Mamie Johnson (The Young and the Restless)

Mamie Johnson is a fictional character on the CBS soap opera The Young and the Restless. The role was originated in 1980 by Marguerite Ray, who was replaced in 1990 by Veronica Redd. Redd departed the series in 1995, and returned from 1999 to 2004. Mamie was the series' first regular African American character.

Character History

Mamie was the Abbott family's trusted housekeeper for many years. She was an invaluable treasure to patriarch John Abbott, Sr. (Jerry Douglas), and functioned as a surrogate mother to John's three oldest children: Jack (Terry Lester, Peter Bergman), Ashley (primarily Eileen Davidson), and Traci (Beth Maitland). John and his first wife Dina (Marla Adams) divorced after she left John and the children, prior to their arrival in Genoa City, Wisconsin. When Jack was eighteen, Dina sent him a letter asking him to join her in Paris. However, Mamie recognized Dina's handwriting and intercepted the letter, ensuring that Jack would not leave John and the rest of the family.

Mamie often proved to be a thorn in the side of John's younger second wife, the former Jill Foster (Brenda Dickson, Jess Walton). Often, Jill and Mamie found themselves at odds with each other as Mamie would easily find out Jill's latest schemes, which would incense Jill as she wished that Mamie would act less like a confidante and more like the hired help.

Mamie had no relatives on Y&R until 1990, when the series introduced her two nieces, physician Olivia Barber (Tonya Lee Williams) and aspiring ballerina turned runaway Drucilla Barber (Victoria Rowell). Mamie was the sister of their mother, Lillibelle (Norma Donaldson) who doted on Olivia but seemingly despised Drucilla. Mamie tried to help Lillibelle when her coldness towards Drucilla caused Olivia to become estranged from her, leaving Lillibelle to become a bed-ridden recluse whose husband Walter couldn't coax out of their bedroom. The sisters would eventually marry half-brothers Malcolm Winters (Shemar Moore) and Neil Winters (Kristoff St. John), respectively. The Barber/Winters family is now one of the core families appearing on The Young and the Restless.

After John filed for a divorce from Jill (during their second marriage), he suffered a stroke. Nursing him back to health, Mamie confessed to John that she was in love with him. John admitted his love for Mamie, but soon lapsed into a coma. When Jill learned of their relationship, she fired Mamie and offered her a million dollars to leave Genoa City. When John recovered from his coma, he agreed to remain with Jill for the sake of his youngest child, Billy. A devastated Mamie accepted Jill's money and left town with Chancellor Industries executive Trent Jordan.

However, Mamie remained close to John and the Abbott family. She has returned to Genoa City several times, visiting both the Abbotts and her own family.