Katherine Shepard Chancellor
Actor History
Jeanne Cooper (1973 to present)
Lifeline
Born October 25, 1928, according to her tombstone in 2008 when they thought she was dead.
Nicknames
Kay
The Duchess (by Brock)
Mrs. C. (by Esther)
Mrs. S. (by Esther)
Old Fossil/Crone (by Jill)
* Known as Kay Chancellor throughout her marriages Since Phillip
Occupation
Owner of Chancellor Industries
Internet ordained as a minister
Owner of Jabot Cosmetics
Legal Trustee for Forrester Creations
Resides At
Chancellor Estate, 12 Foothill Road
Marital Status
Married to Patrick "Murph" Murphy (married May 1, 2009)
Past Marriages
Gary Reynolds (deceased)
Phillip Chancellor II (deceased)
Derek Thurston (divorced)
Rex Sterling (divorced; first time)
Rex Sterling (deceased)
Relatives
Unknown first name Clarke (mother, deceased)
Unknown first name Shepard (father, deceased)
Mackenzie Browning (granddaughter)
Ashley Abbott (God-daughter)
Children
Brock Reynolds (son; with Gary)
Unknown name (daughter; with Arthur; given up for adoption)
Flings & Affairs
John Abbott (deceased)
Arthur Hendricks
Douglas Austin
Felipe Ramirez
Jerry Cashman (deceased)
Brent Davis (deceased)
Mitchell Sherman
Arthur Hendricks (engagement broken)
Patrick "Murph" Murphy
Crimes Committed
Katherine's husband Phillip was killed upon his return from divorcing her when she drove off a cliff in a rage - was never prosecuted
Special Note
Kay Chancellor and Jeanne Cooper had an on-air face lift in 1984
Brief Character History
When we first met Katherine, she was married to the handsome, wealthy head of Chancellor Industries, Phillip Chancellor II, and they lived at the luxurious Chancellor Estate. Her former husband Gary Reynolds and Phillip were college buddies, friends until Gary died, then Kay and Phillip grew close and eventually married. One of Kay's best friends was always John Abbott. They were lovers with fond memories of skinny dipping at the lake together in high school when she was Katherine Shepard. Later we learned of Brock Reynolds, her son from her marriage to Gary. Brock was cavorting on his inheritance in Europe with Lori Brooks, daughter of newspaper editor Stuart Brooks, while attending college.
After many years of a loving marriage with Phillip, Katherine became an alcoholic and heavy smoker, and began having sex with the stable boys. She blamed it on boredom, Phillip's long hours, her fading looks, and her estrangement from her son, Brock. Phillip tried to convince her she was destroying herself, as well as their marriage. He suggested she find something to occupy her time or he would leave. Kay responded with a suicide attempt. Then Kay took a liking to her poor and innocent young manicurist Jill Foster, so hired Jill as her paid companion, maid, and hairdresser. Jill liked Kay, and was very supportive in Kay's struggle with her vices. About this time, prodigal son, Brock returned home a changed man, now very religious and a practicing lawyer. Even Brock could not convince "The Duchess" to join AA. Phillip told Jill that although he knew he was falling in love with her, he would never leave Kay when she needed him. Witnessing their parting embrace, Kay realized she was losing him, began going to AA, and started bugging their conversations. Jill felt so guilty, she made plans to leave. Kay offered to pay for a college education, but Jill turned it down. Jill went to Phillip to say goodbye, but they ended up consummating their love with Kay watching.
Kay arranged for her son Brock, who was attracted to Jill, to propose. Jill accepted, and Brock married them himself. Before they consummated the marriage, Jill found out she was pregnant and told Phillip. Phillip was overjoyed, and asked Kay for a divorce, which sent her back to the bottle. Kay signed the papers in a drunken stupor, crossing out the property settlement because without him, she wanted nothing, not even the estate. Phillip flew to The Dominican Republic for a quickie divorce, while Jill broke the news to Brock who agreed to back out of their marriage, which was not legal anyway. Upon Phillip's return, he was met at the airport by Kay, who offered to drive him home. Kay made a last-ditch effort to convince Phillip to change his mind about their marriage. But when he turned her down, she hit the accelerator while rounding a curve, and the car sailed off a cliff. Kay sustained serious injuries, and Phillip was in critical condition. Jill hovered at his bedside. Phillip asked the hospital chaplain to marry them, and soon afterward Phillip died. Thus began the life long feud between Jill Foster and Kay Chancellor - Jill accusing Kay of murdering her true love, and Kay accusing Jill of stealing hers! Kay decided, in Phillip's memory, to go on the wagon for good.
Jill delivered a son, whom she named Phillip Chancellor III. Katherine tried to buy him from Jill for a million dollars, but instead Jill sued for half of Phillip's estate. Kay hired Attorney Mitchell Sherman to have Jill's marriage annulled, thereby stopping any inheritance, due to the fact that the divorce papers were signed when she was drunk. In retaliation, Jill planted alcohol around the estate to so Kay would go off the wagon, and also attempted to drive Kay insane.
Next Kay fell in love with and tricked hairdresser Derek Thurston into marrying her. Derek was really in love with Jill Foster! But Derek took Kay up on her deal. If he lived with her for a year, she would set up a $100,000 trust for Jill's son and set Derek up in his own salon. Then Derek's ex-wife Suzanne Lynch arrived in town, bent on getting Derek back. She befriended Kay, and gave her candy laced with drugs, which drove Kay into a sanitarium. Kay's roommate went berserk and set fire to the room. Kay escaped, but the roommate's body was identified as Kay because she was wearing Kay's ring. Derek found himself free of both wives, inheriting the Chancellor wealth and free to marry Jill. But Kay showed up at their wedding - very much alive!
