Candace Young is the antiheroine on the drama, Tyler Perry's The Haves and the Have Nots. She is portrayed by Tika Sumpter. She is the sister of Benny Young and the daughter of Hanna Young.
Personality
Candace is a very secretive, scandalous young woman. She is known to use people to get what she wants and has no issues with doing whatever it takes, including lying and blackmail. She exhibits some signs of possible psychopathic behavior, and often uses her feminine wiles to get anything she wants, to the point that Hanna, her own mother, wishes Candace had never been born. Candace's attitude stems from past sexual abuse from a man who was the former boyfriend of her mother.
Biography
Season One
Candace is introduced to the viewers as an escort named Candy in the pilot episode, The Big Surprise , who is first seen leaving the bed of judge Jim Cryer following a sexual encounter. Over the course of the first season, Candace and Jim's affair continues with Candace covering the affair by posing as a law student who attends school with Jim's daughter Amanda. She pretends to be especially interested in Jim's cases to cover up for the affair, ensuring that the two will not be found out. Unbeknownst to the two, Jim's son Wyatt unintentionally discovers the affair, but never outright says anything to anyone about it, though he does heavily imply that he believes Candace prefers relationships with "older men" (his father).
The Cryers' newest maid, Hanna, becomes uneasy with Candace's presence at the mansion and eventually reveals to her friend and fellow maid Celine Gonzales that Candace is her daughter, but that the two have been estranged for many years. Hanna is distraught and convinced her daughter is up to no good.
When Candace blackmails Jim, saying she will go to the news if he ends their relationship, she demands a large sum of money and a car as payoff. Jim agrees and with the help of his friend David Harrington, gives Candace her demands and then safely assumes she is out of his life. But when David's wife Veronica discovers evidence of David delivering Candace's new vehicle, she assumes it is he who is having the affair with Candace and confronts her.
Season Two
Season Three
Season Four
Season Five
Season Six
Season Seven
Season Eight
Relationships
Family
Hanna Young
Hanna is Candace's mother, a religious, poor maid working in the Cryer family house. Candace is embittered and cynical towards Hanna, and Hanna loathes her daughter's sexually promiscuous lifestyle and thuggish ways. As such, the two are not close and have a toxic relationship. They very rarely see each other as Candace has been on her own since she was eighteen.
The one thing that the two share is their love for Benny and when the young man was on life support this had united mother and daughter who for the first time were ready to cooperate with each other for a common goal. Despite the distrust between the two Hanna still shows she has some maternal love for her daughter warning her not to continue her affair with Jim Cryer as well as atttempting to warn her daughter she should savior the time she has with her own son. She also reminsce on the times where candace would play with her brother in their childhood with nostalga but wonders how she turned out to be so bad as an adult. When Candace was forced to hide out at her house Hanna quickly questions her over the location of her son and continues to until she is told he is dead. With this she pays close attention to Candace's story of what Quincy did to her grandson and becomes deeply disturbed and perhaps guilty over how she unknowingly question Candace of a hard story. After this was done she allows Candace to stay after some pressing arguments by Benny and while getting out some more barbs at one another they have a family moment with benny on the couch. Later the next night Hanna talks with Candace and this time she tells her that Quincy didn't kill her son and while Candace wasn't convinced Hanna made her see how it is possible Quincy played and used her son as leverage to get the money he extorted from her. This made Candace question her over where her son might be if he this was true to which her mother said she didn't know but will find him one way soon. During their talk she refers to Candace as "Daughter" in affectionate way showing that despite not liking how Candace turned out she still does care for her daughter just as any mother would. Later on, Hanna went to Candace's hotel room where she tearfully apologized for not giving her the life she wanted as a child and for unknowingly dating a man who was secretly molesting a young Candace. Hanna confessed she made mistakes in her younger years and hugged her daughter (who while slightly touched) didn't respond to this revelation. When Quincy Maxwell showed up at her house with his son, he gave Hanna the option of letting her take care of her grandson in exchange for telling him where Candace was. Hanna was unable or unwilling to tell Quincy where she was forcing Quincy to take back his son. She would then visit Candace again while looking for Benny during her meeting, she would tell Candace that her son was still alive and after some convincing she asked where he might be only for Candace to say she didn't know. Hanna once again lost her patience with Candace and expressed disgust along with blame on her for the drama she has put their family in. When meeting Candace at her home, she blatantly told Candace of her sight with Quincy Jr. and warned her not to attend Amanda Cryer's funeral lest she'd face the Cryer's wrath only to be ignored. However, when Jim and Katheryn attacked Candace and held her hostage for questions, Hanna was quick to jump to her daughter's aid stating while she doesn't get along with her daughter Candace is still her child and she will protect her anytime. Also Hanna believed Candace's revelation about Amanda being raped stating she knows when her daughter is telling the truth about something. Though Candace didn't show it, she was grateful to her mother for the help. When talking to a Foster Care lady about Quincy Jr., Hanna expressed the truth about what she thinks about Candace telling the lady she is a con-artist who always up to no good this leads to an argument at the hospital. Later on, when talking to Katheryn Cryer she states while Candace always does bad things she is still her child.
