Best known to daytime fans as Katherine Chancellor, Jeanne Cooper has reportedly renewed her contract on The Young and the Restless.  This means that the 80-year-old actress will remain on the CBS soap for at least three more years.

Cooper's renewal comes in spite of numerous reports of budget cuts in the daytime circuit that saw several highly-paid longtime cast members being laid off. This has created much buzz in the soap world.

Though she was not on the series when The Young and the Restless debuted in March 1973, Cooper made her onscreen debut in November the same year, and remains the longest-tenured actor on The Young and the Restless.  Over the years, her character, which has broken ground in the daytime medium, has endured several battles with alcoholism and loss of many men in her life, including two husbands, a child and a grandchild.

For her portrayal of matriarch of Genoa City, Cooper has received nine Daytime Emmy nominations, eight for Outstanding Lead Actress and one for Outstanding Supporting Actress, and two Primetime Emmy nominations.  She also received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Daytime Emmys in 2004 and a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, which is located at 1777 Vine Street.  Most recently, she won the 2008 Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series. Out of her eight nominations for lead actress, this was her first win in the category.

In other Young and the Restless news, fans can look forward to several guest stars to grace the show this week.  Today, Jerry Douglas returns to reprise his role as John Abbott.  Also slated to appear are Cassius Willis and Young and the Restless Dallas casting call winner Jennifer Sipes. The former will play the role of Detective Gil Wallace while the latter will be portraying a wedding planner.  Both will appear on tomorrow's episode.


-Kris De Leon, BuddyTV Staff Columnist
Source: CBS, Soaps.com
(Image courtesy of CBS)