1972: Divorcee Kitty Shea was hired as the assistant dance instructor at Nick Davis’ dance studio. Nick was in the process of divorcing his wife, Anne Tyler Davis. Kitty was an orphan who never knew what it meant to be loved. Nick helped her overcome her insecurities. She reveled in Nick’s attention. Soon, they were in a passionate affair.

1973: Kitty was pregnant with the child of a man who did not love her. When Nick found out, he turned to Anne. After all, Nick left Anne because he thought he was infertile. To Kitty’s surprise, Nick asked her to marry him. Their union was anything but a happy one; but, at least Kitty had the peace of mind that her child would have his father.
Kitty miscarried. The trauma of the situation caused Kitty to fall into a deep depression. One night, she went to a bridge intent on taking her life. Nick was able to talk her down, but she spiraled into a psychotic state. She forgot about her miscarriage, and went about her life as if she was still pregnant. Nick stood by her until she found her grasp on reality again. She had to relive her miscarriage to regain her sanity.
Conscious of her life, Kitty agreed to a divorce.

1974: Kitty and Nick remained friends. When Anne returned to town after a stay in Seattle, she brought a handsome man with her. He was her brother, Lincoln Tyler. Lincoln had left Pine Valley with a broken heart years before. Kitty began working at The Boutique. There, she found herself crossing paths with Lincoln. Phoebe Tyler was not about to let this romance go unnoticed. Nick had warned Kitty about the burdens that came with dating a Tyler. But Kitty could not help it, she was in love.

1975: Kitty and Lincoln’s whirlwind romance culminated in a summer wedding. Phoebe tried her best to keep them apart. She hired Claudette Montgomery to seduce Lincoln. On the day of the wedding, she fainted in the middle of the ceremony. But Lincoln and Kitty persevered. It seemed like nothing could tear them apart.
That all changed with Kitty’s first husband, Hal Shea, came to town. Hal revealed that he never signed their divorce papers. Therefore, Kitty was a bigamist. Knowing this would give Phoebe ample means to destroy her marriage, Kitty agreed to do anything to keep Hal’s mouth shut. Hal forced Kitty to turn the Boutique into a front for his drug ring. Kitty was forced to hire Claudette, now Hal’s associate.

1976: Kitty could no longer handle the pressures of lying to her family. She threw away a load of cocaine; intent on telling Hal their arrangement was over. Claudette stole the load and overdosed. Kitty was arrested for possession. In prison, she admitted to still being married to Hal and being part of the drug ring. Phoebe shunned her and proclaimed that Lincoln would never want to see her again. Hal and Claudette turned themselves in as the main players in the drug ring. As a consolation, Hal signed the divorce papers, leaving Kitty free to marry Lincoln.
But Kitty was content to be alone. She moved in with Mona and Erica Kane. Erica dissuaded Kitty from reuniting with Lincoln. Really, Erica wanted Lincoln for herself.
Kitty got word that her mother, Lucy Carpenter, was alive and living in Minneapolis. Kitty relished her second chance to bond with her mother. When she encouraged Lucy to move to Pine Valley, her doctor, Nigel Fargate, said travel was impossible because of her heart condition. The next time Kitty came for a visit she was told that Lucy had died of a heart attack.
Kitty turned to Lincoln in the trying time. He had never stopped loving her. They reunited and made plans to remarry.

1977: Kitty and Lincoln remarried. Kitty insisted that Lincoln visit his mother before they left for their honeymoon. She was never going to have the blessing of her own mother, but wanted Phoebe’s. When they arrived at the Tyler Estate, Phoebe was already drunk. She mumbled over the words, but eventually admitted to gas lighting Kitty. She had hired Myrtle Lum to impersonate her mother. The woman she believed was Lucy, was in fact a con-artist. Kitty could not believe what she was hearing. When she discovered Myrtle was alive in Hollywood, the Tylers took a detour.
Kitty found Myrtle and embraced her. She still felt the motherly bond that she had cherished the year before. Myrtle admitted to loving Kitty so much she had to end the charade. Kitty invited Mytle to live with her in Pine Valley.
Kitty began to have dizzy spells and bouts with blindness. Dr. Joe Martin diagnosed her condition as being a result of an inoperable and terminal brain tumor. Kitty did not have much time to live and decided she was not going spend it in a hospital. She remained at home until the night of her passing. She died in Lincoln’s arms.