Four decades after she made her daytime debut, Susan Walters (Diane, Young and Restless) has landed her first Daytime Emmy Award nomination as she finds herself up for the Supporting Actress trophy at the 2025 ceremony. “It feels really nice, because I am aware of the other women in the category,” she shares with Soap Opera Digest. “I mean, it sounds cliché, but it’s definitely an honor. Everybody on these soaps, nominated or not — it’s a hard job, and you have to be good at what you do to survive it. So to be acknowledged for it by other actors is doubly nice. It feels really great.”

A Certain Age

Looking at her competition in the Supporting Actress race, which also includes her Y&R co-star Courtney Hope (Sally), gives Walters another perspective on the competition. “One of the things that is kind of funny, though, is I definitely am old enough to be the other women’s mothers in the category,” she says with a laugh. “So I’m kind of proud that I get to represent the… mature crowd. I feel really good that I get to be the representative in our category.

“Because honestly, it takes me back to the whole thing about soaps that I love,” the actress continues. “That women and men my age are still having stories. We’re still having anger and joy and passion and breakups — all the stuff that, of course, in real life you have, but you don’t always get to see it on television. And that’s what’s great about soaps is that there’s drama and life and stories to tell for all the different age groups.”

In Good Company

Y&R racked up quite a few acting nominations at this year’s Daytime Emmys, which Walters thinks are well-deserved. “I feel like there are several people on our show that I am constantly blown away by their work, to the point that I don’t watch the monitor in my dressing room because I’d get intimidated,” she shares. “I’ve been doing this for 40-something years, and in those years, I’ve worked with very few people who could make it through the day here and do as well as a lot of the actors here do.”

The actress was also excited to finally work opposite fellow Supprting Actress nominee Hope. “I’ve always been a fan of hers,” Walters enthuses, “and I actually got to do several scenes that were really emotional for her. And it was funny, because once we finished them, I said to Peter [Bergman, Jack], ‘I’d vote for her.’ I feel honored just to be in the same category.”

All About the Abbotts

When it came to selecting scenes for the reel that earned her the Emmy nomination, Walters kept it all in the family. “I did a scene with Kyle and Diane, just kind of about her regrets and about [the] painful aspects of being a mother and having your child — even an adult child — unhappy with you,” she explains. “And then I did two scenes with Peter where I was actually unhappy with my husband. Then I did another scene with Peter and Michael [Mealor, Kyle]. So it didn’t really tell a story, but it kind of told a story. It’s kind of what Diane had gone through last year.”

The actress is also keeping the Daytime Emmys in the family, because her husband, Linden Ashby (ex-Cameron), is also up for a trophy in the Guest Performance category. But when word of their nominations broke, she wasn’t at home to hear the happy news alongside her spouse. “I was actually on my bike on a mountain bike trail,” Walters reports. “And service in the canyons kind of goes in and out. So I was getting a lot of calls and texts. And then I had to make it to a spot where I could communicate with people. So it was a good ride. It was a very good ride.”Y&R’s Linden Ashby on His Daytime Emmy Nomination: ‘It’s Good To Be Bad’ (EXCL)

Emmy night will also be a family affair as Walters and Ashby are each taking one of their adult daughters, Grace and Savannah, as their dates to the ceremony. While that’s squared away, her outfit remained a mystery at the time of this interview. “I’ve spent more time shopping for dresses online with my daughters,” she says. “I had something else that I was going to wear, because in the back of my mind, I was thinking, ‘Oh, I really like this dress, and I thought I’ll be Linden’s date because I am pretty sure he’ll get nominated next year.’ I bought it several months ago. And then, since I got nominated, I’m like, ‘Well, maybe I should wear something that’s a little more me, since the evening’s also for me.”

Whatever happens on the big night, Walters says, “I was just really happy to be nominated. I truly feel like the buck stops there, and that’s okay. That was kind of my goal. In the back of my mind, it was like, ‘Wouldn’t it be nice if I got nominated?’ I’d never gone as far as thinking of winning something like that. So I’ve already won.”