As Audra gets involved in Victor Newman’s latest machinations involving Kyle and the Abbotts on The Young and the Restless, soap opera beauty Zuleyka Silver gets candid with Woman’s World about her character’s audacity, as well as the joy of uncovering the schemer’s softer side with Sean Dominic’s Nate. Could this be the end of Audra’s redemption tale?
Plus, the Mexican model-turned-actress who walked the runway on The Bold and the Beautiful and got laughs on Young Sheldon before landing on The Young and the Restless reveals her secret to fitting into those skintight dresses.
After all the scheming and sleeping around Audra’s done since arriving in Genoa City in 2022, viewers have recently watched the powerhouse businesswoman slow down and enjoy a warm, supportive romance with Nate.
“She’s an ambitious go-getter, but we’ve seen a turn in Audra,” portrayer Zuleyka Silver maintains. “We’re seeing a little bit more of her vulnerability. I am loving the fact that she is evolving and we’ve chipped away at some of her walls because that woman is guarded!”
With Nate, the first Genoa City local Audra met, one of Silver’s favorite moments playing her character came when he pushed her out of her comfort zone, last year.
“There was a scene that Sean Dominic and I filmed where we go into Audra’s hotel room, and she’s thinking they’re going to get it on, but Nate’s like, ‘No, hold on.’” Silver recounts. “He puts her in front of a mirror and he’s talking to her in her ear, saying these things to uplift her and really speak to her. Audra got a little emotional, even though she was trying to fight it, and we were able to see some of why she is the way she is and learn what her deepest fears and desires are. I loved shooting that!”
In a surprising turn, Audra has managed to keep her nose clean and even seems to have caught feelings for Nate.
“Audra is so fast at telling someone, ‘This is not serious. We’re not going to take this to the next level,’” Silver says. “I don’t know if she believes in ‘The One,’ but because Nate’s so patient with her and he understands her, he’s shown her a side of herself that she has tried so hard to bury.”
While Silver is cheering her character’s growth, however, she hasn’t wanted Audra to go too far overboard.
“Whenever I feel like she does something that’s a little too nice, I’m like, ‘Let’s not forget who Audra is at her core!’” she laughs. “She is scheming, and I love that about her. It’s so fun to play someone that has this ulterior motive or is using people to her advantage, because it’s so far from who I am.”
Audra doesn’t just use people. In addition to enjoying casual flings, the sex pot is not averse to mixing business with pleasure.
“Audra is not doing anything different than what men have been doing for a long time,” Silver contends. “There’s certainly a double standard, so I love to see her channel her inner Samantha and be unapologetic about it. She’s like, ‘Yeah, I sleep around, and what?’ If that’s her choice, and that’s what she wants to do, go Audra!”
Put simply, Silver is a huge fan of her character’s self-confidence.
“She just takes risks, and she’s not really scared of anyone,” Silver brags. “She doesn’t even think failing is a possibility—even though she has done it! When she agreed to have Victor invest in Glissade, I smelled that one from a mile away. I was like, ‘He’s definitely going to take that company from her,’ and that’s exactly what happened. Of course, Victor’s gonna win! He’s not gonna lose to Audra.”
While this schemer has a tendency to underestimate her competition, Silver admits she’s trying to embrace some of Audra’s audacity in the real world.
“When I first came on to the show, I had a little bit of a fear of, ‘Oh my gosh, what if I don’t know my lines? What if I’m not good enough?’” she explains. “Audra has taught me to just go for it, take up space, and be unafraid. I’ve channeled that into my life. Not everything about her! But I’m definitely trying to incorporate more of that confidence.”
The ‘Y&R’ star reveals why she’s hiding bruises on her legs
One way Silver is embracing that side of herself is via Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu martial arts training.
“I recently got into it and go three to four times a week,” says the 3-stripe white belt who has to hide the bruises on her legs with makeup when she comes to work. “I’m so scared of getting myself hurt while doing Jiu-Jitsu, because that happens so frequently. But I am addicted to it. I love it so much!”
The secret to Silver’s killer body, however, is that she mixes it up.
“When being healthy and fit is part of your life, it gets boring,” she explains. “Just riding a bicycle over and over again can get pretty tedious, so I do Pilates, and then I do weight training, or I try to hike or run—as long as I’m doing something and I’m having fun.”
Going up against Eric Braeden’s Victor is ‘a treat’
While Zuleyka Silver is kicking butt at the dojo, Audra is getting back into the ring with Victor on The Young and the Restless. In exchange for her pick of jobs in the Newmanverse, she has to get back to playing dirty and help him come between Kyle and Claire.
“Let’s go, Victor!” cheers Silver, who tells Woman’s World she still has the occasional fan girl moment when Audra gets into it with this soap opera legend. “The fact that I get to work with Eric Braeden, that’s such a treat. I still get a little like, ‘Oh my god, it’s Eric Braeden!’ But once I get into the scene, I’m good. It’s so fun!”
Having lost to Victor before, Audra has a lot more to lose this time around—and lying by omission is not the best way to protect her relationship with Nate or her recent growth.
As her character sits on the precipice, Silver is ready for action and concludes, “I just love being here at The Young and the Restless!”
