Facts
Full Name: Helen Nicole Tyree
Date of Birth: August 4th, 1963
First Appearance: 1.01 “Call Me Home”
Current Occupation: Executive Editor, HEAT Magazine
Co-Owner, HEAT Magazine
Previous: Former Stockholder, Thurlow Lumber Mill Enterprises
Former Business Management Student, Cuttlebone University
Hometown: Beverly Hills, California, United States
Current Residence: 1507 Mango Ln., Stone Creek. [Holly Oak Manor]
Previously: 341 Wallow St., Stone Creek. [Schmidt Home]
505 Auburn Rd., Stone Creek. [Thurlow Cottage]
83 South Ginseng Ave., Stone Creek [Thurlow / Tyree Home]
Student Housing, Cuttlebone University, Cuttlebone City
Relations
Parents: Harrison & Catherine Tyree
Siblings: Michael Tyree
Children: Kirsten Sutton [w/ James Thurlow]
Emmet Thurlow [w/ James Thurlow]
Marina Thurlow [w/ James Thurlow]
Significant Other(s): Patrick Sutton; Engaged, 2013
Previous: Patrick Sutton, Affair in 2012
Dr. David Schmidt, Married in 1999; Divorced in 2012
Dr. David Schmidt, Affair in 1988; Ended in 1998
James Thurlow, Married in 1982; Divorced in 1998
Elias McCormick, Affair in 1977; Ended in 1979
Others: Lisa Adams Tyree [Sister-In-Law]
Dylan Tyree [Niece]
Charlie Sutton [Son-In-Law]
Megan Sutton [Granddaughter]
Henry Thurlow [Former Father-In-Law; Deceased]
Anita Thurlow [Former Mother-In-Law]
Emmet Thurlow [Former Brother-In-Law; Deceased]
Shannon Thurlow Jurado [Former Sister-In-Law; Deceased]
Lionel Schmidt [Former Father-In-Law]
Jenny Schmidt [Former Mother-In-Law]
Gail Schmidt [Former Step-Daughter]
History
Helen Nicole Tyree, was born on August 4th, 1963 in Beverly Hills, California. Being the daughter of a famous movie producers secured Helen and her older brother Michael Tyree financially and socially. She grew up thrust into the world of fashion and became a fashion advice columnist for the school paper while she was in High School. Helen would later manipulate her way into being the Editor when her column was jeopardized for being too harsh to some of the students. While still in High School Helen started dating an older man named Elias McCormack who worked with her father, Harrison Tyree. Elias showered Helen with anything she wanted but insisted that they keep their highly sexual relationship a secret. During her Senior Year the entire student body soon found out about their relationship and she was humiliated. Her father grew angry with Helen after the media got a hold of the story and Elias ended up doing jail time because Helen was underaged. After she graduated, the powerful and vivacious Helen Tyree decided to leave California and attend Cuttlebone University to steer clear of the media outlets. She planned on finding a husband that would help fund her ambitions to publish her own magazine.
While attending Cuttlebone University Helen met ambitious and kind James Thurlow who was the polar opposite of her previous lover, Elias. They grew closer and began dating but before either of them could finish college Helen gave birth in 1983 to their first child, a baby girl named Kirsten Nicole Thurlow. James continued to go to school while Helen kept busy taking care of Kirsten. Once James graduated from Cuttlebone University they relocated to Stone Creek so that he could join the family business. James and Helen tied the knot in 1982.
There hadn’t really been any other excitement in Helen’s life until she was pregnant with her second child and the wife of Gideon Wilkinson began getting mysterious messages from her ex. boyfriend, Rodney Burnett. After sending Kirsten to Beverly Hills to stay with her parents, Helen, James, Gideon and Daphne went to stay at the Thurlow cabin to wait out any news of Rodney’s arrest. But Daphne started to have labor pains and a jealous Helen Thurlow faked a fall down the stairs and was rushed to Stone Creek Memorial Hospital by both men, leaving Daphne alone at the cabin for her safety. What nobody counted on was that the media had caught wind of Helen’s hospitalization and broadcasted their previous hideout, putting Daphne in danger. Gideon Wilkinson was able to save Daphne’s life when he reached the cabin and shot Rodney Burnett, he delivered their baby boy at the cabin.
Helen gave birth in 1986 to a healthy baby boy who they named Emmet Jordan Thurlow in honor of James’ late brother. She continued to bore of her life as a housewife and developed a powerful friendship with her husband’s rival, Patrick Sutton who had returned to town. After Shannon moved on, Patrick married Charlene Nelson. With the help of Patrick and Kirsten’s trust fund her dreams began to come true. She started her magazine empire and named it HEAT.
When his father died, James Thurlow unwillingly took over the family business and became the Chief Executive Officer of Thurlow Lumber Mill Enterprises and much to Helen’s dismay didn’t recognize any of her success with her magazine. In fact, James grew irritated with the way, and the partner that she choose for the company, Helen went about obtaining her dream. Even though there was so much animosity between the two of them she gave birth in 1988 to their second daughter and third child, Marina Annette Thurlow. That same year she entered a decade long affair with Dr. David Schmidt that ended with her divorce from James Thurlow.
