Naya Benedict was a fresh new character of Young and the Restless that the fans instantly fell in love with. Portrayed by actress Ptosha Storey, known for her role as Chyna on Fox’s Empire as well as Bel Air, Naya made her daytime debut in December 2020. Ptosha even won a Daytime Emmy for Outstanding guest performance back in 2022. But sadly, we won’t see Naya in Y&R anymore.
Amanda Sinclair, who grew up not knowing her real family, discovered she had a twin sister named Hilary Curtis, who sadly passed away. When she found about it thanks to Nate, Amanda started digging into her past. With a little detective work, she tracked down her birth mom, Naya Benedict. Amanda, with Devon Hamilton beside her for moral support, first met with Naya during Christmas Eve which kicked of whole new story.
Before her surprise at Naya’s doorstep, Amanda had actually called her to give her a heads up but she didn’t get through, so she decided to just take a chance and ring the bell. But, unfortunately, before she could even step up to the house, Imani Benedict showed up and called for her mom to open up. Amanda got a quick glimpse of Naya as she opened the door for her daughter.
Seeing her birth mom with the kid she decided to keep instead of giving up for adoption hit Amanda hard. She felt crushed and headed back home. But after chatting with Lily, she mustered up the courage to call Naya herself. When she revealed about being her long-lost daughter, Naya was completely floored!
Naya initially agreed to head to Genoa City to meet Amanda but then got cold feet and backed out. When her daughter Imani tried to warn Amanda off, Amanda instead showed up at Naya’s doorstep, putting pressure on her. Wanting to keep her past under wraps from her family, Naya eventually caved and agreed to join Amanda in Genoa City to tell her what led to her abandoning Amanda.
In a heart to heart, Naya revealed she was pressured by her religious family into giving up Amanda and Hilary at birth, because they though them as a mistake. She sadly revealed that the twins’ father, Richard, passed away in a car accident a year after their birth. Naya was devastated to learn about Hilary’s tragic car accident as well. Once the dust settled, Naya attempted to reach out to Amanda again, hoping to build a mother-daughter connection that they never had. However, Amanda put her foot down when Naya wanted to keep their relationship a secret from the rest of the family.
After some time, Naya and Amanda started to bond a bit. But then, Naya approached Amanda with a request: to represent her father, Sutton Ames, who was being accused of causing the car accident that killed Amanda’s father, Richard! Despite the family ties, Amanda decided to take on the case. Naya even sent her a box of files with a picture of Richard for Amanda to see.
Later on, Naya had a stroke, and both her daughters came to visit her. However, in February 2024, it was revealed that Naya had passed away. During a conversation between Amanda and Phyllis, Phyllis expressed her sympathies about Naya’s death, and Amanda mentioned that she was able to be with her during her final moments.
That’s the end for Naya’s story in Young and the Restless.