2025 Daytime Emmy Snubs: Susan Seaforth Hayes, Rick Hearst & More
The nominees for the 52nd Annual Daytime Emmy Awards are out. Along with a bevy of deserving performers who turned in dramatic and stellar work in 2024, there are also some shocking omissions. Soap fans are, as the British say, “gobsmacked” over the fact that many stars didn’t make the cut on this year’s ballot.
Here’s who TV Insider thinks were overlooked from The Bold and the Beautiful, Days of our Lives, General Hospital, and The Young and the Restless. (Note: New CBS soap Beyond the Gates was not eligible for this year’s awards as it honors work broadcast in 2024 – BTG debuted in February 2025.)
The 52nd Annual Daytime Emmy Awards will be presented on Friday, October 17 in Pasadena, Calif.
Jane Elliot (Tracy, General Hospital)
Elliot won the Daytime Emmy for Outstanding Performance by a Supporting Actress in 1981 for her role as Tracy Quartermaine. The actress is a powerhouse performer, a beloved veteran favorite, and an icon. One thing that actress is not is a “press hound.” Elliot’s scenes with Gregory Harrison‘s Gregory, who was dying from Parkinson’s disease, showed a rare vulnerable side to the Quartermaine heiress. It’s possible she didn’t submit but still, her absence from this year’s list of nominees is beyond glaring. It’s blinding. It’s left us speechless.
Sean Kanan (Deacon, The Bold and the Beautiful)
If Christopher Reeve made us believe a man could fly in Superman, Kanan did a similar super-human feat by finding a soulmate in psychotic Sheila Carter (Kimberlin Brown). When Deacon thought Sheila was dead, the actor gave a compelling performance that made us think there must be something worth loving in the naughty nurse after all.
Maura West and Cynthia Watros (Ava and Nina, GH)
Watching these two actresses do scenes together is like having a front row seat at Wimbledon. These two Daytime Emmy-winners are at the top of their game and make us feel for each of their characters no matter what the circumstance. We love them when Nina and Ava are friends, enemies, and frenemies. Heck, we just love them.
Julie Dove (Connie, Days of our Lives)
Dove kept us on our toes as we didn’t know what psycho move Connie was going to make next! It’d be easy to write Connie off as a mere killer, but Dove dug deep into her character’s psyche and showed us that Connie was someone who just wanted to be loved.
Melody Thomas Scott (Nikki, The Young and the Restless)
Thomas Scott’s Nikki is the definition of beloved soap opera heroine. Fiercely devoted to her husband, Victor (Eric Braeden), and her children, and other family and friends, Nikki feels like a lifelong friend. When she hurts, viewers hurt. Thomas Scott was honored at the Daytime Emmys last year with a Lifetime Achievement Award, and she was recently announced as a recipient of a Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, so it’s not like the actress’s mantle is going to be empty. Still, she deserves some Daytime Emmy love.
Tina Huang (Melinda, DAYS)
Huang plays assertive Melinda with a no-holds barred approach. The tough district attorney doesn’t have to be cross-examining someone to show folks she means business. Finding audience sympathy while your character is helping someone steal a baby isn’t easy, but Huang finds a way. She’s one of soaps’ most under-rated power players. Case closed.
Annika Noelle and Jacqueline MacInnes Wood (Hope and Steffy, B&B)
These two actresses are playing one of the most memorable feuds on daytime drama. They’ve loved the same man (Scott Clifton‘s Liam), they work in the same business (fashion), and their parents are in a love triangle that’s both perpetual and messy. That all sets the stage for these two strong performers to confront one another time and time again. Who are we rooting for? That’s easy. Both of them.
Kristen Vaganos (Molly, GH)
Her TV mom (Nancy Lee Grahn, who plays Alexis) and sister (Kate Mansi, who plays Kristina) were nominated for a powerful story in which two sisters — Molly and Kristina — fought over the same child. The scenes at the gravesite (after surrogate Kristina miscarried) were powerful, raw, and gripping. Vaganos deserved to be included in the honors.
Lawrence Saint-Victor (Carter, B&B)
B&B shifted Saint-Victor’s Carter into the strong leading man we always knew he was. Whether he’s romancing Hope or involved in a takeover at Forrester Creations, Saint-Victor brings a strong, likable, romantic quality to his role. Soaps have plenty of powerful women, but they need strong men like Saint-Victor, too.
Genie Francis (Laura, GH)
Francis’s Laura is the heart and soul of GH. The veteran actress has been delivering performances that make us cry for decades. Francis had dramatic scene in 2024 in which she suffered a great deal of loss as her grandson, Spencer (Nicholas Alexander Chavez), was presumed dead; her son, Nikolas (Adam Huss), went off to jail. On the upside, she shared a heartfelt reunion with her former comatose daughter, Lulu (Alexa Havens). Where was Francis’s nomination?
Michael Easton (ex-Finn, GH)
Easton brings understated pathos, wit, and heart to his role as Dr. Hamilton Finn, who lost his father Gregory (Daytime nominee Gregory Harrison) to Parkinson’s disease. The fallout where Finn fell off the wagon was heart-breaking. This is one doctor we’d be happy to see check back into General Hospital.
Rick Hearst (Ric, GH)
GH tried a lot of returns in 2024. Some of them hit more than others. There’s no denying that Hearst’s reprising Ric was a big success — if not the show’s biggest. Heck, GH reruns episodes featuring Ric going after Kristina on the witness stand when it needs to air a rebroadcast due to news pre-emptions on another coast. That’s a big vote of confidence. It’s like watching live theater as Ric fillets his opponents on the witness stand. The actor’s lack of a nomination is something to which we strenuously object!
Susan Seaforth Hayes (Julie, DAYS)
While the Peacock drama did well with nominations this year, Seaforth Hayes’s absence from the Outstanding Lead Performance in a Drama Series: Actress category makes no sense. The actress played out on-screen the death of her real and reel-life husband, Bill Hayes, who played Doug. Don’t take our word for it. Actress Amy Shaughnessy (whose parents are soap opera director David Shaughnessy and writer Anne Schoettle) penned a beautiful note to Seaforth Hayes on Instagram, summing up how voters got it wrong:
“NO one deserved a nomination this year more than Susan Seaforth Hayes for her absolutely brilliant performances processing and living through Bill Hayes’ and Doug Williams’ death,” Shaughnessy wrote. “Shame on your Academy members, for not recognizing Susan Seaforth Hayes for her brave and exceptional performance.”
Watchlist Easy access to only the shows you care about — all in one simple place
Alerts Only important notifications — when a show is returning, when it becomes available to stream, and more.
Special Offers Exclusive products we release related to your favorite shows and streaming services