Jess Walton
Encyclopedia
Jess Walton is an American
actress, best known for her role as Jill Foster Abbott
on the American soap opera
, The Young and the Restless
.
, she attended the prestigious Loretto Abbey in Toronto. Walton left home at the age of 17 and joined a Toronto theater company. In 1969, aged 20, she moved to Hollywood.
Walton briefly dated one of the managers for Joni Mitchell
and Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young, and for a time, she associated with them and other musicians, including Laura Nyro
and Neil Young
. In an interview, Walton recalled a memorable occasion where Nyro taught Walton and Mitchell how to belly dance. Walton says that one of the houses featured on Joni Mitchell
's Ladies of the Canyon
cover belonged to her.
In the 1970s, after signing with Universal Studios
, she guest-starred on Kojak
as a high-priced call girl. She also appeared on The F.B.I., Cannon
, and in the motorcycle movie The Peace Killers.
In 1980, Walton entered rehabilitation after coming to terms with a drug and alcohol addiction
.
, until the show was cancelled in 1987.
Walton is perhaps best known for her portrayal of Jill Foster Abbott
on the soap opera
The Young and the Restless
. She assumed the role in 1987, after prior portrayer Brenda Dickson
left after an acrimonious fallout with producers. She is the fourth actress to play the part on a contract
basis. Walton has been lauded for her portrayal of Jill, and is the only actress to win a Daytime Emmy Award
for her work as Jill Foster Abbott
. To date Walton has won two Daytime Emmy Award
s for her work on The Young and the Restless
.
.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
actress, best known for her role as Jill Foster Abbott
Jill Foster Abbott
Jill Abbott Fenmore is a fictional character on the CBS daytime soap opera The Young and the Restless. She is one of the series' original characters, and the only one remaining from its debut in March 1973...
on the American soap opera
Soap opera
A soap opera, sometimes called "soap" for short, is an ongoing, episodic work of dramatic fiction presented in serial format on radio or as television programming. The name soap opera stems from the original dramatic serials broadcast on radio that had soap manufacturers, such as Procter & Gamble,...
, The Young and the Restless
The Young and the Restless
The Young and the Restless is an American television soap opera created by William J. Bell and Lee Phillip Bell for CBS. The show is set in a fictional Wisconsin town called Genoa City, which is unlike and unrelated to the real life village of the same name, Genoa City, Wisconsin...
.
Early life
Born in Grand Rapids, MichiganGrand Rapids, Michigan
Grand Rapids is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan. The city is located on the Grand River about 40 miles east of Lake Michigan. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 188,040. In 2010, the Grand Rapids metropolitan area had a population of 774,160 and a combined statistical area, Grand...
, she attended the prestigious Loretto Abbey in Toronto. Walton left home at the age of 17 and joined a Toronto theater company. In 1969, aged 20, she moved to Hollywood.
Walton briefly dated one of the managers for Joni Mitchell
Joni Mitchell
Joni Mitchell, CC is a Canadian musician, singer songwriter, and painter. Mitchell began singing in small nightclubs in her native Saskatchewan and Western Canada and then busking in the streets and dives of Toronto...
and Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young, and for a time, she associated with them and other musicians, including Laura Nyro
Laura Nyro
Laura Nyro was an American songwriter, singer, and pianist. She achieved considerable critical acclaim with her own recordings, particularly the albums Eli and the Thirteenth Confession and New York Tendaberry, and had commercial success with artists such as Barbra Streisand and The 5th...
and Neil Young
Neil Young
Neil Percival Young, OC, OM is a Canadian singer-songwriter who is widely regarded as one of the most influential musicians of his generation...
. In an interview, Walton recalled a memorable occasion where Nyro taught Walton and Mitchell how to belly dance. Walton says that one of the houses featured on Joni Mitchell
Joni Mitchell
Joni Mitchell, CC is a Canadian musician, singer songwriter, and painter. Mitchell began singing in small nightclubs in her native Saskatchewan and Western Canada and then busking in the streets and dives of Toronto...
