Katherine Chancellor - Storylines - 2000s

2000s

Kay decided to track down her son in India so he could meet the daughter he never knew he had, but returned from her search without him. Shortly afterward, Kay received a call that Brock was presumed dead. Then Brock showed up, and they were reunited after many years. Mackenzie returned to the estate to get her things, intending to leave town, just as her father walked in and he and his mother were finally united. Jill took an instant dislike to Mac. Mac and Brock lived at the Chancellor Estate, slowly learning to trust and love each other. Though he wanted to be a father to Mac, Brock's need to help people sent him to volunteer in Louisiana, building houses for the poor.

Afraid that Mac's mother, Amanda Browning, would show up in Genoa City and take her back, Katherine petitioned and was awarded legal custody of Mac. When Amanda did show up, Mac rebuffed her and sent her away. But Amanda had run away from Mac's stepfather, Ralph, too, and was living at the same homeless shelter where Mac and her father, Brock, were volunteers. With her boyfriend Billy Abbott's help, Mac and her mother accepted each other in their lives again. Kay asked Amanda to move to the estate, and Amanda agreed. Then Mac's stepfather, Ralph Hunnicutt, showed up in Genoa City and began stalking her, and he coerced Amanda into helping him steal from the Chancellor Estate. After a series of frightening events, Ralph and Amanda left town and Billy Abbott and Mac grow closer together.

Katherine and Jill were mortified when, in 2003, they are mistakenly led to believe that they are mother and daughter. While her then-husband, Gary Reynolds, was spending time overseas with their son Brock, Katherine had an affair with Gary's best friend, a local judge named Arthur Hendricks. Shortly before Gary returned, Katherine gave birth to a baby and handed it over to a school friend named Charlotte Ramsey, with instructions to give the baby up for adoption. Unfortunately, Charlotte was unable to drop the baby off as planned, and was forced to give her own name as the child's birth mother. Many years later, the woman Jill had always thought of as her mother, Liz Foster, discovered she had a brain tumor. Fearing that her time on Earth was limited, Liz decided to tell Jill that she was adopted. Liz survived, but the secret left Jill reeling. After a long search, she discovered Charlotte Ramsey's name on her birth certificate. Katherine was shocked when she saw Charlotte back in Genoa City a short time later, but still didn't piece together her connection with Jill. John Abbott, also a former schoolmate, recognized Charlotte. He eventually tricked Katherine into revealing that Charlotte had an abortion, which left her unable to carry children, when she was younger. With the truth about her barrenness about to surface, Charlotte went to the Chancellor Estate and confronted Katherine on May 20, 2003. Charlotte then told Kay that Jill was her biological daughter.

The revelation about Jill caused Katherine to have a massive stroke, which left her nearly catatonic for quite a while. Still, there was an even greater sadness attached to this newly-revealed family connection. Interestingly, Jill's son Billy Abbott and Katherine's granddaughter Mackenzie Browning had been dating, but the supposed mother-daughter connection between Katherine and Jill would mean that Mackenzie and Billy were first cousins. Unbeknownst to them, the young couple was married, while a paralyzed Katherine could do nothing but watch. A horrified Jill and John tried to stop the wedding, but they were too late. Eventually, Jill managed to inform the newlyweds of the shocking news before the marriage was consummated. Heartbroken, Billy and Mackenzie had their union annulled, and the two separately left town. Jill helped her mother to recover and the two eventually resolved their differences.

Despite several obstacles along the way, the two former enemies began to form a true mother-daughter bond. Nevertheless, their feud was decades old, and it remains to be seen if Katherine and Jill can continue to be cordial—recent events have caused their deeply-rooted enmity for one another to resurface. Katherine began to have disturbing nightmares involving a baby. She soon determined that they were actually fragments of a repressed memory. Eventually Katherine recalled that years ago—unable to accept the fact that Jill had given birth to a child with her deceased husband Phillip—she kidnapped the baby, and gave him to a woman named Violet Montgomery, whom she met in a bar.n Violet was to place the child with a different family. The woman then gave Katherine a different baby that Jill raised as her son, Phillip Chancellor III.

While Jill adamantly refused to believe this at first, DNA testing of Phillip's remains confirmed that he was not Jill's biological son. It was then revealed that Jill's real son was, in fact, new-in-town Cane Ashby, who had recently married Amber Moore. Cane eventually ended his relationship with Amber, after he discovered that she had faked their wedding (with help from her friend Alison Stewart of Oakdale, Illinois).

Katherine, however, formed a bond with Amber after being trapped with her under the Clear Springs wreckage in October 2007. She sees a lot of herself in the young woman, and often offers her advice and a shoulder to lean on when others turn against her. Katherine was again furious with Jill upon learning that her daughter was planning on eloping with Ji Min Kim. She offered Ji Min a bribe not to marry her daughter, but Ji Min declined. He was murdered before he could marry Jill and the investigation proved that David Chow murdered him to pay off some of his gambling debts (associated with the mob).

