May is a very hectic month for Victoria Rowell (ex-Drucilla, Young and Restless). Not only does it include her birthday (which falls on May 10), but the entire 31 days is National Foster Care Awareness Month. Rowell, who grew up in the foster care system, is in high demand as a guest at celebrations as well and as a speaker raising awareness of foster care. In fact, the actress/author/director/producer happily observed her birthday by attending the CASA/LA’s 12th Annual Reimagine Gala at The Beverly Hilton. CASA of Los Angeles is an organization that advocates for children and families in the overburdened child welfare and juvenile justice systems of Los Angeles County, and they recognize honorees dedicated to the foundation’s cause.
“I’ve had a relationship with CASA/LA since the early 2000s when I was asked to lecture for them,” explains Rowell. “I’ll be speaking for them again in the fall around National Adoption Day [November 23],” which falls during Adoption Awareness Month. “This [year’s marking of it] ties back in celebrating the 20th anniversary of the foster care and adoption storyline on Young And Restless with Devon, played beautifully all these years by the talented Bryton James.”
It was Rowell who suggested to co-creator/then-head writer William J. Bell that his show feature a story on foster care. The idea drew interest but the timing wasn’t right, until a few years later with another head scribe. She notes, “Jack Smith picked it up, and said, ‘We’re going to greenlight this, we’re going to do this story.’ ”
The character of Devon Hamilton, an angry 16-year-old with a chip on his shoulder who wasn’t faring well in foster care, was introduced. He was taken in by Drucilla and Neil, who eventually adopted him. Opines Rowell, “The power of the story is not only the millions of people that it touches but also the awards that it attracted, like the [NAACP] Image Awards and [Daytime] Emmys. Plus, those performances were included in Writers Guild reels and Directors Guild reels. We really had a powerful consortium of excellent actors, going all the way to the actress that played the social worker, Davenia McFadden [ex-Lorena Davis], who did a brilliant job, and they pulled off the storyline in an authentic way.”
In the present day, the accolades keep coming for Rowell. On May 31, she will be acknowledged for her tireless dedication at the adult prom gala by She Ready Foundation, which was started by actress/comedienne Tiffany Haddish, who also spent her youth in the foster care system. “She told me the most amazing story at an award ceremony last year in Beverly Hills,” Rowell recalls. “She was on the red carpet and I was a few steps ahead of her. I had never met her before and after we acknowledged each other, she said to me, ‘You know, you spoke at my high school about foster care and I decided I’m going do what she’s doing. I’m going to be an actress. If she can do it, I can do it.’ It was such a beautiful full-circle moment and we’ve been in touch ever since, so she’s honoring me at her gala.”
Rowell is also determined to turn her memoir, The Women Who Raised Me, into a movie because she believes “the message is timeless. It’s about mentoring, and passing good forward. It doesn’t only profile foster parents, amazing social workers and people who were my guardians, it also profiles ballet teachers, Carnegie Hall recitalists, and people from the farming community of Maine. It also bridges my life in New York and in California, in the entertainment industry and the remarkable people that I met out here.” She adds, “My book has been optioned twice by HBO and a script has been developed, so we’ll see, but I have every intention of getting The Women Who Raised Me produced, no matter where it ultimately lands.”
As previously reported, Rowell’s next movie, Summer Camp, which co-stars Diane Keaton, Kathy Bates and Alfre Woodard, will be released on May 31.
