Katherine Kelly Lang Celebrates Daytime Emmy Nomination and 37 Years on ‘The Bold and the Beautiful’
‘B&B’ lead actress talks 2024 submission reel and life onset
At this Friday’s 51st Annual Daytime Emmy Awards, The Bold and the Beautiful’s Katherine Kelly Lang is in the running for Lead Actress – and while onscreen daughter Annika Noelle, General Hospital’s Finola Hughes and Cynthia Watros, The Young and the Restless’ Michelle Stafford, and Days of Our Lives Tamara Braun present some serious competition, many The Bold and the Beautiful viewers would argue Brooke Logan’s portrayer is due for a win.
FIRST for Women caught up with the leading lady, who shares which episodes landed her the 2024 nomination. Lang also reflects on her run as Brooke and why The Bold and the Beautiful has been her happy place for the last 37 years.
Plus, we have Lang’s photos from the annual Lead Actress nominee lunch, which was hosted by three-time Daytime Emmy-winner Jacqueline MacInnes Wood – and it looks like this year, soap opera’s leading ladies also invited some of their costars from other categories.
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‘B&B’ Daytime Emmy nominee Katherine Kelly Lang is grateful for Taylor’s betrayal
The Bold and the Beautiful’s Brooke first spotted Ridge Forrester in 1987, and all these years later, that love story was central to portrayer Katherine Kelly Lang’s 2024 Daytime Emmy Awards reel. Instead of leaning into the epic romance, however, Lang tapped into an epic love triangle and rivalry that goes back almost as far.
“I submitted two consecutive shows with Krista Allen, who plays Taylor,” Lang sets up. “Taylor had built this friendship with Brooke, making it seem like she really cared about her. They’d gone through so much together, but in the end, Brooke found out it was all a lie, and that she was still after Brooke’s love of her life, Ridge.”
While the truce didn’t last, Lang appreciated the storyline – and not just because it landed her the nomination.
“It was a nice arc,” Lang explains. “They had to work through a lot, because Brooke and Taylor have so much history, and it was all written so well. It was very mature. The scenes I had with Krista, I was so excited every day because it was something a little bit different for Brooke to deal with. And it was an interesting progression… until it all fell apart!”
Daytime Emmy nominee calls B&B her “safe haven”
Brooke has fought for “true love” Ridge since Day 1 of The Bold and the Beautiful. To the horror of his mother, the late great Stephanie Forrester, the “Slut from the Valley” has also found true love with Ridge’s father Eric and his brother Thorne – not to mention her own daughter’s husband Deacon, her sister’s man Bill, and a host of other not-quite eligible men!
While the storylines were tumultuous, however, Lang’s life onset was anything but.
“God, I look back and it’s like, ‘Who was that person?’” she marvels of her early years. “I grew up on the show. I’ve had a lot of changes and things going on in my real life, but I always felt like B&B was there as my rock. My foundation. I felt so comfortable coming to work and going to my dressing room. That was my safe haven, my home, the place that I always got to do what I love to do.”
And while Thorsten Kaye’s Ridge may still be Brooke’s leading man onscreen, Lang is most grateful to her behind the scenes leading man – The Bold and the Beautiful’s Daytime Emmy-nominated showrunner and past winner Bradley Bell, who’s also been with the show since William J. Bell and Lee Phillip Bell created it.
“Brad is so good at keeping the tight, family feel within the show and making sure everybody’s getting along,” Lang raves. “If you have that atmosphere, you’re going to want to come to work!
“And then I’m just so appreciative that he’s still so diligent about coming up with new stories and keeping the audience so involved that they’re always messaging me,” she adds. “They always want some juicy tidbit – which of course I can never give!”
B&B Daytime Emmy nominee Katherine Kelly Lang wants Brooke to get into it
As an original The Bold and the Beautiful cast member, lang has gotten to scheme, cry, and catfight with the best of them, found great love, had her heart broken wide open, and done some damage of her own.
The one-time Forrester Creations CEO has also been a key player in the show’s fashion world, introducing innovative ideas like Brooke’s Bedroom – the clothing line that had her wearing even more lingerie than the average soap star, for a spell!
Lately, Brooke and Ridge have been pulled into their daughters’ fashion battle over Hope for the Future – but with a power shakeup in the works, Lang has some advice for her character.
“Brooke needs to get some balls back,” she sniffs. “She’s a good mom, and she’s learned a lot through her mistakes over the years, but I feel now she needs to take HER life back. She can’t just be Ridge’s sidekick or Hope’s mom. She needs to do something for herself.”
That said, Lang is quick to insist she has only one complaint about life at The Bold and the Beautiful.
“I want to work more!” she cries. “I’m ready to get into it – and I think that’s coming.”
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Daytime Emmy nominee gets “grumpy” without B&B’s Brooke
It’s not that Lang doesn’t have anything to keep her occupied when she’s not clocking in at The Bold and the Beautiful.
“I have our store Benheart Beverly Hills and my Kaftan line,” lists the entrepreneur. “I have grandkids, who keep me super busy. They’re three and five, and I help out there a lot. I have my horse and I’m training for 50-mile horse races. And then, of course, training in the gym – lifting heavy weights and doing my running.
“There’s always something on my list to do and to get done,” she adds. “But I’m happiest when I’m working at B&B.”
In fact, when Brooke’s storyline goes quiet, the effect on Lang is noticeable.
“My love, Dom Zoida, is always saying ‘Oh, you gotta go back to work. You’re so grumpy when you don’t work all the time,’” Lang shares with a laugh. “Going to work is like my outlet, my peace of mind, my sanity. It’s my not-work. It’s play!”
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Daytime Emmy Lead Actress nominee Katherine Kelly Lang is already celebrating
Clearly, The Bold and the Beautiful original cast member Katherine Kelly Lang is not looking to kick off Brooke Logan’s high heels anytime soon.
“I can’t even imagine being without the show,” Lang says. “It would be like a big hole in my heart, like a part of me missing, because I’ve been Brooke for so long. I have to thank Brad for that – and I need to thank the fans. The Bold and the Beautiful is doing so well throughout the entire world. Without the you, we wouldn’t be doing what we’re doing, so thank you.”
Going into Daytime Emmy weekend, this The Bold and the Beautiful’s Lead Actress nominee is feeling nothing but gratitude – and she’s thrilled to be sharing the 2024 honor with Hughes, Watros, Stafford, Braun, and especially her onscreen daughter, Noelle.
“Initially, I almost felt more excited about Annika being nominated than myself,” Lang tells FIRST for Women. “I love her so much. We get along well, and we also work together really well. So I honor and respect her, and I couldn’t be happier.
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“I’m just so excited – not just for B&B people nominated for Daytime Emmys, but for everybody,” Lang cheers. “We’re all in this business, and we all work so hard. Not just us in the forefront. A lot goes on behind the camera and up in the office. I give credit and accolades to the work everybody puts in to make our show and Daytime a success.”
The Bold and the Beautiful airs weekdays on CBS. The 51st Annual Daytime Emmy Awards airs this Friday, June 7, on CBS, 8:00-10:00 PM, ET/delayed PT, and will be available to stream live and on-demand on Paramount+*.
