Created by head writers Lynn Marie Latham and Kay Alden, the role is currently portrayed by Allison Lanier.

The character was introduced during the episode airing on December 19, 2006, as the daughter of Phyllis Summers (Michelle Stafford) and Nicholas Newman (Joshua Morrow), but for one year was believed to be the daughter of Jack Abbott (Peter Bergman) because of Sharon Newman, Nick's former wife, tampering with the paternity test results.

Summer was later involved in a cyberbullying plot with Fenmore Baldwin (Max Ehrich) and Jamie Vernon (Daniel Polo).

King won the Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Younger Actress in a Drama Series in 2014 and 2015 for her role as Summer.

I came in and replaced the old Summer [Lindsay Bushman] in the middle of a huge storyline, where she had gotten into a car accident and hit Chelsea, her aunt, and killed her baby.

[6] With the installation of new executive producer Jill Farren Phelps, rumors began to circulate that a lot of cast members were in danger of being released or replaced.

[7] Nelson Branco of TV Guide Canada announced the news of Bushman's departure in his magazine, Soap Opera Uncensored in September 2012.

[8] Bushman's tweet in response to her firing hinted that she would be replaced by Hunter King formerly of Hollywood Heights, which was also run by Griffith and Phelps.

[14] On June 3, 2016, Deadline reported that King reverted to recurring status with the soap, due to being upgraded to a series regular on Life in Pieces.

[18] Due to King's commitment to Life In Pieces, the role was temporarily recast with actress Bayley Corman, who aired from October 1 to 4, 2018.

[30] Former General Hospital actors Lexi Ainsworth and Kristen Alderson auditioned for the role prior to Lanier's casting.

[13] In November 2012, Summer was involved in a storyline where she would create a fake online persona, "Brittni" on a social media website to get information from Jamie Vernon (Daniel Polo), a boy being mentored by Genoa City cop Ronan Malloy (Jeff Branson) who was involved with Phyllis.

"[37] Simultaneously, Summer starts really getting to know Jamie, and "She realizes he's a kid who's had a really terrible life and that she's doing things to him he doesn't deserve," explained head writer, Josh Griffith in an interview with TV Guide.

[40] Because Nick is the only person to see the test results, many viewers have begun to speculate that Jack could indeed be Summer's biological father.

Joshua Morrow admitted in an interview with TV Guide that the writers make it clear that Nick did not intend to do anything wrong.

They order a paternity test but the actual copy of the results is only viewed by Nick, who announces that he is Summer's father and marries Phyllis.

[46][47] As infants, Summer and Fenmore are abducted by Sheila Carter (Stafford) who had gotten plastic surgery to look like Phyllis.

Two years later, Summer ends up in the hospital when Patty Williams (Stacy Haiduk) gives her a kiss after eating a peanut butter cookie.

After appearing sporadically for several years, Summer (Lindsay Bushman) becomes a moody teenager, and develops a friendship with Fenmore (Max Ehrich).

[51] However, when Phyllis begins going to extremes to cover up her actions, going so far as making up a "fake" affair with Ronan Malloy,[52][53] Summer's parents cannot tell her the truth, leading her to rebel by attempting to pour vodka into a drink in a public place.

After the fall out, Summer does her best to rebuild her life and starts crushing on Kyle Abbott, son of her mother's current boyfriend and ex-husband, Jack.

Summer seems to be winning Kyle over when she is hired as a model for Jabot's fashion division and to complicate matters further, she and Phyllis move into the Abbott mansion.

Esmeralda (Briana Nicole Henry), a longtime model, interacts with Summer at a Jabot Cosmetics photo shoot, and afterward offers her the phone number of her drug dealer for energy pills.

[66] At the hospital, the doctor tells Sharon, Jake and Nick that she was having Cardiac arrest episodes and suffering from High output heart failure.

In the absence of Phyllis, Summer began connecting with her aunt, Avery Bailey Clark (Jessica Collins).

Tension quickly rose on their union as Summer became more jealous when Austin develops a friendship with Cassie's twin sister Mariah Copeland, whom she strongly dislikes.

On Valentine's Day 2015, Abby Newman invites Summer, Austin, Mariah, Kevin Fisher, Fenmore, Noah, and Courtney to the Abbott Cabin.

Immediately, she makes her presence known in Genoa City, only to eventually be arrested for charges of felony theft auto; when bailed out, she explains she believed the car to be a gift from "Pax," with whom she was having affair with.

[78] Max Ehrich, who portrays Fenmore, said Bushman's ousting was "bitter sweet" but noted that he also enjoyed working with King.

[82] In 2024, Lanier was shortlisted for the Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series for her role as Summer.