Mary Jesse Walton is an American actress, best known for her role as Kelly Harper in

CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS, the abbreviation of its former legal name Columbia Broadcasting System, is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainm ...

soap opera ''

Capitol A capitol, named after the Capitoline Hill in Rome, is usually a legislative building where a legislature meets and makes laws for its respective political entity. Specific capitols include: * United States Capitol in Washington, D.C. * Numerous ...

'' and as

Jill Abbott Jill Abbott is a fictional character from the American CBS soap opera ''The Young and the Restless''. The longest-running and only remaining original character, Jill was created and introduced by William J. Bell. Originally portrayed by Brenda ...

on the CBS soap opera, ''

The Young and the Restless ''The Young and the Restless'' (often abbreviated as ''Y&R'') is an American television soap opera created by William J. Bell and Lee Phillip Bell for CBS. The show is set in fictional Genoa City (not the real-life similarly-named Genoa City, Wi ...

''. She also starred in the 2018 movie ''Christmas with a View''.

Early life

Walton was born in

Grand Rapids, Michigan Grand Rapids is a city and county seat of Kent County, Michigan, Kent County in the U.S. state of Michigan. At the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the city had a population of 198,917 which ranks it as the List of municipalities in Mi ...

, but raised in

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...

, Canada, where she attended

Loretto Abbey Catholic Secondary School Loretto Abbey Catholic Secondary School (sporadically known as Loretto Abbey CSS, LACSS, Loretto Abbey, LAT, Loretto Abbey Toronto or Abbey) is an all-girls Catholic secondary school in Hogg's Hollow neighbourhood of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Es ...

. She left home at the age of 17 and joined a Toronto theater company. In 1969, she moved to

Hollywood Hollywood usually refers to: * Hollywood, Los Angeles, a neighborhood in California * Hollywood, a metonym for the cinema of the United States Hollywood may also refer to: Places United States * Hollywood District (disambiguation) * Hollywood, ...

and the next year signed with

Universal Studios Universal Pictures (legally Universal City Studios LLC, also known as Universal Studios, or simply Universal; common metonym: Uni, and formerly named Universal Film Manufacturing Company and Universal-International Pictures Inc.) is an Ameri ...

Career

In 1970s, Walton guest-starred in a number of television shows, such as '' Medical Center''; ''

Kojak ''Kojak'' is an American action crime drama television series starring Telly Savalas as the title character, New York City Police Department Detective Lieutenant Theodopolis "Theo" Kojak. Taking the time slot of the popular ''Cannon'' series, it ...

''; ''

Marcus Welby, M.D. Marcus, Markus, Márkus or Mărcuș may refer to: * Marcus (name), a masculine given name * Marcus (praenomen), a Roman personal name Places * Marcus, a main belt asteroid, also known as (369088) Marcus 2008 GG44 * Mărcuş, a village in Dobârl ...

''; '' Ironside''; ''

The Rockford Files ''The Rockford Files'' is an American detective drama television series starring James Garner that aired on the NBC network from September 13, 1974 to January 10, 1980, and remains in syndication. Garner portrays Los Angeles private investigator ...

''; ''

Gunsmoke ''Gunsmoke'' is an American radio and television Western drama series created by director Norman Macdonnell and writer John Meston. It centers on Dodge City, Kansas, in the 1870s, during the settlement of the American West. The central character ...

''; ''

Cannon A cannon is a large- caliber gun classified as a type of artillery, which usually launches a projectile using explosive chemical propellant. Gunpowder ("black powder") was the primary propellant before the invention of smokeless powder ...

''; and ''

Barnaby Jones ''Barnaby Jones'' is an American detective television series starring Buddy Ebsen as a formerly retired investigator and Lee Meriwether as his widowed daughter-in-law, who run a private detective firm in Los Angeles, California. The show was or ...

''. She co-starred in film ''

The Strawberry Statement ''The Strawberry Statement'' is a non-fiction book by James Simon Kunen, written when he was 19, which chronicled his experiences at Columbia University from 1966–1968, particularly the April 1968 protests and takeover of the office of the dean ...

