If you’re a soap opera fan, you likely know who Hayley Erin is. Despite her young age, Hayley has portrayed characters in a wide variety of shows such as “The Young and the Restless”, “The Bold and the Beautiful”, “General Hospital” and more. Her career on TV extends to over two decades, so there’s always something exciting to expect from Hayley on the small screen.
With that being said, Hayley’s current appearances in “The Young And The Restless” have caused an uproar due to the uncertain path which her character Claire has been walking.
So what’s up with Claire? Isn’t she a Newman? What about Hayley and her upcoming projects? Keep watching to find out more!
For the past couple of years, Hayley Erin has been involved in projects for TV and the big screen. In mid-2023 she starred in the drama thriller “New Life”, embodying the on-the-run character Jessica Murdock. Later that year, Hayley joined the cast of the legendary soap opera “The Young and the Restless” on CBS, to portray the traumatized and confused Claire Grace Newman Howard.
Before accepting Claire’s role, Hayley had been away on a two-year hiatus from TV following her exit from “General Hospital” in 2021. During that period, she welcomed twin girls with her husband Adam Fergus.
NEW LIFE is OUT NOW! So excited to share this harrowing, thrilling, beautiful piece of cinema with you all. In select theatres and available to rent/buy on iTunes etc. https://t.co/3ivlhyR3CF pic.twitter.com/Vpwl1TtlXV
— Hayley Erin (@HayleyErin) May 3, 2024
While Hayley has notably been focused on being a mom in recent years, this new chapter as Claire in “The Young and the Restless” will surely bring many great things to her, professionally.
Even before arriving in Genoa City, Claire went through many not-so-pleasant times which shaped her into an almost perfect villain, at least for a while. Under her great aunt Jordan Howard’s influence, Claire was led into an evil plan to hurt the Newman family, as she’d believed that her parents Victoria Newman and Cole Howard had abandoned her as a baby.
Aware of her blood connection to the Newmans but unaware of the real reason her parents hadn’t taken care of her, the traumatized and hateful Claire swears revenge on the family and heads up to Genoa City, quickly gaining Nicole Newman’s trust by becoming her assistant before luring her into a trap.
From then on, Jordan’s plan unfolds but things quickly go downhill when Claire discovers that her great-aunt lied to her. Though Victoria and Cole believed that Claire, whose real name was Eve, had died as a newborn, the truth is that Jordan stole the baby and made the then-new parents think that Eve had died.
With this new revelation, Eve a.k.a Claire changed her heart and turned her back on Jordan, leading to her demise. After finding that she’s a Newman and meeting her real parents, Claire deals with a serious identity crisis and on top of that has to face the consequences of her crimes,
Long-time fans of “The Young and the Restless” and its sister series “The Bold and the Beautiful” surely remember Hayley’s face from some time ago. As it happens. Claire wasn’t Hayley’s first rodeo when it came to popular soap operas, as she’d previously portrayed the role of Abby Newman from 2008 to 2010.
As the unforgettable heiress daughter of Victor Newman and Ashley Abbot, Abby has had a continuous presence in the show since the character’s inception in 2000. The character was introduced as a baby, portrayed by several actresses but most notably by Darcy Rose Byrnes, before Hayley took over the slightly aged version of the character in 2008.
Even though Hayley played Abby’s role for only two years before the character aged again, it was enough to be warmly remembered by the audience. However, the circumstances of Abby’s character led Hayley to believe she wouldn’t be back in “The Young and the Restless”, as she admitted in an interview with Michael Fairman on YouTube. That is until her audition as Claire played out well, resulting in her return to the series in late 2023.
There’s no denying that “The Young and the Restless” is a legendary series, having aired more than 1500 episodes during its over 50 years on air. Being part of such an unforgettable and awarded series is an honor for many actors, including Hayley Erin.
As Hayley told Soap Opera Digest, it was wonderful working in “The Young and the Restless” because she gets to share the screen with many veteran actors. Starting with actress Colleen Zenk playing Jordan Howard, Hayley affirmed she was ‘honored’, ‘flattered’, and ‘grateful’ to work with her, especially because they shared many ‘crazy, wacky, fun, wild scenes’ together.
Other actors Hayley mentioned were Amelia Heinle and J. Eddie Peck, who portray her on-screen partners Victoria and Cole, respectively. Hayley described them as ‘wonderful’ and ‘nice’ to be around, expressing her gratitude for being with them on set.
Regarding her character, Hayley is also very happy about the direction of Eve a.k.a Claire in the plot. As she affirmed to First for Women, Claire is the character ‘she would have written’ if she were a writer, revealing that she has used her recently acquired knowledge about psychology to analyze Claire’s motivations and past, adding another layer to the character.
Hayley Erin Feil was born on 13 July 1994, in Los Angeles, California USA. Not much is known about her family or education, except thatHayley has been acting from a young age.
Her first credited role was in 2003 when she began playing a variety of roles in the sketch series “MADtv”. The next year she made a brief appearance in “Malcolm In The Middle”, passing on to appear as Maggie Lustig in the episode “Family Values” of the drama series “The District”.
After leaving “MADtv” in 2005, Hayley spent the next couple of years portraying support roles in series such as “The King of Queens” and “Two and a Half Men”. In 2008 she was cast as a young Emily in the series “Emily’s Reasons Why Not” and as Jennifer in “Big Love”. Following her short stint in “The Young and the Restless”, Hayley continued to gain popularity thanks to her role in “General Hospital” as Kiki Jerome from 2014 to 2021. She also portrayed Taylor Hotchkiss in “Pretty Little Liars: The Perfectionists” in 2019.
Regarding her personal life, Hayley has been married to actor Adam Fergus since 2020, welcoming twin daughters Maude and Juno in 2021.
Hopefully, many great things are on their way to Hayley Erin’s personal and professional life.