Kay reclaimed her fortune and Derek, and named him head of Chancellor Industries. They went on a cruise, had a fight, Kay jumped overboard, and was rescued by Felipe Ramirez who held her captive. They fell in love, and he let her loose to return to her world where she divorced Derek.
Former Country Club tennis pro Brent Davis returned to town and began an affair with Katherine. When he found out he was dying he wanted to reveal to Ashley that he had been her mother Dina's lover and was Ashley's real father! Dina and Kay tried to talk him out of it, but he told her and Ashley was traumatized by the news. She turned up with no memory at a roadside diner where she took the name "Annie" and worked as a waitress. When Brent and Kay returned from a vacation together, Dina confronted Brent about what he had done. Dina shot Brent but missed and bullet hit Kay instead. Jack figured out what had happened, and he and his lover, Jill, confronted Dina. Dina and John began a search for Ashley. A truck driver saw one of their flyers, figured out who "Annie" really was and offered her whereabouts to John for a ransom. Victor Newman ended up finding her at the diner, and took her home to recuperate with him and Nikki at the ranch. Ashley forgave her real father just before his death, and vowed that John Abbott would never find out. Only Dina, Jack, Jill, Katherine, and Victor know the secret of Ashley's real parentage to this day, and John never found out before his death.
Many years later Jill found a bum on a park bench, cleaned him up, named him Rex Sterling, and paid him to romance Kay Chancellor. Rex was really Bryan Romalotti, the ex-con father of Danny and Gina. What started out as a trick, ended up a wonderful romance. Kay found out who he was, but loved him so much, she didn't care. They were married, and Rex signed a pre-nuptial agreement to show his trustworthiness. Rex brought a new youthfulness to Katherine as they spent a lot of time on his motorcycle and she would sing to him "I'm gonna live until I die"!
A year later, Rex's former cellmate, Clint Radison, found a woman named Marge Catrooke working at a diner who was a dead ringer for Kay. He and his cohorts Morey and Lil who went to work for Kay as houseman Robert and maid Shirley, trained Marge to pass for Kay, then held captive Kay and her "ditsy" maid Esther. Meanwhile Rex found himself increasingly baffled by his wife's unusual behavior. No longer able to tolerate her new eccentricities, and boorish behavior, Rex moved out and took up residence with Jill. Jill persuaded him to file for divorce from Katherine and marry her.
Marge sold Chancellor Industries, and now that Rex was gone Clint was free to liquidate the rest of Kay's assets. But Kay's son Brock made a surprise return from his missions in India. Brock, with the help of Mitchell Sherman, discovered the ruse, and rescued Kay and Esther, who was pregnant by a one-night stand with Tiny the Plumber. Marge got to know Kay and also tried to help her to get away. Clint and his cohorts went to prison, but Marge was released as an innocent dupe, thanks to Katherine's intervention. Once Esther's baby was born, she was named Kate, after Esther's dear friend and employer Katherine.
Katherine was devastated to learn that during her absence Rex had married Jill. With her lawyer Mitchell's help, Katherine pointed out that the marriage wasn't legal because the divorce papers were signed by Marge not Katherine. Katherine agreed to accept Rex's marriage to Jill, provided they wait six months before legally remarrying. During the waiting period, Jill began seeing her ex-husband, John Abbott. Complicating matters more was Rex's unusual romance with Leanna Love, whom he pursued while posing as a man named Roger. Katherine decided to blow everyone's cover by arranging a party where she took delight in watching Jill and Rex's love-lives explode. Rex and Kay remarried after Rex pretended that he was dying from a heart attack. They would have lived happily ever after if it were not for Esther's poor choice in men.
Esther answered a personal ad in the paper and met con man Norman Peterson. In an effort to impress him she posed as lady of the manor, and Kay and Rex went along with it and dressed up as her servants. Norman coerced Esther into convincing Kay to include her in her will and marry him. Kay and Rex were suspicious, so they arranged a fake wedding. Then, unwilling to wait for Kay to die to be rich, Norman was caught by Rex breaking into the estate safe. Startled, Norman shot and killed Rex, leaving Kay devastated! Norman was arrested for murder and Esther was forgiven and again named in Katherine's will. Esther's daughter Kate later attended boarding school courtesy of Katherine Chancellor.
The next chapter in the Jill vs. Kay saga began with Jill living temporarily at the Chancellor Estate after her failed second marriage to John Abbott. Living there gave Jill flashbacks to her early days of love with Phillip, which prompted her to rummage in boxes in the Chancellor attic. She found a deed and letter declaring his love and giving her the Chancellor Estate. Jill used these and the crossed-out Chancellor divorce property settlement to sue Kay in court, won half of the estate, and moved back in permanently.
The constant battle of living with Jill drove Katherine close to the bottle again. Rather than succumb, she ran off into the night, contemplated suicide on a bridge, and ended up lost in the streets, her purse stolen, cold and alone. She was rescued by a homeless girl known only as Mac, and brought to the Genoa City Shelter. The elegant rich Katherine Chancellor managed to blend in with the group, befriending Mac and alcoholic Birdie. Mac finally trusted Kay enough to confide in her the letter she carried next to heart - a letter from the father she had never met, written to her mother. Amazingly, the father turned out to be Kay's son, Brock, and Kay realized that Mac was her granddaughter. (Mac's mother Amanda and Brock had been in love and working together in India. They split up when Amanda wanted to return to the states, but Brock felt his calling was helping the needy in India. Amanda did not find out she was pregnant with Mackenzie until long after she returned to the states. Rather than burden Brock with a choice between them and his calling, Amanda had chosen not to tell him.) The trio of Mac, Kay and Birdie became close, each helping the other, and Kay eventually decided she was ready to return home to the Estate with her friends Mac and Birdie to face Jill.
