How Devon Was Related To Katherine Chancellor On The Young And The Restless
The role of Devon Hamilton on "The Young and the Restless" was originated by Bryton James in 2004. He was raised in the foster care system until he was taken in by the Winters family as a teenager. Throughout his life, Devon has had to traverse many complicated situations. Between his health, family, and finances, he has had more shocks and adjusting to do than your average person, even on a soap opera.
A decade after he first appeared on the show, Devon had lost much of his family, as both of his adoptive parents had died and his biological parents were out of the picture. However, as a consolation, he also found himself rolling in enough dough to do whatever he wanted in his life — and it was all thanks to the late Katherine "Kay" Chancellor (Jeanne Cooper) who left him a hefty sum in her will (via CBS).
So what exactly is the connection between Devon and Kay and how did he end up with most of her fortune? Well, they're family. For those of you who might need a refresher, this is how Devon Hamilton and the great Kay Chancellor are related.
Kay Chancellor had a secret child she gave up for adoption
In 2003, wealthy businesswoman Kay Chancellor recalled a repressed memory suggesting that she had given birth to a second child in addition to her son Brock Reynolds (via Soap Central). It would later be revealed that during a year-long separation with her first husband Gary Reynolds in the late 1950s, Kay had a brief affair with Gary's golf buddy Judge Arthur Hendricks, which resulted in a pregnancy. Wanting to protect Kay's reputation, her good friend Charlotte Ramsey offered to put the baby up for adoption for her, and put her own name on the birth certificate.
After remembering these traumatic events, Kay became determined to track down her long-lost child. For several years it was thought that Jill Abbott (Jess Walton) was Kay's daughter due to information from Charlotte. However, it was later discovered in 2008 that Charlotte had lied and a DNA test confirmed that Kay and Jill were not related (via Soaps in Depth).
In 2009, Jill felt it was time for Kay to be reunited with her unknown child and hired Paul Williams (Doug Davidson) to investigate. Paul's research led him to an orphanage near the Canadian border, which pointed him toward a woman named Joanne "JoJo" Glover (Caroline Aaron) in South Dakota, who turned out to be a convicted felon and rough and tumble bail bondsman, according to Soaps. Jill convinced Kay to meet the woman thought to be her daughter and JoJo returned with them for a trip to Genoa City. Soon after, Jill and Kay had a secret DNA test done in hopes of confirming that the brash woman was not actually Kay's daughter, and they were proven correct.
Tucker McCall turned out to be Kay Chancellor's son
Around the same time that Katherine Chancellor was getting to know Joanne Glover, she had also met a businessman named Tucker McCall (then William Russ) who was encouraging her to buy stock in a company called Cell Tron, which she eventually did (via Soap Central). However, Cell Tron turned out to be a scam and Tucker had actually orchestrated a hostile takeover of Kay's company, Chancellor Industries. Tucker revealed himself to be Kay's long-lost son and admitted he had hired JoJo to pretend to be Kay's daughter and that he had come to Genoa City to take revenge against the woman who had given him away.
Tucker had been adopted into a rather poor family who couldn't afford to send him to college and he spent several years homeless, meandering through Europe trying to make ends meet. He was resentful that the woman who gave birth to him was extremely wealthy but that he had to grow up struggling. His intention was to take over Kay's businesses piece by piece and dismantle her empire as payback (via Soaps in Depth).
Over the years, Kay and Tucker went through many ups and down in their relationship. Several times they both tried to make amends for their past actions and reconcile, but miscommunication, greed, and endless business schemes constantly put that in jeopardy. It seemed as if every time they began to forge a bond, they would suddenly be at each other's throats again. However, Kay realized they had more in common than she initially thought, when it was revealed that Tucker also had a long-lost son somewhere out there.
Kay Chancellor learned about Tucker McCall's long-lost son
In 2011, Tucker McCall (now Stephen Nichols) was struck by a car driven by a drunk Abby Newman (then Emme Rylan) and suffered severe head trauma and was temporarily left in a coma (via Soaps in Depth). While he was in the hospital, his living will was presented and stated that Tucker had a son who would receive $20 million if he died. After Tucker recovered, he explained that many years earlier when he was working as a touring band manager, calling himself Mick, one of his many one-night stands with a groupie resulted in a pregnancy (via Soap Central). He hadn't known about the child until he later received an anonymous note stating that he had a son that he would never know and he had never looked further into it.
