If there’s one thing soaps get right it’s age inclusive storytelling.

Susan Walters got her start in the business on the daytime drama Loving as Lorna Forbes. It’s been over 40 years since the actress debuted, and the 52nd annual Daytime Emmys marks her first as a nominee thanks to her portrayal of Diane Jenkins on The Young and the Restless. Here’s how to watch the Daytime Emmys tonight.

In an interview with Soap Opera Digest, Walters shared her love for the genre’s ability to be inclusive of all ages as she expressed feeling honored that her peers have recognized her work from 2024.

Key Takeaways

Susan Walters is proud to be representing the “mature crowd” at the Daytime Emmys.
The soap opera genre is one of the few that doesn’t put actors out to pasture.

The importance of age diversity on television.

A Veteran Soap Star Gets Her Due

Soap actors are some of the hardest-working talents in the business. However, their skill and ability to consistently deliver high-caliber performances while working a grueling production schedule often go overlooked by those who look down on the genre. The Daytime Emmys are their opportunity to celebrate the best of the best in a pool of actors who give their all on-screen. That’s why Walters told the magazine that, though it may sound clichéd, being nominated feels “really nice” and she’s “definitely honored.”

The actress pointed out that one has to be good in the soap world to survive it. This is why receiving acknowledgment from other actors who saw her reel and voted for her means so much to her. Especially because she’s aware of the powerhouses with her in the Outstanding Supporting Actress category—all of whom were invited to the 2025 Lead Actress luncheon in a break from tradition.

What she noted is that she’s also old enough to be their mother, which she said fills her with a “kind of pride” because she’s a veteran in this business, working in a genre that doesn’t discard talent when they reach a certain age. Walters shared with the outlet that’s why she loves working on this side of the industry.

Because honestly, it takes me back to the whole thing about soaps that I love. That women and men my age are still having stories. We’re still having anger and joy and passion and breakups — all the stuff that, of course, in real life you have, but you don’t always get to see it on television. And that’s what’s great about soaps is that there’s drama and life and stories to tell for all the different age groups.

 

Maturing Like Fine Wine

Actresses who’ve matured past the role of the ingenue, or an independent woman in her 30s, have lamented the scarcity of material they can sink their teeth into as they get older, despite age often walking hand-in-hand with growth. But soap operas don’t have that problem. Getting older means being able to step into storylines that are more suited for seasoned actors. The matriarchs on daytime dramas wield power, as do villains with rich histories to draw upon and long-gone characters that make messy or triumphant returns.

Diane was revealed not to be dead in 2022, and the fallout has been reverberating through Y&R ever since. The actress has deftly navigated a renewed love between Diane and Jack (Peter Bergman) as well as a repeatedly contentious relationship with their son, Kyle (Michael Mealor). Walters’ nomination for a Daytime Emmy has centered on Diane’s family drama without blandly diminishing her to the roles of wife and mother with no nuance or attention to her feelings as a woman reckoning with her own decision-making.Her layered performance is also a testament to the material that soaps don’t shy away from for actors who have been at their craft for decades. A lack of age diversity on screen has been a problem in Hollywood. As Walters highlighted, viewers aren’t always shown the full breadth of the human experience on television when it comes to characters in their 60s or older. It’s a purposeful erasure that doesn’t do storytelling any justice, but at least soaps help fill that void.