Ashley Abbott is a fictional character from The Young and the Restless and The Bold and the Beautiful, two American soap operas on the CBS network.

The character is the daughter of Dina Mergeron and Brent Davis, although she believed John Abbott was her biological father until she reached adulthood.

She has had relationships with various men throughout the years, most notably Steven Lassiter, Victor Newman, Blade Bladeson, Cole Howard and Brad Carlton.

Davidson initially hadn't known why, but it was reported later that Sony Pictures Television terminated her contract with the show for her to return to Days of Our Lives as Kristen DiMera, a character she had portrayed there over 14 years prior.

On September 25, 2008, Davidson returned to The Young and the Restless,[16] and subsequently made one final appearance on The Bold and the Beautiful on November 25 of the same year when Ashley resigned from her position at Forrester Creations.

[22] Speaking about her upcoming return to Days and departure from the show with TV Guide, Davidson stated: "What happened to me at Y&R was shocking — I've been in this business a very long time and have never seen anything like it — but it's not like I haven't been fired before.

"[23] In February 2013, it was announced that Davidson would return to The Young and the Restless for "very special episodes" that would commemorate the show's 40th anniversary, airing on March 18 and 19.

[27] In June 2014, it was announced that Davidson had signed a two-year contract with The Young and the Restless to appear as a regular cast member again, and would return to the series in September.

[36] Around this story arc, Tommy Garrett of Canyon News described Ashley as a "damsel in distress", stating that she had a "twisted mind" due to suffering a hysterical pregnancy after losing her unborn child at the hands of Adam.

She takes over as president of the company after her brother Jack Abbott (Terry Lester, later Peter Bergman) is shot on his one-year anniversary by his wife, Patty Williams (Andrea Evans) .

Ashley commences an unlucky streak of relationships; starting with French artist Eric Garrison, who slept with her mother, and Marc Mergeron, who is revealed to be her former stepbrother.

Trauma leads Ashley to become missing with amnesia, where she is found by business tycoon Victor Newman (Eric Braeden), who takes her back to Genoa City.

The marriage suffers because of Nikki's ongoing problems as well as Victor's daughter Victoria Newman's (Heather Tom) constant schemes to break them up.

After her divorce from Victor, Ashley falls in love with Jabot's mysterious photographer Blade Bladeson (Michael Tylo), and they get married.

Ashley engages in an affair with Victoria's husband Cole Howard (J. Eddie Peck), an author who is writing a novel about her life, which requires them to spend time together.

Their marriage suffers a rough patch when Ashley travels to Madrid to help her stepbrother Rafael Delgado (Carlos Bernard), who is dealing with dangerous customers after selling them forged paintings.

Tom Fisher (Roscoe Born), the dangerous ex-husband of John's wife Gloria Abbott (Judith Chapman), arrives in town.

In September 2014, Ashley does not show up in Genoa City after calling a meeting among the major Jabot stockholders, Jack, Billy, Traci, and Abby.

The following month, Ashley returns and confirmed that her idea was for a revolutionary new fragrance, and she made a deal with Jack to become Co-CEO of Jabot again if it panned out.

Abby had been treating Ben Rayburn nasty and spiteful ever since she found out that he had killed his father as a teen and taken someone else's identity to get his degree in medicine, and broken Victoria's heart.

Ashley returned to New York City to wrap things up, tasking a reluctant Abby with bringing Ben up to speed on the cosmetics industry.

[42] Upon learning of Davidson's return to the role in 1999, Candace Havens of the McCook Daily Gazette declared that she had made Ashley "one of the most popular characters on soaps".

[33] John Goudas of The Gadsden Times was favorable of Epperson's performance two years into her duration, stating that she "is holding her own", though he noted her to be "Eileen's double".

"[45] In 2009, Jillian Bowe (also of Zap2it) wondered if Ashley was "insane in the membrane" due to her hearing a crying child around the Newman ranch, writing: "Is "The Beauty" starting to crack up?

"[46] In 2010, Tommy Garrett of Canyon News praised a scene in which Ashley discovers a sex tape made by her spoiled daughter, Abby, that was posted online.

The tears of despair and exhaustion came streaming down Davidson's beautiful face in character, while her spit-fire daughter didn't give a damn.

"[51] Mike Jubinville of Zap2it wrote that the character's relationship with Neil Winters (Kristoff St. John) had been a "slow burn, one going on for weeks, but one that is hard to miss.

"[42] In 2022, Charlie Mason from Soaps She Knows placed Ashley 18th on his list of the best 25 characters from The Young and the Restless, commenting "Jane Austen only wished she'd ever dreamt up a heroine as compelling as Eileen Davidson's Jabot chemist, a strong-willed protagonist whose luck in love should have convinced her to steer clear of Las Vegas for… frankly, ever!

"[53] The following year, Mason from placed Shattuck's portrayal of Ashley on his list of soap opera recasts that should not have happened, commenting: We get it — it's hard to fill a legend's stilettos.

But subsequent Ashley Shari Shattuck — at the time Mrs. Ronn Moss (then Ridge, The Bold and the Beautiful) failed to strike a match, much less catch fire.