Sheila Carter Grainger Forrester Warwick is not only rooted in BOLD AND BEAUTIFUL’s history as the soap’s most memorable she-devil, but the character easily rates high in the pantheon of all-time great daytime villains. It’s a distinction that almost didn’t happen, as Kimberlin Brown first played the nutty nurse on YOUNG AND RESTLESS in 1990 to briefly cause grief in Scott and Lauren’s marriage. “[Co-Creator/Head Writer] Bill Bell made it quite clear when he hired me that it was going to be for three months, and that I was just being brought on to stir up some trouble between the main characters, and then I’d be gone,” the actress recalls. “When Bill saw what I was doing with his work, things just went really well. I couldn’t have done it without his writing and the fact that he allowed me to tell the story my way. Of course, [then-Executive Producer] Ed Scott helped mold my character, as well.”
When Brown’s three months were up, her boss was singing a different tune. “Bill said, ‘I don’t want to let you go. The character is so much fun to watch and interesting to write for,’ ” she recalls. “That’s when they offered me the contract to stay.”
For two years, Sheila wreaked havoc in Genoa City and her popularity with fans grew. “I think Sheila tapped into an entirely different group of people as far as they loved to hate her, but they sympathized with her,” Brown rationalizes. “All they could see was this woman who wanted so desperately to be loved but simply didn’t know how to go about doing it. There are probably a lot of people out there in the world who just really want to be loved as well, so they were kind of in Sheila’s corner. Instead of just letting somebody love her, she would go to extremes, thinking that was the only way she could obtain it.”
After stealing Lauren’s baby, locking her own mother up in a mental institution, kidnapping and attempted murder, the decision was made to wrap up Sheila’s crime spree. Bell, however, had another trick up his sleeve to extend Sheila’s longevity, and that was to send her packing to his other show, B&B. “Bill was willing to try something that hadn’t been successful before, and that was the crossover,” Brown marvels. “It was an honor to be part of something that really changed the landscape of BOLD AND THE BEAUTIFUL, and having Tracey [E. Bregman, Lauren] follow over there was genius.”
Sheila faked her death and moved to L.A., where she became involved with the Forresters and continued to add to her litany of sins, even after her criminal past was exposed. “I made a lot of viewers either very happy or very upset,” Brown chuckles. “As long as you’re pushing buttons and people are talking, I guess you’re doing the right thing.”
JPI
Through the years, Sheila bounced back and forth between both soaps, then supposedly met her maker in 2007, thanks to Lauren’s well-placed bullet. Although the character has been gone for over a decade, Brown is humbled that Sheila’s legacy continues to resonate. “I still get wonderful things posted on Twitter and Facebook from fans begging me to come back, and that’s one of the best feelings I could ever have,” she enthuses. “I’ve always been thankful to my fans because if it weren’t for them, I never would have been the Sheila that I was.”
As for reprising her alter ego, Brown hedges, “I never say never. There have been a lot of people who’ve had some really great ideas on how to bring her back.”
The actress did return to the set recently. In observance of CBS Daytime’s milestone of being No. 1 in the ratings for 30 years, the network staged an ambitious photo session that included soap stars, past and present (including AS THE WORLD TURNS and GUIDING LIGHT alumni), as well as game show and talk show hosts. Brown was flattered to be a part of the shoot. “It was a special night and basically a reunion,” she enthuses. “It was wonderful to see everybody who’s made a difference in CBS daytime across the board. I got to catch up with old friends and make new ones.”
Brown was also wowed by how the event was organized for such a large group. “It was all planned beautifully. When we checked in, we were given a tag that had your number on it and where you were supposed to stand. In the VIP lounge, everyone was set up in group one, group two, group three, and when they started calling them off, people lined up and they knew exactly where we were to stand. I was closer to the back row, so obviously I was one of the first people to go up there, but I don’t think I stood there for more than 10 minutes before they started shooting. There were lots of selfies taken that night, too.”
As B&B celebrates its 30th anniversary, Brown looks back with pride and fondness at her contribution. “I was fortunate enough to have very talented people to work opposite,” she praises. “I wouldn’t have had the success with my character if I didn’t have those actors giving their all to make it work. I also have to thank the fans. If it weren’t for them, I wouldn’t be here. Bottom line: I will always be grateful.”
Business-Minded
Brown is doing plenty outside of Hollywood with her interior design firm and the family avocado farm. “[Husband] Gary and I have other businesses here in San Diego that keep us pretty busy,” she shares. “We’ve got over 180 employees, so it’s work. We’re small business owners, and I go to work every day and try to make it work for the people that we — that rely on us for their well-being. It’s not easy in the state of California, but we do what we can do.”
Brown found herself back in the spotlight when she spoke at the Republican National Convention last July about “how these rules and regulations are killing small business in our country,” but she got heat as soon as her inclusion as a guest speaker was announced. “I was surprised by the hate speech, because the people who were coming out against me hadn’t even heard what I had to say,” Brown sighs. “I wasn’t speaking on behalf of Republicans or Democrats or Independents or the Tea Party. I was asked to speak on behalf of small business but people were calling me a homophobe, a racist and that I was going to KKK meetings — even though my aunt is black! To the first person who tried to turn my loyal fans against me, I said, ‘Anyone who knows me never would have said the things that you said,’ and I just left it at that. I never responded again.”
Getty
Brown appeared calm and in control when she took the podium. “I was very nervous but I also truly believe in the things that I said,” she notes. “One of the biggest compliments I got was the following morning. Anderson Cooper came up to me and said, ‘Your speech was fabulous. The biggest mistake they made, Kimberlin, was not putting your speech up earlier in the night.’ ”
Just The Facts
Birthday: June 29
Born In: Hayward, CA
How She Got Her Name: “There was a ranch in Northern California called Kimberlin, and my mom would drive by it on a regular basis. She just always loved the name.”
Family Ties: Married to Gary Pelzer since May 11, 1991. They have two children, Alexes, 23, and Nicholas, 19.
Other Soap Roles: Judge Cressman, ALL MY CHILDREN, 2010; Paige, ONE LIFE TO LIVE, 2004-05; Rachel, PORT CHARLES and GENERAL HOSPITAL, 1999-2002; Shelly, ANOTHER WORLD, 1999; Candace, SANTA BARBARA, 1990; and Danielle, CAPITOL, 1987
Eye See: Sheila’s trademark cocked eyebrow started by accident on Y&R. “I did it one day during a scene. I didn’t really know that I did it, and Ed Scott came flying down to the set and said, ‘Do that eyebrow thing again!’ I asked, ‘What do you mean?’ and he goes, ‘You looked down and the eyebrow went up, it was just great.’ The eyebrow definitely became part of the character.”
