Michelle Stafford (born September 14, 1965 in Chicago, Illinois) is a two time Emmy-winning actress.
Of her many film and television roles, she is best known for her scheming persona as Phyllis Summers Newman on the soap opera The Young and the Restless.
First joining the cast in 1994, she was introduced as an obsessed fangirl stalking Danny Romalotti (Michael Damian). She eventually stole Danny from his wife Christine Blair (Lauralee Bell) and then had a major falling-out with Danny, which necessitated her departure from Genoa City.
Stafford first left the show in 1997 and the character of Phyllis returned in 2000 with a more mature outlook on life. She married Jack Abbott (Peter Bergman) and attempted to better herself, while Jack's ex-lover Diane (Susan Walters) attempted to frame Phyllis first for setting her beach house on fire, and then for running her over with a car.
Stafford's role as Phyllis earned her a Daytime Emmy award nomination for Outstanding Leading Actress in a Drama Series in 2003. She was also nominated in 2004 and again in 2006.
From December 2006 to February 2007, Stafford played dual roles on Y&R, having taken over the role of Sheila Carter from Kimberlin Brown (Sheila had plastic surgery to look like Phyllis).
Stafford is a member of the Church of Scientology who recently appeared on a Toyota promotion commercial as well as a few other ads.
Stafford was diagnosed with a brain tumor that luckily turned out to be benign. She can speak nearly fluent Italian, a byproduct of living in Italy for a year.
Early in her career Stafford also was a model, taking her to far away destinations such as Japan, France and Italy.
Stafford also likes Italian food and desserts.
In 2004 Stafford was a hockey correspondent for The Best Damn Sports Show Period. She once dated former NHL defenceman Joel Bouchard.
