The Young and the Restless‘ Drucilla Winters will always be remembered — despite being missing and presumed dead. But the actress who put her on the map, Victoria Rowell, remains missed and certainly has a great deal to celebrate.
Happy Birthday, Victoria Rowell!
That’s because she was born on May 10, 1959, in Portland, Maine, which means that this multi-talented actress is turning 64 years old today! After working as a much-in-demand runway and catalog model, Rowell made her acting debut in the 1987 comedy film Leonard Part 6.
Her subsequent work included recurring roles on two CBS programs — daytime drama As the World Turns and sitcom The Cosby Show. In 1990, Rowell joined the cast of The Young and the Restless. Her first episode aired on May 7 of that year, and she remained in the part until April 1998.
During her initial tenure with the venerable soap, Rowell steered her character, Drucilla Winters, from illiterate criminal to prima ballerina to model. Her work earned her four NAACP Awards for Outstanding Actress in a Daytime Drama Series.
Concurrent with her work on The Young and the Restless, Rowell also maintained a starring role on the CBS primetime series Diagnosis: Murder, eventually appearing in 163 episodes out of the 178 produced.
Throughout the 1990s, Rowell co-starred in several feature films, including The Distinguished Gentleman, Dumb & Dumber, Full Eclipse, Barb Wire, and Eve’s Bayou.
Victoria Rowell reprised her role of Drucilla on two occasions. The first was between February and September 2000 and then again between August 2002 and April 2007. Her final appearance on the series saw Dru plummet from a cliff and into the rushing water below.
Rowell’s other acting credits include guest-starring roles in episodes of Ghost Whisperer, Let’s Stay Together, Single Ladies, Law and Order: SVU, and Mann & Wife. She has played The Rich and the Ruthless‘ Kitty Barringer since 2017.
The latter project was based in part on the same-titled book series penned by Rowell herself. She is also the author of a memoir and the co-author of an entertainment book. The talented star is also an accomplished director.