Kimberlin Brown’s run as The Bold and the Beautiful’s Sheila Carter, one of soap’s most notorious villains, has come to a grisly end and the actress, who returned to the show in 2021, admits she’s had to work through her feelings about her exit.
“Moving into my 60s, it’s like I finally found myself and I have found my happiness,” Brown begins. “And happiness is when I’m working, happiness is when I’m on set, happiness is when I’m being Sheila, so knowing that’s come to an end, it’s a sad time for me. I can’t lie about that. I wish that there was a way to go on for many, many more moons.”
Brown, who made her 1990 debut as Sheila on The Young and the Restless before crossing over to B&B in the same role two years later, knows to expect the unexpected when it comes to her alter ego. “To be a woman of age, it was an amazing moment when Brad [Bell, executive producer and head writer] made that call, asking if I would come back,” she recalls. “I never take anything for granted with my character because she has been that character who is in and out of storyline — here a year, gone a year, here two years, gone three, that sort of thing. As much as I love playing my part, I never really have that security that a lot of other actors have on the show, especially if you’re playing a good girl, so getting that phone call to come back was phenomenal.”
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Which is how she would describe her most recent run as Sheila. “The one really great thing about playing the kind of character that I have is that nothing is ever boring; Sheila is always unpredictable, which is what I love about my character, and that’s the way I try to always play her,” Brown reflects. “To have the writers give me such great material, not just this last year but the year before, since the day I came back, they’ve just been giving me such fun stuff to come in and play and nothing was ever the same.”
Brown also appreciated working with new scene partners. “It’s been wonderful working with Jacqui [MacInnes Wood, who plays Steffy], Tanner [Novlan, Finn], and Sean [Kanan, Deacon],” she enthuses. “I had a brief stint with Don Diamont [who plays Bill]. It’s been a roller coaster, it truly has. It’s been interesting seeing Sheila go from somebody who’s completely evil to somebody who found love. Sean and I have been fortunate enough to make each other laugh within our scenes organically, and we’ve just really enjoyed exploring, not just the drama of daytime, but what is more realistic with everyday relationships, where you actually laugh with each other and joke with each other and approach life that way. So it’s been nice to go from the heavy drama to the light comedy this time around. And it’s been wonderful working with Sean.”
Brown says she aimed to be positive when playing out Sheila’s death by stabbing. “I tried my best to be lighthearted about it,” she reveals. “I’ve seen people before when they exit, and they’re very angry. I can’t be angry because I’ve been so blessed to play my character as long as I have.”
And though Sheila has defied death before, Brown isn’t so sure about a resurrection this time around. “If you watch the air shows, I don’t know,” she sighs. “This one might be tough to come back from.”
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So she’s putting the focus on her personal life for now. “Well, I’ve been living life to the fullest in the last couple of years since I returned to the show and I plan on doing more of the same,” she shares. “I’m expecting my first grandchild in June, so I guess I’ll be spending some time up in Montana being grandma, and I’m actually building a home up there, as well, so I’ve got things to keep me busy.”
But she would be on board for another soap comeback, whether on B&B, Y&R, General Hospital or Days of our Lives. “I would absolutely be open to a daytime return,” Brown declares. “This is my happy place. This is where I have really been thriving the last couple of years. It took me 62 years to find myself and I finally found myself and this is what makes me happy.”
