The Young and the Restless star Jess Walton celebrates her birthday

The Young and the Restless star Jess Walton is celebrating 40 years in Genoa City next year. However, today, she's celebrating something else as it is her birthday!

The Young and the Restless, happy birthday, Jess Walton

Kay and Jill on The Young and the Restless | Image: JPI

Walton was born on February 18 in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Raised in Toronto, Canada, she attended school there, and, at the age of 17, she joined a Toronto theater company.

Her first TV credit was playing Abbey Garcia in The Guns of Will Sonnett. She appeared regularly in the 1970s on series including The Young Lawyers, The F.B.I., Medical Center, Marcus Welby, M.D., Gunsmoke, Ironside, The Six Million Dollar Man, S.W.A.T., Starsky & Hutch, The Return of the Mod Squad, and Mrs. Columbo.

In 1984, Walton was cast on Capitol as Kelly Harper, an ex-hooker who gave birth to Scotty (Jason Roque), the son of Sam Clegg (Richard Egan), the patriarch of a powerful political family. Capitol ended on March 20, 1987, but Walton wasn't gone from soaps for very long. Shortly thereafter, she was cast as Y&R's Jill Foster Abbott, taking over the role originated by Brenda Dickson.

Walton immersed herself in the role of the conniving Jill and won over critics and viewers alike immediately with her portrayal of Katherine Chancellor's (the late Jeanne Cooper) longtime nemesis. Around this time, Katherine and Jill allied themselves against Nina Webster (Tricia Cast), who was pregnant with Jill's son Phillip's (Thom Bierdz) child.

Walton's Jill remarried John Abbott (the late Jerry Douglas) and gave birth to their son, Billy (Jason Thompson). Walton's stories as Jill also include a fling with Victor Newman (Eric Braeden), another divorce from John, and Jill challenging Kay for ownership of the Chancellor mansion (she was awarded 50% of it).

The Young and the Restless, storyline twists, turns, and honors

Snapper, Jill, Kay, Greg, and Liz on The Young and the Restless | Image: JPI

In the 2000s, Jill learned from her mother, Liz Foster (Julianna McCarthy), that she was adopted. Jill originally believed that Charlotte Ramsey (Elizabeth Harrower) was her birth mother, but that turned out to be a red herring. For a few years, Jill and Kay believed that they were daughter and mother, but a second DNA test revealed that they were not, in fact, related.

Jill received a shock in 2009 when her late son, Phillip, returned from the dead. He explained that he'd faked his death so that he could move to Australia and live life as a gay man, something he felt wouldn't have been accepted had he remained in Genoa City.

Jill had a fling with Jack Abbott (Peter Bergman), her former stepson, and found love again with Colin Atkinson (the late Tristan Rogers). She returned to Genoa City last year following Colin's death in France to check on Billy.

Walton has received two Daytime Emmys for her portrayal of Jill. She won in 1991 in the category of Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series. Walton took home the gold in 1997 in the category of Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series.