The Bold and the Beautiful soap opera was created by William J. Bell and Lee Phillip Bell, and is currently the only soap airing to run 30 minutes. It is set in the city of Los Angeles, California and centers around the Forrester family and their fashion house business, Forrester Creations.

Network:

CBS

Broadcast History:

The Bold and the Beautiful premiered on March 23, 1987 and has an estimated 26.2 million viewers.

Since 2009, it holds the 2nd place position in the Nielsen Ratings for daytime television.

Awards:

The Bold and the Beautiful has won 31 Daytime Emmy Awards, including Outstanding Drama Series in 2009.

'Bold & the Beautiful' Pilot Episode:

The episode centers around the wedding of playboy Ridge Forrester, who is vice president and designer at Forrester Creations, to Caroline Spencer, daughter of media mogul Bill Spencer. Women all over the world flock to see pictures of the woman who has finally captured Ridge Forrester's heart, who, until the upcoming wedding, resigned himself to refusing to settle for one woman.

Forrester Background:

Stephanie Douglas is a strong-willed woman, the daughter of a rich, prominent family. Her husband-to-be is Eric Forrester, an aspiring fashion designer. They married soon after Stephanie discovered she was pregnant. They moved to Los Angeles where they established Forrester Creations, designing and producing upscale men and women's fashions. Over the years, they gained international recognition, fame, and wealth while raising four talented children -- Ridge, Thorne, Kristen, and Felicia -- in a loving home.

It was discovered years later that Stephanie's eldest son, Ridge, is the biological child of Massimo Marone.

Ridge's Women:

Brook Logan, a chemistry student from a working class family living in LA. Brooke's sister Beth was Eric's college girlfriend before he married Stephanie. Ridge and Brooke reunite and break up due to circumstances; where Ridge finds comfort (and marriage to another love of his life, Dr. Taylor Hayes). Brooke's ongoing rivalry with Ridge's mother, Stephanie, has gone on from the beginning of the show. In between breakups and reunions with Ridge, Brooke has been married to Eric Forrester, even giving birth to two of his children -- Eric "Rick", Jr. and Bridget -- before Eric finally divorced her and remarried Stephanie.

Current Cast Members 1:

• Alley Mills - Pamela Douglas
• Jack Wagner - Dominick "Nick"
• Marone Ashley Jones - Bridget Forrester Marone
• Brandon Beemer - Owen Knight
• Lesley-Anne Down - Jacqueline Payne Marone Knight
• Don Diamont - Bill Spencer, Jr.
• Heather Tom - Katie Logan Spencer
• Hunter Tylo - Dr. Taylor Hayes Forrester
• Drew Tyler Bell - Thomas Forrester
• Jacqueline MacInnes Wood - Steffy Forrester
• John McCook - Eric Forrester
• Jennifer Gareis - Donna Logan Forrester
• Aaron D. Spears - Justin Barber
• Texas Battle - Marcus Walton
• Ronn Moss - Ridge Forrester
• Katherine Kelly Lang - Brooke Logan Forrester

Current Cast Members 2:

• Kyle Lowder - Eric "Rick" Forrester, Jr.
• Kimberly Matula - Hope Logan
• Susan Flannery - Stephanie Forrester
• Winsor Harmon - Thorne Forrester
• Lesli Kay - Felicia Forrester
• Patrick Duffy - Stephen Logan, Sr.
• Robin Riker - Beth Logan
• Sarah Brown - Sandy Sommers
• Zach Conroy - Oliver Jones
• Rick Hearst - Whipple "Whip" Jones III
• Justin Baldoni - Graham Darros
• Mykel Shannon Jenkins - Det. Charlie Baker
• Dan McVicar - Clarke Garrison

Trivia:

• John McCook plays the father of Ronn Moss, who is only seven years younger. McCook had to dye his hair gray to seem older when the show started in 1987.
• The sons of Katherine Kelly Lang, Jeremy Snider and Julian Snider, played her character Brooke Logan's children Rick and Bridget as children.
• Lauren Koslow and Zachariah Koslow, who played mother and son on the show, are also mother and son in real life.
• In Italy, where the soap is hugely popular, it is simply called Beautiful.
• After Linda Gray joined the cast, there was a reunion with Larry Hagman (to be written in as a guest character). When Larry Hagman became ill again, the show couldn't insure him and the plans were thrown out. Linda Gray's character was eventually written out of the show.
• In 2003, the show made Daytime Emmy Award history when Susan Flannery and Jennifer Finnigan were both awarded Emmys for the second year in a row, claiming both 'Outstanding Lead Actress' and 'Outstanding Younger Actress' for their roles on The Bold And The Beautiful.