Kay decided to track down her son in India to meet the daughter he never knew he had, but returned from her search without him. Shortly afterward, Kay received a call that Brock was presumed dead. Then Brock showed up and they were reunited after many years. Mackenzie returned to the Estate to get her things, intending to leave town, just as her father walked in and he and his mother were finally united. Jill took an instant dislike to Mac. Birdie stopped drinking, got a job, and eventually moved out to her own place, hoping to clean up her act and reclaim her own daughter. Mac and Brock lived at the Chancellor Estate, slowly learning to trust and love each other. Though he wanted to be a father to Mac, Brock's need to help people sent him to to volunteer in Louisiana building houses for the poor.
Afraid that Mac's mother Amanda would show up in Genoa City and take her back, Katherine petitioned and was awarded legal custody of Mac. When Amanda did show up, Mac rebuffed her and sent her away. But Amanda had run away from Mac's stepfather Ralph too, and was living at the same homeless shelter where Mac and her father Brock were volunteers. With her boyfriend Billy Abbott's help, Mac and her mother accepted each other in their lives again. Kay asked Amanda to move to the estate, and Amanda agreed. Then Mac's stepfather, Ralph, showed up in Genoa City and began stalking her, and he coerced Amanda into helping him steal from the Chancellor Estate. Amanda let him in the mansion while all were at the prom, but Mac returned home unexpectedly and much to her horror, was met by Ralph. Billy arrived on the scene as Ralph was about to molest Mac again, confronted him, and whacked Ralph over the head with a fireplace poker. Thinking he had killed Ralph, Billy took Mac to hide out in the old Abbott playhouse. Thinking they were doomed, Billy and Mac realized they still loved each other. Ralph kidnapped Kay after she returned from chaperoning at the prom, and tied her up in a motel room. Ralph, disguised as a cop, talked Raul into telling him places where he might find Mac. Meanwhile Larry Warton found and rescued Kay. Ralph showed up at the playhouse, too late, but found them at a campsite where Raul and Billy used to play as kids. Ralph knocked Billy out by hitting him over the head with a rock and grabbed Mac, but our hero Larry showed up in time to rescue her. Larry and Ralph fought, and just before the police arrived, both ended up going over a cliff to the lakeshore below. The next morning Ralph came to and tried to kill an unconscious Larry with a rock, but was scared away by the arrival of the police. Larry recovered with minor injuries and major thanks from Billy's mother Jill for saving her son's life. Because Jill had video evidence that Amanda had stolen her jewels, and nearly got her own daughter and Jill's son killed, Amanda agreed to leave town if Jill would drop the charges.
Billy left for Louisiana that summer to help Brock build houses for the poor. Mac left Genoa City that fall to attend Northwestern University. Both Billy and Mac returned to Genoa City for Christmas, and decided to attend GCU and share a loft apartment with Raul and Brittany. By spring Billy proposed, Mac accepted, and they are to be married in June with Raul as best man and Colleen Carlton as maid of honor in a lavish wedding courtesy of Kay.
Out of the blue in 2003, Jill's mother Liz showed up in Genoa City from her home in England with the news that Liz was to undergo brain surgery, and knowing she may not survive, felt it was time to admit to Jill that she was adopted. All she knew was that her husband Bill brought Jill home wrapped in a blanket as a baby. Jill was fraught with needing to know who she really was. Larry and John did their best to let her know that she was the same person no matter what her parentage, and they did care. The night before Liz's surgery, brothers Snapper and Greg showed up after not being seen in Genoa City in 20 years. Liz survived her surgery. After Jill and Larry's aborted attempts to con and steal her birth certificate from the hospital records, Jill's friend, banker Frederick Hodges, contacted a search agency. They were able to arrange a meeting between Jill and her birth mother, the always-tipsy, crusty, down-on-her-luck, Charlotte Ramsey. Liz gave her blessing to the meeting while Kay fumed at how Jill was so quick to abandon Liz. Jill and Charlotte were becoming close, while John Abbott was getting suspicious that Charlotte was more interested in Jill's money. John realized that he used to date Charlotte's sister Eileen in high school, and without telling Kay why, he quizzed her for what she knew about the family. Kay, after much agonizing, revealed the story of how she had once helped Eileen's sister Charlotte get an illegal abortion which she nearly died from which left her unable to have more children. John realized that there was no way then that Charlotte could be Jill's mother. John confronted Charlotte who broke down and revealed that she and Katherine "ran the town together" during a year of separation from Kay's first husband Gary who took young Brock to Europe. During that time, Kay got pregnant by Gary's golfing buddy Arthur Hendricks. To protect Katherine's reputation, Charlotte agreed to take Kay's newborn baby girl to a place to be adopted in exchange for a lot of cash and a promise to disappear. The agency refused to take the child without a name on a birth certificate, so to protect young socialite Kay, Charlotte had used her own name. Charlotte went to Kay to tell her story before John did. Kay had a stroke when she realized that the baby she gave up many years ago was now her own worst enemy Jill! Charlotte told poor Liz the truth and abruptly left town, leaving her to tell Jill that her nemesis Kay was her birth mother, and to tell Brock that Jill, the young girl he once married but fortunately never consummated, was actually his half-sister. And worst of all, Mac and Billy who were about to be married, had to be told that they were actually cousins! Mac and Billy both left town on their own, devastated by the news. Jill was left to care for Kay who could not move or talk from the stroke. Kay didn't let Jill know she was getting better, testing her to see if just maybe she might care for her like a mother. But eventually Kay showed Jill she was nearly back to normal, and thanks to the influence of Larry, Jill was able to begin to come to grips with how she really felt about Kay. Jill and Kay fought over the disruption of having Esther around, so Kay and Esther moved into the Genoa City Hotel to give Jill some space. Jill then became so obnoxious to Larry she drove him away too. Jill was very much alone and turned to the bottle a little too often. Her only friend appeared to be the shady strip club owner, Bobby Marcino.
