Ivy Winthrop

Ivy Winthrop (formerly Crane) is a fictional character on the NBC/DirecTV soap opera Passions. Ivy has been portrayed by original cast member Kim Johnston Ulrich since the soap's premiere episode in July 1999. At that time, Ivy was trapped in a loveless marriage to Julian Crane, son of ruthless billionaire Alistair Crane; her one joy was her son, Ethan Crane, the product of her adulterous affair with teenage love and new chief of police Sam Bennett on her wedding night. When Ethan's paternity was revealed early in 2001, Julian, Ethan, and Sam were all furious with Ivy, and Julian quickly divorced her later that year.

Ivy, who had never stopped loving Sam, plotted to win him back from his wife, Grace, eventually hiring David Hastings to pretend to be the amnesia Grace's long-lost first husband. The scheme eventually worked, and Ivy and Sam reunited in 2004. Sam discovered Ivy's deception late in 2006, however, and he broke off their engagement and planned to reunite with Grace until she was killed in London in January 2007. After a brief dalliance with Julian, Ivy and Sam reunited in September 2007, though their disagreements over his daughter, Kay, and Ethan's relationship with Theresa continue to cause friction between the two.