Gloria Simmons Bardwell
Actor History
Joan Van Ark (June 9th, 2004 to January 7th, 2005)
Judith Chapman (January 17th, 2005 to present)
Occupation
Receptionist at Jabot Cosmetics
Former Vice President of Creative Affairs for Jabot Cosmetics
Former Fashion Consultant for Jabot Cosmetics
Former waitress in Detroit
Resides At
Abbott poolhouse, 603 Glenwood Drive
Marital Status
Single
Past Marriages
Tom Fisher (divorced) (deceased)
John Abbott Sr. (deceased)
William Bardwell [married June 1, 2007] (deceased July 18, 2007)
Jeffrey Bardwell [married January 14, 2008] (divorced May 30th, 2008)
Jeffrey Bardwell [married June 30th, 2008]
Relatives
[unknown first name] Simmons (father)
[unknown first name] Simmons (mother)
Fenmore Michael Baldwin (Grandson by Michael)
Children
Michael Baldwin (son; with Lowell)
Kevin Fisher (son; with Tom)
Flings & Affairs
Lowell River Baldwin
Young man she hired to pose as "Ben", her fictitious son
Allistair Worthington
Crimes Committed
Tainted a face cream in the Jabot lab which may have led to the death a woman who used it. Cause of death was inconclusive.
Drugged John Abbott, Will Bardwell, Ji Min Kim and Jill Abbott with sexual enhancement drugs.
Brief Character History
Gloria Baldwin lived in Detroit and was married to a former hippie turned boozer named Baldwin. Their son, Michael Baldwin, was 10 years old when his mother married Tom Fisher, then Kevin Fisher was born. But Kevin's father "Terrible Tom" was a drunk who took out his frustration and anger by abusing the kids physically and verbally and often locked Kevin in a closet. Gloria apparently was too afraid of Tom to stop him, so Michael escaped from home as soon as he could. Then the beatings fell on Kevin, who Michael described as a great kid, funny and full of potential. Is it any wonder both Kevin and Michael turned out to be the men they did?
Once he was old enough to leave, Kevin went to live with Michael who was a struggling Law student on partial scholarship. Kevin became an apprentice electrician, but he ripped off Michael and his friends, and started a fire at a neighbor's while replacing some switches, and the house burned down. No charges were ever filed, but Kevin was fired, and Michael sent him packing. Michael became a highly respected Attorney in Genoa City, but ended up in prison. After he did his time, Michael managed to pick up his career and was enjoying his success. Also living in Genoa City years later, Kevin was working as a bookkeeper at Marsino's Gentlemen's Club. Kevin's boss Bobby Marsino was tipped to Kevin's alleged illegal activities including arson, statutory rape, and attempted murder, so he fired Kevin. Then stripper Brittany Hodges was electrocuted during her act by contact with the dancing pole, and suffered severe burns to her face. Kevin was one of the suspects, his motive revenge toward Bobby for firing him, and toward Britt for dissing his advances.
Kevin showed up at Michael's office expecting help, but Michael turned his long-lost half-brother away. Not long afterward, Kevin was arrested for Brittany's electrocution and panicked over spending the night in jail - reminding him of those long dark punishments in the closet as a kid. Lauren Fenmore took pity, bailed him out, and he moved in with Michael as part of the deal. Finding out that Lauren was the one who bailed him out, Kevin ended up confiding in her his Genoa City crimes, but claimed that he did not hurt Brittany. Lauren swore she wouldn't tell anyone. Paul guessed from Lauren's demeanor that Kevin had confessed, so went after Kevin and stupidly pressured him, inferring that Lauren had told, causing Kevin to flee Genoa City for his mother Gloria who was living in the same seedy apartment in his and Michael's hometown of Detroit. Kevin awaited his mother Gloria's return, opening that same closet door and reliving the terrifying experience of being locked inside as punishment as a child by "Terrible Tom." Gloria was shocked to see him, and hugged and rocked him, begging him to love her now, after she had turned her back on the abuse all those years. Michael showed up just before the Detroit police knocked on the door wanting Kevin. Michael called Detective Weber back in Genoa City, and convinced him to let him bring Kevin back. Gloria and Michael hadn't seen each other in many years either, and Michael was obviously resentful of her. But Gloria talked Michael into letting her return to Genoa City with Kevin. Kevin ended up in jail, and when the prisoners labeled him as a child molester, they beat him up with a "blanket party." Kevin went to the jail hospital, then was released when Bobby got his mobster pals to admit they fried Brittany.