Katherine wanted to know who her grandson was so she hired Paul Williams to investigate. Paul tracked down an old groupie named Amy Koslow who pointed him toward another groupie named Candy Cane who had been obsessed with Mick and had gotten pregnant around the correct time. Candy Cane turned out to be Yolanda Hamilton, the biological mother of Genoa City local Devon Hamilton, making him Tucker's missing son.
When Kay discovered the truth, Devon had just been fired from Tucker's record label where he had been working, per Soaps in Depth. Kay decided to keep the relationship between Devon and Tucker to herself and instead offered Devon a job as the president of a new entertainment sector of Chancellor Industries.
Tucker McCall and Devon Hamilton discovered their connection
In 2011, after fighting with Tucker McCall over business, Katherine Chancellor had a stroke (via Soap Central). While going to visit her at the hospital, Tucker overheard Jill Abbott and Kay's attorney discussing how Kay had recently added Devon Hamilton to her will. Putting the pieces together, Tucker realized that Devon must be his son.
Tucker revealed the truth to Devon, but the other man didn't want anything to do with him. However, Phyllis Summers (Michelle Stafford) then ran a story that exposed Devon's paternity and in response, Tucker held a public press conference where he confirmed the information and spoke about how thrilled he was to welcome Devon into his family. Devon's biological mother, Yolanda Hamilton (who had changed her name to Harmony, played by Debbi Morgan), saw the press conference and came to Genoa City to explain Devon's birth to him (via Soaps).
Tucker went to Devon to try to make amends. He told his son how much guilt he felt because of the fact that Devon had such a difficult upbringing when Tucker had the means to help him — not unlike the situation between himself and his birth mother Kay. Devon remained unmoved until his adoptive father Neil Winters (Kristoff St. John) reminded him that he had always wanted to know his birth family and Devon reluctantly agreed to give Tucker a chance (via Soap Dirt).
Complicated family dynamics existed between Tucker McCall and his mother and son
Though Katherine Chancellor and her grandson Devon Hamilton always got along well and liked each other, Tucker McCall continuously struggled with his relationships with both his mother and son. Tucker and Devon began to build a bond when the older man used his vast resources to help his son get a cochlear implant when his deafness began affecting his career in the music industry (via Soap Central). Although reluctant to accept help from the man, Devon did eventually take him up on his generous offer, and afterward the two bonded over music and began collaborating together.
However, things took a turn when Tucker was arrested for fraud and his dirty business dealings were exposed, according to Soaps in Depth. Both Devon and Kay denounced him and his mother went so far as to cut him out of her will and bequeath his share of her estate to Devon. After wiggling out of his legal troubles, Tucker made amends with Devon and Kay, but then revealed that he was moving to Hong Kong to start fresh. Kay was devastated to see her son leave, but ultimately understood that it was for the best.
Kay Chancellor's death changed Devon Hamilton's life
In 2013, Kay's husband Patrick Murphy (Michael Fairman) returned from an around-the-world trip the two had taken and told their loved ones about their travels. He mentioned that the two had made a stop in China and had a nice visit with her son Tucker McCall, but unfortunately Kay had died in her sleep that very same night (via Soap Opera Network).
At the reading of Kay's will, it was revealed that the only thing she had left to her son Tucker was her vinyl record collection. Devon, however, was dumbfounded when it was announced that Kay had left him $2.5 billion (via SoapHub). Devon had a difficult time adjusting to his newfound wealth and struggled to find direction for a time. A few years later, an attorney named Amanda Sinclair (Mishael Morgan) came to Genoa City claiming that the will leaving the fortune to Devon had been tampered with and that Tucker was involved.
Devon went to track down his father and discovered that he had abandoned his failing business to go on a spiritual journey, according to Soap Central. He found Tucker in an ashram in Thailand, having given up all material possessions and the man claimed to have nothing to do with altering Kay's will. It was later discovered that the claim of will tampering was a scam concocted by Colin Atkinson and that the fortune was still rightfully Devon's.
It's unclear if Tucker has remained on his enlightened path or if he'll ever make another return to Genoa City. In the meantime, Devon has enough family drama to keep him busy in his father's absence. He is a Chancellor, after all.