One of the most iconic stars of "The Young and The Restless" is Michelle Stafford. She portrayed as Phyllis Summers Newman and gave her best to that role, which in turn garnered her five Emmy awards and was nominated for a dozen of times because of her performance in the daytime drama.
SoapOperaSpy revealed that back in 1997 Michelle left the show in order to pursue a prime-time show. She left "The Young and the Restless" for three years and decided to come back again later.
SoapOperaSpy gave their top nominees that can replace Michelle as Phyllis on "The Young and The Restless." First on the list is Jamie Luner. Jamie is a natural red-head and got a spunky attitude. She is a mainstay in the soap "Savannah" and it is possible for her to move to soap. The second option is Robin Christopher who happened to be a well-experienced soap opera queen. Not to mention she is very talented and got a strong sex appeal. Phyllis role would fit her right at first glance, however, the producers are doubtful if she can pull it off.
Another name that was on the list was prime-time soap opera queen Marcia Cross. It has been known that Maria is a little bit older than Phyllis but at some point she could still be able to pull off the look. Choosing her would help add up some intellectual factors on the sexy image of Phyllis but then again the producers think that she just looked older for the role. And then there's Jessica Tuck. She does not resemble Michelle's body and look but she is known as a good actress. She could have been a great Phyllis if the role was given to her.
In the end, it was Sandra Nelson who got the role as Phyllis. She was able to portray Phyllis Summer from 1997 up to 1999. By the time she left the show Michelle is already due to come back. It was in 2000 that Michelle reprises her role as Phyllis.
