Daily Soap operas have been around for a long time. For more than six decades, they have brought daily drama into the lives of viewers (whether they have wanted it or not)! One thing that soap operas do is they give us an escape from our own personal daily drama – and give us a window to see how fictitious characters relate to one another. While most soap stories are often based on real ones, there are some characters for whom we have lost complete sympathy and relatability.
Fun fact: Soap operas are called soap operas because, traditionally, housewives clean the house and do chores like laundry while keeping the television on.
10 Daily Soap Opera Characters That Have Crossed All Levels of Relatability
1. Stefano – Days of Our Lives
Stefano DiMera was considered to be the blueprint of villains. He fluctuated between mob boss, political criminal, and ruthless business tycoon. Portrayed for many years by Joseph Mascolo, Stefano set the stage for future villains.
2. Gabi – Days of Our Lives
Staying in Salem, we look at Gabi. She started off innocently enough when she came to town, but it turns out she has a scheming, bad streak. Rather than try to work things out, she is a backstabber and impatiently blames others for her faults. One of the best daily soap opera characters.
3. Ian – The Young & the Restless
Although we don’t actually meet Ian until several decades later, we hear about his reign of terror. He is a plotter and has caused much mischief, mayhem, and maybe murder in the city of Genoa. And oh yeah – kidnapping. This character is played by Ray Wise. Ian deserves a spot in our 10 daily soap opera characters who have crossed the line.
4. Chelsea – The Young & the Restless
Chelsea came to Genoa City with a con artist background. She has been able to manipulate people and lie as easily as she breathes. She continually used both Adam and Billy. Although she has her good moments, Chelsea is not super relatable.
5. Todd – One Life To Live
Todd Manning was the arch villain rapist from Llanview on One Life To Live. The early 1990s controversial rape storyline was extraordinarily memorable and risky for daily soaps at that time. Roger Howarth has played Todd for the duration, and has done a stellar job making viewers hate, but often times, even understand him.
6. Adam – All My Children
Adam Chandler on All My Children was a wealthy, scheming, and very devious businessman. He went through multiple marriages, had many children, including Skye Chandler, and he managed to control a lot of other people’s lives. Besides routinely blackmailing folks, among other various crimes, one of the worst things Adam did was to lock up his disabled brother, Stuart, in the Chandler mansion.
7. Ridge – The Bold and the Beautiful
Ridge has had a long history of being shortsighted, short-tempered, and prone to making extremely quick decisions without thinking of any consequences. He is also a serial cheater. Although once in a great while, Ridge can redeem himself, he often finds himself in situations where he chooses to do the thing that is most self-serving. This puts Ridge in the top 10 daily soap characters who are not relatable
8. Quinn – The Bold and the Beautiful
What’s behind those big blue eyes? Quinn came to town as a jewelry vendor, but behind her beauty (and the gorgeous jewelry), there was something much darker at play. Stunning Rena Sofer, who played the role of Quinn for the duration, excelled at lying, cheating, and, once in a while, stabbing – and making it all in a day’s work.
9. Ava – General Hospital
The arch-villainess Ava Jerome, portrayed by Maura West, is one of the reasons fans tune in to General Hospital. The minute someone feels bad for her, she starts being self-righteous again. Self-centered, mean-spirited, and often highly impulsive, Ava consistently puts herself before anyone else. Anybody with half a conscience would find her unrelatable.
10. Helena – General Hospital
Staying in Port Charles, we find Helena. The name, Helena Cassadine, would send chills down other characters’ spines. Helena, a master manipulator, orchestrated a plethora of plots to take down the Spencer family. This included the notorious “Ice Princess” diamond heist. We are pretty sure she’s dead, but you never know, as soaps have a way of bringing back the crazies!
To Sum Up
Daily soap operas give us an outlet. It might be a hero character, a villainous character, or someone who is just off the rails, but no matter what, these top 10 daily soap characters will keep you guessing.