's Ladies of the Canyon
Ladies of the Canyon
Ladies of the Canyon is Joni Mitchell's third album, released in 1970. Its title refers to Laurel Canyon, Los Angeles, a center of popular music culture in Los Angeles during the sixties...
cover belonged to her.
In the 1970s, after signing with Universal Studios
Universal Studios
Universal Pictures , a subsidiary of NBCUniversal, is one of the six major movie studios....
, she guest-starred on Kojak
Kojak
Kojak is an American television series starring Telly Savalas as the title character, bald New York City Police Department Detective Lieutenant Theo Kojak. It aired from October 24, 1973, to March 18, 1978, on CBS. It took the time slot of the popular Cannon series, which was moved one hour earlier...
as a high-priced call girl. She also appeared on The F.B.I., Cannon
Cannon (TV series)
Cannon is a CBS detective television series produced by Quinn Martin which aired from March 26, 1971 to March 3, 1976.The primary protagonist was the title character, Frank Cannon, played by William Conrad....
, and in the motorcycle movie The Peace Killers.
In 1980, Walton entered rehabilitation after coming to terms with a drug and alcohol addiction
Alcoholism
Alcoholism is a broad term for problems with alcohol, and is generally used to mean compulsive and uncontrolled consumption of alcoholic beverages, usually to the detriment of the drinker's health, personal relationships, and social standing...
.
Television
After her recovery, she portrayed the role of Kelly Harper on the soap opera CapitolCapitol (TV series)
Capitol is an American soap opera which aired on CBS from March 29, 1982 to March 20, 1987 for 1,270 episodes. As its name suggests, the storyline usually revolved around the political intrigues of people whose lives intertwined in Washington D.C....
, until the show was cancelled in 1987.
Walton is perhaps best known for her portrayal of Jill Foster Abbott
Jill Foster Abbott
Jill Abbott Fenmore is a fictional character on the CBS daytime soap opera The Young and the Restless. She is one of the series' original characters, and the only one remaining from its debut in March 1973...
on the soap opera
Soap opera
A soap opera, sometimes called "soap" for short, is an ongoing, episodic work of dramatic fiction presented in serial format on radio or as television programming. The name soap opera stems from the original dramatic serials broadcast on radio that had soap manufacturers, such as Procter & Gamble,...
The Young and the Restless
The Young and the Restless
The Young and the Restless is an American television soap opera created by William J. Bell and Lee Phillip Bell for CBS. The show is set in a fictional Wisconsin town called Genoa City, which is unlike and unrelated to the real life village of the same name, Genoa City, Wisconsin...
. She assumed the role in 1987, after prior portrayer Brenda Dickson
Brenda Dickson
Brenda Irene Dickson ) is an American actress who originated the role of Jill Foster Abbott on the soap opera The Young and the Restless.-Work:...
left after an acrimonious fallout with producers. She is the fourth actress to play the part on a contract
Contract
A contract is an agreement entered into by two parties or more with the intention of creating a legal obligation, which may have elements in writing. Contracts can be made orally. The remedy for breach of contract can be "damages" or compensation of money. In equity, the remedy can be specific...
basis. Walton has been lauded for her portrayal of Jill, and is the only actress to win a Daytime Emmy Award
Daytime Emmy Award
The Daytime Emmy Awards are awards presented by the New York-based National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences and the Los Angeles-based Academy of Television Arts & Sciences in recognition of excellence in American daytime television programming...
for her work as Jill Foster Abbott
Jill Foster Abbott
Jill Abbott Fenmore is a fictional character on the CBS daytime soap opera The Young and the Restless. She is one of the series' original characters, and the only one remaining from its debut in March 1973...