In 2005, while eating lunch at the Café Russe in Los Angeles, Katherine was approached by Massimo Marone. Massimo introduced her to friend Stephanie Douglas Forrester, the daughter of an old business acquaintance (John Douglas) belonging to Katherine. It was discovered that Katherine was the actual owner of Forrester Creations, via the Stephanie Douglas Trust, which her associate’s daughter sought to reclaim from her estranged husband (Eric Forrester). With Katherine's blessing, Stephanie achieved her goal, leaving the grand dame of Genoa City free to focus on her numerous other assets. (October 31 – November 1, 2005)

On January 25, 2008, Katherine collapsed while talking to Amber. She was then examined at her home by a physician and informed on January 30, 2008 that she had a mini-stroke. Following this terrifying experience, Katherine enlisted Amber's help in writing her memoirs—the prospect of which could be frightening to many Genoa City residents. A year later, on January 22, 2009 while still trying to reclaim her true identity as Katherine, Amber accompanied Katherine to the doctor's office for an evaluation including being tested for Alzheimer's disease.

Following her evaluation Katherine continued to get memory lapses. She resisted attempts to get a medical diagnosis on what exactly was happening to her. She has also been trying to help her look-alike friend, Marge Cotrooke, stop drinking and enter rehab. One evening Katherine had been driving Marge to the rehab center and then getting into a serious car accident during a heavy rainstorm. Soon after, she was pronounced dead, but her family and friends don't know that it was Marge who died, and that Kay was still alive, lying near the river. Kay was rescued by Marge's friend Patrick Murphy, who thought Kay was Marge, and taken back to his mobile home.

In late December 2008, Katherine finally regained enough memories to realize she was Katherine Chancellor, not Marge Cotrooke. She convinced Murphy to take her to the Chancellor Mansion. He did, and minutes after she arrived, Jill also arrived and was obviously shocked to see her. After the shock wore off, however, Jill was convinced that Katherine was Marge, seeing as Jill remembered Marge from years ago. Katherine, having little memory still, couldn't disprove Jill's theory, and was arrested for trespassing and fraud. She has already remembered an incident with Gloria Abbott Bardwell upon encountering her at the jail. Katherine subsequently failed a DNA test which would have proven her identity (which calls into question whether she is actually Jill's biological mother).

Eventually, she has more than just Amber and Murphy believing in her true identity; she also has Nikki Newman who finally believes her. Katherine left Genoa City once again when the second DNA tests came in again saying she and Jill are not mother and daughter. Katherine returned to Murphy's where they reconciled; only later to be visited by Nikki and Paul Williams believing she is Katherine no matter what DNA testing results state. With the help of Nikki she proved to Victor Newman that she is Katherine as well. Soon after, Murphy presented Katherine with an engagement ring and proposed to Katherine back at the diner where Katherine accepted.

In return for the Jabot shares which Victor purchased from Gloria, Jill allows the corpse buried in Katherine's grave to be exhumed, and it is subjected to a third DNA test. Ultimately, Jill's DNA matches neither the corpse nor Katherine (whom Jill believes to be Marge). Thus, Katherine's claim about her true identity is bolstered, and it is proven conclusively that Katherine and Jill are not biological mother and daughter after all. After a final pair of DNA tests between Katherine and her son Brock are a match, not even Jill can deny the truth any longer. She bitterly rejects Katherine's overtures of affection, and the ensuing argument reignites the feud between the women in full force. Weeks later on May 1, 2009, Katherine and Murphy are married, with Brock officiating the ceremony.

Shortly thereafter (following his wedding to Lily Winters), Cane recalls his telephone conversation years earlier with a man regarding their joint plan to con Jill and Katherine. The man bears a startling resemblance to the supposedly deceased Phillip Chancellor III. On June 10, 2009, it is revealed that Phillip is indeed the other gentleman, and that he is still very much alive (unknown to everyone except Cane). Upon learning that Cane is not Jill's son, and that Phillip Chancellor III is alive and has returned to Genoa City, she suffers another mild stroke. However, Jill and Katherine continued to argue, but were later able to make some peace with each other.

On November 13, 2009, Katherine Chancellor became Reverend Katherine Chancellor. She became an ordained minister online so that she would be able to officiate the wedding between her dear friend Amber Moore and Amber's longtime boyfriend Daniel Romalotti.

Katherine decided to make Chancellor Industries public and to get others to own the company, but not majority because she still wanted to be the CEO and majority owner of course. The first one to become stockholder was Tucker McCall. He wooed Katherine into letting him into become a stockholder in the company.