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Hunter King, formerly known as Haley King, is an American actress known for her recurring roles in several television programs, the most noteworthy being that of Summer Newman in “The Young and The Restless”, often referred to as “Y&R”. Hunter earned the role in 2012 staying in the show until 2016, before returning in 2018; as of 2022, King has once again departed from the soap opera.
Hunter began her career as a child actress, earning roles in the children’s show “Hannah Montana”, as well as a more serious role in the science fiction series “Roswell”, and the sitcom “Workaholics”, eventually working her way up in the industry, going on to play several more roles in popular programs.
However, despite continuing to make a name and living for herself as an actress, the most recent changes in King’s career and schedule have made her fans and followers a little curious. Now that she’s left the set of “Y&R”, people have been asking what the future holds for the young actress.
Some fans, though, are more curious about what happened on the set of “Y&R”, and why Hunter decided to pursue her acting career elsewhere. With so much interest, it’s expected that King’s followers would want honest answers, and wouldn’t mind digging out the truth whatever it might be hidden.
What To Expect?
As we go in search of what can be uncovered about Hunter’s decision to part ways with “Y&R”, we will briefly discuss what is known about Hunter’s early life, before diving into her considerably successful career.
Following this, we’ll close the discussion by addressing the questions about what King is expecting from her future career, as well as why she left “The Young and The Restless”, and what she’s currently doing.
Born A King
Born Haley Ashley King on 19 October 1993, she later adopted the stage name Hunter King, and has been credited as such since. She has an older sister Kelli, and a younger sister Joey, with whom she was raised in a religiously mixed household between Judaism and Christianity.
Hunter expressed an interest in acting at a young age, beginning with early theatre practice, as she performed on local productions in her hometown of Agoura Hills, California. Unfortunately, not much is known about King’s earlier life, as she’s kept most of her personal life away from the prying cameras of gossip publications. As it appears, Hunter managed to keep her personal life private, as not much is really known about her romantic pursuits either.
King began her career as an actress in 2001, earning guest appearances in several popular television shows such as “Roswell” and “Hidden Hills” in 2002, “Without a Trace” and “Line Of Fire”, both in 2004.
In 2006, Hunter earned a guest appearance in two episodes of “Dexter”, portraying a teenage version of the character Debra Morgan. King followed up this performance with two more guest appearances in the following years, including in single episodes of “ER” and “Hannah Montana”.
Hunter earned her first leading role in 2010, at the age of seventeen, playing the part of Alyssa in the television film “It Takes A Village”. In 2011, King appeared in the sitcom “Workaholics”, before earning her first major role in a series the following year, when landing the role of Adriana Masters in the telenovela “Hollywood Heights”. This marked the beginning of King’s early success, as she would play the part for a total of 69 episodes, and lead her on a soap acting career.
While on the set of “Hollywood Heights”, King met the executive producer of “The Young and The Restless”, who offered her the part of Summer Newman, subsequently replacing Lindsay Bushman, who previously played the role. Hunter made her debut appearance in the soap opera on 15 October 2012, shortly before her 19th birthday.
Hunter would remain with the soap opera through 2016, playing a leading role in “Y&R”, until she left the show to pursue other roles. However, not everything was as comfortable as it might have appeared, as Hunter clashed with one of her co-stars on the set of the soap opera.
According to certain gossip outlets, in 2013, King accused Michael Muhney, who played the role of Adam Newman, of sexual harassment, claiming that he groped her breasts on two separate occasions while filming.
As the gossip article explained, King filed a complaint with the show’s producers, threatening to file police charges against Muhney and the show unless Michael was removed from the set. That December, Muhney’s contract with “Y&R” was terminated, though Michael claims that King’s accusations are false, and nothing more than malicious, misleading rumours.
Despite the inappropriate incidents Hunter endured from her co-star, it wasn’t what motivated Hunter to leave the show, but rather her ambition and pursuit of a more prominent acting career. In 2013 and 2014, Hunter appeared as a guest model in four episodes of the popular game show “The Price Is Right”.
During this time, King kept her role in “Y&R”, though still seeking more opportunities, eventually earning the role of Avery Keller in the drama film “A Girl Like Her” in 2015. King also landed a recurring role on the comedy “Life In Pieces”, but would later be cast as a series regular.
In 2016, King parted ways with the set of “Y&R” to focus all of her attention on her comic act in “Life In Pieces”, only to return to “The Young and The Restless” in 2018. During this time, King managed to maintain both roles, but only because an understudy took over her role as Summer Newman.
In 2021, Hunter appeared on the baking reality series “Nailed It!”, before completing her contract with “The Young and The Restless” in 2022.
What’s Next For Hunter King?
When King parted ways from “Y&R” in 2022, with her character also leaving the show, people initially considered that her decision might have been based on some kind of disagreement, as they did before, when she left the show in 2016.
However, Hunter stated during a podcast interview that she absolutely adores playing the role of Summer Newman, despite the recent antics the character has been up to since she returned to play the role. As Hunter explained, Summer will always be a part of her life, marking perhaps her most successful role of her career so far, though King doesn’t mind.
Despite her love for the character, and her joy in portraying the role, which she did for nearly ten years, Hunter decided that it would be best to continue her pursuit of success in the film industry by moving on to new possibilities. As the young actress stated, she did not want to be a part of “The Young and The Restless” her entire career, perhaps becoming typecast.
Although viewers and fans of the popular soap opera are keeping their hopes up for the return of Summer’s character, which currently still seems unlikely, it might sadden King’s followers to know that she won’t be returning for the role. Even if Summer returns, the role would likely be played by a new face, though for now the role has not even been renewed, so “The Young and The Restless” viewers might have to wait.
Moving on from her success in “Y&R”, Hunter has played leading roles in a couple of television films, hoping to continue her journey as an actress and perhaps attain even greater fame. Some of King’s most recent credits include “Hidden Gems”, “A Royal Corgi Christmas”, and “The Professional Bridesmaid”.
Conclusion
While soap operas and telenovelas are mostly popular among housewives and bored ladies, and perhaps a few gentlemen, they can nonetheless make stars out of the actors who form the cast, earning them a familiar place in many homes.
Hunter Kingis one such actress, whose fame earned her the admiration of a considerably large fan base, and as such, many people express an interest in her life.
Though she keeps most of her personal life to herself, some of the drama has nonetheless reached the ears of the public, but it’s safe to say that nothing bad happened on the set of “The Young and The Restless”, at least not this time, which could motivate Hunter’s departure.
As King stated, her decision is purely for professional reasons, and those interested in following the young actress on her journey should feel welcome to keep an eye out for her latest work.
