The Bold and the Beautiful

The saga of the rich Forresters and the poor Logans is told against the backdrop of the fashion world in Los Angeles. Forrester Creations is the premiere fashion house in the city, thanks to the designing brilliance of Eric Forrester and the money and social grace of his wife, Stephanie Forrester. The ups and downs of their on-again, off-again marriage parallel the stormy lives of all their children, who have shared lovers and spouses with one another and even with their own father. Ridge Forrester is the arrogant oldest son (whose paternity will eventually be called into question); Thorne, the oft-neglected younger son; Kristen, the sweet but sexually-frigid older daughter; Felicia, the wild child. At the center of many of these storms is the Logan family. Beth Logan, the matriarch, has always carried a torch for Eric. Her three daughters include Brooke, the willful and sexually promiscuous oldest; Donna, the ditsy model; and Katie, who has always felt overshadowed by her more beautiful older sisters. Into the lives of these two families comes the brazen Sally Spectra of Spectra Fashions, a knock-off house that has frequently stolen from Forrester; Taylor Hayes, the beautiful but emotionally-troubled psychiatrist; Sheila Carter, a devious and homicidal nurse; the Marone family, with closer ties to the Forresters than anyone would have dreamed; and many others. Death, divorce, alcoholism, duplicity, betrayal and adultery are the everyday concerns, while murder, attempted murder, rape, impersonations and returns from the dead are the bizarre shocks that happen with dreadful regularity. —J. Spurlin