Background
Mary Jess Walton was born in Grand Rapids, Michigan, but raised in Toronto, Canada.
Mary Jess Walton was born in Grand Rapids, Michigan, but raised in Toronto, Canada.
She attended the prestigious Loretto Abbey Catholic Secondary School in Toronto.
Walton left home at the age of 17 and joined a Toronto theater company. In 1969, she moved to Hollywood and in next year, signed with Universal Studios. In 1970s, Walton guest-starred in a number of television shows, such as Medical Center, Kojak, Marcus Welby, Doctor of Medicine, Ironside,The Rockford Files, Gunsmoke, Cannon, and Barnaby Jones.
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. However, her life began to spiral out of control when she turned to alcohol and drugs.
In 1980, she battled her addiction and completed rehabilitation In 1984, Walton returned to acting with the role of Kelly Harper on the Columbia Broadcasting System daytime soap opera, Capitol.
The show was cancelled in 1987.
Later in that year, Walton joined the cast of another Columbia Broadcasting System soap opera, The Young and the Restless, in the role as Jill Foster Abbott. The role was originally portrayed by Brenda Dickson, who departed in 1980, and the role was first recast with Deborah Adair. In 1983, Dickson returned to the role, and though she stated that she would never leave, she was replaced by Walton in 1987.