After the divorce, James declared only that Helen split her stock in Thurlow Lumber Mill Enterprises between their three children.
She became Mrs. David Schmidt in 1999 much to his daughter, Gail Schmidt’s pleas. In order to gain control of her new life, Helen Schmidt went after Gail and her boyfriend Adrian Stone. She tried to make Gail’s life miserable by inserting the concept that Adrian was bad for his daughter and David took the idea since he was so busy at the hospital. Fed up with Helen and her scheming, Gail and Adrian decided to leave Stone Creek. They skipped town after breaking into David’s safe and hoped on Adrian Stone’s motorcycle. This devastated David.
Start of the Series...
Married now for eleven years, Helen Schmidt found her marriage to David in jeopardy when his daughter, Gail, arrived back in Stone Creek and on their doorstep after a decade absence. Because he hadn’t seen his daughter in years, David welcomed her with open arms, this angered Helen who was still upset that Gail had stolen money that ‘belonged’ to Helen through her marriage. She went on to enlist her personal assistant, Mackenzie Kern to locate and convince Adrian Stone to come back to Stone Creek in hopes that she would shake-up Gail and send her out of town again. But when Adrian came to back with the hopes of reuniting with Gail, the ugly truth that Gail had had a miscarriage the previous year struck the family hard and David vowed if Helen had anything to do with bringing Adrian back to Stone Creek, he would divorce her. Now she was playing Gail’s game as Gail had figured out the truth behind Adrian’s re-appearance.
For months Helen had suspicions that Natalie Marlowe was pregnant and couldn’t handle having a pregnant model on the pages of her magazine but when it turned out that it was her lead model, Cassie Lakhani with a showing baby bump she terminated her contract. This angered Helen’s daughter Marina who is best friends and roommates with Cassie. Helen then offered Cassie’s contract to Natalie.
In 2011 Helen made it her mission to regain her family’s trust after the way she milked Kirsten’s trust fund when she was a child and costing Marina a spot at a prestigious journalism college. While her pleas to her children fell on deaf ears, Helen went to their father James Thurlow and asked for his support. James told Helen that he would help her as long as he did a favor for him and tried to get information out of Damien Crenshaw about Caitlyn’s daughter, Danielle. But before Helen could even get the information out of Damien, he caught onto her and insisted she was on the wrong side. James took his word back and Helen was on the outs again.
A horrible accident left Natalie Marlowe’s face permanently scarred and Helen opted to terminate her contract as well, giving it to the ditzy bartender Amanda Tucker. But after revealing a soft spot for Natalie, she re-hired the younger woman as a photographer assistant and assigned her to Oliver Cuthbert.
With the drama behind-the-scenes at HEAT taken care of, Helen Schmidt refocused her attention back to her family that she did long for. So she volunteered to watch over her granddaughter, Megan Sutton from time-to-time to give Kirsten and Charlie a break. It was a job that Helen was never really good at as Megan had to keep reminding Helen what she was supposed to be doing as an adult. But when a board meeting was called unexpectedly, Helen made the choice to bring Megan along and tried to keep it a secret. Unbeknownst to Helen, during a 2011 Halloween Party, Megan had let it slip to her mother about their adventure and Helen lost Kirsten’s trust once again.
Helen Schmidt went on to help her friend Patrick Sutton try to uncover the truth as to how Damien Crenshaw won the election for Mayor against Patrick. She was able to stake out a conversation between Damien and Clifton Briggs in which they had exchanged some kind of understanding, although the conversation got verbal. In late 2011 Helen started an affair with Patrick Sutton for the first time since they had ever been friends.
Her marriage continued to crumble as she began to disagree with her husband on many different levels, including their guest Dizzy Roberts who had come to stay with them while Gail Schmidt was pregnant with David’s second grandchild. After Dizzy found her own place, it was Helen who accidentally let it slip that she had manipulated Adrian Stone to come back to Stone Creek in hopes that he would rid them of Gail. Their marriage unrepairable, David asked Helen for a divorce. But once Helen hired old friend William Maverick as her divorce attorney, she requested that she got David’s home.
The new year brought trouble for her company as a model had made it known that Oliver Cuthbert had been sexually intrusive towards them. So Helen fired the man and asked him to return to Paris where he had previously resided, but before leaving he threatened Natalie Marlowe who soon took his place as Lead Photographer. Helen was also the one to insure Natalie that Oliver didn’t try to sabotage her career and that they had found the guy who did. The confirmation that Oliver was innocent lost Helen her Lead Photographer as Natalie left Stone Creek with Oliver, bound for Paris, France. Meanwhile Helen got a break through when her daughter Marina Thurlow came to her for help on how to get rid of Leia Joplin from the newspaper staff. Helen suggested that they find something from Leia’s past.
In 2013, Patrick Sutton came to Helen and asked for his rightful spot as Co-Owner of HEAT Magazine, Helen turned things around and agreed to his terms as long as he put a ring on her finger.
Portrayed by: Jamie Luner [2010-Present]
