Nov 11, 2023 at 1:00 pm

14 Famous Actors Who Got Their Start on 'The Young and the Restless,' From First to Most Recent

Can you believe that The Young and The Restless has been on the air for 50 years?!

The soap opera’s 50th anniversary episode aired on CBS back in March 2023 and it definitely was a memorable one. (We have 50 incredible photos from the episode for you to see!)

While a lot of the actors on the show have remained in their roles for decades, many celebs got their start on the soap opera and eventually broke into the world of film and primetime television.

One of the show’s stars recently slammed Eva Longoria for the comments she made about being on the show when she was younger.

Head inside to see the 14 famous actors who got their start on The Young and the Restless, from first to most recent…

Keep scrolling for the full list…

Tom Selleck

YEARS ON SHOW: 1974–75
ROLE: Jed Andrews

Around five years later, Tom had his breakout role in the series Magnum, P.I. and later starred in Blue Bloods.

David Hasselhoff

YEARS ON SHOW: 1975–1982
ROLE: Dr. William “Snapper” Foster Jr.

The soap opera was David‘s first major role and he left the show to lead the series Knight Rider in 1982.

Paul Walker

YEARS ON SHOW: 1992–93
ROLE: Brandon Collins

Several years later, Paul got his breakout roles in movies like Varsity Blues and She’s All That, before landing the role in The Fast and the Furious franchise in 2001.

Shemar Moore

YEARS ON SHOW: 1994–2002, 2004–05, 2014, 2019
ROLE: Malcolm Winters

Shemar Moore left the soap series to join the cast of Criminal Minds and later led the CBS series S.W.A.T., which is still running.

Vivica A. Fox

YEARS ON SHOW: 1994–95
ROLE: Stephanie Simmons

Vivica‘s breakout role in Independence Day came just one year after leaving the soap opera.

Eddie Cibrian

YEARS ON SHOW: 1994–1996
ROLE: Matt Clark

Eddie appeared on more soaps after Y&R but eventually got his breakout role in Third Watch in 1999.

Adam Brody

YEARS ON SHOW: 1998
ROLE: Walk-on role!

Adam said on The Talk, “I think that was my part in its entirety. I remember they had me wearing my own sweater. They were like, ‘That’s fine, just get out there.’ I must have been in and out of there in 45 minutes. It was so fast… I was 19 there, but I sound like I’m 13.”

A few years later, he got his breakout role on The OC!

Penn Badgley

YEARS ON SHOW: 2000–2001
ROLE: Phillip “Chance” Chancellor

Penn was on the show as a teenager and got his breakout role in Gossip Girl about six years later.

Eva Longoria

YEARS ON SHOW: 2001–03
ROLE: Isabella Braña

One year after leaving the show, Eva landed her role on Desperate Housewives.

Justin Baldoni

YEARS ON SHOW: 2004
ROLE: Ben

Justin only was on the show for a few episodes. He had his major breakout role in 2014 with The CW’s Jane the Virgin.

Hunter King

YEARS ON SHOW: 2012–2016, 2018–2022
ROLE: Summer Newman

Hunter left the show for a couple years while working on CBS’ Life in Pieces and she finally left the show again in 2022 to pursue her new contract with Hallmark Channel.

Justin Hartley

YEARS ON SHOW: 2014–2016
ROLE: Adam Newman

Justin may not have gotten his actual “start” on The Young and the Restless, but he was on the show right before his big break in This Is Us, which began in 2016.