Taylor Hayes (The Bold and the Beautiful)
Taylor Hayes is a fictional character from the American CBS soap opera The Bold and the Beautiful. The character was created by William J. Bell and originated by Hunter Tylo during the episode dated June 6, 1990. Tylo exited the series in 1994 but returned several months later. She exited again in 1996 after being cast on Melrose Place, but returned shortly after being fired from that show for being pregnant. After Tylo grew dissatisfied with her character's direction and agreed with executive producer Bradley Bell that Taylor was "played out", the character was subsequently killed off and last appeared in October 2002. Tylo reprised Taylor as a ghost in 2004 before returning as a regular in April 2005, with the character revealed to be alive. Tylo exited The Bold and the Beautiful again in July 2013, but returned for guest appearances in 2014. She returned again from April 2018 to March 2019 on a recurring basis. The character was later recast with Krista Allen, who appeared as Taylor from December 2021 to November 2023. Rebecca Budig assumed the role in August 2024 when Taylor was revealed to be in Monaco.
Described as a world-renowned psychiatrist, Taylor was introduced to facilitate social issues and act as a romantic lead. In her early years, Taylor was characterized as "no-nonsense" and the "good girl" of the show. Most of her history has revolved around her relationship with love interest Ridge Forrester. Taylor rivaled Brooke Logan for Ridge's affections, with a love triangle between the three becoming a focus on the soap opera for many years. Ridge and Taylor were married twice, and had three children: a son Thomas, and twin daughters Phoebe and Steffy. When Taylor returned in 2005, she and Ridge had a short-lived reunion before the end of their marriage. Upon her reintroduction, Tylo stated that the character became "more real", experiencing alcoholism and depression. In the years that ensued, she became involved with Ridge's brother Thorne after accidentally causing the death of his wife in a hit and run accident, and also had short-lived marriages to Nick Marone and Whip Jones. The character relocated to Paris after a brief relationship with Ridge's father Eric. Upon her 2018 return, she was revealed as Bill Spencer Jr.'s shooter. From 2022 to 2023, Taylor shared a reunion with Ridge, which sparked a further rivalry with Brooke.
Taylor has been described as iconic by Entertainment Weekly, and Tylo emerged as a fan favorite in the 1990s. Ridge and Taylor are considered a soap opera supercouple, while the rivalry between Brooke and Taylor has generated considerable fan attention and divided audience opinions.
Casting and creation
Show creator William J. Bell introduced the role of psychiatrist Dr. Taylor Hamilton Hayes, played by Hunter Tylo, during the episode dated June 6, 1990. According to Variety, Bell created Taylor as "a romantic leading lady but also as a character who could facilitate social issues — and directly partake in a few, too". Previously, Tylo was dismissed from two other soaps, All My Children and Days of Our Lives. The actress noted that her "crazy sense of humor" and "funny business" could have won her the role of Taylor, and she said: "After the audition, they told me I was the only one right for the role. I think they liked my 'a woman's gotta do what a woman's gotta do' attitude." Sherilyn Wolter temporarily replaced Tylo in 1990. Tylo vacated the role in May 1994 to pursue other projects, but the soap opera left the door open for her to return, which she did months later. During her absence, the character was presumed to be dead. In March 1996, following Taylor's decreased airtime and rumors circulating of her exit, it was confirmed that the actress was to leave The Bold and the Beautiful after her contract expired that June, to pursue a primetime role on the Fox television drama Melrose Place. Taylor's final appearance was in May 1996. However, in July 1996, Tylo was controversially fired from Melrose Place on the grounds of being pregnant and was replaced by Lisa Rinna. In response, she sued that show's executive producer Aaron Spelling and Spelling Productions for millions of US dollars, and won her case. It was immediately reported that she would return to The Bold and the Beautiful, with head writer and executive producer Bradley Bell issuing the statement: "I am certain that Hunter's talent and ability will continue to be an asset to the show."In October 2001, reports surfaced that Tylo was to exit the series again following unsuccessful contract negotiations, although two months later in December she signed a new contract which gave her more flexibility to pursue other projects. In October 2002, Bradley Bell killed off the character and Tylo's last appearance was on October 30, 2002. In March 2004, she made a multiple-episode guest appearance as Taylor's ghost. Following this, she told Soaps in Depth that "I knew it my heart I would not be going back", stating that she wanted to "let the character go". During her time off the show, she had turned down offers to appear on other soaps including As the World Turns. In 2005, Deanna Barnert of Soap Opera Digest wrote that according to an industry insider, a character from the show "may come back from the world of the beyond", leading fans to speculate whether either Macy Alexander or Taylor would be returning. Taylor was revealed to be alive, with Tylo returning on-screen during the April 25, 2005, episode. She was said to be "having fun surprising her castmates" with her reappearance on set. The show's producers wanted to keep her on-screen return a secret, with Tylo wearing a wig when travelling to the set, and the character's name being changed on scripts.
