Look What We Dug Up Y&R’s Camryn Grimes

Christmas, 1990: “I was born on January 7th, so this is my first Christmas at my grandparents’ old place in Studio City [CA] and I’m just cheesing it up. This is one of my favorite photos of me because I love Christmas so much. I hope I get that smile and energy from my [soon-to-be] little guy.”

Y&R photo shoot as Cassie, 1997: “I was extremely, almost frustratingly so, precocious. I didn’t really have a fear of people or situations, especially at that age because I was doing what I loved and that was acting. ‘A photo shoot? Cool. Who’s the photographer? What clothes do I wear? What are they gonna have me doing?’ It’s just constant discovery in the world of a child actor. For me, it was easy to make me smile because I had so much to smile about.”

On the set with Sharon Case (Sharon), 1999: “I loved Sharon and Joshua [Morrow, Nick] right away. I felt so comfortable with them because they made me feel welcomed, warm and safe. I remember Sharon was nervous about playing a young mother but she did just fine. She had an immediate maternal instinct. Although we were playing mother and daughter, we became close friends, which was a nice relationship to fall back on when I came back to the show as Mariah.”

With co-stars Shemar Moore (ex-Malcolm, l.) and David Tom (ex-Billy) and their Daytime Emmys, 2000: “This picture will never not surprise me when I look at it. Although I was shocked that I won, it was the least I remembered about that trip. It wasn’t until the Emmys that I went to New York and fell in love with that city. I think that’s where the world first opened up to me and I never lost that bug. I was honored to have been nominated and then to have won but that trip was so pivotal for me at that age for so many other reasons.”

With Hugh Jackman at the Swordfish movie premiere, 2001: “I had such a big crush on Hugh Jackman, which I think at that age is more like admiration. He was so sweet, and [the film’s other stars] Halle Berry and John Travolta were also exceedingly kind people. Hugh had that same approach with me like Josh and Sharon and Mel [Thomas Scott, Nikki] and Eric [Braeden, Victor] did; he really invested in a connection with me. He talked to me, hung out with me and ran lines with me and I just had a great time. I’m so lucky to have so many great experiences. I still kind of pinch myself.”

With Jeanne Cooper (ex-Katherine) on set, 2011: “I had been gone from Y&R since 2005, when I ran into Jeanne at The Daily Grill in Studio City, and she was like, ‘You have to come visit Y&R.’ We exchanged numbers and we set up a day. I went in just to say hi, but she paraded me around, saying, ‘You’ve gotta figure this out and get her back on the show!’ Unfortunately, it didn’t happen when she was alive, but I like to think that she was somewhere pulling the strings, so I credit that to her. She was known for making things happen in her life and I don’t see any reason why she can’t make things happen from a different space and time. She was just such a special lady. Her spirit was ageless.”

Mariah’s mug shot, 2014: “When you are filming with nearly the entire cast, it’s very rare that it’s not a wedding or a gala or a big party. Nick and Sharon’s bachelor/bachelorette parties ended up in a bar where everyone got arrested for being rowdy. It was so much fun because we were dressed down a bit, so there was nothing buttoned-down or polished about us. We all had fun with our mug shots, where you can see I’m quite disheveled. Mariah had clearly seen better days.”

Duking it out with Mishael Morgan (ex-Hilary) for a Digest photo shoot, 2017: “I loved working with Mishael. She and I had a blast hating each other. At the time, I was doing some boxing and kickboxing as part of my workout so I looked quite muscle-y compared to her. But don’t be mistaken. She may be small of frame but I called her Mighty Mouse because that girl is strong.”