Michael laid down the law to his two unwelcome houseguests to not touch anything and give him his space, but allowed them to use his membership at the Athletic Club and charge their needs to him. John Abbott was bedazzled by the much younger Gloria Fisher, unaware that she was the mother of unscrupulous Attorney Michael Baldwin and Kevin Fisher, the guy who tried to murder John's Grand Daughter Colleen and burned down Gina's restaurant. Ashley and Jack were both shocked when John and Gloria returned from a cruise and announced they were married. Convinced that the low class Gloria was a gold-digger, Ashley disapproved of their relationship and vowed to end it, while Jack was content if Gloria made John happy. But then John found out that Gloria was mother to Michael and Kevin, so he was ready to end the marriage. But a fall down the stairs caused John to break his hip, and Gloria managed to weasel her way back into his good graces while he recuperated from hip replacement surgery.
Kevin continued his infatuation for Lauren, but Michael was drawn to Lauren himself as they met often to discuss Kevin, and eventually ended up lovers. Mac was able to get Kevin to open up to him, and convinced him to go to a psychiatrist. Kevin appears to be learning how to deal with his past and it well when he realized that Mac was not interested him as more than a friend. Michael eventually popped the question after dinner in the Private Dining Room at The Genoa City Athletic Club which he had setup like a gambling casino. After some hesitance by Lauren over Michael's lack of communication about his personal life, Lauren did say yes. Gloria was thrilled with the impending marriage, and took over the wedding plans. Michael quizzed Lauren about her rarely-mentioned son Scotty, hopeful that he would attend the wedding and they could finally meet, but Lauren was evasive. After an Internet search turned up nothing but a last name for Scotty, Kevin asked to borrow Lauren's cell phone, and they traced him by his phone number to Toronto. Michael went there and met Scotty, now 24, and a college student/Teaching Assistant, working on his Masters in Education with a specialty in creative writing. Scotty disclosed that he's never been back to Genoa City since he was a toddler, and grew up in boarding schools around the world. But wherever he was, Lauren visited often and kept an apartment nearby. Scotty always wondered why his mother was so secretive, but gave up asking about it back when he was a kid. Not long after Michael returned to Genoa City, Lauren decided it was time to tell Scotty about her impending marriage, but Scotty admitted he'd already met Michael. Lauren felt betrayed, but Michael later reminded her about how she disliked HIS family secrets. After Lauren left Scotty's, who should walk out of Scotty's bedroom, but Sheila Carter! Sheila (as "Brenda") was taking college courses and being tutored by Scotty, who is the spitting image of his father. Sheila gave Scotty an idea for a novel. Unknown to him, the story is of Sheila and his mother Lauren, but Sheila has made Lauren out to be the evil-doer who stole Sheila's baby when the opposite is true. Meanwhile, Michael discovered their history, and visited another "Sheila" in a California prison for the criminally insane. This unknown person turned herself in after a two month's escape. She had plastic surgery to look like Sheila and is being kept drugged.
