One Actress From Each Current Running Soap Opera Who Needs to Play a Lifetime Movie Villainess (At Least Once)

I've mentioned many times before that my feelings about soaps have always been complicated, though the premiere of Beyond the Gates last February improved my sentiments. When I was a kid, there were a shitload of soaps on daytime, all on the three main networks (CBS, NBC, ABC), and yes, three, because while Fox was a fourth, they were the newest (at that time), and never did the daytime soap thing. At one point, each of the three had at least the three soaps. There were eleven soaps on when I was a kid. Now? There's five.

Regarding Lifetime films, one thing I've noticed for years: a lot of soap actresses have done these thrillers for a long time. Some have played lead heroines, other have played side characters, and of course, a good number of them have played wicked villainesses. Some examples: Stacy Haiduk (Days of Our Lives) has done the Lifetime villainess thing quite a bit, most recently in 2024's The Replacement Daughter. Arianne Zucker (also from Days) played villainess Audra Simonetti in 2018's Babysitter's Nightmare, Lauren Buglioli (Beyond the Gates) played villainesses in two Lifetime movies, as has Kate Mansi (General Hospital), and Lindsay Hartley (Passions) has been evil on Lifetime five times.

I've been sitting on this story for a year, and the format changed a lot. Originally, I was only going to focus on Beyond the Gates when it comes to this, as I was planning to list five BTG actress who should play a Lifetime villainess. But then, I thought of other soaps and I didn't want to slight them. However, I also had to set some rules, because if I included current and past soaps, this would be a two or three-part story. So yeah, it's one actress from each of the current running soaps, and there are five: General Hospital, Days of Our Lives, The Young and the Restless, The Bold and the Beautiful, and Beyond the Gates. Another rule I set: the actress has to still be on their respective soap.

So at long last, here's the list:

General Hospital: Kathleen Gati

Of the five current soaps, General Hospital is the longest-running; debuting on ABC on April 1, 1963. ABC's other soaps have included All My Children, One Life to Live, Loving, and Port Charles, but right now, GH stands alone on the Alphabet Network. When it came to choosing an actress from this soap, it was easy: Kathleen Gati has to do this. Since 2012, Gati has appeared on GH as Dr. Liesl Obrecht, and I've learned quite a bit about the character. From what I've learned, Liesl's deliciously evil and had been for years, though I did recently read that the character actually underwent a babyface turn, which sounds equally delicious.

I've only seen a smidgen of evil Liesl, and that's all I need. Gati would be golden as a Lifetime villainess, most likely as an evil and monstrously controlling mother-in-law (again, we need more of those on Lifetime).

Days of Our Lives: Deidre Hall

Come on. It's painfully obvious who I'd want from Days. Out of the current soaps, Days (which has aired on NBC since November 8, 1965) has really pleased me when it comes to this subject, because the show's actresses who have done the Lifetime villainess thing include Arianne Zucker, Stacy Haiduk, Nadia Bjorlin, AnnaLynne McCord, and yes, Kristian Alfonso. That's an impressive list, but one name can top all of them: Deidre Hall. For 50 years, Hall has portrayed Marlena Black, who is basically the soap equivalent of Miss Elizabeth--the ultimate white meat babyface. We have seen Marlena have evil moments, mainly due to demonic possession, and there was that alternate reality where she was actually a serial killer!

I think Deidre Hall can play any type of villainess on Lifetime. Evil CEO, corrupt police commissioner, sinister tenured college professor, you name it, and she'll shine. Lifetime needs to give her that chance.

The Young and the Restless: Christel Khalil

When it comes to The Young and the Restless, the eldest of CBS' three running soaps (debuted on March 26, 1973), I had long wanted Amelia Heinle to do the Lifetime villainess thing. That is, until I took a good look at Christel Khalil, who has played Lily Winters on Y&R since 2002. Khalil has the look, she can definitely pull it off. Honestly, she's one of the two soap actresses whose appearance inspired me to write this piece... finally.

Khalil would be golden as a vengeful villainess on Lifetime. I could easily see her playing a woman who is out to destroy anyone who is in the way of whatever delusional goal she has set for herself; whether it's romantic or monetary, or a little of Column A and a little of Column B. Again, Khalil has the look. Lifetime needs to do this.

The Bold and the Beautiful: Heather Tom

Hear me out. Hear me out. I know what you're thinking. "Not Kimberlin Brown?" "Not Sheila Carter herself?!" Yes, Sheila Carter is the GOAT of soap villainesses, and trust me, I know GOATs in anything--I've watched Aaron Rodgers, Patrick Roy, and John Cena. But here's the thing: Sheila Carter is so deliciously, ruthlessly, and maniacally evil, that Kimberlin Brown's villainess legacy is rock solid. She doesn't need the Lifetime villainess exposure. Heather Tom, however, does.

The Bold and the Beautiful, the only half-hour soap of the five, debuted on CBS on March 23, 1987, so yeah, it'll turn 40 in 10 months. Heather Tom has played Katie Logan on the show since 2007, and she's done a pair of Lifetime films, most recently Mommy, I Didn't Do It as Anna Garrett. I've said in a past story that I've hoped for a third film in that series where Anna Garrett becomes a vengeful villainess, but also, I would love to see Heather Tom as a villainous rival to a protagonist on Lifetime; she'd nail that as well.

Beyond the Gates: Daphnée Duplaix

You all know how much I adore Beyond the Gates. When this soap hit CBS last February, I had to dive in on this, not only because of the history, but because it looked good. As I said, I originally planned to list five women from this soap alone, but I decided to do one from each soap. Though my planned format has changed, one thing hasn't: my top choice from BTG is definitely Daphnée Duplaix.

In the last year, when I watch Duplaix as Nicole Dupree-Richardson, I always think the same thing: "She needs to play a Lifetime villainess SOON." I have my reasons; one, she has that command, and two, as Nicole, Duplaix dons power suits a lot. Duplaix would be golden in the evil businesswoman role, but here's an idea I thought up. If Lifetime ever does race swapped version of Satan's School for Girls, Duplaix should play the evil leader, that would be absolutely delicious!

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So what do you think of my list? Do you agree or disagree with this list? What suggestions would you like to make? Feel free to make any and all suggestions in the comment box below!