Kimberlin Brown has been defying death for decades as Sheila Carter, aka a dastardly villain who seemed to have way more than nine lives, on "The Bold and the Beautiful." But even Sheila can only fend off fate for so long.
After many near-death experiences during her longtime stint on daytime TV, Sheila finally died in an episode of the show that aired in February. Many fans weren't convinced that she was really gone, and they may have been right.
As viewers eagerly wait to see if Sheila really is back, we're recapping the dramatic saga and taking a look at all the clues that suggest she is still alive.
How did Sheila Carter die on 'The Bold and the Beautiful'?
In an ironic twist of fate, Sheila died at the hands of her nemesis, Steffy Forrester (Jacqueline MacInnes Wood), whom she had actually intended to kill.
In an episode of "The Bold and the Beautiful" that aired the week of Feb. 26, Sheila snuck into Steffy's home. When the power went out, Steffy got nervous and suspected that Sheila was up to no good. She then saw a cloaked figure and instinctively knew it was her.
Wielding a large kitchen knife, Steffy stabbed Sheila as she approached her. She was later pronounced dead when the paramedics arrived, and Steffy insisted that she acted in self-defense.
The two women have a lot of history: Sheila is the biological mother of Steffy's husband, Finn (Tanner Novlan), and has been terrorizing the Forrester family for decades. In 2023, Sheila accidentally shot her son in an alley scuffle with Steffy (whom she then shot intentionally).
Finn "died," but it was later revealed that his adoptive mother nursed him back to health. Since this whole traumatic experience, Steffy has been on extra high alert and has tried to keep Sheila away from her husband and children. Sheila also ended up in jail while she awaited trial for shooting Steffy and Finn.
When charges against Sheila were dropped by the court, however, Sheila could roam around freely, and that dynamic has caused strain on Finn and Steffy's marriage. Earlier this year, Steffy confronted Sheila at her apartment, and they got into a physical altercation. Steffy has also been vocal about wanting Sheila dead.
What has happened on the show since Sheila's death?
A lot of action has unfolded since Sheila’s dramatic exit from the show in February. For starters, the police determined that Steffy was acting in self-defense when she killed Sheila. At first, Finn had a hard time being around his wife after she killed his mother. Over time, he came to terms with both Sheila’s death and Steffy’s role in it.
Sheila's fiancé, Deacon (Sean Kanan), hosted a memorial ceremony for her and only Finn and Deacon’s daughter, Hope (Annika Noelle), attended. Later on, Deacon went to a crematorium to witness Sheila's cremation. As her body entered the machine, a sheet blew off of her feet and revealed 10 toes.
Viewers of "The Bold and the Beautiful" will recall that Sheila only had nine toes since she cut off one of them while faking her death in 2022.
Since then, Deacon has been convinced that that wasn't Sheila's body. In an episode that aired the week of April 15, Deacon searched through Sheila's laptop for clues and stumbled upon a few messages between her and a person she called Sugar.
Who the heck is Sugar? And how could Sheila be alive?
Sheila has always been a master at faking her own death and did so most recently in 2022, so fans of the show weren't convinced that the villain had really died after Steffy killed her in February.
"They want us to think Sheila is dead? That b---- wouldn’t die if you chopped off her head," one wrote on X.
Many viewers took to social media to share memes to convey their suspicions about Sheila's death, including this one of Arnold Schwarzenegger saying "I'll be back" in "The Terminator."
"The fact that everyone keeps saying dead is letting me know shelia is coming back," another fan wrote on X.
One viewer called Sheila “the female Mich(ae)l Myers,” and some fans suggested that Sheila isn't really the one who died. Rather, they think that Sugar died, and Sheila is lurking in the shadows, just waiting for Steffy and Finn's marriage to fall apart now that she's "gone."
“No way she went out like that. I think she is setting Steffy up,” one X user said.
"It’s definitely Sugar, not Sheila that died," another person wrote on X.
Per Soaps, Sugar is a prison warden that Sheila once knew and manipulated to get cosmetic surgery to look just like her.
Evil twins and uncanny look-alikes are certainly the bread and butter of the soap opera world, so the theory is pretty solid.
Is Sheila really dead? What Kimberlin Brown has said about her on-screen death
Sheila has been wreaking havoc on the characters of “The Bold and the Beautiful” and “The Young and the Restless” for decades, and she’s always managed to escape death. However, Brown insisted that her character’s number was really up this time around.
In an interview with TV Insider, the actor said she has mixed feelings about her departure from daytime TV.
“Well, you know, it’s a tough place for me to be in right now; I’m not going to lie about this,” she said. “I guess if anyone were going to take Sheila down, I’m happy it’s Steffy. I just wish that no one was taking Sheila down. It’s my happy place where I have been so blessed to be for over 35 years. But I’ve had a good run at it, so I’m one of the lucky ones, there’s no doubt about it.”
Wood also called her on-screen nemesis’s death “bittersweet.”
“She elevates every scene, and she’s so creative. For Steffy, hallelujah!” she said. “This is her moment. How long has it taken Steffy to take her down and it’s finally happening, so it’s going to be a big shock.”
Casey Kasprzyk, a supervising producer on the show, also seemed to suggest that Sheila is truly dead in a tribute post to Brown on Instagram.
“This is an appreciation post for Kimberlin Brown — undoubt(e)bly the greatest villain in daytime television history. It’s been a dream working with her over the years, and so thankful for all the memories,” he wrote.