Dina Mergeron - Eve Howard

Eve Howard was the mother of Cole Howard, as well as a romance of Victor Newman. She was portrayed by actress Margaret Mason from 1980 to 1981, and again from 1982 to 1983. Mason also reprised her role in 1984 and 1993.

History
Originally a resident of Washington, in 1980 Eve lived in Genoa City and worked as an assistant to businessman Victor Newman at Newman Enterprises. Victor's wife, Julia Newman, felt lonely as Victor worked for hours on end away from the Newman Ranch. Julia ended up becoming close friends with Katherine Chancellor's son, Brock Reynolds. Although Julia and Brock were never lovers, Victor felt jealous, and he slept with Eve in retaliation. Eve, who had feelings for Victor, was saddened when he informed her that it was only a one-night stand. Eve ended up leaving Genoa City soon after.

A year later, Eve returned, now working as newspaper mogul Stuart Brooks' assistant. When Eve ran into Julia, she told her that she wanted Victor. However, Victor was out of town at the time. Julia, nonetheless, was frightened of the possibility of losing Victor, noting his recent affair with Lorie Brooks. Julia ended up having an affair with her photography instructor, Michael Scott. When Victor returned, Eve made several attempts to woo him, but he ended up making a deal with Eve for her to leave town. The deal allowed Eve to leave town and work with one of his other companies, and Victor would accept that Eve's son, Cole, was his son and therefore provide for him. Eve accepted his offer and left again. With Eve gone, Victor ended up imprisoning Michael Scott in the Newman Ranch basement once he learned that Julia was pregnant. Julia ended up discovering this, and she rescued Michael, but she suffered a miscarriage in the process.

In 1982, Eve ran into the now divorced Julia in Paris, and she heard about Lorie Brooks abandoning Victor at the altar. She told Julia that she was involved with a wealthy count, Max Siebalt. Soon after, Eve went to Genoa City to be sure that Victor was going to continue to provide for their son, Cole Howard, and she learned that Victor had put him in his will. During this time, Victor was having an affair with former stripper, Nikki Reed. Max and Eve began to scheme to get Victor's fortune because Max was broke. Eve convinced Victor to hire her back as his personal assistant. When Victor's manservant, Charlie, left, Eve offered to cook Victor's meals for him, lacing them with a slow-acting poison that, in small doses, could not be traced. Victor began to lose weight and appeared ill, but after his dog ate some of his poisoned food and died, Victor became suspicious. Julia overheard part of their plan on the phone, and she warned Victor that he was in danger, but it was too late. Soon after, an antidote was found, and Victor survived.

Julia proved that Eve was involved in the plot against Victor by having the poison analyzed. Victor realized that Eve had tried to poison him so that their son, Cole, could inherit half of his wealth. With the help of Julia and his friend, Douglas Austin, Victor began a scheme to trap Eve into confessing, and he even proposed to her, which the greedy Eve quickly accepted. The day of Victor and Eve's wedding, she arrived at the Newman estate to learn that Victor had died. Eve arranged to have Victor's coffin placed in the Newman living room, and she took over as the grieving fiancée. Max, sensing that she was losing her grip on reality, quickly married her, since it appeared that Victor had left his estate to Eve. When Julia confided to Eve that she thought Victor was murdered, and that she wanted to exhume his body for an autopsy, Eve sent Max to the graveyard to dig up the corpse. At the cemetery, Max was so shocked to see Victor alive that he fell against a pitchfork and died. Eve tried to stab Victor, and she was consequently committed to a sanitarium.

By 1984, Victor was planning on marrying Nikki. When Eve read about this in the newspaper at the sanitarium, she tried to switch places with her roommate, who was about to be released but wanted to stay in the sanitarium. Eve knocked out a caterer and changed clothes with her to get into the hotel where Victor and Nikki were getting married. After the wedding, Eve went to Nikki's room, and she prepared to stab her, but she was interrupted by Nikki's sister, Dr. Casey Reed. So, Eve climbed into Victor's trunk which was about to be placed on the plane for his honeymoon. At the last moment, the newlyweds changed their minds and decided to stay home. Victor learned that Eve had escaped; he found her and returned her to the sanitarium. A couple of months later, while Victor and Nikki were vacationing, Eve and her former love, Rick Daros, escaped from the sanitarium and returned to Genoa City. Rick had amnesia, forgetting he had tried to kill Nikki earlier in the year, and he became Eve's lover again. After breaking into the ranch, Eve stole money from Victor's safe, and the two escaped to Europe.

Ten years went by without a mention of Eve or her son, then she showed up in 1993, looking as glamorous as ever. Her past crimes totally overlooked; Victor simply fondly recalled her working for him years before. When Eve brought up Cole, whom she still claimed was Victor's, Victor wanted nothing to do with him. Eve left in a huff, slipping Cole's picture into Victor's book. Some time afterward, a lonely Victor contacted Eve and asked her to bring Cole to Genoa City. Eve returned to Genoa City with Cole, a young aspiring novelist. Cole built up a relationship in Genoa City with Victor's daughter with Nikki, Victoria Newman, while Eve left. Soon after, Cole wrote to his mother saying he had fallen for Victoria. Eve, while on a cruise, read the letter and was horrified by the thought of her son unknowingly getting involved with his half-sister. She arranged to leave the ship, and she flew to Genoa City. While on the plane, she became ill from being bitten by a mosquito.

Upon arrival to Genoa City, she was rushed to the hospital, and Cole was notified of his mother's condition. Eve lingered for weeks, in and out of a coma, and, while somewhat lucid, tried and failed to tell Cole that Victor was his father. Not long after Eve's funeral, Cole and Victoria Newman eloped in Las Vegas. Luckily, Eve was wrong. While going through Eve's belongings, Victor discovered a letter from another man to her which cast doubt on Victor being Cole's father. Victor immediately arranged to have blood tests run on Cole, himself and Eve's corpse. The father ended up being Eve's former lover, Marvin Oakley.

Four years later, while Cole and Victoria's baby struggled for her life, Victoria told Cole she wanted to name her Eve, after his mother. Soon after, Victoria learned from Cole that their baby had died.