British actress and singer Olivia d’Abo (“The Wonder Years”) chatted about her 2025 Emmy nomination for “The Bay,” which was created by Gregori J. Martin.
Helen Keller once said: “The best and most beautiful things in the world cannot be seen or even touched – they must be felt with the heart.” This quote applies to Olivia d’Abo.
She has been nominated in the brand new Emmy category for “Outstanding Emerging Talent in a Daytime Drama Series” for her portrayal of Felicia “Fifi” Garrett-Martin.
This is a new category established by The National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (NATAS), which recognizes actors in their first daytime contract with no previous Daytime Emmy nominations.
Olivia d’Abo on how she found out she was nominated for an Emmy
On her inaugural Emmy nomination, d’Abo remarked, “It felt awesome! One of the things that was kind of surprising about it is that Season 9 was my first season on ‘The Bay,’ so to get nominated for an Emmy right out of the gate is kind of a coup. That certainly never happened to me before in my career.”
“It was weird because I didn’t even know the date I was going to find out if I was nominated or not,” she noted.
“I was actually at an appointment and I got this text from Gregori J. Martin saying I was nominated for an Emmy, and then, The D’Ambrosio Twins called me, and it was this big celebratory thing,” she expressed.
“I’ve already had the experience of winning an Emmy with ‘The Wonder Years’ so it harked back, and it generated that feeling of excitement and surprise in me again, especially since I had never done daytime TV before,” she expanded.
Playing Fifi Garrett in ‘The Bay’
On playing the role of Fifi Garrett, d’Abo said, “For me, it was all about the role! My character, Fifi, is Australian and she is a Garrett, and the Garretts are already established on the show.”
“I love doing dialects,” she exclaimed. “That is one of my fortes, as well as being a voiceover actress.”
“My character is like Heather Locklear in ‘Melrose Place.’ She’s a boss bitch and she takes up a lot of space, and then she comes and kind of wreaks havoc after Sofia from Romantica has departed.”
“So, Fifi comes in with big guns. I come in with big guns, and I loved the possibilities of what I could do with the character, and I was able to really layer her,” she explained.
“I went beyond playing a boss bitch in corporate America. I also found wit and humor in her. I know this show is a drama, but I think you can be dramatic through humor,” she elaborated.
“The showrunner, Gregori told me that once I started to layer Fifi is that she is actually not that good at being a bitch, and that’s what he really loved about her,” she said with a sweet laugh.
“Fifi tries, but she’s also lovable because she has these moments of transparency where she is more than just a powerful woman in control. She makes these very quick decisions. You can see her completely thinking on her feet and such is life,” she expanded.
“Especially in a job that is high pressured like that, she is kind of hiring and firing people in the first episode,” she said.
“You can also be humorous through drama. The two can meet in the middle somewhere, and that’s what I really found interesting about how the character develops,” she added.
Working with Gregori J. Martin
On working with creator, head writer and director Gregori J. Martin, she said, “I love the tone that Gregori J. Martin set on ‘The Bay’ set because he is open to seeing what you bring, and if it’s something that he hadn’t thought about before, and if he thinks it is going to actually enhance the character more, then he’s all for it.
“Gregori is willing to play with the actors, and develop the characters with them, as they go along. When I played Fifi, I started channeling Alec Baldwin from ’30 Rock’ for some reason,” she noted.
“Fifi has that kind of dry and funny persona, as well as a fine tune balance of ying and yang,” she added.
Forthcoming studio album
She is looking forward to her upcoming studio album, slated for an early 2026 release, which is already stirring excitement.
She is known for her past collaborations with Seal and Bon Jovi, and she is returning to the music spotlight with a sound that is both sultry and cinematic.
To learn more about Emmy nominee Olivia d’Abo, follow her on Instagram and Facebook.
