Jess Walton
(Jill Abbott Atkinson on THE YOUNG AND THE RESTLESS)

Jess Walton joined the cast of THE YOUNG AND THE RESTLESS in June 1987, as the driven and ambitious Jill Foster Abbott.

For her portrayal of Jill, Walton was honored with a Daytime Emmy Award as Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series in 1997 and was nominated for Emmys in that category in 1996 and 2000.  She received Daytime Emmy nominations in 1990 and 1991 as Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series and went on to win the award in 1991. Walton was also nominated in the Outstanding Lead Actress category in 2017. Additional honors include a 1993 Soap Opera Award as Outstanding Lead Actress and a nomination for the same award in 1999.

Walton guest-starred in many notable television series through the course of her career including “The Rockford Files,” “Cannon,” “Marcus Welby, M.D.,” “The Six Million Dollar Man,” “The Streets of San Francisco,” “Barnaby Jones,” “Ironside,” “Starsky & Hutch” and “Kojak.” She starred as Kelly Harper on the daytime drama “Capitol” for three years.

She has starred in the made-for-television movies “Montserrat,” “You'll Never See Me Again,” “The Storm,” “Diary of a Madman” and “Mod Squad II.”

Walton studied at the Toronto Workshop Productions' Repertory Theater for three years and appeared in summer stock and repertory company productions including “Uncle Vanya” and “The Right Honorable Gentleman.”

She was born in Grand Rapids, Michigan, and grew up in Toronto, Canada. Walton splits her time between Oregon and Los Angeles.   

Her birthday is February 18. Follow her on Instagram @jesswaltonyr and Twitter: @JessWaltonYR