Their relationship to date is further strained as they have found the whereabouts of Candice's son Quincy, Jr, however Child Protective Services retained custody of him. With the help of her boss Mrs. Cryer (who knew the judge handling his case), Hanna was able to ultimately get custody of the child. However, due to Candace's constant thuggish ways, she was able to frighten the poor weakling of a caseworker into removing the child from Hanna's care. Hanna then went to Candace's home to plead with her daughter to release the child back to her so she could raise him in stability. As the two continued their exchanges as usual an outright explosion of emotions took place (due to a derogatory remark Candace made to spite her mother)and Hanna slaps Candace in digust, but to everyones utter shock, Candace slaps Hanna back which causes Hanna to fly into a rage and lounges at her yelling "I WILL KILL YOU!!" to which Candace angrily responds "DO IT HANNA - DO IT!!". Benny intervenes between the two desperately trying to diffuse the both of them. Hanna then declares that this marks the day she will officially "give up" on her daughter because of her ultimate act of disrespect and hitting her and tearfully informs a now obviously regretful tearful Candace that even as she has still offered prayers on her behalf that she has heard God tell her stop praying for her daughter. A revelation that shocks them all to emotional hurt but Candace still manages to make another spiteful remark as a broken hearted Hanna leaves the two of them there.
Candace went onto refer to her mother by her name and their tension increased when War killed her son and she blamed Hanna who tries to state it wasn't her fault though expresses disgust at Candace's vindictiveness. However, Candace and Hanna united to beat Jim up once learning he arranged for Benny to be stabbed. She listened when Candace warned her of what could happen if Jim called the cops. Hanna swore if Jim attacked Benny or Candace, she'd kill him and showed no fear in making this remark. Hanna would have attacked again, though Candace stopped her and they left. It was worth noting, Candace called her "Mama" again and seemed worried for her. During the rest of the season, they are getting on better terms after Fredrick told her to make amends. In the finale, Candace relates to her mother on being sexually assaulted and soon learns Hanna's recent suitor Derrick was really her father. Candace was shocked to hear this and agreed to keep it from Benny.
Benny Young
Benny is Candace's younger brother, whom she appears to love quite deeply and be very close to. They frequently engage in secret calls to check on each other. Benny mortgaged their mother Hanna's house without Hanna's knowledge to help put Candace through school so she pays him back by helping to pay it off.
Quincy Young Jr.
Quincy Jr. “Q” is Candace’s son. While they did not interact very much because he was taken away from her by Quincy, Candace truly loved her son and was willing to go through great lengths to protect him. She went as far as prohibiting her mother from taking custody of her son because she believed she was best for him. She was quickly prone to tears when she learned her son was killed and went to blame herself for what happened, especially since the perpetrators were looking for her during the attack. The full extent of her love for her son is exemplified when she learned War was responsible for his unjust death in gunfire, and arranged for War to be killed as punishment. The topic of her son’s death was enough for Candace to result in angry outbursts of rage; an example of this was when La’Quita rubbed the touchy subject as a form of mockery and when being accused of acting recklessly as a prostitute as a way of coping from his death.
