How did this role come about?

“In September 2008, Y&R invited me to come on the show but I fell down and broke my knee and fractured my shoulder. I thought that I missed my chance to come on the show, but they called again. They kept in touch with me and said when I was feeling better to come on over, and I did. I’m doing great!”

Tell us about your character…

“Aunt Virginia came to Cane and Lily’s wedding to reveal something that nobody in the cast knew before. She came to reveal that Devon was not related to some of the people that he thought he was related to. She is the great Auntie Virginia, and so she knew the history dating back to when they were all children. Virginia is able to give Devon some information about his biological father and others that Devon thought he was related to.”

Have you worked with Kristoff St. John (Neil) before?

“Yes I have! I have known Kristoff for a long time. I teach metaphysics, and he took classes with me. At one time, I thought he might become my son-in-law but it didn’t work out that way. We have since worked together on various shows and projects.”

Were you a fan of The Young and the Restless?

“I am not a big fan of soap operas, but I do watch The Young and the Restless from time to time to see how Kristoff is doing.”

You have a history in music, TV and film. How does daytime compare?

“It is a different kind of production, but it is basically the same thing. You memorize your lines, you hit your mark, and you stand where you are told.”

Did you enjoy your day with the cast?

“I had a great time. I enjoyed meeting the cast. I met a couple of young people that I had not met before. It was a very interesting shoot. Bryton, the young man that I deliver the information to, is a very gentle, talented young man. Rare indeed. I had several scenes with him and enjoyed working with him tremendously. I enjoy working with Jamia [Ana] as well. She is an old soul! She brought me some very deep subjects to talk about in between scenes. She’s a 90 year- old wrapped up in a young body! One of the things I loved about her was that she kept referring to the wonderfulness of her father, mother and sister.”

Has anyone brought you up to speed on the storyline?

“I didn’t need any background. They covered it all in the script. It was a very simple thing for me to do.”

Do you think you would enjoy a return visit?

“I am sure they could entice me to come back.” [She smiled]

What things do you have on your plate right now?

“I am traveling and singing. I am a pastor of a church right now that keeps me very busy. I am writing a series that will give people the same feeling as Touched by an Angel but doesn’t have anything to do with Touched by an Angel. That show has been off the air for 5 years now, and people still stop me in the streets and tell me how much that show touched them. For example, I was in Dallas a week ago, and a lady came up to me and took hand. She said ‘I want to thank you because Touched by an Angel helped me make it through when my sister was murdered.’”

Looking at your resume and seeing how you got your start singing gospel, went on to become an actress and later a reverend, I thought how rare that someone gets to incorporate all their talents into one role like you did on Touched by an Angel.

“It was a wonderful experience! I also was able to help the writers with scripture because they didn’t know it as well as I did. In the house that I was raised, we had to remember and recite a passage from the bible to get to eat, and you couldn’t just repeat the one you recited the day before or you would have to leave the table and find a new one before you could eat. It was one of the greatest things, if not the greatest thing, that I have ever done, which was working on that show.”

“And it touched so many lives! One lady came up to me in the ladies room and said she had the pills in her hand and she saw no reason not to take them because she didn’t want to live any more. She said that she went into the living room and the show was on and it happened to be an episode where a lady was about to commit suicide. She watched the episode and threw away the pills. What the episode reflected, the theme, like so many, touched her and let her know that she had a lot to live for.”

“People always need an option, a new way of looking at something. That is what Touched by an Angel did and the series that I am working on. You don’t have to take that road. You can take another road.”

Did any of the cast of The Young and the Restless guest on Touched by an Angel?

“Jeanne Cooper (Katherine) was on our show and I worked with her today as well.”

Do you stay in touch with any of your Touched by an Angel co-stars?

“Roma Downey is like my daughter and I am the godmother to her daughter. We see each other all of the time. That is one thing about Roma and I, we never had to "learn" each other. It seemed like we had always known each other, and we started working together right away. We just clicked.”

How did you feel about the recent election?

“I never thought I would see that in my lifetime. Ever! I am so proud of the black man that is the first black president. This particular black man is just an exceptional human being. It just turns me on. He is so real and honest. I watched a news segment of the Easter egg hunt on the White House front lawn. There he was, gravitating to the littlest child and picked him up so that he could put an egg in his basket. It is just such a symbol to his character that he is there to help the little guy. A real human being.”

Thanks, Della!