Colleen Carlton

Colleen Carlton is a fictional character from The Young and the Restless, an American soap opera on the CBS network, last portrayed by Tammin Sursok. The character was born during the March 5, 1992, episode as the daughter of Brad Carlton (Don Diamont) and Traci Abbott (Beth Maitland). After leaving the soap opera three years later, the character returned as a teenager in 2001, portrayed by Lyndsy Fonseca, who remained in the role until 2005. The following year, the role was recast with Adrianne León, who portrayed the character for a year until Sursok took over. Sursok exited the role in 2009, following the death of the character. In 2010, an uncredited actress reprised the role in a dream. The character was portrayed as a "sweet Daddy's girl" who rebelled during her teen years. She was also notorious for her romance with J. T. Hellstrom, a relationship considered a soap opera supercouple. Viewers voted them onto top couple lists multiple times. The character's onscreen death in 2009 met with both positive and negative reviews from critics.

Colleen was born onscreen in 1992 and, after being portrayed by a string of child actors between then and 1995, the character left Genoa City for New York City with her mother, Traci. In 2004, Fonseca was let go, as Colleen returned to New York to live with her mother. The Young and the Restless executive producer and head writer Jack Smith left the door open for Fonseca to return. "That means a lot to me," Fonseca said. "He's been really cool about that." Fonseca briefly reprised the role from December 2004 to February 2005. and in January 2006, the role was recast with Adrianne León. Previously, Leon was recognized for her role as Brook Lynn Ashton on ABC's General Hospital. As her storyline on General Hospital diminished, executive producer Jill Farren Phelps told Leon to commence auditioning for other projects including other soap operas, and was soon cast as Colleen. Fan response to this news was negative, as viewers felt Leon would not fit in the role. In an interview with Soap Opera Weekly, Leon said her firing shocked her. "When I got the call, I asked when my last day was, and it had already passed," she said. "There was already a replacement. The whole thing was done and sealed." When she published the news on her Myspace page, she received a "flood of fan support." Despite negativity she also received positive viewer feedback. "The fans have been really great," she said. In preparation for the role, Sursok tried to catch up on Colleen's history. "I watched the last six months of episodes," she said. After two years in the role, the actress departed and the writers killed off Colleen. In an interview with Soap Opera Digest in October 2009, Sursok said it was difficult to pursue outside projects and appear on The Young and the Restless as well. Her departure was a mutual decision by her and the show. Leon said Colleen fans came over to her message board after she got the role and tried to fill her in on the details of the part so she would not "screw things up." Though she looked over the information, Leon said, "I didn't want to go into detail, because I did want to come in and have a fresh start with the character. Coming in as a recast was stressful already, so trying to mimic what she did I got this [role] for a reason — something I did — so I didn't want to lose that element. Plus, the character's grown up."

The original storyline designed for J. T. and Colleen centered around an unrequited crush she feels for him. Luckinbill and Fonseca, the first actress to portray Colleen, thought their character's relationship would progress no further than friendship. Fonseca said that if they became a couple, the fun brought on by the "tug and pull" element between them could disappear. Fonseca stated she "wasn't expecting it at all", and admitted that even former executive producer David Shaughnessy found the pairing "shocking". They also positioned Colleen as the aggressor in the relationship by scripting her as pursuing J. T., while he, in an uncharacteristic move, held off because of the difference in their ages. The Bold and the Beautiful's head writer and executive producer Bradley Bell allowed Don Diamont to return to The Young and the Restless as Colleen's deceased father, Brad, as one of the visions Colleen has while unconscious. Diamont currently portrays The Bold and the Beautiful's Bill Spencer, Jr. She remained distrustful of Kevin, who covered up his crimes. Colleen left Genoa City for New York because she felt she was getting in the way of J. T.'s music career. She later returned expecting to reunite with him, but he had moved on with Mackenzie Browning. Janet Di Lauro, from Soap Opera Weekly, criticized the plot twist and said the "mere thought of the Abbott family donating Colleen's heart to Victor is enough to melt the brain of even the most casual fan." Soap Opera Digest named the story Editors' Choice for the week, praising it as a "chilling, rich and game changing coda to this wrenching family tragedy" and a "fitting tribute to the lost Colleen."