Emmy Winner Mishael Morgan Talks Amanda’s ‘Y&R’ Return and Living ‘Best of Both Worlds’ (EXCLUSIVE)
‘The Young and the Restless’ fave talks Amanda's drama, walking away from Hilary and Aristotle Dumas
With The Young and the Restless viewers convinced Amanda Sinclair’s return is tied to the ever-mysterious Aristotle Dumas, portrayer Mishael Morgan talks to Woman’s World about what might bring her character back to Genoa City tomorrow. The Daytime Emmy-winning lead actress and star of Hallmark’s Hearts Around the Table movie series teases Amanda’s soap opera glow-up and gets candid about why she walked away from the epic role of Hilary Curtis.
As she approaches the big 4-0, Morgan also dishes on her life “momming” in Canada and living “the best of both worlds.”
‘Y&R’ star Mishael Morgan teases Amanda’s return
It seems like it will only be a matter of time before Aristotle Dumas’s identity is finally revealed on The Young and the Restless, and yes, Mishael Morgan has heard all the speculation surrounding her character Amanda’s possible connection.
“I was actually at my sister’s bridal shower and ran into a fan who is in my sister’s new family,” she confides. “She laid out all the conspiracy theories and was like, ‘Which one is it?’ All I will say is that our fans are very, very smart.”
What Woman’s World CAN tell you is that Amanda returns to canvas Friday, May 16, she should stick around for a couple of weeks, and since we last saw her in February 2024, she’s landed a new job and a slightly elevated new look.
“She’s in a different place in her life,” previews Morgan. “Her mom has officially passed away, and she’s growing.
“Even when characters aren’t on the canvas all the time, it’s important that they have lives,” she maintains. “It just makes everything a lot more interesting when they return, so I want her to keep changing—and I want to do that through my acting, but I also want there to be some evolution in her style and who she is in her presence, as well. So we’re starting to slowly reinvent Amanda, in terms of how she looks on camera.”
Amanda vs. Hilary
While it was Amanda’s drama that helped Morgan become the first Black actress to win the Daytime Emmy Award for Lead Actress in 2022, it was her twin, Hilary, who first led fans to fall for this Trinidadian-Canadian powerhouse. In fact, many were surprised when she walked away from The Young and the Restless in 2018 and her beloved character was tragically killed off.
Leaving certainly wasn’t the safest choice…but that’s exactly what inspired Morgan to do it.
“I was planning to be an attorney my whole life,” she explains. “I was always chasing this level of stability, but then I broke my neck in a car accident and my whole life got shaken up. I started thinking about what I would regret.
“The biggest risk of my life was leaving law school behind to become an actor and really trusting in God—and I felt like, ‘If I stay at Y&R, this is me playing it safe, again,” she continues. “There’s so many more stories I want to tell—especially being a woman, a minority, and someone who sees unity and connection in a way that I want to bring to the world. Something inside of me just felt like this was the moment.”
Just over a year after she exited, the show called Morgan about creating the twin sister Hilary never knew she had—a new character that could pop in and out when someone needed a good lawyer or say, Devon and Abby need their lives shaken up!
“That’s been a real blessing,” she grins. “People see a distinct difference between these two people that I created and play, which is awesome. Everybody still loves and misses Hilary, but Amanda has found her footing. I’m living the soap opera dream.”
The stay-at-home mom enjoys ‘the best of both worlds’
Part of that dream has been finding that elusive balance all mothers seek. Since Morgan moved back to Canada with her husband Navid Ali and their two kids almost three years ago, she’s popped in for stints on Chicago Med and The Young and the Restless, starred and executive produced the indie movie Sway, and shot Hallmark‘s Hearts Around the Table movie series, streaming now—and that’s not the half of it.
“I have my days where I’m living the dream and doing the thing, and then I have my days where I’m momming,” she shares. “I get to be a stay-at-home mom, super hands-on, and go to all of the gymnastics, baseball and practices with my hair in a messy bun. I run into random people who recognize me, which is always fun. ‘How did you recognize me like THIS?’ It’s just amazing, being able to be so close with my kids and have this chunk of time with them.
“It’s like living in these two incredible worlds and getting the best of both, because I don’t have to keep juggling,” she adds. “I can just go back and forth. It’s been very different than when I was on Y&R full-time. My life has changed a lot!”
Once again, Morgan has seen her risk-taking and faith pay off.
“On the precipice of 40, I feel very content with all of my choices and where I am in life right now,” maintains the 38-year-old. “They say in your 30s, you really figure out who you are, and then by your 40s, you get a chance to enjoy it. So I’m getting close!”
‘Y&R’ girl time
Amanda’s return to Genoa City is likely to cause big drama, but returning to The Young and the Restless stages to get into it with pals like Michelle Stafford, Melissa Claire Egan, Melissa Ordway, Bryton James, and Sean Dominic—who play Phyllis, Chelsea, Abby, Devon and Nate—is the opposite for the actress playing it all.
“I get so zenned out,” Morgan admits to Woman’s World. “I check in with the kids every night, but it’s always so fun to get back to Y&R. There’s so much nostalgia there and I get to see all my girls and peeps. I lived in LA for 10 years, so we have so many people in LA and on the set that are like family to us. It’s exciting to see where everybody is in their lives now, and how the characters are growing and changing. We get to hang out, catch up… and the weather has been horrible here in Toronto, so it was a little bit like a vacation!”
As for what she got into on The Young and the Restless stages and what Amanda’s going to get into once she lands back in Genoa City on Friday, Morgan knows better than to spill—especially when it comes to the question of whether or not Attorney Sinclair will be tied to Dumas.
“You’ve just got to trust your instincts,” Morgan tells fans. “And keep watching The Young and the Restless!”
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