Derrick
Candace mostly saw him, as the suitor of her mother and did not mind him.
In the finale, Candace relates to her mother on being sexually assaulted and soon learns Derrick was really her mother's assaulter. By extension, this revealed he was Candace's long lost father. Candace was shocked to hear this, especially when its revealed Derrick didn't remember Hanna from the time before he went to jail. Candace agreed to keep it from Benny, since he would go crazy.
Dalliances and Attempted Romantic Relationships
Jim Cryer
Candace and Jim have an illicit sexual affair in season 1, beginning when he pays her for sex in the pilot. Throughout season 1, Candace goes through a cycle with Jim, tempting him and offering him sex while also blackmailing him for more money. Jim seems to be addicted to sex with Candace, as he tries to break off their relationship, but fails miserably. Eventually he does break it off.
Mitch
In the past, Candace and Mitch were romantically involved but broke up at some point. Despite this they appear to be on good terms, as Mitch was very worried for Candace when he saw her being taken advantage of by War and questioned her about but Candace assured him it was fine and kissed Mitch thanking him for his worry. To protect Candace, Mitch had his family plant drugs in War's car to send him to jail.
When Mitch told Candace, she was worried as Mitch tries to tell her that he was looking out for her and says War and Candace don't know Mitch's family or what they can do but Candace ignores this and has Mitch leave. Erica noted that Mitch still seems attracted to Candace but Candace says they broke up a long time ago. Mitch and Candace were unaware that Mitch's family held Candace hostage with both being shocked by these connections. After War was killed, Candace couldn't believe Mitch came from such a family and understood how he set War up.
Charles Frederickson
Friends
Amanda Cryer
Candace and Amanda met in school and became close friends. Amanda is perhaps the only real friend she has. Unfortunately, the friendship is not a healthy one. Candace often uses and manipulates the much weaker and less confident Amanda. Contrastingly, Amanda initially appears to admire Candace's boldness and freedom. Eventually the two secretly begin living together.
Jeffrey Harrington
Jeffrey is Candace’s best friend. She’s been one of his avid supporters in his homosexuality and she‘s done so in a typical bold fashion. They were both responsible for Quincy’s murder and they refused to rat each other out, displaying a sense of teamwork and loyalty for one another.
Enemies
Jim Cryer
Though initially attracted to Candace, by mid season 1 he is sick of her, and her manipulation of his daughter Amanda. Jim threatens Candace twice in the first season, first warning her to stop blackmailing him or there will be consequences, and again when he finds out that Candace has been living with his daughter and that Amanda attempted suicide. He tells her that he will kill her if anything happens to his daughter. When Candace doesn’t comply with his demands, he orders the Malones to kidnap her and hold her hostage until she agrees to do what he says. He then has them shoot an empty pistol by her ear and leave her on the side of the road, but this was a ploy to instill fear. Out of revenge, Candace lures Jim out on his own and Warlock and his boys kidnap him. Candace subjugates him through numerous forms of blackmail and extorts 7.4 million dollars from him. While in prison, Jim orders Lloyd to trick Candace into foreclosing her house as she signs papers to get the 2 million dollars for Jim, but inadvertently saved her from being arrested for Quincy’s murder. Jim and Warlock eventually team up to get revenge on Candace but this is foiled after Warlock accidentally shot Candace’s son in a shooting and Candace has him killed. Jim later confronts Candace about what happened and tells her he knows what it is like to lose a child, prompting Candace to ask him if he inadvertently had her son killed by breaking War out of jail. He accidentally infers this when he dodges the question. They don’t meet again until Candace finds out Jim has Benny stabbed for taking 8 million dollars from him. Candace and Hanna attack Jim in Katheryn’s house out of revenge.
