The Young And The Restless Star Camryn Grimes Set A Daytime Emmy Record When She Was A Kid
"The Young and the Restless" star Camryn Grimes grew up in front of the daytime television cameras. As her character, Mariah Copeland, she's seen a lot of changes in her life throughout the years. Mariah had the kind of childhood you would only hear about on a soap like "Y&R," as she was stolen at birth and raised by a cult worshipper. She was also a con woman who was brought to Genoa City by none other than Victor Newman (Eric Braeden) himself. He wanted Mariah to mess with Sharon Newman's (Sharon Case) head only to find out that she was actually her biological mother. That's because Mariah was Cassie Newman's (also played by Camryn Grimes) twin, who was separated at birth. Grimes played Cassie up until the character's death in 2005 when she sustained fatal injuries in a car accident. Grimes made her debut as Mariah on the soap back in 2014.
While Grimes has seen both of her characters, Cassie and Mariah, go through the wringer throughout the years, the actor has received many different accolades and honors over the years for her performances. But little do some fans know that Grimes also set a Daytime Emmy record when she was just a kid.
Camryn Grimes was the youngest actor to win a Daytime Emmy
According to Soap Central, Camryn Grimes earned the Daytime Emmy for Outstanding Younger Actress in 2000. She was the youngest actress to win in that category, as she was only 10 years old at the time. But that isn't the only award Grimes won during her career. In 2018, she made her way to the podium again when she won the Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series for her role as Mariah Copeland. That puts her in a category by herself as she managed to win two awards for two different characters that she has played on the same soap opera series. When she accepted the second Emmy of her career, Grimes admitted she had not prepared a speech because she didn't think she would win. However, she did manage to share a special message for her fans: "For everyone who dares to love truthfully ... this is for you," she said (via Michael Fairman TV).
Grimes also admitted that playing both characters on the soap felt like no big deal for her. She told Daytime Confidential, "I've always said Cassie and Mariah are two halves of my own personality. I just go from one extreme to another." That said, Grimes' two Emmys are not her only daytime television accomplishments of her career so far.
Camryn Grimes continues to set the new standard in soaps
In 2022, Camryn Grimes and her co-star, Cait Fairbanks, made daytime television history when their characters Mariah and Tessa got married in daytime television's first same-sex marriage. This was after Tessa's well-documented relationship with Noah Newman (Rory Gibson). Grimes told People that they couldn't have done it without the support of their fans and all of the longtime viewers of "The Young and the Restless." She said, "Our relationship has been incredibly supported by the fans so far, and that's what makes this such a joy. We feel like we get to give this gift back to them, and they get to watch our characters just be happy and in love, and it's a huge culmination of their relationship's journey."
Grimes is not only setting records, but she's also setting the standard in the soap opera world. She also shares a distinct quality with her on-screen character. Grimes told Soap Opera Digest, "I can see that Mariah is ride-or-die for her people. I'm the reliable friend, mom and therapist in the group."