Career

In 1990 Stafford was cast in Fox soap opera Tribes. The show was canceled after 3-month airing on Fox. She later appeared in two plays directed by Charles Durning in Los Angeles stage, and co-starred in several small films.

In October 1994, Stafford began what was supposed to be a short term role of Phyllis Summers on the American CBS Daytime soap opera The Young and the Restless; however, her work impressed the producers and she was placed on contract. In 1997, Stafford left the series to pursue other career opportunities, and she was replaced by Sandra Nelson. In 1997 she was cast in Aaron Spelling primetime soap opera Pacific Palisades as lead character, but show was canceled after 13 episodes. She later guest-starred in Two Guys and a Girl, Diagnosis: Murder, and JAG. In film, Stafford appeared in 1999 thriller Double Jeopardy opposite Ashley Judd.

In July 2000, Stafford was brought back to the soap opera by former head writer Kay Alden. From December 2006 to February 2007, Stafford played dual roles on Y&R, portraying Sheila Carter, formerly played by Kimberlin Brown (Sheila had plastic surgery to look like Phyllis). In May 2013, it was announced that Stafford would be exiting the soap opera after sixteen years in the role. Stafford later confirmed that her final scenes would air sometime that August. Stafford exited the series on August 2, 2013.

In 2004, Stafford was a hockey correspondent for The Best Damn Sports Show Period. Stafford starred in Lifetime movie Like Mother, Like Daughter in 2007. In 2007, Stafford appeared on Tyra Banks' talk show to help Tyra through "soap opera school." In 2012 she appeared as Lauren on the web series The Grove, created by Crystal Chappell. She also guest-starred in Frasier, Charmed, and Ringer. She subsequently launched her web series, The Stafford Project, based on her personal life and struggles, with the first episode premiering on her YouTube Channel on August 5, 2013. The series received positive reviews from critics. Michael Logan of TV Guide appreciated the web series, calling it "terrific and audacious" and saying that "there's never a dull moment in the life of Michelle Stafford". Jamey Giddens of the entertainment website Zap2it said that Stafford is "as viable and fiery as ever", calling The Stafford Project "insanely-funny".

In 2014, Stafford returned to daytime television with the role of Nina Clay, the wife of Dr. Silas Clay (Michael Easton) on the ABC soap opera, General Hospital. Stafford’s long-rumored addition to the cast was made official when her character Nina, the presumed-dead wife of Silas, suddenly appeared at the very end of the episode on May 1, 2014. In 2015, she co-starred alongside Tom Sizemore in the independent film Durant's Never Closes.

Personal life

Stafford was born in Chicago, Illinois. Her parents moved her and her older sister, Janine, to Montrose, California, where she was raised. After graduating from high school, Stafford chased after her dream of modeling. Stafford welcomed her first child, daughter Natalia Scout Lee, via her embryo and a gestational surrogate on Monday, December 21, 2009 In October 2015, Stafford welcomed her second child, a son Jameson Jones Lee.

Filmography

Film

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1993	Body of Influence	Madam
1994	Another Midnight Run	Hotel Guest	Television film
1999	Double Jeopardy	Suzanne Monroe
2000	Attraction	Suzanne
2002	Lost	Rachel	Short film
2002	Cottonmouth	Renee Alexander
2003	Vampires Anonymous	Taffeta Munro
2007	Like Mother, Like Daughter	Dawna Williams	Television film
2007	Totally Baked: A Pot-U-Mentary	Jessica
2008	3 Days Gone	Detective Holloway
2008	Cara	Agent	Short film
2013	Parker	Phyllis Summers
2014	On Georgia's Mind	Tricia	Short film
2015	Earth Fall	Nancy
2016	Durant's Never Closes	Suzie Durant

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1990	Tribes	Frankie	Series regular, 13 episodes
1994	Renegade	Lauren Jessup	Episode: "The Posse"
1994	Models Inc.	Girl in the toilets	Episode: "Blind by Love"
1994-97, 2000-13	The Young and the Restless	Phyllis Summers	Series regular
1997	Pacific Palisades	Joanna Hadley	Series regular, 13 episodes
1998	Players	Vanessa Evans	Episode: "Wrath of Con"
1998	Two Guys and a Girl	April	Episode: "Two Guys, a Girl and a Softball Team"
1999	Diagnosis: Murder	Trish	Episodes: "Gangland: Part One" and "Gangland: Part Two"
1999	JAG	Suzanne Moore	Episode: "Contemptuous Words"
2000	V.I.P.	Nancy Biggs	Episode: "Val Point Blank"
2001	Frasier	Heather Murphy	Episode: "The First Temptation of Daphne"
2002	Judging Amy	Linda Barnes	Episode: "The Bottle Show"
2005	Clubhouse	Sydney	Episode: "Between First and Home"
2005	Charmed	Mandi	Episode: "Desperate Housewitches"
2011	Ringer	Peggy Lewis	Episode: "If You Ever Want a French Lesson..."
2013	The Stafford Project	Michelle	Web series, also writer and executive producer
2014-present	General Hospital	Nina Clay	Series regular
2015	Secret Mind of a Single Mom	Michelle	Web series

Awards and nominations

List of acting awards and nominations

Year	Award	Category	Title	Result	Ref.
1996	Daytime Emmy Award	Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series	The Young and the Restless	Nominated
1996	Soap Opera Digest Award	Outstanding Female Newcomer	The Young and the Restless	Won
1997	Daytime Emmy Award	Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series	The Young and the Restless	Won
1997	Soap Opera Digest Award	Outstanding Villainess	The Young and the Restless	Won
2001	Soap Opera Digest Award	Outstanding Female Scene Stealer	The Young and the Restless	Nominated
2003	Daytime Emmy Award	Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series	The Young and the Restless	Nominated
2003	Soap Opera Digest Award	Outstanding Lead Actress	The Young and the Restless	Won
2004	Daytime Emmy Award	Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series	The Young and the Restless	Won
2005	Daytime Emmy Award	Most Irresistible Combination	The Young and the Restless	Nominated
2005	Daytime Emmy Award	Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series	The Young and the Restless	Nominated
2005	Soap Opera Digest Award	Outstanding Lead Actress	The Young and the Restless	Nominated
2007	Daytime Emmy Award	Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series	The Young and the Restless	Nominated
2008	Daytime Emmy Award	Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series	The Young and the Restless	Nominated
2010	Daytime Emmy Award	Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series	The Young and the Restless	Nominated
2011	Daytime Emmy Award	Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series	The Young and the Restless	Nominated
2013	Daytime Emmy Award	Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series	The Young and the Restless	Nominated

[ Source: Wikipedia ]