Young And Restless’s Melissa Ordway (Abby) Taken Off Contract
A Change Is Gonna Come: Melissa Ordway revealed on Instagram that her recent hair transformation was inspired by the change in her contract status at Y&R.
In an Instagram Story posted the very same day her Genoa City alter ego, Abby Newman, married Devon Winters on the show’s landmark 13,000th episode, Melissa Ordway confirmed that she has been taken off contract at Young and Restless.
The actress invited her followers on the social media platform to “Ask me anything,” and shared that the most-asked question she received was about what made her decide to cut her hair. Ordway told Soap Opera Digest in October that she had been motivated to chop off nearly a foot of her previously long locks after admiring the cropped style sported by a woman at a bagel shop. She explained, “I was like, ‘You know what, there’s a lot of blondes on the show that have a very similar length of hair, so why not change it up? It’s just hair, it grows back, so why not?”
But in response to the fan query, Ordway wrote, “Honest answer,” and added, “Honestly, it’s been an interesting couple of months. The show decided to take me off contract so I decided to change my look up a bit for auditions. Definitely not something I wanted but I love and respect my YR family and appreciate any time they ask me back.”
Ordway has posted from the set and been filming since the show informed her of its decision to change her contract status. Many daytime actors, both on Y&R and the other soaps, work regularly as recurring players without being on contract.
After Ordway’s first post about, another fan asked her, “What does off contract mean. I don’t want you to leave the show!” Ordway clarified, “I’m still playing Abby. I’m just not guaranteed episodes and can work on other projects. I’m still a part of the YR family and pray they continue to let Abby be a part of all the things in Genoa City. Trust me, I hope I’m still there all the time! I think they’re just focusing on other characters and storylines. But I worked today and lots of fun stuff coming up!”
Abby Road
The actress’s Y&R career kicked off in 2013. She debuted on April 16 of that year, succeeding Emme Rylan in the role of Ashley Abbott and Victor Newman’s daughter when Ryan exited Y&R to take over the role of Lulu Spencer Falconeri on General Hospital. Prior to Rylan’s 2010-13 stint, Abby was played by Hayley Erin (who now appears on Y&R in the role of Claire Newman) from 2008-10. As a child, Abby, who was born on-screen on November 13, 2000, was played by Madison and Morgan Reinharz (2000-03), Rachel and Amanda Pace (2003) and Darcy Rose Byrnes (2003-08).
Before being cast as Abby, Ordway had appeared on the 2012 prime-time sudser Hollywood Heights, which was executive-produced by Jill Farren Phelps. When Farren Phelps was tapped as Y&R’s executive producer in 2013, she reached out to Ordway, who recalled to Soap Opera Digest in 2023, “I was so excited because I always wanted to be on a soap, so it was a dream come true. My mom had told me for years, ‘You need to do a soap opera,’ and I was like, ‘Yeah, who do I call? How do I get to do one?’ Hollywood Heights was a nice introduction but I wanted to be on one of the big soaps. So when Jill offered the role to me, I was over the moon about it. I had just done six episodes of 90210, and I was more thrilled about Y&R.”
The actress had already been a fan of the show. She noted to Digest, “The positive was I knew the relationships between the characters already. I didn’t have to figure out who was related to whom and other dynamics. I knew all of that. However, the downside was because I was such a fan of the show, I was so nervous. On my first day, I didn’t talk to anybody. Even though people were very nice and welcoming, I just said my lines and left. It took months for me to finally feel, ‘Okay, I have my footing here.’ But if you watch those first episodes, you can tell I was super-nervous.”
Reflecting on her 10th anniversary with the show in 2023, Ordway told Digest, “I can’t imagine my life without Young and Restless. It would just break my heart to live without my Y&R family…. The show has provided a great life for me.”
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