Scotty decided to go to Genoa City for his mother's wedding and moved into the Loft apartment with Kevin. Brenda soon followed and took up residence in the same seedy hotel where Tom Fisher was staying. The evil Tom and "Brenda" hit it off, and have joined forces against Michael and Lauren. Scotty visited "Brenda" often to work on their book. Sheila felt free to move about in GC disguised as the dark haired British accented "Jennifer." She even ended up saving Gloria's life while she was waitressing a party at the Athletic Club. When Scotty bought his mother a silver pendant, Sheila saw her chance and dipped it in poison. The more Lauren wore it, the more she started getting sick and having hallucinations. The night before their wedding Lauren awaited Michael to join her for a romantic dinner on the roof. She began hallucinating that Sheila was tormenting her. Sheila was there for real, talking her into jumping off the roof. Michael arrived just in time to save her, though never saw Sheila. Lauren was admitted to the hospital where they discovered the poisoning, but "Brenda" talked Tom into stealing the necklace before it could be checked for toxin. The wedding was postponed while Lauren recovered. Michael and Paul figured out it was the necklace, but Sheila managed to get it cleaned and returned to the hospital laundry. Scotty has managed to get a book deal for "One Stolen Heart", but "Brenda" is livid. She's decided it's too risky to remain in GC as "Brenda", so is returning to Toronto, but actually staying on as Jennifer intent on getting back at Tom who knows too much, in addition to Lauren.
Ashley began dating Paul Williams but was also being pursued by a mysterious man named Tom Callahan. What she didn't know is that he was Gloria's X-husband, and Kevin's child abuser father, "Terrible" Tom Fisher. Gloria didn't know if he was even alive, but Kevin's first encounter with him turned him back into that cowering child he once was. Michael paid him off to leave town, but that obviously didn't work. In trying to figure out what Tom was up to, Michael discovered that Gloria's divorce from Tom was never filed. He assured Gloria that her marriage would be seen as legal, but could be voided should John decide. Tom was seeing a lot of Ashley, doing things like fishing and baseball games. They were always just barely missing encountering Gloria or John at the Athletic Club or the Abbott mansion. One day Tom's luck ran out, as they ran into Michael at the Abbott's. Amazingly, Michael did not expose him to Ashley, but afterward, he suggested Gloria have Tom declared legally dead. After witnessing a bit of his temper, Ashley asked Tom to back off, that she only wanted to be friends. After Tom discovered the ad in the paper, he went to the Abbott mansion and confronted Gloria who was shocked and terrified to see him. She was free and clear with John, but further indebted to Tom, and Michael was on the spot. They told Ashley, who later slugged Tom at the Athletic Club. Because Gloria continued to pay Tom blackmail money stolen from John, Michael formed an alliance with Ashley. They planted drugs in Tom's motorcycle saddle bags, and arranged for him to be caught. But Tom pressured Gloria thru Sheila (disguised as Jennifer) to pay his bail. Ashley began dating Tom as part of the plot to bring him down but Tom found out and was bent on revenge!
Not realizing that Shelia was intent on murder, Tom was conned into joining her plot to get back at Lauren, by planting a bomb on Lauren and Michael's honeymoon yacht. Michael watched in horror from shore as the yacht blew up. Lauren was not found, and was presumed dead. But Tom had rescued Lauren and carried her and Sheila back to a farmhouse in Genoa City where he held them in the basement fallout shelter. Lauren convinced Tom that Sheila was the bad guy, so he contacted Gloria to arrange a deal to turn over Lauren. John overheard the phone call, grabbed his gun, and met Tom in an alley instead. During a struggle the gun went off, and Tom was killed. John dropped the gun and took off getting into a car accident, but Ashley arrived in time to witness it. Ashley confessed to the shooting and was arrested with Michael as her lawyer. Meanwhile Lauren and Sheila fought and Lauren broke Sheila's ankle. Eventually, realizing Tom was not coming back, they joined forces attempting to escape. As they were almost out, Paul arrived and pulled Lauren to safety while the shelter caved in on Sheila. Sheila was not found in the rubble, but was later seen at a plastic surgeon wanting a new face. Michael and Lauren enjoyed a tearful reunion, and everyone in Genoa City was relived she was back among the living. After recovering from the accident, John regained his memory, and confessed to killing Tom. John got Paul to help him convince the DA that he was guilty, and took a plea bargain to get Ashley exhonerated of all charges. Although Colleen, Gloria, Jill, Katherine, Jack, Victor, and Ashley testify as character witnesses, they are shocked when John be sentenced to 7 years in prison for voluntary manslaughter. John arranged a plea bargain to get all possible charges dropped against Ashley for her deception, and was sentenced to 7 years in prison
With John in prison and not at the mansion to protect her, Gloria grew tired of the way Jack and Ashley treated her and vowed to get even. She managed to get hold of the new product Ashley was developing in the lab and compromised it with cleaning solution to make trouble for them. Gloria even asked for a sample, then used it on herself getting major facial burns to show everyone that Ashley's cream was a hazard. Unfortunately samples had already been distributed to select people, and a woman ended up dying after using the cream. The cause of death was a bit suspicious, but the husband was paid off by Jabot to avoid a lawsuit. Jabot's reputation was further ruined, and Jack was fired by Katherine as a result. Gloria then invited Kevin to live at the Abbott estate, ingratiated herself to Kay and Jill and landed a job at Jabot as Fashion Consultant, then managed to get Kevin hired on as Director of Internet Affairs to replace Phyllis. She has let both Kevin and Michael in on her schemes and they reluctantly helped to keep her secrets.