In May 2013, Tylo announced online that she was exiting the soap, possibly for good. In a post on her website, she wrote: "For me, contract talks ended 4 weeks ago", adding "My friends and B&B fans will be sorely missed." Tylo's final appearance aired on her birthday: July 3, 2013. Dan Kroll of the website Soap Central was shocked by her exit, though felt that a future return was possible, judging from her previous departures. The news of Tylo's exit came just months after the high-profile departures of Ronn Moss and Susan Flannery from the series. Tylo has since returned to The Bold and the Beautiful for a number of guest appearances. She made a one-episode appearance which aired on February 28, 2014. The actress then made several guest appearances in April and May 2014, for a May sweeps story arc which revisited Taylor's accidental killing of Darla years earlier, with Darla's now teen daughter Aly struggling to deal with the issue of her mother's death. Tylo appeared again on November 5, 12 and 24, 2014. Tylo made a surprise return to The Bold and the Beautiful during the final moments of the April 12, 2018, episode. Tylo said her return was "so out of the blue" and revealed that it was kept secret: "They had me hidden away...I had a code name...They kept it quiet from everybody."
Entertainment Weekly exclusively announced on October 27, 2021, that the role of Taylor has been recast with Krista Allen. The series had reportedly reached out to Tylo to return, but she was unavailable. Tylo later disclosed that she chose not to return after 2019 due to her dissatisfaction with the writing for Taylor. Allen, who previously played Billie Reed on the soap opera Days of Our Lives, said: "If there was ever any type of role to come back to daytime with, it would be this one. I couldn’t have asked for a better role to step into — or bigger shoes to fill. I love a good challenge." Allen wore a wig when auditioning for the role, explaining that she wanted to "lock in the look of Taylor Hayes as best I could", and prepared by watching Tylo's last episodes. Allen began filming on October 28, 2021, and made her first appearance on December 10. In an exclusive interview with Deadline Hollywood published on December 15, 2023, Allen revealed in October of the same year she was notified she had been dismissed from the role, with her last appearance on the show being on November 10.
On August 6, 2024, Rebecca Budig debuted in the role. Speaking to People of her casting, Budig stated: "I just hope they're open to that idea and interpretation of it and that they just believe the relationships between Taylor and Ridge and Taylor and Brooke."
Character development
Characterization
Taylor is a globally renowned psychiatrist and works at the UCLA Medical Center. When she debuted, the character emerged as the "good girl" alongside other female characters, but still had a strong demeanor. Network Ten writes: "This Freudian Doc always seems to lose out to Brooke when it comes to matters of the heart. Taylor is as sophisticated and intelligent as they come, always able to analyze the problems of others, and sometimes even her own." The writers wanted Taylor to retain a "pristine" and "well-mannered" personality, according to Tylo, to contrast her from rival Brooke Logan who was "feisty and reckless", the different facets which attracted Ridge to each of them. However, Tylo criticized a storyline in 2000 where Ridge is tricked into sleeping with his mentally unstable high school lover Morgan DeWitt, who becomes pregnant with his child. She said: "I just wish that Taylor would get a clue, period! I wish that her psychiatric expertise would kick in already. I mean, she's retarded!", also observing that the character can be absentminded.In the years following Taylor's 2005 return, her storylines changed significantly. After Ridge leaves Taylor, she becomes depressed and struggles with alcoholism. Tylo explained how this affected the character: "The love of her life throws her away after she struggled so hard to come back to him. It was painful and humiliating. That made her more real and now, after everything she's been through, Taylor gets to be a little manipulative spiteful and even resentful." Taylor, who is usually resilient, falls into a tailspin: accidentally killing Darla Forrester in a hit and run accident and lying about it, later being arrested for driving under the influence. Tylo confessed, "These were the kinds of stories I was begging for", as she thought "it was very believable". The actress also wanted to portray Taylor as less "serious".
Taylor often loses out to Brooke, as Thorne loses out to Ridge. When asked in 2011 where she would like her storyline to go, Tylo said: "I think we should see Thorne and Taylor get strong and stand up to these people who mowed them down." In March 2012, Tylo said that Taylor is finally learning to pursue what she wants instead of always putting others first. She said, "In psychology, they tell you to be true to yourself. Maybe she is finally doing that, even though in her moral compass she knows that it is better to put other people first. She has been going after what she wants instead. It is a very good growing place for Taylor to go back to reality and realize that she is not perfect and that she needs to try not looking so perfect so much."
Between 2014 and 2018, the character was off-screen, said to be living in Paris, where Tylo felt that she was "declining", noting: "I think with all she’s been through, she would probably have no choice but to deteriorate." Reflecting on Taylor being revealed as Bill Spencer Jr.'s shooter, Tylo loved "the idea of a crazy psychiatrist", "I’ve always said that Taylor is the good doc who can’t take her medicine; that’s how I’ve always described her, and this story just gives her so many things to do."