Katheryn Cryer
When Katheryn discovers Candace is having an affair with her husband Jim, she threatens her, telling her to leave Jim alone and coldly nicknaming her "Nine" as she is the ninth mistress Kathryn knows about. They openly share their hatred of each other from seasons onwards,
Wyatt Cryer
Wyatt's hatred toward Candace begins when he discovers that she is an escort who is having an affair with his father. He threatens to expose them but his father forces him to back down so makes comments about her like of older men. He was later shocked to see her attend his sister's funeral grabbing her arm and telling her to leave the event as she was nonchalant about his behavior. Candace was unaware that Wyatt was the one who struck her brother until he informed her as she expressed shocked at this revelation before leaving his home.
Veronica Harrington
Candace is briefly threatened by Veronica as she believes Candace is having an affair with Veronica's husband David when pictures surface of David giving Candace a car, part of her blackmail price for leaving Jim. Veronica later finds out Candace was sleeping with Jim and reaffirms her dislike of Candace throughout the entire series. But Candace is often subjugated through Veronica’s own forms of blackmail to carry out mutual forms of revenge, or mocked for her early life of living in poverty. Candace often calls Veronica hateful names because the latter mercilessly subjugates Jeffrey through cruel forms of control and resents Veronica’s vilotric anti-gay behavior.
Quincy Maxwell
Quincy “Q” was Candace’s baby daddy and father of her son, Quincy Jr. At some point, they broke off their relationship prior to the Haves and Have Nots pilot episode, though it was revealed that Quincy was not over Candace. They had an abusive relationship as Candace claimed that he raped her, assaulted her, and pimped her out to his friends regularly. As such, she was quick to put him away when he was charged for murder. After a long period of time spent looking for her after Veronica bailed him out of jail, Quincy attempted to strangle her in her home until Jeffrey arrived and they stabbed him. Angry with him for his abuse, Candace ignores his pleas for help and lets him completely succumb to his stab injuries.
LaQuita Maxwell
Candace briefly interacts with Quita but it is said that she can’t stand “that crackhead.” She was also horrified that she unknowingly let her son suffer abuse by Quita after she believed him dead. Candace openly degrades Quita to display her dislike of the latter and often brings up the fact that Quita was a crack addict. Quita resents Candace for killing Quincy and rubbed the fact that Quincy Jr.’s death had been under Candace’s watch and not her own. This was enough for Candace to attack her in their shared jail cell until the guards separated them.
Warlock
Warlock and Candace were originally friends since they and Benny grew up together. Warlock is first seen as Quincy “Q” was looking for Candace and he confronts Q about his treatment of her. Later, Candace pays War a surprise visit and asks for his help in getting revenge on Jim, while promising him 100,000 dollars and after War warns Candace about Q. War and his boys kidnap Jim and Candace subjugated him through many forms of blackmail. She and War briefly have a discussion about how she wants him to go straight with work, but War brushes it off and says he’s a thug. After that, War and Candace have a meeting in the Sarandon Hotel in which she pays War 150,000 dollars. War tells Candace that he has his boys looking for Quincy, and they will let her know how to stay away from him. War continues to help Candace avoid Q until he visits Benny’s tow yard with one of his girls. Mitch tells Benny that the yard costed more than 3 “G”s, prompting War to get suspicious. When he learns that Candace bought the yard, he finds her home and threatens to kill her for lying to him about the amount of money she got. He then spots Quincy’s dead body and asks her if she did it, and he congratulates her for the “good work”. War tells Candace that she better give him 2 million dollars or she’s dead. Throughout season 3, he proceeds to sneak into Candace’s house and intimidate her into doing things, but it gets out of control after War sexually assaults Candace against a fence in the tow yard, which Mitch witnesses. Candace gets him the money but Mitch set drugs in his car and he thinks it was Candace. Jim bails War out of jail to kill Candace and he spends his time looking for her. With help from Erica, War tracks down the Young Family at a motel and a brawl results in a shooting, which ultimately kills Candace’s son, Quincy Jr. Candace calls him and confronts him over the phone, in which he justifies his actions as an “accident”. Candace then lures him to a restaurant intent in getting revenge and the Malones kill him.