Why did Susan Flannery leave The Bold and the Beautiful? Explained

Susan Flannery was a former cast member on The Bold and the Beautiful, who played Stephanie Forrester. She was a part of the main cast for 25 years till 2012. However, that year, the actress made her exit from the soap.

The character was killed off on screen in 2012, leaving barely any possibility for return. Flannery's departure came around the same time as Ronn Moss, who played her on-screen son Ridge, leaving fans upset and curious about why she chose to exit.

Initially, the actress did not reveal much about her departure and the end of her role on the soap. She chose to speak of various new opportunities coming her way instead. However, in an interview for TV Line in 2014, her co-star Hunter Tylo mentioned that Flannery missed the soap but was unhappy about the way that it ended for her.

Further in the interview, it was revealed that Flannery left The Bold and the Beautiful because of a contract dispute.

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What did Hunter Tylo say about Flannery's exit from The Bold and the Beautiful?

In the 2014 interview, talking about Susan Flannery's exit, Tylo said,

"She told me that she wanted to leave because the negotiations on her contract were not going well."

Recalling the same, Tylo said that she was shocked and thought that Ronn and Susan's exit would not "work out." Tylo remembered Flannery's parting words about her character Stephanie Forrester:

"[The showrunners] won’t have me. I asked them to kill my character."

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Who is Susan Flannery? The Bold and the Beautiful former cast member's profile explored

Susan Flannery as Stephanie Forrester in a still from The Bold and the Beautiful (via CBS)

Susan Flannery is an American actress and director, who made her debut with an appearance in an episode of Burke's Law in 1963. Since then, the actress has been featured in many film and television roles, some of which have been listed here:

• 1963 - Burke's Law as Lily's secretary
• 1964 - Slattery's People as Nancy Rossman
• 1964 - Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea as Katie
• 1965 - Death Valley Days as Jenny Hardy
• 1965 - Ben Casey as Elinor Cabot
• 1965 - Guns of Diablo as Molly
• 1966 to 1975 - Days of Our Lives as Laura Spencer Horton
• 1966 - The Time Tunnel as Louise Neal
• 1966 - The Green Hornet as Janet Prescott
• 1974 - The Towering Inferno as Lorrie
• 1976 - The Gumball Rally as Alice
• 1976 - The Moneychangers as Margot Bracken
• 1976 - Thriller as Anna Cartell
• 1978 - Anatomy of a Seduction as Maggie Kane
• 1979 - Women in White as Dr. Rebecca Dalton
• 1981 - Dallas as Leslie Stewart
• 1982 - Money on the Side as Karen Gordon
• 1983 - Shaft of Love as Dr. Rose
• 1987 to 2012 - The Bold and the Beautiful as Stephanie Forrester
• 1993 - The Young and the Restless as Stephanie Forrester
• 2004 - Hope & Faith as Laura Levisetti

Susan Flannery as Stephanie Forrester in a still from The Bold and the Beautiful (via CBS)

Flannery received her first Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series for her role as Laura Horton on Days of Our Lives. In her return to the soap world on The Bold and the Beautiful, she got three Daytime Emmy Award nominations. These were in the Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series category in 2000, 2002 and 2003, for her role as Stephanie Forrester.

Apart from her daytime accolades, the actress has also received a Golden Globe for her film The Towering Inferno. Flannery also bagged a Primetime Emmy nomination for the miniseries The Moneychangers.

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Viewers can watch The Bold and the Beautiful streaming online via CBS and Paramount+. New episodes of the soap are released on all weekdays.