Jill began her outlandish plans to renovate the mansion to make it her own. Once Kay saw the workmen demolishing the foyer ceiling of her beloved home, she flipped out and began drinking again after 20 years on the wagon. Jill felt guilty that she drove her newly discovered mother to drink, asked Kay to move back home, and the mansion was restored back to the way it was, but Kay was still drinking. Judge Arthur Hendricks, Jill's biological father, suddenly showed up in Genoa City to visit Kathryn after a nearly 50 year absence. Jill hoped he would be just the ticket to bring Kay back to caring about life again. Meanwhile Jill got to know her father, and he moved into the mansion. Then MacKenzie returned after spending time in the Southwestern US teaching kindergarten and preschool children on an Indian Reservation. Kay's dear friend and maid Esther became a trained alcohol abuse councilor. With her help, Jill, Arthur and Mac staged an intervention, attended by son Brock, friends Nikki Newman, Liz Foster, and Lauren Fenmore. Kay found out, and welcomed all her friends and family with a catered party with full bar! They all pleaded with Kay, then bid her farewell, and left. Alone and drunk, Kay passed out and had a vision where her dear husband Rex and Grandson Phillip returned from the dead to make one final plea. Kay awoke, sure it was a dream, until she found the glass she fell asleep with in her hand was now on the table where Rex had put it. Kay checked in to rehab and returned to the Chancellor estate clean and sober.
While sitting in on a Chancellor Industries board meeting for Kay, Jill noticed irregularities, so decided to get more involved. With Jack's help, she discovered financial discrepancies which indicated that CEO Elliott Hampton was living high on company funds. Jill confronted the slimy Elliott, but he conned her with excuses and charm. Jill then got a tip from former mobster Bobby Marcino that someone was trying to contract a hit on her. Elliott ended up charming Jill into accepting his marriage proposal, but shortly afterward, an investigation proved that Elliott had embezzled millions. When Jill confronted him, he tried to talk her into still marrying him and running away with him and the millions. Jack arrived in time to see Jill regretfully turn him down. After Elliott fled, Jack admitted that he had gotten all of Elliott's offshore accounts frozen pending the investigation.
No sooner had Arthur proposed to Kay, than his stepson Harrison Bartlett showed up claiming that Arthur had killed his mother, Eleanor, for her fortune. Jill had Arthur investigated, but it only proved allegations were made but never proven, and Arthur was never charged. Jill and Kay confronted Arthur, but he refused to explain, saying that Bartlett had ruined his career and his life. Jill was still skeptical, but Kay was determined to take a leap of faith and marry Arthur anyway. But Arthur said goodbye and left town, saying that he couldn't live with the cloud of suspicion. Kay blamed Jill for losing Arthur, and their feud began once again.
Katherine made Jack Abbott CEO of Chancellor Industries, and Jack wrangled a deal to rescue Jabot by making it a subsidiary of Chancellor. After a failed attempt to convince Victoria Newman to return to Genoa City and become Jabot's new CEO, Jill Abbott was given the position after she and Kay finally made amends. Brad, who was expecting to get the CEO position himself, quit his job with Jabot, and considered going into business with Victoria Newman. Jack offered Victoria the position of Jill's right hand at Jabot, but Victor won her back as CEO at Newman while Nick took a leave of absence. Jill's first move as CEO was to hire Brad, but Brad later left to work at Newman with Victoria.
After Bobby Marcino went into the witness protection plan, Katherine Chancellor invited his wife Brittany and her baby to come live at the Chancellor Estate with JT and Mac, which would be more secure for all of them. Months went by, and finally Brittany shared a short visit with a heavily-guarded Bobby. Not long afterward, she received word that Bobby had been killed by a hit & run driver. Brittany was devastated, and she and Joshua moved to New York City with her parents.
In 2006, only six months into his seven year prison sentence for the murder of Tom Fisher, Jill's ex-husband and still close friend, John Abbott, 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 his wife Gloria and Jack, Gloria decided to use her authority in the DNR to allow John to die. Kay and Jill said their farewells to John in the hospital and he died.
Billy spent a year working on the Katrina Hurricane disaster recovery in New Orleans, then some time as a bartender at Sammy Seagull's Sandpit Bar & Grill in Miami. He returned to Genoa City in 2006 to attend his father John's funeral. Jill and Katherine encouraged him to stay and claim his legacy as both a Chancellor and an Abbott by learning the business of Chancellor Industries and Jabot Cosmetics. Billy relented and began attending GCU as a business major and working his way up at Jabot from the mail room. Billy had a bad gambling habit, and still owed some bookies in Miami a lot of money, so when no one would give him any, he stole and pawned an antique scrimshaw from the Chancellor estate. Kay discovered it and told Jill and Jack, so they gave him a job as NVP/Jabot Liaison for House of Kim, and shipped him off to Hong Kong.
