Colleen Carlton is a fictional character from The Young and the Restless, an American soap opera on the CBS network, last portrayed by Tammin Sursok.
The character was born during the March 5, 1992, episode as the daughter of Brad Carlton (Don Diamont) and Traci Abbott (Beth Maitland).
After leaving the soap opera three years later, the character returned as a teenager in 2001, portrayed by Lyndsy Fonseca, who remained in the role until 2005.
The Young and the Restless executive producer and head writer Jack Smith left the door open for Fonseca to return.
As her storyline on General Hospital diminished, executive producer Jill Farren Phelps told Leon to commence auditioning for other projects including other soap operas, and was soon cast as Colleen.
[2] General Hospital also planned to write Brook out by scripting her new destination as the Carlton Music Academy in Genoa City.
She gained weight from the steroids she was taking for an allergic reaction to the wool she had to wear as part of Colleen's winter wardrobe.
[14] Sursok, who gained a following portraying Dani Sutherland on the Australian soap opera Home and Away in the early 2000s, met rejection from a number of The Young and the Restless viewers.
[1][17] In an interview with Soap Opera Digest in October 2009, Sursok said it was difficult to pursue outside projects and appear on The Young and the Restless as well.
"[18] Leon said Colleen fans came over to her message board after she got the role and tried to fill her in on the details of the part so she would not "screw things up."
[20] Both soap opera critics and members of the show's cast and crew considered this a controversial and surprising move.
[23] Fonseca stated she "wasn't expecting it at all", and admitted that even former executive producer David Shaughnessy found the pairing "shocking".
[23] Smith characterized their storyline as "taking this guy on the journey from wild college kid to being in love with this little high school sophomore".
[24] They also positioned Colleen as the aggressor in the relationship by scripting her as pursuing J.T., while he, in an uncharacteristic move, held off because of the difference in their ages.
[25][26] Diamont currently portrays The Bold and the Beautiful's Bill Spencer, Jr.[26] "In order to accommodate contract constraints and actors' availability, we were writing scenes that were shot the following week, which is very unusual," said The Young and the Restless's co-headwriter Scott Hamner.
[17] After returning to town with her mother, Colleen became friends with local girls Lily Winters and Sierra Hoffman, and begins a romance with J.T.
[27] She was rocked by the revelation that her father had assumed the name of Brad Carlton, and was in fact the son of Holocaust survivor and art historian Rebecca Kaplan.
[27] The majority of the Kaplan family had been killed because Rebecca had made it her life's work to return artwork stolen by the Nazis.
Following her grandmother's lead, Colleen began to study art history in college under a professor named Adrian Korbel, and it became apparent to both that they had more than a student/teacher relationship, much to the chagrin of the Kaplans, who were still in hiding, and her boyfriend J.T.
Colleen used Professor Korbel's knowledge to help solve the mystery of the Grudgeon Reliquary, the artifact that lead to the Kaplan family's murder.
Despite her family's objections and a growing possibility that Korbel is involved in the murder of Newman Enterprises executive Carmen Mesta, Colleen cheated on J.T.
After Adrian nearly lost his job, they attempted to feign a break-up and continued to see each other, but Sharon Newman discovers them and told Brad.
As a result, Brad cut his daughter off financially, though Colleen soon overcame this obstacle with a loan from her uncle Jack Abbott.
Colleen, furious with Brad, gave Korbel permission to use her family's story in his new book, Saved From the Ashes.
[27] She angrily lashed out at the company's founder and CEO, Victor Newman, Brad's long-time rival, as she believed he is partly to blame for her father's death.
Victor paid Jeffrey and Gloria Bardwell to catch Colleen in a compromising situation so she could be kicked off the board.
Soaps In Depth referred to the scenes while Colleen sank under the water, while her family worried about her whereabouts an "instant classic.
[28] Janet Di Lauro, from Soap Opera Weekly, criticized the plot twist and said the "mere thought of the Abbott family donating Colleen's heart to Victor is enough to melt the brain of even the most casual fan.
"[10] Di Lauro considered the performances of Christel Khalil (Lily), Peter Bergman (Jack) and Beth Maitland (Traci) as the only positive element of the story.
"[29] Soap Opera Digest named the story Editors' Choice for the week, praising it as a "chilling, rich and game-changing coda to this wrenching family tragedy" and a "fitting tribute to the lost Colleen.