Faith Newman
Faith Newman is a fictional character from The Young and the Restless, an American soap opera on the CBS network. She is currently portrayed by Reylynn Caster, who assumed the role following the departure of Alyvia Alyn Lind, who played Faith for almost ten years from 2011 to 2021. Introduced during the September 30, 2009, episode, Faith is the youngest daughter of supercouple Nick and Sharon Newman.
Storylines
Faith is conceived during an affair between Sharon Abbott and Nick Newman. Her paternity is initially in question, with Nick, Jack Abbott, and Billy Abbott as the possible fathers; a paternity test confirms Nick as Faith's father. Moments after Sharon gives birth to Faith while institutionalized at Fairview Sanitarium, she is kidnapped by Nick's brother Adam Newman, who passes her off as Ashley Abbott's child and leads Sharon to believe her baby died. Adam's deceit is revealed months later, after Sharon had befriended and married him, and Faith is reunited with her biological parents. Sharon and Faith become trapped in a barn during a tornado, and when the barn's beams start to collapse, Adam saves Faith's life by shielding her from the falling beams. Nick later deems Sharon an unfit mother due to her continued involvement with Adam, and successfully obtains full custody of Faith. Sharon is presumed dead after going on the run from the police, having been falsely convicted for the murder of Skye Newman. After being found alive, Sharon is sentenced to thirty years in prison. Ashley offers to watch Faith several times for Nick, which brings the two of them closer. Faith's brother Noah Newman encourages Nick to bring Faith to visit Sharon in prison, which he reluctantly agrees to do. Sharon reunites with Faith after she is acquitted, and they go to New Mexico together on vacation.Sharon suffers a nervous breakdown and is diagnosed with bipolar disorder, leaving Nick as Faith's sole carer for several months. The following year, Sharon takes advantage of Faith's disapproval of Nick's girlfriend Avery Bailey Clark, in hopes of undermining Nick and Avery's relationship. Meanwhile, Faith forms a bond with Dylan McAvoy, who turns out to be Nick's half-brother. Nick and Sharon become engaged again, and Faith meets her sister, Mariah Copeland. The engagement ends when Nick learns that Sharon had tampered with a DNA test and led him to believe that he was not the father of Summer Newman. Another custody dispute ensues between Nick and Sharon, with Nick using Sharon's mental health struggles to win full custody of Faith. After reverting to joint custody, their relationship turns hostile again when it is revealed that Sharon had been raising what was believed to be Nick's son, Christian Newman, as her own child with Dylan. Faith runs away from home due to the conflict between her parents. When presented with the chance to return to her parents' shared custody arrangement, Faith rejects both of them, deciding to live with her grandparents instead. The following year, Faith grows resentful at Nick's new relationship with Chelsea Lawson. She also witnesses Sharon's boyfriend Scotty Grainger kissing her aunt Abby Newman.
Faith moves away from Genoa City to attend boarding school. Upon returning, she learns that Sharon has been diagnosed with breast cancer, and begins to misbehave at school. After a story about Adam's criminal history is published, which discloses Faith's kidnapping to the public, Faith is cyber-bullied. She befriends Jordan, who influences her to drink while underage. Faith learns that Jordan had been sending her text messages as a secret admirer named Tommy. Faith then takes off in a truck, which she ends up crashing; Adam finds Faith and brings her to the hospital. When Faith is diagnosed with acute interstitial nephritis and requires a kidney transplant, Adam is found to be a match for Faith's rare blood type, and donates his kidney to her.
Development
Casting and creation
The character was introduced on September 30, 2009. As an infant, Faith was played by the Lutsky twins from 2009 to 2011. Beginning 2011, child actress Alyvia Alyn Lind, the daughter of American actress Barbara Alyn Woods, stepped into the role of Faith at the age of three. In June 2013, due to schedule conflicts, the role was recast with Mckenna Grace. Sharon Case, who plays Faith's mother Sharon Newman, described Grace as "not nervous at all," noting her to be "very confident" with a "big personality". In May 2014, Lind returned to the role. In December 2014, Grace started temporarily filling in for Lind, while Lind was filming a pilot for TNT.Lind continued taking breaks from playing Faith over the years due to other projects, while stating in 2020: "There was one point when I was going off for some movie and by the time I was finished with that, we weren’t positive I would come back to Y&R and it was seriously the hardest thing for me to take. I just couldn’t imagine leaving this family." Lind added her role on the soap opera was "the most stable thing" in her life. The character was said to be attending boarding school while Lind was absent for several months before returning in December 2019.
