Represented by: Kelly Rowan (2006-18; 2019; 2022)
Previous representations: Kelly Rutherford (1998-2000; 2001; 2005)

VITAL STATISTICS

Appearances: 1998-2000; 2001; 2005; 2006-2018; 2019; 2022

Parents: Bob and Anita Taylor

Siblings: Brent and Josh Taylor

Children: Elly Vanderbilt (with Jimmy Trask)

Relationships: Widowed by Ryan Moriani. Prior relationships with Matt Gray and Jimmy Trask. Was engaged to Andy Fitch.

Occupation: Songwriter and performer

SUMMARY

Aspiring musician Danielle took a job as housekeeper at Katherine Fitch’s mansion and fell for Katherine’s son, Andy, as they investigated a mystery surrounding the previous housekeeper. Katherine opposed Andy’s relationship with Danielle and tried her mightiest to split them up, even going so far as to bribe a record executive into offering Danielle a contract that would take her away from King’s Bay on tour. The couple overcome Katherine’s interference and planned to marry, but Danielle got cold feet on their wedding day and left town.

In 2006, she returned and confided in her brother, Brent, that she had developed an addiction to alcohol and completed a stint in rehab. She began working as the nanny to Brent and Molly’s twin sons. When her goddaughter, Elly, ran away from home and came to stay with her, Danielle struggled with the secret knowledge that Elly was her biological daughter, whom she’d given up to her close friends, Tom and Melanie Vanderbilt, to raise. When the truth came out, Elly felt betrayed by Danielle, but they mended fences and grew close. Danielle also became involved with Ryan Moriani, whose life was in a spiral, but his own drinking problem presented problems for them — particularly when his secret marriage to Diane Bishop, which had not been properly annulled, came out on his wedding day to Danielle. A heartbroken Danielle embarked upon a relationship with Matt Gray, although both were on the rebound, and it never became serious. Elly’s biological father, Jimmy Trask, showed up in town, and although he tried to woo Danielle, she finally reunited with Ryan, who had gotten sober. Sadly, Ryan was murdered by the Footprint Killer, and Danielle only got to wed him on his deathbed. Grieving, she turned to the bottle, and although she hid her drinking for a time, the truth came out. She worked to regain her sobriety and finally recorded the album she’d been working on for years. When one of her songs went viral, she received an offer to move to Los Angeles to work as a songwriter, and she left King’s Bay in 2018 with new hope.