Who is Danny Romalotti from 'The Young and the Restless'? Everything you need to know

Danny Romalotti is a character in CBS's The Young and the Restless who's played by Michael Damian.

He was introduced as a 16-year-old rockstar in 1981 and proceeded to be a regular character throughout the next 17 years until 1998. Since then, he's reappeared in a recurring capacity in the soap's 2002, 2003-2004, 2008, 2012-2013 and 2023-2024 runs.

Danny Romalotti is the son of Rex Sterling, and throughout his time on the show, has been involved in numerous romantic affairs, with marriages to Traci Abbott, Christine Blair, and Phyllis Summers.

His child with Phyllis Summers, Daniel Romalotti, has also gone on to become a significant character in The Young and the Restless.

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Danny Romalotti started out as a rock musician

Danny's been involved with Traci and Lauren. (Image via CBS)

Danny Romalotti debuted in The Young and the Restless as a teenage heartthrob, with his first appearance on the soap being on June 24, 1981. Danny was accompanied by his sister, Gina Roma during his performances. He also befriended Lauren Fenmore, who accompanied him on tour, Traci Abbott, and Amy Lewis.

In 1984, Danny married Traci, who led his fan club, causing his relationship with Patty Williams to end. After Traci miscarried, their marriage was annulled. Danny was also targeted by Shawn Garrett, who resented his closeness with Lauren and tried to poison him. This caused Danny to lose his voice, and worry he might never sing again, but he recovered his voice on Christmas.

Danny would later develop a relationship with Cricket Blair, who by this time went by the name of Christine. The two worked together to save their friend Nina Chancellor from David Kimble, who was revealed to be a conniving gold digger. In retaliation, David framed Danny for cocaine possession, causing Danny to get arrested.

Danny was subsequently tried for the crime, where the frame-up plot was exposed, leading to his acquittal. Danny and Christine had a happy marriage until it slowly started to crumble due to Danny traveling outside of Genoa City for professional engagements.

His marriage with Christine came to an end due to the machinations of an obsessed fan named Phyllis Summers, who stalked him and drugged him. She later claimed to be the mother of his child, and Danny left Christine and married her to do right by him.

This child was named Daniel Romalotti Jr. However, after getting a paternity test done, Danny discovered that Daniel's real father was Brian Hamilton, a prior fling of Phyllis. This resulted in a vicious custody battle between Danny and Phyllis, which ended with Danny getting sole custody of his legal son after proving Phyllis's instability.

While drifting apart from Danny, Christine had become closer to Paul Williams, but Danny threw a wrench in their plans by trying to win her back. During the ensuing love triangle, Danny faced a major medical emergency after being assaulted by a mugger and suffering severe kidney damage.

With no suitable donors to be found among Christine, Paul, Gina, and Phyllis, matters looked bleak until Michael Baldwin, Phyllis's former attorney, donated his kidney and saved Danny's life.

Upon Danny Romalotti's recovery, Christine decided she wanted to be with Paul, causing Danny to bow out of the love triangle. He subsequently left Genoa City with his son to go on tour in Europe and warned Phyllis to stay out of their lives.

Since then, Danny Romalotti has made guest reappearances on the soap to support his sister Gina, and old friends like Lauren, and to deal with the fallout of his son, Daniel's actions in Genoa City when he began returning there as a teenager. Danny's last appearance on the soap was during Valentine's 2024 when he dealt with Christine and Phyllis's lingering feelings for him.