Eric Braeden wasn’t supposed to stay on The Young and the Restless forever — when he first walked onto the Genoa City set in 1980 as

Victor Newman, it was meant to be just a short stint. But something changed. He fell in love with the character, the storytelling, and the

world, and decided to stick around — for 45 years and counting. Over those decades, he became more than an actor on a soap — he became the face of Victor Newman and a cornerstone of the show itself.

Eric Braeden immigrated to the U.S. as a teen, earned a track-and-field scholarship, and became a naturalized citizen while in college.
His adventure documentary The Riverbusters led him to Los Angeles, where he began landing TV roles, including a 1966 guest spot on Mission: Impossible.
Braeden broke out as Captain Hans Dietrich on The Rat Patrol and later earned Germany’s Federal Medal of Honor for promoting a positive image of Germans in America.
Since joining Y&R in 1980, he has become iconic as Victor Newman, winning a Daytime Emmy in 1998 and remaining a champion of the soap genre

Born Hans Gudegast on April 3 in Kiel, Germany, during World War II, the future star was a standout athlete from an early age. Excelling in track and field, he honed his skills before immigrating to the United States as a teen. In Texas and Montana, Gudegast worked as a translator, cowhand, and lumber mill laborer, showcasing his grit and determination. His athletic talent eventually earned him a scholarship to Montana State University, setting the stage for a remarkable journey in sports and beyond. While in college, Braeden became a naturalized citizen.