Y&R legend Melody Thomas Scott (Nikki) is being honored with a Lifetime Achievement Award at tonight’s Daytime Emmys alongside her husband, B&B Producer Ed Scott. The actress’s storied daytime career commenced in 1979, when she assumed the role of Nikki from the original actress who played her, Erica Hope, and Soap Opera Digest has been covering both the actress and her character ever since. To help celebrate the well-deserved honor being bestowed upon here, we take a look back at 13 of her most memorable appearances on the magazine’s cover.
1 of 13
3/24/87
Digest's cover story on soaps' hottest love triangles wouldn't have been complete without putting the spotlight on the Y&R quagmire involving Nikki, Victor (Eric Braeden) and Eileen Davidson (Ashley). Audience interest in this tangled trio was sky-high.
2 of 13
5/16/89
Digest celebrated Mother’s Day by featuring two real-life moms, Scott, with daughter Elizabeth, and Marcy Walker (ex-Eden, Santa Barbara) and her son, Taylor.
3 of 13
10/13/92
Scott shared cover honors in 1992 with Peter Bergman (Jack), who was then her on-screen husband.
4 of 13
3/16/93
For Y&R’s 20th anniversary, Scott graced a festive cover with co-stars Lauralee Bell (Christine, top l.) Bergman, Jeanne Cooper (Katherine) and Michael Damian (Danny).
5 of 13
6/6/95
Digest investigated three Genoa City relationships going through impactful transitions, including sweet farm girl Hope (Signy Coleman) getting caught up in Nikki-and-Victor drama.
6 of 13
12/5/95
The Newman family was in turmoil as Nick (Joshua Morrow) stood trial for the attempted murder of Matt Clark, Sharon's (Sharon Case) rapist. (He was found guilty, but later exonerated.)
7 of 13
3/10/98
For Y&R’s silver anniversary, Digest — for the first time — featured a fold-out cover to accommodate even more cast members. On the main cover (l.), alongside Scott, Braeden, Damian and Bergman is Doug Davidson (Paul) and Alex Donnelley (ex-Diane); on the second half of the cover is Cooper, Shemar Moore (ex-Malcolm, top l.), Jess Walton (Hill, top r.), Scott Reeves (ex-Ryan) and Tricia Cast (Nina),
8 of 13
10/26/99
Ashley was back in Victor and Nikki's orbit, and Nikki impulsively called off her latest wedding to Victor when she saw him and Ashley holding hands while he consoled her over her troubled marriage to Cole.
9 of 13
10/5/04
Nikki and Victor’s marriage was on shaky ground as she grew insecure over him bonding with Ashley and their little girl, Abby. When Abby was injured in a riding accident, Victor and Ashley became even closer.
10 of 13
11/11/08
Victor was distraught after the death of his pregnant wife, Sabrina, and hiding out in France. Nikki dispatched Ashley to retrieve him, which eventually reunited them.
11 of 13
6/27/16
Fate was about to alter Nikki ‘s relationship with Victor after he was released from prison, and the secret that Sharon’s baby boy, Sully, who didn’t belong to her, was poised to blow up.
12 of 13
1/19/19
Viewers already knew that Nikki didn’t mean to kill J.T. in April 2018 when she struck him down with a fireplace poker in defense of Victoria. Nikki, Victoria, Sharon and Phyllis buried his body then spent months covering up the crime until NIkki broke down and confessed to her son. J.T. turning up alive spared Nikki a long stint in prison.
13 of 13
8/24/2020
Scott gave Digest readers a juicy preview of her memoir, Always Young and Restless: My Life On and Off America's #1 Daytime Drama. " I knew I had a very unusual story to tell, due to the unusual events and circumstances of my early life. It was just a matter of coming to grips with sharing them with the world," she said of the decision to write the tell-all.
3/24/87
Digest's cover story on soaps' hottest love triangles wouldn't have been complete without putting the spotlight on the Y&R quagmire involving Nikki, Victor (Eric Braeden) and Eileen Davidson (Ashley). Audience interest in this tangled trio was sky-high.
5/16/89
Digest celebrated Mother’s Day by featuring two real-life moms, Scott, with daughter Elizabeth, and Marcy Walker (ex-Eden, Santa Barbara) and her son, Taylor.
10/13/92
Scott shared cover honors in 1992 with Peter Bergman (Jack), who was then her on-screen husband.
3/16/93
For Y&R’s 20th anniversary, Scott graced a festive cover with co-stars Lauralee Bell (Christine, top l.) Bergman, Jeanne Cooper (Katherine) and Michael Damian (Danny).
6/6/95
Digest investigated three Genoa City relationships going through impactful transitions, including sweet farm girl Hope (Signy Coleman) getting caught up in Nikki-and-Victor drama.
12/5/95
The Newman family was in turmoil as Nick (Joshua Morrow) stood trial for the attempted murder of Matt Clark, Sharon's (Sharon Case) rapist. (He was found guilty, but later exonerated.)
3/10/98
For Y&R’s silver anniversary, Digest — for the first time — featured a fold-out cover to accommodate even more cast members. On the main cover (l.), alongside Scott, Braeden, Damian and Bergman is Doug Davidson (Paul) and Alex Donnelley (ex-Diane); on the second half of the cover is Cooper, Shemar Moore (ex-Malcolm, top l.), Jess Walton (Hill, top r.), Scott Reeves (ex-Ryan) and Tricia Cast (Nina),
10/26/99
Ashley was back in Victor and Nikki's orbit, and Nikki impulsively called off her latest wedding to Victor when she saw him and Ashley holding hands while he consoled her over her troubled marriage to Cole.
10/5/04
Nikki and Victor’s marriage was on shaky ground as she grew insecure over him bonding with Ashley and their little girl, Abby. When Abby was injured in a riding accident, Victor and Ashley became even closer.
11/11/08
Victor was distraught after the death of his pregnant wife, Sabrina, and hiding out in France. Nikki dispatched Ashley to retrieve him, which eventually reunited them.
6/27/16
Fate was about to alter Nikki ‘s relationship with Victor after he was released from prison, and the secret that Sharon’s baby boy, Sully, who didn’t belong to her, was poised to blow up.
1/19/19
Viewers already knew that Nikki didn’t mean to kill J.T. in April 2018 when she struck him down with a fireplace poker in defense of Victoria. Nikki, Victoria, Sharon and Phyllis buried his body then spent months covering up the crime until NIkki broke down and confessed to her son. J.T. turning up alive spared Nikki a long stint in prison.
8/24/2020
Scott gave Digest readers a juicy preview of her memoir, Always Young and Restless: My Life On and Off America's #1 Daytime Drama. " I knew I had a very unusual story to tell, due to the unusual events and circumstances of my early life. It was just a matter of coming to grips with sharing them with the world," she said of the decision to write the tell-all.
