Lily Winters is a fictional character from the American CBS soap opera The Young and the Restless. Created by William J. Bell, the character appeared as a child for her first five-year period. In 2002, Christel Khalil began portraying Lily as a teenager after the character rapidly aged. In 2005, Khalil left the series, resulting in the character's recasting with Davetta Sherwood; however, Sherwood's portrayal was brief when Khalil was asked to return the following year. Khalil began playing the character as a "rebellious, yet naive teenager", later becoming one of the soap opera's heroines.
Winters is the daughter of supermodel-turned-executive Drucilla Winters (Victoria Rowell) born in the midst of a questioned paternity storyline, with Neil Winters (Kristoff St. John) believing he was her father. Eleven years later, the storyline was readdressed with the revelation that Malcolm Winters (Shemar Moore) is her biological father. Lily later began a relationship with Daniel Romalotti (Michael Graziadei), a romance inspired by Romeo and Juliet. The couple were popular with viewers, who were saddened at their separation (because of Daniel's addiction to pornography).
Lily was later paired with leading character Cane Ashby (Daniel Goddard), a romance that has attracted significant fan attention. In 2009, the pair were married just before Lily was diagnosed with ovarian cancer, a storyline praised by viewers and critics. Lily and Cane had two children: Charlie and Mattie Ashby, born in 2010. The following year the couple divorced (after Cane faked his death and kept secrets from Lily), but reunited and were remarried in 2012. Khalil has received critical acclaim for her portrayal, which has garnered her an NAACP Image and Daytime Emmy Award. Critics have described her as having evolved from a "teen star" into a "leading lady".
Casting
Winters was first portrayed as a child by Vanessa Carson in 1996, followed by Brooke Marie Bridges from 1998 to 2000. In August 2002, Khalil was cast in the role as a teenager at age 14. Lily was the first soap-opera role for which she auditioned. After screen tests with co-star Kristoff St. John and casting director Marnie Saitta, Khalil was given the part. In 2005 (after portraying the character for three years), Khalil left the series, citing stress as the reason for her departure. The producers tried unsuccessfully to convince Khalil to stay, and recast her role with Sherwood. Sherwood said that while the character Lily was the same, she and Khalil were not the same actress so it would be "a little different". Although she replaced a popular actress, Sherwood said she felt no anxiety over the recasting because Khalil chose to leave the part.
After leaving the series, Khalil and the producers began discussing her possible return. In 2006, she agreed to come back, and Sherwood was released from her contract. Former executive producer and head writer Lynn Marie Latham said she was happy with the casting change; she was impressed by Khalil's work, saying that she is a "brilliant actress". Latham noted that Sherwood did a "fine job" as the character, but "shows generally prefer to have original players back when they can get them". On her MySpace blog, Sherwood said she felt negativity from others on the set of the soap opera before her replacement; she was not told the reason for her firing, which she thought neither right nor fair. Khalil stated in 2007 that her return was a difficult decision to make, but was "the best decision ever".
On August 21, 2012, The Young and the Restless put out a casting call for the role of "Sally Tate", and the character description lead to speculation that it was a recast for Lily Winters and Khalil was exiting the soap. On August 22, Khalil's official website confirmed that she was leaving the show due to a contract dispute and her contract was set to expire in late-September. On August 23, 2012, Khalil gave an interview to MSN Entertainment in which she expressed her desire to remain on the show. Saying that she hoped she and the show could eventually come to a mutual agreement.