Shocking Revelation! The Young and the Restless: Elizabeth Hendrickson Almost ENDED UP In DOOL and the Real Reason She Didn’t Will Leave You SPEECHLESS
The Young and the Restless fans know Elizabeth Hendrickson as an absolute force- a woman who has spent years owning every scene she walks into. But here is something that will genuinely surprise you. The actress who became a Genoa City staple almost ended up in Salem instead. That is right. Elizabeth Hendrickson was this close to joining Days of Our Lives — and the real reason it did not happen is the kind of story that only daytime television could produce.
The Days of Our Lives Deal That Vanished Overnight
After her time at The Young and the Restless, Hendrickson was deep in discussions about making a move to Days of Our Lives. The deal was happening. She was preparing. Salem was calling. And then, just like that, it all fell apart.
The same day the Days opportunity collapsed, Elizabeth received an unexpected phone call — from Frank Valentini, the executive producer of General Hospital. And according to Hendrickson, she has a feeling she knows exactly how he got her number. “I think Billy Miller gave him my phone number,” she revealed during a recent appearance on the CBS podcast Soapy, hosted by her longtime friends and former co-stars Rebecca Budig and Greg Rikaart.
Just like that, Salem was out and Port Charles was in. Valentini wanted her for a role, and despite her very candid hesitation — “Frank, I cannot play a DA,” she told him — she took the job anyway. The result? One of the hardest weeks of her career. “It was like 75 pages of just court lawyer jargon,” she recalled. “It was probably one of the hardest weeks of my career.” But she powered through, because that is exactly who Elizabeth Hendrickson is.
From the The Young and the Restless Screen to the Director’s Chair
Fast forward to today, and Hendrickson is writing an entirely new chapter for herself — this time behind the camera. She is now directing at The Young and the Restless, and by all accounts, she is absolutely thriving. She developed her skills through hands-on experience and mentorship from veteran director Owen Renfro, and the transition has given her a whole new perspective on the genre that built her career.
Her very first directing script? She was handed a scene with Eric Braeden and Melody Thomas Scott — Victor and Nikki Newman themselves. Intimidating does not even begin to cover it. But the soap legends could not have been more gracious. “Eric hugged me at the end of it, put my face in his hands, and said how proud he was of me,” Hendrickson shared. “I cried.”
She has not ruled out returning to screens as Chloe Mitchell someday, but for now, the director’s chair is exactly where she wants to be. “I’m feeling very safe right now,” she said. “I’m learning so much, and I’m really loving it.”
From almost landing in Salem to directing daytime royalty in Genoa City, Elizabeth Hendrickson’s journey is one of the most fascinating in soap opera history. Stay tuned to Soap Opera Daily for all the latest The Young and the Restless news, updates, and behind the scenes stories, because this woman is nowhere near done surprising us.
