Kristoff St John

Early life

Kristoff St. John was born July 15, 1966, in New York City. His father, Christopher St. John, is an actor and director, while his stepmother, Marie, is an actress who graduated from London's Royal Academy of Dramatic Art.

Career

As a child, St. John portrayed a young Alex Haley in the ABC miniseries Roots: The Next Generations. He also made a small but notable appearance as Booker Brown on the ABC sitcom Happy Days, as well as a boyfriend of Denise Huxtable on an early episode of The Cosby Show. In his first major role, he appeared as Charlie Richmond, Jr. on the CBS sitcom Charlie & Co., along with Flip Wilson, Gladys Knight, and Jaleel White.

St. John's first major soap role was Adam Marshall on the NBC soap opera Generations, the first daytime drama to feature a core African American family from its inception. After Generations was cancelled in 1991, he originated the role of Neil Winters on The Young and the Restless, where he continues to appear to this day. A cast member for 25 years, no African American actor has appeared on Y&R more frequently than St. John. In 1992, he won the Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Younger Actor in a Drama Series for his role in Y&R. Over the years, he has also won numerous NAACP Image Awards.

On September 5, 1994, he went on to host CBS Soap Break. The show ran until December 31, 1999.

In 2005, St. John became a special host for TV Guide Channel. In 2007, he received his fifth Daytime Emmy nomination. He was nominated for Outstanding Supporting Actor. In 2008, St. John won his second Daytime Emmy, as Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series. He served as a judge at the 2012 Noor Iranian Film Festival in Los Angeles.

Personal life

Kristoff St. John has been married and divorced twice. He had a son Julian (born December 5, 1989 - November 23, 2014) and a daughter Paris Nicole (born 1992) with ex-wife boxer Mia St. John. He was then married to Allana Nadal from 2001 to 2007 and they have a daughter, Lola (born April 15, 2003). His son Julian died by suicide on November 23, 2014 after a long history of mental illness.

Awards