Kay Alden
| Kay Alden | |
|---|---|
 Alden (L) with daughter Conci Nelson | |
| Born |
Priscilla Kay Alden October 24, 1946 Hutchinson, Kansas, U.S. |
| Occupation | Screenwriter |
| Years active | 1974–present |
Kay Alden is a five-time Emmy award-winning television writer and the former head writer for the most-watched American soap opera, The Young and the Restless.
Career
Alden began writing for The Young and the Restless as a script writer in 1974 while researching her dissertation at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. She was promoted to associate head writer in 1987, then to co-head writer in 1997.
She took over as head writer the following year when series co-creator William J. Bell stepped down from the position. With Alden as head writer, the show lost about two million viewers (most of the loss occurred in 2004 when Alden co-wrote the show with longtime Y&R scribe and producer John F. Smith), but all soap operas during that period experienced a similar scale of massive audience erosion.
She quit The Young and the Restless in late 2006, and was then hired by Brian Frons, president of ABC Daytime, to consult on its serials All My Children, General Hospital and One Life to Live. She left ABC Daytime after declining All My Children's head writer position in Spring 2007, and was hired by Bradley Bell in May 2007 to be an associate head writer for another CBS Daytime drama, The Bold and the Beautiful. On July 18, 2008, it was announced that Alden would be appointed co-head writer of The Bold and the Beautiful in the coming weeks.
Alden was recently spotted on the set of her old stomping grounds The Young and the Restless for the taping of the show's 10,000th episode, leading many to believe she's re-joined the show as a writer or story consultant.
During the WGA strike she went under financial core status while working for The Bold and the Beautiful.
There is a scholarship in Alden's name from Emporia State University, in Emporia, Kansas.
Personal Life
She has three children and lives with her husband in Illinois.
Positions held
- Script Writer: May 13, 1974 - 1980
- Breakdown Writer: 1980 - 1987
- Script Editor: 1983 - 1985, 1986–1987
- Associate Head Writer: 1987 - 1997
- Co-Head Writer: 1997 - 1998, February 16 - December 22, 2006
- Head Writer: 1998 - February 15, 2006
- Story Consultant December 2006 - April 2007
- Story Consultant: December 2006 - April 2007
- Story Consultant December 2006 - April 2007
- Co-Head Writer (2008–2013)
- Associate Head Writer (August 6, 2007 - January 21, 2008; April 16, 2008 - 2008)
- Interim Head Writer (February 5, 2008 - April 15, 2008)
Head Writing Tenure
| Preceded by William J. Bell |
Head Writer of The Young and the Restless (with William J. Bell: 1997 - July 1998) (with John F. Smith: June 2002 - November 10, 2006) (with Trent Jones: 2000 - August 5, 2004) (with Lynn Marie Latham: February 16 - December 22, 2006) (with Scott Hamner: October 26, 2006 - December 22, 2006) 1997 - December 22, 2006 |
Succeeded by Lynn Marie Latham Scott Hamner |
| Preceded by Bradley Bell |
Head Writer of The Bold and the Beautiful February 5 - April 15, 2008 |
Succeeded by Bradley Bell |
| Preceded by Bradley Bell |
Head Writer of The Bold and the Beautiful (with Bradley Bell) (with Michael Minnis) 2008 - October 2, 2013 |
Succeeded by Bradley Bell Michael Minnis |
Awards and nominations
- Nominations, 2008, 2009, Best Writing The Bold and the Beautiful
- Nominations, 1976, 1979, 1986, 1987, 1990–1995, 1997–2001, 2003–2007, Best Writing, The Young and the Restless
- Wins, 1997, 2000, 2006, Best Writing, The Young and the Restless; 2010, Best Writing, The Bold and the Beautiful
Writers Guild of America Award
- Wins, 2002 & 2005, Best Writing, The Young and the Restless
- Nominations, 1999, 2001, 2006, Best Writing, The Young and the Restless
External links
- Kay Alden at the Internet Movie Database
- MIT Comparative Media Studies
- SunTimes
- Kay Alden interview video at the Archive of American Television