Eileen Davidson looked back on a time when Oprah Winfrey changed her outlook on life.
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The soap opera star, who was transitioning from a role on The Young and the Restless to one on Days of Our Lives, saw the talk show host and her guest discussing the importance of having no expectations.
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Davidson tried the approach herself and ended up having the "best" year of her creative life.
Soap opera actressEileen Davidsonjust described having whatOprah Winfreywould call an "aha moment," because of the former talk show host.
TheYoung and the Restlessalum, who had originated the character of Ashley Abbott in 1982, which she left and returned to several times over the years, recalled being asked to work on another soap,Days of Our Lives,during an appearance this week on theSoapypodcast.
While Davidson was asked to do both series at first, she said, she lost her job atY&Rtwo months later.
"I thought, 'I'm like a baseball player," Davidson said. "I got no say in it. I took a pay cut. I was so angry. I was so pissed off, because I got no say."
Still, Davidson joined the other soap opera, because she needed the money for her family.
"I was so angry," the actress repeated. "And I'm going toDayswith so much bitterness. I had no idea what I was going into. I didn't know who I was going to be working with. I was kind of just given a take it or leave it. And then I watched Oprah."
The experience of hearing the conversation between Winfrey and her guest changed things for her.
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"She said, 'When you're in life, if something happens, just have no expectation,'" Davidson recounted. "Have no expectations, and then you'll be surprised and it'll be a blessing.' And I went, 'I can't go into this new job being full of bitterness and hate."
She decided to "go in completely free of it, any bitterness, and just welcome the experience, see what was going to happen.'"
As viewers who watched Davidson as Kristen know, what happened wasverygood.
"It was, honestly, one of the best years of my life creatively," Davidson said. "I won my first Emmy that year."
She was nominated for a Daytime Emmy (for the first time) for her work onDays of Our Livesin both 1998 and 2014. She won for the latter. (Davidson was nominated onY&Rin 2003, 2018, and 2025. She won in 2018.)
And she continued to appear onDaysfor decades.
Watch the full conversation above.
Read the original article onEntertainment Weekly