While in prison John started getting into fights with inmates and having spells where he believed his first wife Dina had just left him. Jack, Ashley and Gloria were made aware, and Jack got permission for John's doctor to look at him, and it was discovered that John was being over-medicated. Before that was corrected, Jack took this opportunity to get John to hand-write a new will cutting out "his evil wife" whom John thought was Dina. Six months after his incarceration, John was about to be released early due to ill heath when he had a stroke and was rushed to GC Memorial in grave condition. The doctors made the family aware that John would never come out of his vegetative state and had signed a DNR. After much bickering between Gloria and Jack, Gloria decided to use her authority in the DNR to allow John to die. Billy and Traci returned to say farewell to their father, as did old friend Kay, and X-wife Jill. Jack and Ashley, who wanted a small family-only memorial service for John, over-ruled Gloria who wanted a huge lavish funeral. As the feud between them heightened, Jack made sure that Gloria had the wrong time so that she missed the memorial service where each of John's children, and Kay and Jill, gave a heartfelt eulogy. Gloria, Michael, Lauren and Kevin arrived to find it over, so held their own service for John including Gloria's eulogy.
The Fishers were jubilant and the Abbott's were appalled to discover John's will left Gloria 50% of his billion dollar estate, and the rest including the Abbott mansion to be divided among his children. But when everyone arrived in probate court, the prison chaplain turned over the hand-written will he had been given for safe-keeping by John which divided the estate among only his children. It was also exposed that John's attorney had never gotten around to making the marriage between John and Gloria legal. Afterward, Gloria arrived at the Abbott Mansion to find her belongings in trash bags on the front porch and the locks changed, with Jack gloating behind the glass door. The next day, as John looked on in the guise of Jack's guilty conscience, the judge decided in the end that the hand-written will would stand, so Gloria was cut out. Assuming that Jack was somehow behind this, Gloria was livid. She and Kevin moved in with Michael and Lauren. Jill and Kay promoted Gloria to Vice President of Creative Affairs for Jabot, further infuriating the Abbotts.
It wasn't long before Gloria set her sights on the recently widowed DA, Will Bardwell, who had just come into an inheritance. She started attending widow's grief counseling to be with him, and was working against Jill, one of her few friends, in an effort to keep Jill away from Will. Gloria got Kevin to monitor the security cameras at Jabot, and they discovered that Jack was the secret owner of Jabot. Michael and Lauren discovered all of Kevin and Gloria's secrets. Using a little sexual enhancement drug to make sure that Jill and Ji Min got it on in the board room, and the video feed to monitor them, she and Will walked in on them and Will dumped Jill. Once Gloria discovered that Will was onto her in his investigation of the Glo by Jabot skin cream tainting case, it didn't take Gloria long to get Will to marry her. But Will admitted that his inheritance was tied up in court over a company that was severely in debt. Will had a stroke and died after deciding he loved Gloria enough not to turn her in. Then Gloria found a letter stating the inheritance case had been settled, and Will had been awarded 50 million dollars! Gloria threw an elaborate memorial party at the Genoa City Athletic Club and who should turn up, but Will's twin brother Jeffrey! Gloria began spending her inheritance like it was water. Jeff started coming onto Gloria, but she didn't trust him, suspicious that he was only after "her" money. Once Jeff discovered her Jabot cream secret, he coerced Gloria into marrying him to keep her secret, and began enjoying spending her money.
