Born Hans-Jörg Gudegast in Germany, Eric Braeden immigrated to the United States and became a prolific film and television actor. He is most famous for his iconic, long-running role as the powerful and complex business magnate Victor Newman on the CBS soap opera "The Young and the Restless," which he began in 1980. This role has earned him a Daytime Emmy Award and cemented his status as a daytime television legend. Beyond his acting career, Braeden is a published author, having released his autobiography, "I'll Be Damned," in 2017.