Like many of Genoa City's privileged youth, Traci Abbott attended boarding school until her return home in 1982. She had low self-esteem because she was overweight, and her older sister, Ashley Abbott, was more glamorous and successful than she was. Traci became the president of rocker Danny Romalotti's (Michael Damian) fan club, and she decided to attend college locally at Genoa City University to be near him. She became a singer in Danny's band, and she fought for his attention with Lauren Fenmore (Tracey E. Bregman). In addition, Traci's mother, Dina, returned to town for the first time since she left Traci as an infant. The stress caused Traci to become conscious of her weight, and Lauren exploited her to get Danny's attention. Traci became addicted to diet pills while in college, and she would often sing (to the melody of "Turn to Stone" by the Electric Light Orchestra), "I turn to pills, when I'm feeling ill, I turn to pills". Her addiction culminated when she found out that Danny and Lauren were engaged. She got high, crashed her car and sustained serious heart damage. After her recovery, she went onstage at one of Danny's concerts to speak about the dangers of drug addiction.