Due to Jack's falsifying his father's will, the judge reversed his decision on Gloria's inheritance from John, and she was awarded half of Abbott Manor. Since Gloria and Jeffrey moved in and Jack & Sharon refused to move out, they are time-sharing by area. Meanwhile, Jeff claims he's actually fallen for Gloria, and continued to blackmail her to force her to become his wife in every way. So Kevin and Gloria cooked up a plot to make it look like Jeff was slowly poisoning her to inherit, but Jeff one-upped her again, substituting something else for the poison which she is taking daily. Both couples are doing everything they can to make the other leave. Gloria redecorated in outlandish style, and Sharon & Jack with Jeff's help, hired an actor, Alistair Wallingford, to play John's ghost to scare Gloria into selling her share of the mansion and leaving. Gloria figured it out and threatened lawsuit, but Jack, influenced by his conscience in the form of his dead father John, gave up and gave her the house, and he and Sharon moved out. Then Gloria, influenced by Jana and her beliefs in karma, decided to turn her life around and gave the mansion back to Jack. Gloria and Jeff began to realize they really were actually attracted to each other even after all their feuding and blackmailing. They had one hot night together, but misunderstandings and refusal to admit they cared led to Jeffrey filing for divorce and asking for half her net worth as a settlement. Meanwhile Gloria was still trying to offset her karma and made legal arrangements to donate half her assets to charity as the Marksalogria Charitable Foundation (which is an algorithm for meaning Gloria's Karma). So if Jeff received the other half in their divorce settlement, and Gloria was left penniless! Even her diamond stash turned out to be fake. Talk about karma!
The Fishers were celebrating Michael's first Father's Day, when Michael insisted Gloria tell him more about his own father, Lowell Baldwin. The way Gloria tells it, she was a naive 15 year old living in Detroit when she met the handsome and charismatic Lowell in Ann Arbor where he was attending college on scholarship at the University of Michigan. Michael had been reading the remains of his grandmother's diary, and recalled her disappointment at Lowell's disinterest in his education after falling for "that young Detroit girl". Gloria added that Lowell dropped out of college and became a hippie driving a school bus for a living, getting into drugs and booze. Gloria discovered she was pregnant with Michael about the time Lowell got drafted and fled to Canada. Rather than raise an infant in a commune, she let him go alone and never saw him again. She guiltily admitted that they had never been married after all. Thanks to Paul's investigation, Paul located a River Baldwin wanted for murder after setting up a bombing of a bank as a leader with the 60's terrorist group The Weathermen. He had the same social security number as Lowell, and was also born in New Orleans. Records also showed that a Gloria Simmons got him out on bail. Gloria responded to Michael's confrontation that Lowell used her, convinced her he was innocent, and disappeared after she bailed him out, leaving her and Michael. Michael is now having second thoughts about finding his long lost father.
Influenced by his concience in the form of John again, Jack relented and allowed Gloria to live in the Abbott pool house. After trying her hand and failing at waitressing at Crimson Lights and sales clerking for Lauren at the Glow By Jabot Boutique, she begged Kay for her job back and was given the Jabot Receptionist job instead. When Jeffrey realized how low Gloria had sunk, he made another attempt to reconcile with no more playing tricks and misunderstandings. After one hot night together, Gloria accused him of somehow stealing her diamonds, (which he probably did) and Jeff is mad at her again. Jill came on hot & heavy to Jeff seducing him in her office chair, but it wasn't long before he finally realized that the woman he wanted was Gloria. Jeff broke it off with Jill, and Jill took it out on the new receptionist Gloria, treating her like a slave. Jeff returned to Gloria and asked to start over together. Gloria went along with it half-heartedly until they made love again. Then Jeff coaxed her to his place, showed her 50 million in cash to frolic in, asked her to remarry him, and they eloped to Las Vegas with a wedding officiated by Little Richard. They later spotted David Chow losing big at roulette.
