January 19, 2012…Los Angeles, CA…Actors Texas Battle and Aaron D. Spears have been nominated in the category of Outstanding Actor in a Daytime Drama Series and actress Yvette Freeman has been nominated in the category of Outstanding Actress in a Daytime Drama Series for the 43rd Annual NAACP Image Awards for their work on THE BOLD AND THE BEAUTIFUL (B&B), it was announced today by the NAACP.
Battle first appeared on THE BOLD AND THE BEAUTIFUL as “Marcus Walton” in May, 2008. When Battle’s character arrived in town, it was soon revealed that “Marcus” was a secret that “Donna Logan Forrester” (played by Jennifer Gareis) had been keeping since she was a teenager; he was her illegitimate son with her high school sweetheart “Justin Barber” (played by Aaron D. Spears). After a reunion with his mother, he was adopted by “Donna’s” then husband, “Eric Forrester” (played by John McCook), and became a member of the Forrester fashion dynasty.
Aaron D. Spears portrays “Justin Barber”, a loving father, devoted husband, and ambitious executive vice president of Spencer Publications, a major magazine conglomerate. Spears joined the cast of B&B in September of 2009.
Yvette Freeman plays “Dr. Lewis”, an oncologist who in the past treated hopeless cancer patient, “Stephanie Forrester” (played by Emmy®-Award winner and original cast member Susan Flannery). In 2011 she played a pivotal role in the story of “Nick Marone’s” (played by Jack Wagner) attempt to quit smoking.
This marks Battle and Freeman’s third NAACP Image Award nomination each; he was previously nominated in 2009 and 2010 and she was nominated in 2010 and 2011. It marks Spears’ second NAACP Image Award nomination, his first being in 2010. Today’s announcement increases B&B’s NAACP Image Award nominations to a total of 14 that have been received since the show’s debut 25 years ago. In 1993, the late William J. Bell was nominated, and won, in the category of Outstanding Daytime Drama Series. In 1999, Usher was nominated in the category of Outstanding Actor in a Daytime Drama Series for his role as “Raymond”, as was Antonio Sabato, Jr. in 2005 and 2006 for his role as “Dante Damiano”, Mykel Shannon Jenkins in 2008 for his role as “Charlie Baker”, and Dan Martin in 2009 for his role as “Lt. Baker”.
The NAACP Image Awards celebrates the accomplishments of people of color in the fields of television, music, literature and film and also honors individuals or groups who promote social justice through creative endeavors. Winners will be announced during the two-hour star-studded event, which will air live on Friday, February 17 (8:00-10:00 PM ET live/PT tape-delayed) on NBC.
