When Young and Restless publicist Matt Kane called Melissa Claire Egan (Chelsea) while she was driving home from getting a haircut, the actress had a sneaking suspicion as to why he was reaching out. “I kind of got a good feeling, because I knew the noms were coming out that day,” she shares with Soap Opera Digest. “And I kind of thought, ‘Hmmm.’ Matty Kane’s the best and a close friend, so he could have been calling for anything, but I thought of the timing, and I was like, ‘Why is he calling right now?’ So I was very excited when I answered and he said, ‘Congratulations, you’re nominated for Lead Actress.’ It was an exciting day.”

Shock to the System

This year’s nomination marks Egan’s eighth Daytime Emmy nomination during her daytime career. She previously received three Supporting Actress nods during her time as Annie Novak on All My Children, and then earned three more Supporting Actress nominations for Y&R before graduating to Lead Actress in 2021. Her last nomination was in 2023, also in the Lead category, but she insists that it’s always a thrill.

“Every time, I’m just like, ‘Oh my gosh!’ ” Egan enthuses with a laugh. “It’s just such a kind of like, an exciting punch to the gut. You know, there can be bad punches to the gut, and then there’s like, a good punch to the gut. And it was an exciting punch to the gut… It’s always just, obviously, just a wonderful honor. And I was very excited.”

A Mother’s Love

Last year was pretty rough for Chelsea, but that turmoil gave her portrayer some good material for her Emmy reel. “This was 2024’s work, so I submitted a lot of Chelsea’s son’s mental health issues,” Egan says. “Her struggling with it as a mother. So I think the first scene of my reel was her finding out that Connor had been cutting himself and tried to stab himself with a pen. And so she was obviously devastated by that. I also had scenes where she’s talking to her therapist about it, and then I had scenes with her talking to Adam, blaming herself. She had a lot of mental health struggles the year prior, so she started blaming herself and his issues were because of her, which, as a parent, is just so devastating

“The year before, it had been about Chelsea’s mental health,” the actress adds. “This year, it was about her son’s mental health. Which, as a parent myself, I can relate to how devastating that would be if he’s struggling and suffering. It’s even worse than yourself struggling or suffering, because your babies are your everything. So yeah, it was about Chelsea’s struggle with Connor’s mental health.”

An Embarrassment of Riches

Y&R earned quite a few acting nominations this year, but there was one name in particular that Egan was not surprised to see make the cut. “I mean, everybody on this cast is so talented,” she declares. “My girl, Courtney Hope [Sally], I was thrilled for. And I was watching her shoot those scenes that she submitted, and I was like, ‘Wow. She has to submit these, and she’s gonna get nominated for an Emmy and quite possibly win again.’ And she did! So I was excited that she got nominated.”

While Hope is competing in the Supporting Actress category, Egan knows she’s in rare company herself among her fellow Lead Actress nominees. “I’m honored to be alongside them,” she says. “Eileen [Davidson, Ashley], Michelle [Stafford, Phyllis], Sharon [Case, Sharon] — it’s just so cool to all be nominated together. It’s like a dream come true. But everyone who was nominated is so talented, and everyone on the show that didn’t get nominated is talented. I work with a great group of actors. It’s just a nice celebration of not just the nominated actors, but just the show and how lucky we are to be working on it and to be working actors. It’s just a great celebration of all of it.”

The Big Night

In addition to her husband, Matt Katrosar, Egan is bringing a special pair of guests to the October 17 Emmy ceremony. “Of course, my husband’s my date, but I’m bringing my parents. I brought them the first year I was nominated in 2009, and I haven’t brought them since. And every time I’m nominated, they’re like, ‘Oooh!’ You can kind of tell that they’re hinting that they want to go and I’ve always wanted to be able to bring them again, but it hasn’t worked out for this reason or that.

“So eight nominations later — because they were there at the first, now they’re coming back for the eighth — I’m bringing them again,” the actress continues. “So I’m really excited to have them along with my husband as my dates and have them there. They love the show. They love daytime. I think it’ll be really fun for them and exciting for them, which makes me happy. So even if I don’t win, it’s still like a win, because my parents get to be there having fun. In a world that’s very new to them — not new, because I’ve been in soaps for 20 years — but you know, being at the event where it happens. They’re so supportive of the genre, so I’m really excited I get to bring them.

“And listen, maybe eighth time is the charm, and maybe my parents will be the good luck charm,” Egan concludes with a chuckle. “I mean, they weren’t the first time I was nominated, but maybe they’ll be this time, you know? They have been my number one supporters since birth. So I owe them one.”