'' (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 Donna Mills (born Donna Jean Miller on December 11, 1940) is an American actress. She began her television career in 1966 with a recurring role on ''The Secret Storm'', and in the same year appeared on Broadway in the Woody Allen comedy '' Don ...

. During that time her social life also heated up and she was briefly wed to actor

Bruce Davison Bruce Allen Davison (born June 28, 1946) is an American actor and director. Davison is well known for his starring role as Willard Stiles in the cult horror film '' Willard'' (1971) and his Academy Award-nominated and Golden Globe-winning perfor ...

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, ''

''. The show was cancelled in 1987. Later in that year, Walton joined the cast of another CBS soap opera, ''

'', in the role as

Jill Foster Abbott Jill Abbott is a fictional character from the American CBS soap opera ''The Young and the Restless''. The longest-running and only remaining original character, Jill was created and introduced by William J. Bell. Originally portrayed by Brenda ...

. The role was originally portrayed by

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''. Early life and education Dickson was born in Long Beach, California. As a teenager, she toured Southe ...

, who departed in 1980, and the role was first recast with

Deborah Adair Deborah Adair (born Deborah Adair Miller) is an American television actress, primarily known for her roles in soap operas. Early life Born in Lynchburg, Virginia, Adair attended the University of Washington, where she earned a degree in adve ...

. In 1983, Dickson returned to the role, and though she stated that she would never leave, she was replaced by Walton in 1987. Walton won a

Daytime Emmy Award The Daytime Emmy Awards, or Daytime Emmys, are part of the extensive range of Emmy Awards for artistic and technical merit for the American television industry. Bestowed by the New York–based National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences ...

in 1997 for Lead Actress in a Drama Series for her portrayal of Jill, 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.

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. In an interview, Walton said, "Before John James, I had always gone for bohemian, rock and roll types. John didn't fit the image; he was straighter." The couple had two children and Walton still resides in

Oregon Oregon () is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. The Columbia River delineates much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while the Snake River delineates much of it ...

. Walton briefly dated one of the managers for

Joni Mitchell Roberta Joan "Joni" Mitchell ( Anderson; born November 7, 1943) is a Canadian-American musician, producer, and painter. Among the most influential singer-songwriters to emerge from the 1960s folk music circuit, Mitchell became known for her sta ...

and

Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young Crosby, Stills & Nash (CSN) were a folk rock supergroup made up of American singer-songwriters David Crosby and Stephen Stills and English singer-songwriter Graham Nash. When joined by Canadian singer-songwriter Neil Young as a fourth member ...

, and for a time, she associated with them and other musicians, including

Laura Nyro Laura Nyro ( ; born Laura Nigro; October 18, 1947 – April 8, 1997) was an American songwriter, singer, and pianist. She achieved critical acclaim with her own recordings, particularly the albums ''Eli and the Thirteenth Confession'' (1968 ...

and

Neil Young Neil Percival Young (born November 12, 1945) is a Canadian-American singer and songwriter. After embarking on a music career in Winnipeg in the 1960s, Young moved to Los Angeles, joining Buffalo Springfield with Stephen Stills, Richie Furay ...

. 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

's '' Ladies of the Canyon'' cover belonged to her. Walton was good friends with her Y&R co-star

Jeanne Cooper Wilma Jeanne Cooper (October 25, 1928 – May 8, 2013) was an American actress, best known for her role as Katherine Chancellor on the CBS soap opera ''The Young and the Restless'' (1973–2013). At the time of her death, she was eighth on the ...

, who portrayed her character Jill's arch-rival

Katherine Chancellor Katherine Chancellor is a fictional character from the CBS Daytime soap opera ''The Young and the Restless'', portrayed by Jeanne Cooper. Created and introduced by show creator William J. Bell in November 1973, Cooper's Katherine was introduced ...

from 1973 until her death in May 2013.

Filmography

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Walton, Jess Living people American soap opera actresses American television actresses Actresses from Grand Rapids, Michigan Canadian soap opera actresses Canadian television actresses Canadian people of American descent Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series winners Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series winners Daytime Emmy Award winners 20th-century American actresses 21st-century American actresses 20th-century Canadian actresses 21st-century Canadian actresses Year of birth missing (living people)