Mariah on Young and Restless — Everything You Need To Know
The character of Mariah Copeland on Young and Restless has quite an unusual history, so it’s no wonder that some fans might find themselves wondering exactly who this young woman is. Part of the confusion stems from the actress who plays her; Camryn Grimes introduced the character in January of 2014, but from 1997-2005 on Y&R, she previously played Cassie Newman. Read on, because we promise it will all make sense… eventually!
Sharon Newman was rattled when she began hallucinating visions of her dead daughter, Cassie, who urged her to confess to the secret she was keeping (Sharon had switched DNA test results to make Nick Newman believe Summer wasn’t his daughter). She went back on her medication and was horrified to still see Cassie, but even more so when she found she could touch her! It was then revealed that the young woman was not actually Nick and Sharon’s late daughter, but a look-alike named Mariah Copeland whom Victor Newman had hired to gaslight Sharon to keep Nick away from her.
You Look Familiar: Nick (Joshua Morrow) and Sharon (Sharon Case, c.) were stunned to discover Mariah (Camryn Grimes) wasn’t their late daughter’s ghost.
After the truth about her identity came out, it was also revealed that Mariah was the ex-fiancée of Tyler Michaelson and had outstanding warrants for a robbery in Portland. Sharon was drawn to her daughter’s doppelganger and helped her settle her past to start a new future in Genoa City. Nick hired Mariah to work at his club, The Underground, and she grew closer to the entire family, including his daughter, Faith. But when Sharon thought Mariah was attempting to seduce Nick, she threw her out of the house!
It was the devious Ian Ward who had pushed Mariah to get close to the Newmans and move in with Nick and Sharon. In fact, Nick then discovered that Sharon was Mariah’s mother, and Helen Copeland had stolen Cassie’s twin sister to give to Ian! The villain abducted Mariah and drugged her into marrying him before Nick and Sharon were able to rescue her. She moved back in with them, but Mariah struggled to accept Sharon as her mother.
Chemistry Test: Their shared sarcasm made Kevin (Greg Rikaart) and Mariah great friends, but not-so-great lovers.
Mariah struck up a friendship with Kevin Fisher that turned into a romance, but it never really went anywhere. She also kissed Austin, but he ended up dead, and Mariah found herself caught up in a murder mystery as she and her friends attempted to uncover his killer. She also got mixed up with Kevin and Natalie in a business venture called PassKey, but the less said about that, the better!
Although Mariah had accepted Sharon as her mother, she was appalled to learn that she had been raising Christian Newman as Sully and letting Dylan think he was his son. She agreed to keep the secret, but continued to urge Sharon to come clean. Hilary Curtis hired Mariah as a gofer for GC BUZZ, and despite their contentious working relationship, they eventually became co-hosts. She briefly dated Devon Hamilton, which made Hilary super jealous, but Mariah eventually befriended musician Tessa Porter and an attraction grew.
First Kiss: Neither Mariah nor Tessa (Cait Fairbanks) were ready for this moment.Howard Wise/jpistudios.com
After they shared a kiss, Mariah and Tessa were both afraid of their feelings and stepped back, but Mariah was later furious when Tessa stole her journal and used her private thoughts to write a new song. They eventually reconciled and continued working together as friends at GC BUZZ. Upon his return to town, Kyle Abbott picked up on the attraction and urged Mariah to give it another go with Tessa. She finally gave in and entered into a real relationship with the musician, but they hit further roadblocks when Mariah discovered that her girlfriend had been blackmailing Sharon, Victoria, and Nikki to raise the cash to give her former prostitute sister, Crystal, a new life!
Mariah agreed to stick close to Tessa in order to figure out just how much she knew, but in the end, actually reconciled with her girlfriend. After Hilary’s death, Mariah took over at GC BUZZ, but after being stalked, she decided to give up being on camera. Devon transferred her over to work at Power Communications instead, where she found herself clashing with Theo Vanderway.
When Tessa’s ex, Tanner Watts, arrived in town, Mariah was stunned to learn her girlfriend had never mentioned being married in the past, but ultimately urged her to go on tour with him as it would be great for her career. While Tessa was out of town, Mariah was crushed to be fired by Devon and learn that Sharon was battling breast cancer. She confided her troubles to Lindsay, and they were unfortunately in a very close moment when Tessa came home and caught them together! Mariah explained she’d thought Tessa was sleeping with Tanner, but insisted nothing had happened between her and Lindsay, but Tessa just stormed off! And when Mariah tried to explain and beg her forgiveness and understanding, Tessa refused to take her back and dumped her.