Shortly after getting a DNA test that confirmed Jill was her daughter, Katherine began having disturbing nightmares of a baby crying. Through the help of psychic Silvia Brown whose card reading turned into a séance with Jill's dead son Phillip, Kay began to remember a ring and a scene where she was handing over a baby. When it finally came back to her, Kay was forced to reveal to Jill that she had switched her son Phillip for another baby shortly after his birth, and had given a woman named Violet an expensive ring to secure the deal. Because of her heavy drinking and shame, Kay had blocked this out all these years. Jill was torn between being livid with Kay and relieved that her son Phillip was not dead after all. They hired JT Helstrom to try to track down the real Phillip Chancellor III, and Amber Moore also did her own research consulting tarot cards, psychics, and the Internet. Amber found Cane whose adopted mother was named Violet. He was searching for his mother and came to Genoa City from Australia on her lead. A DNA test later proved him to be the real Phillip Chancellor, son of Jill. Violet had died while Cane was still a baby. Her brother Langley took the baby home to Australia and raised him as his own, naming him Ethan "Cane" Ashby. Dead Phillip's body was exhumed and confirmed he was not Jill's biological son. It is still unknown who the baby who grew up as Phillip really belonged to. Amber and Cane got cozy, and after she discovered the possible link to the Chancellor millions, she took him to Vegas to get married supposedly to keep him from being deported back to Australia. At the last minute Cane decided against the marriage, so Amber drugged him and got her friend Ali to take his place in disguise, telling him he was too drunk to remember being married the next morning.
Amber continued to trick her way into Cane's heart and impending fortune. She staged power outages in their apartment and a burglary at the Chancellor Estate which eventually led Katherine to ask Amber and Cane to move into the estate. Kay asked Cane to take a position with Chancellor Industries as Clear Springs Property Manager, but he refused, saying that he was not qualified and not wanting a hand-out. But he was talked into taking it temporarily until Kay could get a permanent person. Just as viewers began to trust Cane that his claim was legitimate, we overheard a phone conversation between him and his uncle Langley in Australia inferring that he was conning them. Cane finally discovered that he and Amber were not legally married, confronted her and made her sign an acknowledgement that she tricked him into marriage, then threw her out. Jill reacted nastily telling Amber it was time that Cane threw out the trash, but Kay kindly told her that she reminded her of herself, and she really needed to get her act together.
Due to a mini-stroke, Katherine decided it was time to put her house in order. She took a liking to Amber, seeing a lot of herself in her, and hired her to assist in writing her memoires, and also investing in Amber's designer fashion line. Kay made Jill CEO of Chancellor Industries, Cane Director of Acquisitions and later Vice President of Jabot, and made Nikki Newman CEO of Jabot. Nikki hired her lover David Chow as Co-CEO and Brad Carlton as another Jabot executive. Jill was micro-managing Jabot, not being confident in Nikki's abilities. Jill later fired Gloria for incompetence, but Gloria talked Kay into rehiring her as the Jabot receptionist. Jill came on hot & heavy to the newly divorced 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 Gloria, treating her like a slave. Jeff asked Gloria to start over together and they were remarried by Little Richard in Las Vegas. Not long after they returned to Genoa City, Jill fired Gloria.
Katherine began having some recurring memory loss, but was covering it up pretty well. Gloria took advantage, pulling tricks to convince Kay she was losing it in an attempt to get enough of Kay's Jabot stock to have controlling interest. Kevin helped her once by moving Kay's car to make her think she'd misplaced it, but Jana found out and disapproved. Luckily Jill caught and stopped them, just as Kay was signing over the stock. Esther, Cane, and Jill wondered if Kay was still capable of driving, let alone overseeing Chancellor and Jabot even with Jill and Cane in charge of each, so Jill took away Kay's keys. Jeffrey spotted Marge drunk and assumed it was Kay. Kay got $75,000 in cash from the bank to get Marge into rehab, but on her way she left the bag with the money at Crimson Lights, and Kevin, unable to catch her, was keeping it in his safe. Jill and a Chancellor lawyer forced Kay to get checked out for her memory problems. While waiting for the doctor, Kay showed Nikki how bad she gets by referring to Nikki’s dead husband David as though he were still alive. After seeing the doctor, Kay talked them into giving her another day to check into the hospital so that she could secretly help Marge, then disappeared. Jeff convinced Gloria, Nikki, and Esther that Kay was drinking again. Actually Kay and Marge were in a bad car accident on the way to rehab. Kay was thrown clear, but Marge was found dead in the car by Nikki and Jill who were out looking for Kay. Not knowing about Marge's reappearance, they assumed it was Kay's body. A funeral was held, and several people from Kay's past attended; her son Brock, her late grandson Phillip's wife Nina, her step-son and daughter Danny and Gina, her attorney Mitchell, and her old friends Liz Foster, Traci and Ashley Abbott, and Dina Mergeron. Daniel Romalotti sketched a picture of Kay which was framed on her casket.
