Dina Mergeron

Dina Mergeron
Marla Adams as Dina Mergeron
The Young and the Restless
Portrayed by	Marla Adams
Duration	1983–1986, 1991, 1996, 2008
First appearance	April 1983
Last appearance	July 2008
Cause/reason	Returned home to Paris, France
Created by	William J. Bell
Profile
Aliases	Phyllis Palmer Dina Abbott
Gender	Female
Occupation	Co-Owner and CEO of Mergeron Industries
Residence	Paris, France
Relationships Sibling(s) Lynne Anderson (sister) Spouse(s) John Abbott, Sr. (divorced) Marcel Mergeron (dissolved) [1960s-1981] Romances Brent Davis Eric Garrison Children Jack Abbott Ashley Abbott Traci Abbott Connolly Grandchildren Keemo Volien Abbott Kyle Jenkins Abbott Abby Newman Colleen Carlton (deceased) Other relatives Steve Connolly (Son-in-law via Traci) Tucker McCall (Son-in-law via Ashley)

Dina Mergeron (formerly Abbott) is a fictional character on the CBS soap opera The Young and the Restless. She was played by actress Marla Adams from 1983 to 1986 on contract. She returned for guest appearances in 1991 and 1996. She returned again for a brief appearance in 2008 after being unseen for 12 years.

Character Background

Dina was the first wife of Jabot founder, John Abbott. She was the mother of Jack, Ashley and Traci Abbott, and she was the grandmother of Jack's sons, Keemo and Kyle, Ashley's daughter, Abby, and Traci's daughter, Colleen.

Dina came from a professional upper-class society of Genoa City. It was been mentioned in many past conversations that she and Katherine Chancellor were very good friends. A prime example came when they were having tea at the Chancellor Estate and remembered the day Dina and John asked Katherine to be Ashley's godmother a few days after she was born. It was revealed that it was Katherine who gave Ashley the middle name of Suzanne as a tribute to a former close friend of theirs in high school who had died because she was such a "beauty."

It had also been comically noted over the years that Joanna Manning, Neil Fenmore, Stuart Brooks, Katherine Chancellor, Gary Reynolds, John Abbott and Dina were quite close friends who had gone to the same high school through their earlier years and developed a strong level of friendship beyond those years.

Dina left John some years prior to the Abbott's arrival in Genoa City, leaving him to raise Jack, Ashley and Traci on his own. Thanks to the help of his housekeeper, Mamie Johnson, he did a fine job.

In 1983, Dina was now the widow of a wealthy cosmetics baron, Marcel Mergeron. She came to Genoa City and tried to buy Jabot Cosmetics. She kept her identity hidden, but she failed. When she was in town, the secret also came out that Ashley was not John's daughter. Dina was at Jack's side after he was shot by his first wife, Patty Williams.

When Ashley accepted Parisian painter Eric Garrison's marriage proposal, his belongings arrived from Paris. Ashley found among them a painting of her estranged mother, which signed, "All My Love, Eric". Ashley soon broke it off with Eric and fell in love with Marc Mergeron, who turned out to be Dina's stepson from Marcel Mergeron. Soon, former Genoa City Country Club tennis pro, Brent Davis, returned to town and began an affair with Katherine Chancellor. When he found out that he was dying, Brent wanted to reveal that he had been Dina's lover and was Ashley's real father. Dina and Kay tried to talk him out of it, but Ashley was traumatized by the news when he told her, and she ended up losing her memory at a roadside dinner, where she took the name "Annie" and worked as a waitress. When Brent and Kay returned from a vacation together, Dina confronted Brent about what he had done. Dina shot Brent but missed, and Kay was shot instead. Jack figured out what had happened, and he and his flame at the time, Jill Foster, confronted Dina. Dina and John began a search for Ashley. A truck driver saw one of their fliers, figured out who "Annie" really was and offered her whereabouts to John for ransom. Victor Newman ended up finding her at the diner and took her home to recuperate with him and his wife, Nikki Newman, at the Newman Ranch. Ashley forgave Brent, her real father, just before his death, and she vowed that John Abbott would never find out. Only Dina, Jack, Jill, Katherine and Victor know the secret of Ashley's real parentage to this day.

Dina made infrequent visits periodically, but for the most part has remained in Paris, France, where she runs Mergeron Cosmetics. She was mentioned when John mistook his last wife, Gloria Bardwell, as Dina. In 2006, Dina and Mamie sent flowers to remember John, as they both were unable to attend his funeral.

In 2008, Dina made an appearance, after a 12-year absence, for her dear friend, Katherine Chancellor's funeral. In reality, Katherine had a stroke and suffered from amnesia, and Katherine's look-alike friend, Marge Cotroke, was the woman who really died. She got a chance to meet Jack's wife at the time, Sharon Collins and get reacquainted with her children. After the funeral, Dina left to attend a charity drive in Palm Springs. In 2009, Dina also sent flowers for her granddaughter, Colleen Carlton's funeral, as she was unable to attend because she was on a cruise.