‘Young and the Restless’ Star Eileen Davidson Confirms Exit from CBS Show

Actress Eileen Davidson announced on Wednesday that she is stepping away from CBS’s The Young and the Restless.

Davidson confirmed the rumor on Twitter, calling the soap her “second home.” She has played the role of Ashley Abbott on The Young and the Restless since 1982, with a few interruptions lasting a couple of years each.

“Yes I am leaving my second home [Young and the Restless] in September,” Davidson tweeted on Wednesday afternoon. “I’ve been so blessed to be able to play Ashley Abbott and work with the amazing people on the show and have nothing but gratitude and love for all!!! Time for a little more control over my day to day!”

At 59 years old, Davidson is undoubtedly looking for a less hectic lifestyle. She has accomplished more than many performers dare to dream of. In addition to The Young and the Restless, she has appeared regularly on Days of Our Lives for many years, and has done stints on other soaps like The Bold and the Beautiful and Santa Barbara.

Davidson has earned four Daytime Emmy Awards for her work, including one just this May She also dipped a toe into the waters of reality TV, appearing for a while on the Real Housewives of Beverly Hills.

With all of this on her resumé, few will blame Davidson for taking a step back from work. However, for an actress in her position, leaving one show is hardly retiring. Any one of the competing soap operas on TV could snap her up, and she is in a position to negotiate for the terms and wages she wants. She only left Days of Our Lives officially last year, according to her IMDb, but as we all know, those plots are never set in stone.

Add to that Davidson’s film career. She found time for several movies throughout the ’80s and ’90s while working The Young and the Restless, and she has found time for two features and one short already in this decade. It could be that Davidson is looking to capitalize on this recent string of work and do more films rather than spending all of her time on daytime TV.

Meanwhile, Davidson has plenty of other projects to keep her busy. In the past, she has doubled as a fashion designer and a writer. Her first novel, co-written with Robert J. Randisi, came out in 2008. It was a murder mystery set in the world of daytime TV called Death in Daytime. She has released three more books since, and could use her newly lightened schedule to work on more.