Kay's will was read, and son Brock received one percent of her billion-dollar-plus worth in trust to continue his good works and was named Chairman of the Chancellor Foundation. Her step-children Gina and Danny received a one-half of one percent in cash. Esther received one tenth of one percent and Kay’s half of the mansion, so that Esther could live her life in financial freedom. Nikki received all of Katherine's jewelry, including a family heirloom emerald and diamond ring given to Kay by her mother. Grandchildren Cane, Billy, McKenzie, and Phillip received one-quarter of one percent in trust. Katherine left one fifth of one percent to Amber, so that she and Daniel could pursue their artistic goals, and gave Amber the sole rights to her memoirs, which Jill had forbidden her to publish. Jill was left the remainder of the assets, all but five percent of Kay's Jabot stock. That five percent, in addition to a Ming vase, was left to Gloria because both were given to Kay by John Abbott. Jill was livid, knowing that the Chancellors now were no longer majority stockholders. Chloe announced that her baby was going to be a girl and her middle name would be Katherine.
Esther and Jill had a rough time getting used to being housemates rather than maid and owner, but Esther held her ground. Meanwhile Marge's friend Murphy found Kay, assuming it was Marge, lying by the creek near the accident. He took her to his house trailer and nursed her back to health. But Kay's memory was fuzzy, and she was working at the diner trying to be Marge and remember her life. Murph and Marge's co-worker Pearl were curious about Marge's elegant emerald ring, so Pearl took it to the pawn shop where they offered her $5000 for it. So when Marge found out that Murph's bait and tackle shop was near bankruptcy, Marge took the ring in and the real Kay came out as she dickered with the same clerk to get $10,000 for Murphy. As she left, the clerk admitted on the phone that it was worth at least $250,000.
A Jabot shareholders meeting was called, and to Jill’s shock, Gloria and Jeff Bardwell and Billy Abbott, with the majority of Jabot shares and proxies from Traci and Ashley, announced their takeover. Jack was present, and Jill reminded them that he was still legally banned from having anything to do with Jabot. Total confusion about who was now in charge was calmed when Ashley Abbott arrived and announced that she was once again the rightful CEO of Jabot.
Once Kay was supposedly dead, Kevin's temptation to spend the money she had left behind got the best of him. Jana found out, disapproved, and although they needed it for repairs at Crimson Lights, she gave the remaining $60,000 to Lowell Baldwin for the Ashram, thinking it would cleanse their karma. Jana and Kevin thought Lowell had taken the money with him when he skipped town, but Kevin overheard Eden and Noah saying that they found it hidden in Eden's old teddybear then hid it in the tack house. Jana had had it with karma and being the June Cleaver of Genoa City, and helped Kevin steal the money back.
Katherine's book of memoirs "Live Until I Die" came out in time for Christmas 2008. Kay fell on the ice at Murphy's, hit her head, and when she came to, partial memories began returning. She suddenly declared to Murphy that she was actually Katherine Chancellor. Murph didn't believe her but found the obituary with a photo that looked like Marge and the story of the accident which occurred near where he found her. Sad that it meant his friend Marge was probably dead instead, he agreed to accompany her to the mansion. Murphy felt uncomfortable there and left Kay expecting to be welcomed from the daughter she remembered as Jill. But Jill refused to believe Kay, and Kay could not convince her with the little bit of memory intact, and Jill called the police who threw Kay in jail. While visiting his mother Gloria in jail, Kevin met the woman posing as Kay Chancellor. He and Gloria believed her, and Kevin and Jana, joining forces with Amber and Daniel, used Kay's money to bail her out of jail and hired Michael to represent her to prove that she was Katherine.
Meanwhile, Gina's ex-husband Clint got out of prison and returned to Genoa City plotting to get some of the Chancellor fortune. Clint found out that Katherine was assumed dead, and that Esther inherited one tenth of one percent of Kay's assets and Kay’s half of the mansion. But he also heard the rumor that it was Marge who was killed, and that Kay was trying to convince everyone that she was still alive, so he instructed his cohort Roger Wilkes to woo Esther and marry her as fast as possible or he may have to do something to keep Kay from "coming back from the dead". Clint kidnapped Kay just before the DNA proof results were due. Kay told Clint that she remembered kneeing him in the groin after she was freed from the first kidnapping, which convinced Clint that she was Kay and not Marge. But surprisingly, the DNA results between Kay and Jill did not match. Then Roger and Esther's marriage plans were delayed when her daughter Chloe went into labor at the Abbott lake cabin and nearly died from loss of blood and septicemia. But a week later with Chloe and baby doing fine, Roger surprised Ester with a Justice of the Peace and impromptu wedding in her hospital room. The next day Chloe admitted to Ester that the baby was not Cane's. Then when Billy showed up, Esther realized he was Cordelia's father. Unknown to them, Cane contacted Michael to get custody of Cordelia, and Billy contacted Rafe to see what his rights were too. Since Cane was divorcing Chloe and they had nowhere to go, Esther brought Chloe and her granddaughter home to the estate, and Jill offered them space in her wing so she could be closer to her granddaughter. Jill gave Esther the results of Paul's investigation proving Roger was a bigamist who made a living marrying rich women, but Esther would not believe it. Meanwhile back at the hotel, Kay's captor Annie had been reading Katherine's book and admiring her. Kay began to convince her that she was really Katherine, and that Annie was being used by Clint and Roger - to which Annie admitted that she was the first and only legal Mrs. Roger Wilkes. Roger left the estate, with Esther following him to the hotel where they were holding Kay. Roger walked in on an untied Kay, who had just convinced Annie to escape with her. Esther walked in and joyfully realized Kay was still alive. The three women were about to leave as Clint arrived, stopped and threatened them. Meanwhile, Amber and Kevin realized that the first letter of every sentence of the note "Marge" left when she disappeared spelled out CLINT.
