Eric Braeden is best known for his role in The Young and the Restless (Y&R) as the all-powerful Victor Newman. Still, the actor has had his fair share of heartache and tragedy over the years.

The Young And The Restless – Star Eric Braeden – Hard Beginnings

Braeden was born during World War 2, on April 3, 1941. Named Hans-Jörg Gudegast in Bredenbek, Germany, near Kiel, he entered the world under unique circumstances.

As chaos and fire were erupting around him, conditions were so dangerous that the hospital he was born in was bombed the day after he and his mom were discharged.

Was it timing or good luck? That’s hard to say; however, Braeden shared that the way he grew up had him feeling he could “overcome” anything!

Braeden opens up about his continued childhood struggles in his book, “I’ll Be Damned”. He notes that his father died of a heart attack when he was only 12, leaving his mom to care for four sons, all by herself.

Eric was also a survivor of the MV Wilhelm Gustloff sinking that occurred in 1945, the deadliest single ship sinking in history with approximately over 9,000 people losing their lives.

Y&R Spoilers – Eric Braeden – Breaking Into The Business

Braeden came to American in 1959 and started working on television and movie projects in the 1960s. Still, it wasn’t until 1970 that he started using the name “Eric Braeden” when it came to acting roles.

When snagging a movie role in Colossus: The Forbin Project, Universal Pictures told him no one could star in a U.S. film with a German name, after much consideration, he agreed to it and took the name “Braeden” from “Bredenbek”, his hometown; however, Eric has noted this decision was one of the hardest he had to make.

The Young And The Restless – Star Eric Braeden – Issues With The Soap

While Braeden did a ton of television and movies, his legacy has been the land of daytime drama playing the infamous, Victor Newman. He accepted the role in 1980 and continues to dominate the land of Genoa City.

One major storyline that is currently playing on canvas is his feud with Jack Abbott (Peter Bergman), a long-time rivalry that keeps fans on the edge of their seats.

He and Peter Bergman work so well together, but Braeden has admitted to having issues with the actor in the past.

They got into an altercation in 1991, over different styles when it came to approaching storylines.

The two were able to resolve their conflict and move on with growing mutual respect for one another, but it sounds like things were a little dicey between the two in those early years.

Braeden also had issues with the Y&R itself and walked off the show in 2009 when he refused to take a pay cut. Thankfully, he returned in 2010 after he and the soap were able to compromise on his contract.

Y&R Spoilers  – Star Eric Braeden – Losing Loved Ones

The Y&R set looks like one big happy family (for the most part), and one of the biggest obstacles Eric has had to overcome is losing beloved co-stars. One major one was the passing of Jeanne Cooper (Katherine Chancellor) in 2013.

In a statement at the time, Braeden stated that Cooper was a “joy to work with”, going on to note the two never did a scene without “laughs”.

Eric was also crushed in 2019 when Kristoff St. John (Neil Winters) passed away. At the time of St. John’s death, Braeden told USAToday.com, “Colleagues loved him, the crew loved him, I don’t think a person that he worked with didn’t love Kristoff. He was just a great guy – funny, intelligent (and) always would listen to what anyone had to say about anything.”

The Young And The Restless Spoilers – Star Eric Braeden – Health Issues

In the spring of 2023, fans were shocked to learn that Eric was diagnosed with bladder cancer.

He found out about the condition when he was recovering from knee-replacement surgery and dealing with a prostate-related treatment.

In typical Braeden fashion, he fought the illness and by August of 2023, he hopped on social media to announce he was cancer-free.