Drucilla Winters

Drucilla Winters
Victoria Rowell as Drucilla Winters
The Young and the Restless character
Portrayed by	Victoria Rowell (1990–2007) Dawn McMillan (1996) Kent Masters King (2000)
Duration	1990–2000 2002–07
First appearance	May 7, 1990
Last appearance	April 6, 2007
Created by	William J. Bell
Introduced by	Edward J. Scott (1990) David Shaughnessy (2002)
Classification	Former, regular
Profile
Other names	Drucilla Barber
Occupation	Cosmetics spokeswoman Businesswoman Fashion model Ballerina Photographer's assistant
Family Barber Father Walter Barber Mother Lillie Belle Barber Sisters Olivia Winters Husband Neil Winters (1993–98, 2003–07) Daughters Lily Winters Adoptive sons Devon Hamilton Grandsons Charlie Ashby Granddaughters Mattie Ashby Uncles Wesley Barber Aunts Mamie Johnson Nephews Nathan Hastings, Jr. First cousins Justin Barber

Drucilla Winters is a fictional character from the American CBS soap opera The Young and the Restless. Created by William J. Bell as an effort to add more African American characters to the cast, the role was portrayed by Victoria Rowell. Rowell left the role in 2000 to pursue other projects and Alexia Robinson was introduced as Alex Perez, a replacement character, shortly after. Rowell later returned in August 2002.

In 2007, Rowell became unhappy with the soap opera behind the scenes, labeling daytime television and The Young and the Restless as racist for not having enough African American cast and crew. She also argued the directions of her storylines which weren't heard, prompting her to leave. Within the storyline, Drucilla fell off a cliff and was presumed dead as her body was never found. Rowell has openly expressed pleasure and willingness to return, and as a result of the character's strong appeal and popularity, viewers have campaigned for the series to rehire her. However, CBS has stated that having Drucilla return is not the creative decision they are looking for, which has disappointed fans of the actress. In 2015, Rowell filed a lawsuit against the soap opera and Sony Pictures Entertainment for retaliation, claiming that she had been blacklisted by the network for speaking out against what she believed was racial discrimination during her time portraying Drucilla.

The character is a ballerina-turned-model, and is well known for her forward personality and feisty persona. Her storyline revolves around her relationship with Neil Winters (Kristoff St. John), sleeping with Neil's brother Malcolm Winters (Shemar Moore), which resulted in the birth of her daughter, Lily Winters (Christel Khalil). Lily was raised by Neil; it was not revealed publicly until years later that Malcolm was in fact Lily's biological father. Drucilla is also known for her rivalry with Phyllis Summers (Michelle Stafford), which often provided the series' comic relief, and friendship with many pillars of the town, including Brad Carlton (Don Diamont) and Sharon Newman (Sharon Case).