Clint met Amber at a bar hoping to convince her that he had witnessed Kay leaving town. As Clint left, Gina spotted him and warned Amber and Kevin that he was her dangerous scammer ex-husband. Kevin and Amber tracked him down to the hotel where he was holding Kay and Esther, but Annie bluffed them into leaving. Kevin returned later, and Clint captured him too. Clint, Annie and Roger left Kay and Esther in the hotel room with a bomb rigged to go off, drugging and framing Kevin for it, and taking him along locked in the trunk of the car. Amber and Gloria arrived in time to untie Kay and Esther, the bomb went off, but no one was seriously hurt. Meanwhile, between Kevin’s claustrophobia and the drugs, he began to believe that Clint was his dead father Terrible Tom, which turned him into a whimpering child. Once Clint realized this, he took advantage of Kevin, coercing him to rob banks for him in a chipmunk head disguise. When Kevin successfully returned from his last robbery, a jubilant Clint had a heart attack and fell dead. Poor Kevin told him he was a bad dad and put him in the closet.
Thanks to the jolt of the bomb blast, Kay’s memory returned, and her memory of Nikki calling drunk from Mexico when she thought Victor was dead managed to convince Nikki that she was really Kay. Together they connived to get a strand of Jill’s hair for another DNA test but it too proved no match to Kay’s DNA. Victor also realized she was Kay, so he made a deal with Jill to agree to exhume the body in Kay's grave to prove who it was, in exchange for his Jabot stock. The test proved that Jill was not a match to her either, but when Brock arrived a blood test proved he was Kay's son, which ultimately meant that Jill was not Katherine's daughter after all. Throughout this ordeal, Murphy and Kay fell in love, Murphy proposed, and she accepted. Kay tried to assure Jill that she still loved her like a daughter, and that nothing needed to change, but Jill was having none of it, accusing Kay of marrying "trailer trash" just like she scorned Jill for being, so they ended up in a wedding cake fight at Billy and Chloe's wedding over it. Mac also arrived to celebrate the return of her grandmother, and after some persuasion by Murphy that Kay needed her, Mac decided to stay in Genoa City. Kay's attorney Mitchell Sherman arranged for Kay's death certificate and will to be nullified, and all bequests to be returned. Katherine regained control of Jabot and made Jack CEO again. Kay offered Cane a job at Chancellor, but instead he chose to get out of the corporate rat-race, bought Billy’s favorite escape, Jimmy's Bar, and hired Mac as a waitress when she came in looking for a job.
Eighty year old Katherine married Patrick “Murph” Murphy in the Chancellor garden in a service officiated by her son Brock. Nikki was matron of honor, Victor best man (because Kevin was still locked up), Amber and Mac were bridesmaids. Ana sang “Let Met Call you Sweetheart”, and the catering was by Joe’s Diner, complete with chicken nuggets. Amber designed Kay’s white lace suit dress, and Nikki caught the bouquet. Michael got Kevin out on bail just in time to attend. Paul met Mary Jane for the first time, and felt she seemed familiar. Nina showed up in time to catch Jill arriving drunk, and locked her in a closet before she could make a scene. Lauren arrived soon after, and let Jill out, but Cane made her sit down and shut up during the ceremony. But afterward Billy and Cane had to drag Jill out while she raved at Kay. Later Victor and Nikki shared a dance, and he said he was sorry he accused her of taunting Ashley. Then Billy and Mac danced and shared how this wedding reminded them of their own long ago. Mac resisted Billy’s advances, and when he grabbed and kissed her, she slapped him. Chloe saw it, kissed his smarting cheek, and took him home. Nina decided to stick around awhile writing a screenplay of Katherine's book "Live Until I Die" and collaborating with Amber. Nina felt the movie should focus on Kay’s evil deeds like the feud with Jill and baby switch, but Amber feels it should on her goodness. Kay felt that if Nina thought it was important to the script, to put it in.
Amber gave Nina some background on how the baby switch came about and how they found Cane, but Nina seems skeptical.
Kay invited the governor to dinner to request amnesty for Kevin and Amber, but Jill told him this would ruin his career, and when Kevin and Amber showed up she maligned them and Katherine in front of him. Jill came onto the governor, took him into another room, and he came out very happy and Jill gloating that she changed his mind. While Kay and Jill were sparing, Murphy convinced him to grant the amnesty with the gift of his military rifle from one Korean Vet to another.
Cane and Lily were married in the Catholic Church, Lily in her mother’s wedding gown and favorite pin in her hair, and Kay read a scripture. Their reception was held at Indigo, where Jill asked Cane to consider taking the Chancellor name, Kay agreed, saying she always thought of Phillip as her own, and Cane too.
On Memorial Day 2009, Kay and Murphy threw a bar-b-q around the Chancellor pool with Esther, Billy, Chloe & Delia, Mac, Amber, Nina, and Jack in attendance. Later Sharon, Neil & Tyra, Kevin & Jana arrived. Raul Guittierez surprised everyone when he walked in. After reuniting with Billy and being introduced to Kay's new husband Murphy, Billy's new wife Chloe and their baby, Mac walked in and they embraced and passionately kissed. Mac had earlier revealed that there was someone she worked with in Darfur, Africa, and their year long relationship was "serious, but didn't work out" - and it turned out to be Raul. After Billy reluctantly gave them his blessing, Raul asked Mac to marry him and return to Washington DC with him, but she later called it off due to her lingering feelings for Billy.