Mariah went out of her way to apologize and make it up to Tessa, who eventually forgave her and agreed to give their relationship another shot, but warned that one more mistake and it was over for good. Mariah then supported Sharon during her battle with breast cancer and acted as Abby Newman‘s maid of honor when she tied the knot with Chance Chancellor. She was later stunned when Abby asked her to be their surrogate, and after discussing it with Tessa and getting her approval, Mariah agreed to carry their baby. She and Tessa moved into the Chancellor estate and learned the baby was a boy. Mariah got suspicious when Abby’s ex, Ben “Stitch” Rayburn, returned to Genoa City for a visit, and shortly after he left, Mariah went missing!
Although Mariah kept sending texts to her friends to reassure them that she just needed some time away, it was later revealed that she was being held captive by someone in a room somewhere! Thankfully, her family was able to deduce that Stitch was her kidnapper, and Devon and Abby got to her just as she gave birth to her baby. Abby was thrilled that Dominic was safe and healthy, but Mariah had grown attached to “Bowie” while in captivity and struggled to let go. Eventually, she took a step back, but her baby obsession continued when she suggested to Tessa that they start a family of their own. Initially wary, Tessa eventually agreed, suggesting that they adopt.
Mariah accepted Tessa’s romantic marriage proposal and then popped the question herself. A recently returned Noah gave a touching speech at their engagement party, but clearly still pined for Tessa. The couple settled on a “‘70s glam” theme for their wedding, and Kyle officiated with Sharon and Nick walking Tessa and Mariah down the aisle, respectively. The newlyweds then went on a honeymoon to Paris.
Upon their return, Mariah supported Tessa as she underwent throat surgery and asked Kyle to give her wife a job modeling for Marchetti to take her mind off putting her singing career on hold as she recovered. After an adoption attorney turned them down because of their criminal records, Mariah and Tessa hired Christine Blair. Although the first prospective mom eventually chose to give her baby to her cousin, the second, Delphine, was happy to have the couple adopt her baby.
After bringing their daughter home from Portland, Tessa and Mariah named her Aria Porter Copeland, and Sharon threw them a surprise baby shower. With Tessa’s support, Mariah decided to leave Jabot to work with Sharon at Adustus-Kirsten, later renamed SNA Media. When they found Aria sleeping through loud noises, Mariah and Tessa grew worried and had their daughter examined by a doctor, who confirmed that the baby had hearing loss. A specialist later assured the new moms that Aria’s condition was treatable, though there was no cure. As Mariah and Tessa had Aria fitted with a hearing aid, Devon assured them they would find ways to communicate. And the moms were thrilled when Aria responded to sound while wearing her hearing aid.
When 2024 kicked off, Mariah was settling into her new job working for her mother’s company, which Sharon named Cassidy First Technology after Cassie. She also bonded with Victoria’s daughter, Claire Howard, over the complicated childhoods they shared. She also noticed the way Kyle was acting and wondered if he had feelings for Claire. But Mariah became especially concerned when Sharon began exhibiting strange behavior and zoning out during conversations. She and the whole family tried to get Sharon some help, but she became more and more distant and secretive, leading them all to worry.
Mariah, like the rest of the family, was stunned when Sharon confessed to Heather Stevens‘ murder and found it hard to believe. She was relieved when an analysis of her mother’s meds proved they’d been laced with hallucinogens, and Sharon recalled she hadn’t committed the actual murder (though she still did cover up the crime in a panic!). But Mariah had another scare when Sharon went missing, and she found out that Ian had been let out of prison and was lurking around Genoa City again! He claimed he wanted to make amends, but she wasn’t buying it and warned she’d kill him if he came near her family. When Tessa suggested Ian might be genuine, it created a rift between her and Mariah, who was already feeling guilty for bringing Ian into everyone’s lives. She was relieved when Sharon turned up alive, and Ian was shot dead.
In the spring of 2025, Mariah returned from a business trip and confided to her mother that she’d gotten drunk and done something terrible that Tessa could never find out about. Tesssa kept trying to get her wife to open up, but Mariah refused. She later had flashbacks about getting drunk and meeting an older man, and informed Tessa that she wanted a separation while she worked on her trauma. After additional flashbacks where she was smothering someone with a pillow, Mariah decided to go to Boston for therapy. When a frustrated Tessa was ready to give up on her, Mariah finally confessed that she’d tried to kill someone!