. To date Walton has won two Daytime Emmy Award
Daytime Emmy Award
The Daytime Emmy Awards are awards presented by the New York-based National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences and the Los Angeles-based Academy of Television Arts & Sciences in recognition of excellence in American daytime television programming...
s for her work on The Young and the Restless
The Young and the Restless
The Young and the Restless is an American television soap opera created by William J. Bell and Lee Phillip Bell for CBS. The show is set in a fictional Wisconsin town called Genoa City, which is unlike and unrelated to the real life village of the same name, Genoa City, Wisconsin...
.
Truncated filmography
- The Young and the RestlessThe Young and the RestlessThe Young and the Restless is an American television soap opera created by William J. Bell and Lee Phillip Bell for CBS. The show is set in a fictional Wisconsin town called Genoa City, which is unlike and unrelated to the real life village of the same name, Genoa City, Wisconsin...
as Jill Abbott (June 1987 to present) - CapitolCapitol (TV series)Capitol is an American soap opera which aired on CBS from March 29, 1982 to March 20, 1987 for 1,270 episodes. As its name suggests, the storyline usually revolved around the political intrigues of people whose lives intertwined in Washington D.C....
as Shelly Granger/Kelly Harper (1984–1987) - The Streets of San FranciscoThe Streets of San FranciscoThe Streets of San Francisco is a 1970s television police drama filmed on location in San Francisco, California, and produced by Quinn Martin Productions, with the first season produced in association with Warner Bros...
(episode "In Case Of Madness") as Lois Flynn (1976) - BarettaBarettaBaretta is an American detective television series which ran on ABC from 1975 to 1978. The show was a milder version of a successful 1973–74 ABC series, Toma, starring Tony Musante as chameleon-like, real-life New Jersey police officer David Toma...
(episode "Soldier in the Jungle") as Muriel (1976) - The Six Million Dollar ManThe Six Million Dollar ManThe Six Million Dollar Man is an American television series about a former astronaut with bionic implants working for the OSI...
(episode "Taneha") as E.J. (1975) - GunsmokeGunsmokeGunsmoke is an American radio and television Western drama series created by director Norman MacDonnell and writer John Meston. The stories take place in and around Dodge City, Kansas, during the settlement of the American West....
(episode, "Manolo" as Kattalin Larralde) (1975) - Starsky and HutchStarsky and HutchStarsky and Hutch is a 1970s American cop thriller television series that consisted of a 90-minute pilot movie and 92 episodes of 60 minutes each; created by William Blinn, produced by Spelling-Goldberg Productions, and broadcast between April 30, 1975 and May 15, 1979 on the ABC...
as Theresa (1975) - KojakKojakKojak is an American television series starring Telly Savalas as the title character, bald New York City Police Department Detective Lieutenant Theo Kojak. It aired from October 24, 1973, to March 18, 1978, on CBS. It took the time slot of the popular Cannon series, which was moved one hour earlier...
(episode, "Die Before They Wake") as Cheryl Pope (1974) - You'll Never See Me Again as Vicki Bliss (1973)
- GunsmokeGunsmokeGunsmoke is an American radio and television Western drama series created by director Norman MacDonnell and writer John Meston. The stories take place in and around Dodge City, Kansas, during the settlement of the American West....
(episode, "Patricia") (1973) - The Peace Killers as Kristy (1971)
- The Strawberry StatementThe Strawberry Statement (film)The Strawberry Statement is a 1970 cult film about the counterculture and student revolts of the 1960s, loosely based on the non-fiction book by James Simon Kunen about the Columbia University protests of 1968.-Cast:* Bruce Davison: Simon...
as student (1970)
Personal life
Walton is married to John James, an author and grief counselor. In an interview, Walton stated that "[B]efore [John James], I had always gone for bohemian, rock and roll types. John didn't fit the image; he was straighter." The couple have a son, Cole (b. 1981) and reside in Sherman Oaks, CaliforniaSherman Oaks, Los Angeles, California
Sherman Oaks is an affluent district in the San Fernando Valley area of the city of Los Angeles, California. In contrast to much of the Valley, the area is relatively urbanized, with commercial skyscrapers along Ventura Boulevard as well as scattered throughout...
.