Victor Newman

Victor Newman is a fictional character from the American CBS soap opera The Young and the Restless. He has been portrayed by Eric Braeden since 1980. Initially a guest character who was to last for eight to twelve weeks, Victor has evolved into the soap opera's leading male figure. Created by William J. Bell as a "despicable, contemptible, unfaithful wife abuser", the character was planned to be killed off and never heard of again. However, after Bell saw Braeden's performance, he decided to sign the actor onto a contract. Braeden was hesitant to work on a soap opera, but eventually signed a contract, and has remained on the series as a regular cast member for over 45 years. The character is widely described as a ruthless villain, while loving to those he holds dear. Over the years, he has also been the center of several controversial plots and relationships.

Victor arrived in Genoa City, Wisconsin for business, and he eventually formed his own worldwide conglomerate, Newman Enterprises. After his first marriage to Julia Newman (Meg Bennett), he formed a romance with stripper Nikki Reed (Melody Thomas Scott). Their union developed into a supercouple pairing, which has lasted over three decades. He shares two children with Nikki, Victoria (Amelia Heinle) and Nicholas Newman (Joshua Morrow). During his first marriage to her, he cheated with Ashley Abbott (Eileen Davidson). He has also had a long-standing romantic history with Ashley, and they share a child together, Abby Newman (Melissa Ordway). He was briefly married to a woman named Hope Wilson (Signy Coleman) and they had a son together, Adam Newman (Mark Grossman), who grew up without knowledge of Victor being his father. He is also known for his long-standing business rivalry with Jack Abbott (Peter Bergman). Victor has had several other romantic relationships, including one with his former daughter-in-law Sharon Newman (Sharon Case), which was poorly received by the actors and public.

Considered an icon and leading man of the soap opera genre, Braeden's distinct performance of Victor has garnered widespread praise from critics, who have described him as legendary and "enthralling". Victor is famously characterized for his power-hungry ways and low-toned voice. Because of the character's popularity, he was made a spokesperson for the Canadian discount store Zellers. Apart from popularity and critical praise, Braeden has also garnered numerous accolades for his performance; most notably a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, presented to him in 2007. He has been nominated at the Daytime Emmy Awards eight times for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series, having won the award in 1998. He has been pre-nominated three times in this category. Additionally, he was the recipient of the "Favorite Male Performer in a Daytime Serial" award at the 18th Annual People's Choice Awards in 1992.

William J. Bell created Victor as a short-term non-contractual role, debuting on February 8, 1980. Bell stated in 1997, "[Victor] would last between eight to twelve weeks, at which time he was to be shot by his wife." However, once he saw Braeden's performance, he thought "the voice, the power, the inner strength", and knew he didn't want to lose the actor; "The first thing was to get Eric under contract, but he didn't want to go under contract", he said. However, Braeden was uneasy about the daytime soap opera genre, admitting years later he thought it was "too confining"; although soon signed a six-month contract. Bell immediately changed Victor's storyline to salvage, redeem and develop the character.

In January 1999, Braeden’s character appeared on The Bold and the Beautiful in a crossover event. Braeden’s appearances on the show were January 25-28, 1999. On January 27, 2026, it was announced Braeden would crossover to Beyond the Gates as Victor. The event will air sometime in June of the same year.

William J. Bell created Victor as a "despicable, contemptible, unfaithful wife abuser". The soap opera's official website notes: "Victor is loving and protective toward family and loved ones, but if crossed, or if Victor feels that one is not living up to one's full potential; then he can more than live up to the adjective that many have used to describe him ruthless." The Los Angeles Times characterizes him as "charming but complicated", while others publications have described him as a villain, as well as an evil, powerful and ruthless character. Sara Bibel of Xfinity wrote that Victor is a male chauvinist. Although he is often considered malicious, Braeden stated that "Bill Bell was a very wise man" and that "he created someone in Victor who is a very lonely man yet also a man who can be affectionate and loving and forgiving". Shelly Fralic of the Winnipeg Free Press described Victor in 2009, stating:

The blackest of blackguards. If these are the adjectives that pad the resume of a first-class villain, then there has never been a better candidate for the job, at least of the fictional variety, than Victor Newman. As the revered scion and Machiavellian manipulator of the Newman dynasty on the daytime soap The Young and the Restless, Victor Newman, right down to the Snidely Whiplash moustache, is so bad that he's good; good at business if not relationships, good at skulduggery if not morality, good at keeping a daily story line addictively interesting for nearly three decades.

Fralic also described the character as being "quixotic", who is "deeply layered with arrogance and angst, imbued with all the failings and bravado that a true villain possesses, his dastardly deeds leaving him most recently responsible not only for the death of his own heart donor, but for the near-death of his granddaughter Summer from peanut poisoning". She also noted that he's been jailed, thrown in a psychiatric ward and shot, had amnesia, epilepsy among other events, but "like all villains worth their salt, he's survived it all and inspired respect, if not adoration". Braeden describes the character as "the villain" and as "defensive and always self-protective", stating that he's "not here to win a popularity contest". He stated that he enjoys portraying Victor "more than anything", also describing him as "very complex". Braeden said that "he fought himself to the position he arrived at a number of years ago", and that "he obviously doesn't suffer fools easily, doesn't suffer enemies easily. He wants relationships badly, but doesn't quite trust them. It's a tragic flaw in him because of his childhood." The actor, comparing himself to the character, noted that he is nothing like Victor, stating: "Money makes a lot of things happen for Victor. My God almighty, that's something else that I, Eric Braeden, would never do. I always confront things directly. But when that doesn't work for Victor, he gets out his wallet [...] If you are abusive to him, he will be abusive to you. No one gets away with that. I will not allow anyone to cross that line with the character."