Diane Jenkins is a fictional character from the American CBS soap opera The Young and the Restless.

Diane has had relationships with business tycoons Jack Abbott (Peter Bergman) and Victor Newman (Eric Braeden).

The storyline also was harshly criticized for progressing too slowly, as it was a six-month period before the revelation that Nikki Newman (Melody Thomas Scott) thought that she had killed Diane in self-defense.

[1] In 1984, Donnelley left the role to pursue a career in primetime television and feature films,[2] but returned for a brief guest appearance in 1986.

In 1996, Donnelley returned to the role fully, remaining for an additional five years until it was announced that she would exit in a storyline dictated departure during the February sweeps period of 2001.

[10] In May 2011, eight months after joining the cast, West was let go from the role and exited onscreen in August as part of a whodunit murder storyline.

[15] Calculating that dating Jack Abbott would help her become a top model at Jabot, Diane Jenkins decided to start sleeping with him and fell in love with him, but Jack left her when he decided to marry Patty Williams as a way to show his father that he is a grown man.

Soon after, Jack spoke with former romance and current stepmother, Jill Abbott, about the real reason why he married Patty.

Diane came to the conclusion that Jack isn't worth her time and focused on a new love, a detective named Andy Richards.

Ten years later and now working as an architect, Diane returned to Genoa City a free woman.

Victor and Nikki realized they still loved each other and decided to get married — because their quick marriage in the hospital wasn't legal.

A DNA test proved that the baby wasn't Victor's, and Diane left town not long after.

What Diane didn't know was that Nikki asked to switch Victor's sample with another, and she was shocked to learn that it was Jack’s.

Diane's life got a bit better when Andy returned to Genoa City, and they started dating again, but he left not long after he arrived.

Diane admitted that she hoped that Jack and Kyle could connect as father and son, revealing her intentions of moving back to town, leaving Toronto permanently.

Diane soon begins a romantic relationship with Nicholas Newman (Joshua Morrow), which is cut short due to Victor's jealousy.

On the night she was expected to leave, Diane tried extorting Victor into giving her money for a tape that showed Abby Newman (Marcy Rylan) responsible for an accident which caused Tucker to land in the hospital for several months in a coma.

Diane then sends a mass text message to everyone who had wronged her: Abby, Ashley, Jack, Nicholas, Phyllis, Tucker and Victor.

The morning after, Diane's dead body is discovered in the lake in the park by Patrick Murphy (Michael Fairman).

In January 2012, more evidence is brought to the attention of Ronan Malloy (Jeff Branson), indicating Nikki Newman killed Diane Jenkins in self-defense.

In March 2022, it was revealed it was Diane who had been sending Jack mysterious text messages to inform him about the death of his son Keemo Volien Abbott (Philip Moon) and the existence of his long-lost granddaughter Allie Nguyen (Kelsey Wang).

She later decides to return to Genoa City and stays at The Grand Phoenix hotel, run by Phyllis Summers (Michelle Stafford).

As a result of Diane’s decision, Nikki Newman, Phyllis Summers, and Jack’s sister, Ashley Abbott, join forces to try and run her out of town, but their attempts fail.

"[17] In 2024, Mason included Diane in a feature about the worst mothers in American soap operas, calling her a "scheme queen" who "probably did Kyle a favor by letting him grow up believing that she'd been murdered.