In March 2021, it was announced Lind was departing The Young and the Restless after being cast in a leading role on the television series Chucky. This left the series' producers in a "casting conundrum," due to Faith being a "pivotal character in a front-burner storyline" at the time. Lind's final episode aired on April 7, 2021, and she was replaced by actress Reylynn Caster, who took over the role on April 12, 2021. Caster's casting marked the first time Faith appears at "an adult-ish age". Caster thought that it was good for her to be "thrown into such a big storyline", stating that: "I had to force myself to get adjusted to everything quickly instead of gradually." Caster added portraying Faith "in this really scary point of her life" allowed her to connect with the character quickly.
Childhood
Faith has been described as an "outspoken girl" who "has always had something to say about the new loves in her parents’ lives". As a child, she has particular disdain for the women her father Nick is involved with. Soap Opera Digest highlighted the character's "precociousness" as being evident from a very young age. Of the character, Lind has stated: "She’s had a tough life, but she’s always been surrounded by a supporting, loving family. And because of that love, she has always been a survivor." Faith's birth was prophesied by her older sister, Cassie, on her deathbed. Given this, Sharon Case has characterized Faith as an "oracle-type character. She's an old soul, as Cassie was."Throughout her childhood, Faith is the subject of a recurring custody dispute between her parents. As a result of Sharon's romantic involvement with Faith's kidnapper and uncle Adam Newman, Nick deemed himself best-suited for custody. Faith has a strong connection with her grandfather Victor Newman, and at one point, opts to live with her grandparents due to her parents' custody war. Lind explained that Faith "realized that she had the power" in the scenes where she chooses to live with her grandparents, contrasting this with the usual writing for child characters: "Usually, in a scene with kids, writers are like, 'Have the kid come in, say, 'Hi, Mommy,' and then run out the door.' I’m so grateful to the writers because they always give me fun and cool storylines and make Faith seem wise beyond her years." According to Case, the decision to make Faith "very wise" was informed by the writers watching Lind.
Teenage angst
In 2020, Faith's kidnapping as a newborn by her uncle Adam is revealed to the public, causing her to be cyber-bullied. Meanwhile, an older teen and "bad influence" Jordan inspires Faith to sneak out to parties and drink. Lind stated that "Faith is turning into quite the delinquent", noting that she enjoyed playing Faith's rebellious side as the character had "always been a kind of goody two-shoes, so it’s great to play her dealing with becoming a teenager. She’s been going through a lot of stuff, although that doesn’t give her a pass to act out like she’s doing, but it’s really reflecting her pain." Canyon News noted that Faith was "spiraling" and "not so innocent anymore".Head writer Josh Griffith noted that Faith's behavior worsens as she deals with the trauma of the bullying as well as Sharon's cancer diagnosis the previous year. Speaking of Faith's underage drinking, Lind thanked the writers for giving her "such a great storyline" and stated: "Nobody’s perfect and I loved being able to explore Faith’s dark side. And I’m not sure what’s in store for Faith, but I will always believe that deep down, she’s a good person with a good heart. She just strayed off her path for a beat." During this period, Faith opens up about her alcoholism to her grandmother Nikki, due to the latter's own struggles with alcohol. After agreeing to receive help for her issues, Faith learns that the "mysterious texts" she had been receiving from a male admirer were actually from Jordan, who had been catfishing Faith in an effort to publicly humiliate her. In response, Faith runs off with alcohol and becomes involved in a car accident that "eerily" mirrors the fatal car crash that killed Cassie. Scott observed that "all of Faith’s parental figures feel a certain degree of helplessness. Since this form of bullying didn’t exist when they were young, it’s not something that most adults feel they can protect their children from." Scott added that the series was using the storyline to alert parents to the dangers of modern forms of bullying.
After Caster takes over the role, Faith displays her "forceful side" when she rejects Jordan's apology for the bullying. During this storyline, Faith forms a friendship with Moses Winters, who defends her against bullies at school. Gaines explained that Moses has a "soft spot" for Faith and "won't let anyone push her around", with Canyon News highlighting a possible romance building between the two. Meanwhile, Caster described the twist in which Adam saves Faith's life twice, including by donating his kidney to her, as "very complicated" due to Faith's history with Adam. Caster stated that Faith "feels like she kind of owes him redemption. But also, she's a teenage girl who is still trying to figure out everything", describing Faith's relationship with Adam as something difficult for her to grasp.