Valerie Davis

Valerie Davis

Vincent Clarkson, also known by the alter ego Valerie Davis, is a fictional character from the American soap opera Passions. Created by the soap's founder and head writer James E. Reilly, Vincent was portrayed by Phillip Jeanmarie from 2006 to 2008. Valerie was played by Daphnée Duplaix from 2004 to 2008, and temporarily by Siena Goines in 2007. Jeanmarie originally auditioned for the role of a peeping tom before the role was expanded as the show progressed. Jeanmarie and Duplaix were both unaware that Vincent and Valerie were the same character until receiving the script and shooting the scenes. Jeanmarie approached playing Vincent through his abuse as a child by his grandfather Alistair Crane, interpreting him as a character constantly searching for acceptance. The character received a more uncertain response from the show's other cast members. Vincent, part of Passions' Russell family and Crane family, is the long-lost son of Julian Crane and Eve Russell. Mentally unstable and violent from years of abuse from Alistair, he appears initially under the alias Valerie Davis, but his later persona as the "Blackmailer", and his criminal actions, dominate the show in its later years. He received further prominence for his incestuous affair with Chad Harris-Crane, sexual identity as intersex, and pregnancy with his father's child. Critical response to Vincent was mixed; some reviewers praised the soap opera's decision to include lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) characters and topics, while others criticized his relationship with Chad and actions as the "Blackmailer" as irresponsible and problematic representations of racial and sexual identity. Despite negative attention toward the character, Jeanmarie and Duplaix's performance garnered some positive reviews. The character marks a notable step in daytime television and soap opera history; it was the first depiction in a soap opera of two men having sex. Vincent has also been cited as expanding the representation of LGBT characters of color on daytime television.

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