Nina returned to Genoa City to do a screenplay adaptation of Katherine's memoirs, and was skeptical of Cane's story and questioned him about it. Cane called "his uncle Langley" in Australia saying, "Phillip, your wife is going to find out you're still alive", but he told Cane not to worry, it would lead nowhere and blow over. Paul found out that Violet was in a hospital in Arizona at the time of the baby switch, so that part of Cane's story was a lie, but Jill and Kay refuse to believe that Cane not genuine. Nina was anxious to identify her son's father to find out if he had the gene to confirm or rule out his possible diagnosis of Huntington's disease. When she called the lab to get the remains from the prior exhumation re-examined, she was told they had no remains, nor any record of it at all in their files. So she had the body exhumed again, opened the coffin and found it empty. Further tests showed there had never been a body in that coffin, just the bags of sand to give it weight. Meanwhile Cane was frantically trying to get hold of "Langley. Jill reluctantly requested another DNA test, and Cane was seen pulling a vial of blood from a freezer of dry ice marked “Langley”. The blood test was done at the Chancellor estate, but Cane distracted everyone while he substituted the blood vials. The results came in, and all but Nina were thrilled that Cane proved to be Jill’s son. Then Paul delivered more news to Nina; tests showed the blood had been frozen, so Nina confronted Cane asking where he got the blood to pass the test. Cane admitted to Nina that he was a fraud in front of Kay, Jill, Murphy, Chloe, Neil and Lily, saying it was not for the money, he never wanted to hurt anyone, only meant to heal them, and they became family to him. When asked how Cane could do this to the people who gave him nothing but love, Jill’s son Phillip emerged say that he did it, it was his doing. All were aghast to see Phillip again, still alive! Katherine had another mini-stroke and was rushed to the hospital by ambulance. Murphy, Jill and Nina were with her when Phillip arrived and assured everyone he was very much alive, explaining that at 19 he found himself overwhelmed with responsibilities as a young executive at Chancellor and a new father, an alcoholic in depression attempted suicide by crashing his sports car. When he awoke still alive in the hospital, he managed to pay off a doctor and a policeman to aid in faking his death, then escaped to Australia and began a new life as Langley. Five years ago he met Cane who came to work for Phillip as a bartender in Phillip’s bar, and they became friends. Cane had grown up alone without a family and helped Phillip realize what he had must have put everyone through with his death. So they concocted the plan to give Jill and Kay a new son in Cane, making them all happy. He told Nina that he justified leaving her and their son because they would both be better off without him. Meanwhile back at the Chancellor Estate, Lily was crushed that Cane had lied to her for years, Neil told him to stay away from Lily, and Billy arrived in time to punch him out. Then Phillip dropped the bomb on Nina, telling her that another reason he was so desperate to die or to leave was that he was, and is, gay!
A few days later, Cane came to the Chancellor Mansion to say goodbye and apologize to Kay and Jill. Phillip tried to get them to stop Cane from leaving, reminding them didn't they love him just a few days ago? But Cane slipped out while they were welcoming Nina's son Phillip I (who now is called Chance) who returned from Iraq unexpectedly finding his supposedly dead father as part of his welcome home. Chance's reaction was abnormally calm as he shook his father's hand, saying he was relieved, that dead people never came back where he'd just been. Phillip gave them all some relief by announcing the results of his blood test, that he was not a Huntington's carrier. Chance told Phillip he was not interested in his explanation, that Ryan was the only father he ever knew. Chloe and Chance began getting to know each other, and Chance admitted that he had been discharged from the Army, lonesome for his mother and grandmother, intended to stay, and was still a virgin. Katherine told Phillip that what he did to them was unforgivable. But after what Cane did to save Lily by getting her to return and have surgery, that he was a good man, she forgave Cane and asked him to stay in Genoa City. Billy was livid that his "fake brother" was once again the favored son and grandson.
When Katherine asked where she could find Jill, Gloria sent her to the nail salon. Shocked to find Jill working there, Jill explained while she did Kay's nails. Katherine was touched and handed her a tip as she left – a check for $100,000 to pay her taxes. Phillip, Nina and Chance threw Jill a birthday dinner, Kay was a surprise guest, and her gift to Jill was a card requesting she return to work at Chancellor. Kay later made her an equal partner with Jack over Jabot. Jack later found out that Katherine was taking Chancellor Industries public and she was aware that he was hoping to get enough shares to get Jabot back for his family.
Jill and Katherine mended fences and admitted that they felt like mother and daughter again. But Jill decided it was time Kay found her real daughter that she gave to Charlotte Ramsey, so hired Paul to investigate, swearing him to secrecy from Kay. Paul discovered that Charlotte had not only disappeared, but every record, every trace of her was also gone.
Amber began planning her wedding, but when Paul came up with an airtight alibi for Ryder photographed at a red light in Chicago at the time of Elkin's murder, Daniel called it off. He was sure he'd end up in prison for the murder, leaving Amber alone. But he had a change of heart by her reaction and decided to get married immediately instead. Jana was hesitant because it was Friday the thirteenth, but a beautiful impromptu wedding was quickly put together and held on the roof of their apartment building. Daniel got Kay a quick online minister ordination, and she officiated. Lauren came through with a last minute gown for the bride, Kevin and Jana stood up for them, and Murphy gave the bride away. When Phyllis found out, she crashed the wedding intent on stopping it, but Lauren kept her in check as Amber vowed to always respect Daniel and put him first.
