Jess Walton

Jess Walton is a Canadian-American actress. She is best known for her role as Kelly Harper in CBS soap opera Capitol and as Jill Abbott on the CBS soap opera, The Young and the Restless.

Early life Walton was born in Grand Rapids, Michigan, but raised in Toronto, Canada, In 1969, she moved to Hollywood and the next year signed with Universal Studios. She co-starred in film The Strawberry Statement (1970), and portrayed the female lead roles of The Peace Killers (1971) and Monkeys in the Attic (1974). She also appeared in The Hunted Lady (1977) starring Donna Mills. During that time her social life also heated up and she was briefly wed to actor Bruce Davison from 1972–73; the marriage was annulled within the year. However, her life began to spiral out of control when she turned to alcohol and drugs. In 1980, she completed rehab.

In 1984, Walton returned to acting with the role of Kelly Harper on the CBS daytime soap opera, Capitol. and was nominated in 1996, 2000, and 2017. She also won the Daytime Emmy for Outstanding Supporting Actress in 1991, after a nomination in 1990. In 2018, she starred alongside Patrick Duffy in the Netflix film, Christmas with a View.

Personal life Walton was married to John James, an author and founder of The Grief Recovery Institute from 1980 until his death in August 2021.

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.

Walton was good friends with her Y&R co-star Jeanne Cooper, who portrayed her character Jill's arch-rival Katherine Chancellor, from 1973 until her death in May 2013.

Filmography