The queen matriarch of Y&R is known for always telling it like it is. Jeanne Cooper portrays no-nonsense Katherine Chancellor who is passionate about those she loves and instills fear in those she despises. As a major icon of Daytime television, the audience has watched the grand dame experience the highs and lows of life for almost 40 years. As one of Genoa City's most powerful residents, she shows no signs of slowing down.

This veteran actress shows zest for life and an intense love for her art form. Cooper immerses herself in the lives of Genoa City's residents and is a key player in major storylines. We chatted with Cooper about Katherine's love/hate relationship with Jill Fenmore, the love she has for Billy Miller and her hopes for the future.

For 37 years you've played "The Duchess" on The Young and The Restless. We've never seen Katherine Chancellor more content in her life than she is nowadays. What do you think is the reason for this?

Katherine is 37 years older and she doesn't demand as much as she did at one time. What she doesn't like, she sets aside. What she does like, she takes and uses. This makes her very content. One really does this in life you know? Well at least they should!

When Katherine fell in love and remarried again, viewers were surprised. Were you just as surprised with the turn of events?

No, I wasn't on-board with the writer's decision to have Katherine remarry. I was shocked when they had her remarry. She married out of gratitude. Her whole purpose now is to find a reason as to why she would truly love him. That is Katherine; at least the way that I play her. Little by little she is discovering things about him. Qualities that maybe she should've looked for in men to begin with a long time ago. That's where she's at now.

Do you share any personality traits with Katherine Chancellor?

Oh yes, yes I do. I think I have learnt to be selective and learning to say no over the years, which is very difficult.  Being an actor, you're always ready to please and that sort of thing. As one does get older, they become more selective, because your focus is even better than before. I think that is what always happens with Katherine. Now she has reached the point where she will pick and choose and passionately go at something. This is in comparison to just doing a job at 90 per cent. She gives 100 per cent if she chooses to do something or go after something.

Did you find it challenging to jump into the doppelganger storyline again?

Playing two roles is very demanding; it truly is. You really must divide the character you've created into two parts. As the actor, you are in control of them. It's very difficult because each of those characters has a different set of reactions to somebody's actions. I didn't find it difficult at all to get back into it. I loved that it happened about 20-25 years later. This was marvellous, because it made both of them older and it was great to see how they both had progressed within that time period. It was great to see how much they understood one another in comparison to before. After all, Marge did save Katherine's life. Consequently, she was indebted to Marge for all of those years without ever seeing her. Creating another character that the audience would like and root for even though she was a total nutcase was difficult

Who do you feel is the most fun to play? Marge or Katherine?

Oh gosh! Well Katherine is more of a tailored person to play, which would be closer to myself and who I am. On the other hand, the freedom with which Marge has is incredible. I used to have that freedom and I still do to a certain extent. That certain Joie de vivre that Marge has is a great deal like me. I am a little more tailored than Marge I would say. Both are great.

Some of my favourite scenes are when Katherine goes toe-to-toe with Jill Abbott/Chancellor/Fenmore (Played by Jess Walton). What is the dynamic like in real-life? Best friends or bitter enemies?

[Laughs]
Jess Walton and I are very good friends. We laugh a lot when we do scenes together. I always do something in a scene that I never warn her about in advance. I think that is what is responsible for some of those idiotic looks on her face. [Laughs]. She has no idea what I'm doing. It's always fun. We really have such a grand time doing scenes together, we really do.

I recently chatted with Billy Miller (Plays Billy Abbott) and he spoke so highly of you and the influence you've had on him. How do you feel about him as a newer addition to the show?

Awwwww! Billy Miller is an incredible addition to the show. He is just an incredibly talented young man. He's very complex and he makes a very complex situation look easy to do. He doesn't let his acting show. I think he is really destined for the big screen. Hopefully that will happen for him. There are a couple of lads on the show that really need that break or cameo in a big movie, bringing them to the foreground. They really are the new generation.

Miller is a special type. He falls into that category when you had your Marlon Brandos and Dennis Hoppers. These lads are taking their places. Miller just ranks so highly there. You have Graziadei (Plays Daniel Romalotti) and Rikaart (Plays Kevin Fisher), two of the other exceptional lads on the show. Miller especially adds some of that extra spark to the show that we needed so desperately. He's such a fine artist.

Katherine has quite a soft spot for the troubled underdogs like Kevin Fisher (Played by Greg Rikaart), what does she see in him that others don't?

She sees a fuzzy, warm little boy, who has a brilliant mind that is totally wasted on mundane things. [Laughs]

Which storyline have you had the most fun with?

One storyline that was so great was when she was going to commit suicide. She got deadly drunk, jumped ship and the Cuban rebel found her in the water and saved her of course. Then off Katherine went into the jungle. Victor Mohica played Felipe Ramirez. What fun that was. She had nothing but her jewels, the jungle and him. It was such fun, because this relationship developed between them. They began to fall in love. I thought that was who they would eventually bring back years later. I thought they would make him some big ambassador. I would've thought they would have him passing through and make a stop in Genoa City. That would've been a nice storyline. The storyline with him right from the beginning was just excellent.

What would you like to see happen next for Katherine?

I always wanted to see Katherine go into a political situation. Of course they tried that with dear Melody Thomas Scott (plays Nikki Newman). I love working with her, as well as Eric Braden (Victor Newman). I think what Katherine has to do is pull everyone up by their boot straps. A good storyline would be putting Victor in his place and really coming down hard on him. I'd love to see a storyline, where he has to surrender this obsessive, in-control, business man that he is, and transform into a warm and fuzzy person. Or maybe she could just go ice-fishing with Murphy? [Laughs].

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By: Hayley Farb