INTERVIEW: A dramatic year for Donna left The Bold and the Beautiful's Jennifer Gareis at an Emmy reel loss

The Bold and the Beautiful's Jennifer Gareis took Donna on an emotional journey that earned her an Emmy nod.

Poor Donna Logan was put through the wringer last year. The Bold and the Beautiful character had finally found some happiness in life with Eric Forrester, and it was all about to be ripped away. Eric learned he was dying, and Donna had to face the prospect of life alone. Now, Jennifer Gareis has a Daytime Emmy nomination for Outstanding Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role.

With so much meaty material to sink her acting chops into, Gareis found herself needing a little bit of help when choosing what was going to go on her Emmy reel.

"Last year was a whirlwind," Gareis admitted to Soap Central's Dan J Kroll. "There were so many good scenes that I looked at. So much, so much good writing, you know, like in the guesthouse, reminiscing about the years that we've been together in the hospital by his side. There were so many scenes. I asked [Supervising Producer] Casey [Kasprzyk] and [B&B Publicist] Eva [Basler] to help me out because they're very experienced, and they know what to look for. They know what any worthy things look like. So, I definitely asked them, and I leaned on them to help me pick. I gave a bunch of my top picks, but then I kind of leaned on them to make the final decision."

Although an Emmy nomination is always welcome, it was just the icing on the cake for Gareis after being given the opportunity to play out Donna's story in 2023.

"It was wonderful to [be on] this roller coaster of emotions," the actress said. "And I can only imagine if you're finally with this man who I've been loving for more than a decade and finally I'm with him. I can only imagine what that would feel like if you heard news like that...But, you know, it's, we're still, we're still riding along on that roller coaster."

Gareis knew the nomination announcements were coming but was stuck in traffic on the Los Angeles Freeway when they were announced.

"So much of our time is spent traveling, and I was trying to figure out how I could get live TV on my phone to hear this announcement, just in case," she said. "But I couldn't exactly pull up apps while I was on the freeway, so I didn't get to do that. But Eva called me and said that I [was nominated]. Thank goodness for Eva because I was like, how am I ever gonna find this out? But yeah, it's pretty hard to concentrate on driving on a freeway when you hear this news. Go to the slow lane."

Ever the mom, Gareis didn't even get much chance to catch her breath and celebrate after getting the good news. She had a camping trip to chaperone, so thoughts of the glam night coming on June 7 had to wait so the actress could rough it for a bit.

"I had to pick up my daughter and her friends to go camping," she explained. "It was their fifth-grade camping trip. So, I heard the news Friday morning, and then I had to go home and pack up for this camping trip, and then I picked up my daughter, and I was on the road all the way up to Santa Barbara in Friday traffic and stuff. So, I barely digested this because I was camping the whole weekend with a bunch of fifth graders."

Now that the trip is over, it's time for Gareis to start thinking about her Emmy attire. Last year's Emmy dress ended up becoming Donna's when she remarried Eric this past February, but what about this year?

"I haven't thought about the dress or the shoes or anything yet," Gareis confessed. "But I want to make it special, whether I get somebody to design one for me or maybe just find a fabulous one, like a Dolce & Gabbana or something fun like that."

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Jennifer Gareis got her start in daytime as Grace Turner on The Young and the Restless in February 1997. She joined B&B as Donna in July 2006.

Did you enjoy the emotional roller coaster Gareis' Donna was on this past year? Are Donna and Eric in it for the long haul? We want to hear from you -- so drop your comments in the Comments section below, tweet about it on Twitter, share it on Facebook, or chat about it on our Message Boards.

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