Isabella Braña
Isabella Braña | |||||||||||||||
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The Young and the Restless character | |||||||||||||||
Portrayed by | Eva Longoria (2001–03) Uncredited actress (2012) | ||||||||||||||
Duration | 2001–03, 2012 | ||||||||||||||
First appearance | March 8, 2001 | ||||||||||||||
Last appearance | July 2, 2012 | ||||||||||||||
Classification | Past; regular | ||||||||||||||
Created by | Kay Alden, Trent Jones | ||||||||||||||
Introduced by | Edward J. Scott | ||||||||||||||
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Isabella Braña is a fictional character from the American CBS Daytime soap opera The Young and the Restless. She was portrayed by Eva Longoria, created by Kay Alden and introduced by former executive producer Edward J. Scott on March 8, 2001. During her run, the character gave birth to Paul Williams' (Doug Davidson) son and later tried to kill his ex-wife, Christine Blair (Lauralee Bell). Described as "crazy", "evil" and a "whack job", Longoria said the character was a challenge to portray. The actress was let go and Longoria last aired on August 15, 2003.
Casting
Eva Longoria began portraying the role during the episode dated March 8, 2001, on a contract status.[1] The role was introduced when regular Christine Blair (Lauralee Bell) was written out of the series due to her pregnancy, and Longoria was brought to fill her position.[2] Longoria had previously appeared on the soap operas The Bold and the Beautiful and General Hospital.[1] In June 2003, it was announced that along with two other actors, Longoria would be leaving The Young and the Restless in what was called a "shocking plot twist".[3] Isabella last aired on August 15, 2003.[1] Flashbacks of Longoria's scenes as Isabella were shown on November 9, 2011.[2] On July 2, 2012, the character briefly reappeared, however not portrayed by Longoria, but by an unidentified actress whose face was never shown.[4]
Character development
Isabella was a mentally ill woman who had an affair with Christine Blair's (Lauralee Bell) husband Paul Williams (Doug Davidson), resulting in the birth of their son Ricky Williams.[2][5] The character was penned by Michael Logan of TV Guide as a "nutjob" who made Christine's life a "living hell".[6] Additionally, Isabella has been characterized as "crazy", with the National Post calling her "evil".[7][8] A year after her departure from the series, Longoria reflected on her past roles, and said: "I feel like I've been very lucky in the roles I've played [...] Isabella, for example, was so complex, so full of anger and love at the same time." Longoria said that she was "a challenge to play".[5]
In 2011, the child Isabella and Paul had,
Storylines
Isabella came to
After giving birth to their son, Ricky Williams, Isabella was convinced that her life would get better. Isabella was suspicious of a woman named Kelly Simmons that tried to investigate her, without realizing it was Christine in disguise. Paul decided to go back to Isabella and was even ready to move away with her. Christine found out about Michael's plot with Isabella and told everything to Paul. The couple reunited, and an unhappy Isabella decided to have her revenge. She made it seem like Christine had murdered her and, at the same time, she was plotting her next move. While everyone thought she was dead, Isabella confronted Christine in a bathtub after drugging her. Isabella was about to kill Christine when Paul arrived to stop her in time. Christine and Paul reunited but were unaware that Isabella was still alive. Michael came just in time to save Christine's and Paul's lives and Isabella was committed to a psychiatric hospital in Los Angeles.
Isabella's parents started raising Ricky and took him to see his mentally ill mother from time to time until she checked out completely from reality and started becoming violent. Ricky suffered from this experience and also felt abandoned by his father. When Ricky returned to Genoa City nine years later and grown up, Paul and Christine recalled all that Isabella had done. Paul then went to see Isabella following Ricky's tragic death, in which Paul shot him to stop him from killing Eden Baldwin (Jessica Heap). However, Isabella's face was not shown and she was only seen brushing her hair while humming from the back.
Reception
For her portrayal, Longoria received an
References
- ^ a b c d "About Y&R: About the Actors | Eva Longoria | The Young and the Restless". Soap Central. Soap Central. Retrieved December 18, 2012.
- ^ CBS Interactive. Retrieved June 19, 2012.
- ^ Kroll, Dan J. (June 11, 2012). "Y&R trims cast of three contract roles". Soap Central. Retrieved June 19, 2012.
- ^ Maria Arena Bell (Executive producer); Maria Arena Bell, Hogan Sheffer and Scott Hamner (Head writers); Habib Azar (Director); Linda Schreiber (Script writer) (July 2, 2012). The Young and the Restless. Season 40. CBS.
- ^ Cowles Publishing Company. Retrieved December 18, 2012.
- CBS Interactive. Retrieved September 10, 2013.
- ^ a b c Masko, Dave (July 3, 2012). "Eva Longoria may return to daytime TV role on the Young and the Restless". Huliq. Retrieved December 18, 2012.
- ^ Govani, Shinan (September 27, 2010). "Shinan: Scents & sensitivity". National Post. Postmedia Network, Inc. Retrieved September 10, 2013.
- American Media, Inc.August 15, 2011. Retrieved September 10, 2013.
- ^ a b Hughes, Adam (August 25, 2011). "Peter Porte Coming to 'The Young and the Restless' as Mature Ricky Williams". Yahoo!. Retrieved January 10, 2012.
- Michael Fairman On-Air On-Soaps. Retrieved September 9, 2013.
- ^ "On-Air On-Soaps Names The Best and Worst Of 2012!". Michael Fairman On-Air On-Soaps. December 29, 2012. Archived from the original on April 4, 2016. Retrieved September 10, 2013.
- McClatchy. June 30, 2012. Archived from the originalon November 2, 2013. Retrieved September 30, 2013.