American actress Eileen Davidson was born on June 15, 1959 in Artesia, California. She started her career as a model, eventually appearing in print ads in America and Europe. Her agent recommended that she take acting classes so she can get roles in television commercials, but her success later led to her taking auditions for television programs. She made her acting debut in 1982, when she guest-starred in an episode of The Phoenix. She then appeared in several films, including The House on Sorority Row, Sharing Richard and Easy Wheels. She took a regular role in the prime time series Broken Badges, but it was axed after a season.
Davidson found a name for herself in daytime television. Her first soap role was in Santa Barbara; she joined in 1991 as Kelly Capwell, taking over from Carrington Garland. She was the last actress to play the romantically-troubled character, having portrayed the role until the soap’s finale in 1993. Later that year, she joined another daytime soap, Days of our Lives, playing the role of villainous social worker Kristen Blake. In 1996, she juggled two roles in the drama, taking on the role of Susan Banks. She left the soap in 1998.
In 1999, Davidson played the role she is perhaps most recognized for: as Ashley Abbott in The Young and the Restless. Inheriting the role from Shari Shattuck, her character worked as a chemist for Jabot Cosmetics. In 2007, she was fired from Y&R, allegedly because of a lack of storyline; she shortly moved to its sister soap The Bold and the Beautiful, playing the same role she had, at the request of its producers. Her character was asked by Rick Forrester (Kyle Lowder) to help launch Forrester Creations’ new line of fragrances. Originally signing a three-year contract, she became a recurring star in July 2008, and eventually moved back to Y&R a month later, playing the same role.