years.
John and Dina’s daughter, Ashley Abbott
Per Soaps In Depth, Ashley Abbott has known for years that her mother, Dina, had an affair with Brent Davis that resulted in her birth, but she never let John know and always thought of her as a father. When John passed away, he was none the wiser about his daughter’s true paternity. Ashley is a chemist who has worked for John’s cosmetics company, Jabot, for years, developing their products. She also branched out to form her own cosmetics company.
Ashley only has one adult child named Abby (Melissa Ordway) as a result of her stealing Victor Newman’s sperm so she could secretly have his baby. However, she raised Abby as husband Brad Carlton’s (Don Diamont) child for years. Abby gave Ashley her first grandchild in the form of little Dominic Abbott Winters Newman Chancellor, but now Dominic is sick and there may be a question about the baby’s own paternity.
John and Dina’s youngest daughter, Traci
Traci Abbott (Beth Maitland) always seemed to be the black sheep of the family. Per Soaps In Depth, she was an overweight teen with little confidence in herself. Following a short-lived marriage and a miscarriage, Traci eventually, found true love with Brad Carlton and she gave birth to his daughter, Colleen (Tammin Sursock), before Brad and Ashley got together, putting a rift in the sisters’ relationship for quite some time.
Traci raised Colleen on her own but tragedy struck when Colleen was a teenager and drowned. Since then, Traci has gone on as a single woman making her way in the world as a successful romance novelist. While she spends a lot of time in New York City with her publisher, she still returns to Genoa City when her family needs her as Traci is considered the calm voice of reason in this raucous clan.
John Abbott’s son, Billy
John’s much younger second wife was a member of the original “The Young and the Restless” Foster family. John and Jill didn’t have the best marriage, especially when she slept with his son, Jack, but it did produce another son, Billy Abbott, a compulsive gambler and general hot mess who can never seem to find success in life (via Soaps In Depth).
Billy produced one Abbott grandchild, Delia, but she was killed in a tragic hit and run accident involving Adam Newman (then Michael Muhney, now Mark Grossman). He gave the Abbott family two more grandchildren with Katie and Johnny, his children with Victoria Newman, but Johnny is really the result of an affair with Chelsea Lawson. Victoria adopted the boy and is raising him as her own. Billy is currently in a relationship with Lily Winters, which may or may not add to the Abbott family tree.