Bonnie Roberts was a librarian, who, in her younger days, had been friends with people who kidnapped the infant Karen Spencer, daughter of publishing magnate Bill Spencer. When the abductors threatened to hurt the baby, Bonnie took off with the child and raised her as "Faith Roberts", living in Boise, Idaho and other parts of the country before ending up in Starlight, Texas.

After "Faith" grew up and began working in a local diner, Bonnie worried when an older man, Blake Hayes, took an interest in her "daughter". Bonnie felt that Blake's attention to "Faith" was suspicious, and, when Blake wouldn't elaborate on his true intentions, Bonnie held him at gunpoint. Eventually, Bonnie learned that Blake knew about "Faith"'s real identity and wanted to connect "Faith" with Bill, her only biological relative. Bonnie faced the wrath of the disillusioned "Faith", who decided to travel to Los Angeles with Blake and meet her father.

Soon after "Faith" left Starlight, Bonnie followed for a visit and continued to cast doubt on Blake, so much so that "Faith" asked her to leave L.A. Bonnie did so, never knowing that Blake's true reason for priming "Faith" was because famous designer Ridge Forrester, Blake's rival for the affections of his ex-wife, Taylor Hayes, had been married to Karen's twin sister, Caroline Spencer; Blake hoped to get Ridge to fall for Karen to clear a path to Taylor.

A couple of years later, Bonnie received a call from "Faith", who by that point had fully embraced her identity as Karen Spencer. When Karen lamented the breaking off of her engagement to lawyer Connor Davis, Bonnie encouraged Karen to come home for a visit. This marked Bonnie's final appearance, even though Karen re-emerged in Los Angeles several times between 2009 and 2014.