Michele Val Jean

Michele Val Jean (born September 1951) is an American television writer and producer, best-known for her work on daytime soap operas. Val Jean has written more than 2,000 episodes of daytime soap operas and won seven Daytime Emmy Awards and five Writers Guild of America Awards.

Life and career Val Jean began her career as a writer in the first African-American daytime soap opera, Generations in 1989. The series was canceled in 1991. In 1990 she worked on the prime time series, Jake and the Fatman. She won four Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Drama Series Writing Team for her work on General Hospital. In 2019 she also worked as an episodic writer and producer on the Oprah Winfrey Network prime time soap opera, Ambitions. In 2024, Val Jean created a new daytime soap opera, Beyond the Gates for CBS that centers a wealthy Black family. She will serve as a writer, showrunner and executive producer. The soap debuted in February 2025.

Positions held Beyond the Gates Creator and producer

Ambitions Consulting Producer 2019 Writer The Bold and the Beautiful Script writer: January 16, 2012 – April 3, 2024

General Hospital Occasional breakdown writer: February 2007 – December 26, 2007 Co-head writer: January 2001 – April 2001 Breakdown writer: 1996–2000 Occasional script writer: 1996–2000 Script writer: 1993–1996, June 2002 – December 21, 2007, April 7, 2008 – January 10, 2012 Script editor: 1993–1995 (hired by Claire Labine)

Generations (hired by Sally Sussman Morina) Script Writer: 1989–1990

Port Charles Occasional Script Writer: 1997–1998

Santa Barbara (hired by Bridget and Jerome Dobson) Breakdown writer: 1992–1993 Script Writer: 1991 Script Editor: 1992–1993

Jake and the Fatman

Awards and nominations Val Jean has been nominated for several Daytime Emmy Awards.

Writers Guild Of America Award 1993–1998 seasons, 6 nominations for General Hospital 1991 and 1992 seasons, 2 nominations for Santa Barbara

TV Guide Best Daytime Soap Writer (2004, 2006 & 2007)