Back In Business

Tracey E. Bregman is thrilled by her return to Y&R’s front burner.

- Janet Di Lauro

“THE YOUNG AND THE RESTLESS is my happy place,” says Tracey E. Bregman (Lauren), reflecting on the job and character she’s portrayed since 1983. “Anytime I get to be there and do what I love with the people that I love is always amazing.”

Bregman’s love for the gig has only intensified since the soap underwent changes at the top in 2016. “We have such an extraordinary group right now,” gushes the actress, praising Executive Producer Mal Young and returning scribes Sally Sussman and Kay Alden, who were hired as co-executive producer/ head writer and story consultant, respectively. The moves quickly sent Bregman’s character to the storyline forefront.

“Lauren is back to being her business self,” notes Bregman. “I think it’s important to show a powerful woman, someone who is balanced in a relationship and can be just as powerful in business. And she doesn’t have to be a bitch. She’s just strong. She runs this chain of department stores, which is a very hard, all-encompassing job. Yet she can say, ‘I’m sorry,’ in her relationship, cry on her husband’s shoulder and be feminine, as well.”

Bregman, who’s also an entrepreneur off camera, pulls from her own experiences “as much as possible. I don’t know what it’s like to run a multimillion-dollar company,” she concedes. “But I do know what it’s like to get a business off the ground and try to keep it afloat.”