Kristoff St. John, ‘Young and the Restless’ star, found dead at 52

Feb 4, 2019

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Beloved ‘Young and the Restless’ soap opera star, Kristoff St. John has reportedly been found dead at age 52.

TMZ broke the news.

Law enforcement sources told TMZ one of Kristoff’s friends went to check on him at the actor’s home in San Fernando Valley Sunday, and found his body. Police and paramedics were alerted and responded to the house. Kristoff was reportedly pronounced dead on the scene.

St. John played Neil Winters on ‘Y&R’ since 1991. He earned him 9 Daytime Emmy Award nominations and 10 NAACP Image Awards. St John’s acting credits also included portraying a young Alex Haley in the ABC miniseries, Roots: The Next Generation, as well as Denise Huxtable’s boyfriend (Lisa Bonet) on The Cosby Show.

According to his show’s cast bio, Kristoff St. John made his television debut at age 7 in the series, “That’s My Mama.”

He went on to star in the series “Charlie & Company” with Flip Wilson, Gladys Knight and Della Reese, and later had roles in “The Bad News Bears” and “The San Pedro Beach Bums.”

St. John also had a recurring role on “Hangin’ with Mr. Cooper” and made appearances on other TV shows, including “Diagnosis Murder,” “Arli$$,” “The Jamie Foxx Show,” “Martin,” and “Living Single.”

In December 2014, the daytime soap star shared some heartbreaking news about a personal tragedy revealing that his son Julian committed suicide on November 23. The actor and his ex-wife, Mia, described their son as the “light” of their lives.

Julian, a talented painter, reportedly suffered from schizophrenia and endured “severe depression.” since childhood.

On November 23rd Kristoff St John and I lost our beautiful son, Julian St John. Our son wa… http://t.co/mDtPTqEMTT pic.twitter.com/nVUDtEuFBG

— Mia St. John (@MiaStJohnBoxer) November 29, 2014

The St. Johns believed that the treatment center there son was admitted to contributed to his death and filed a lawsuit.

St. John told “Entertainment Tonight” in 2017 that he was “angry” about the final footage the facility captured on video of his son.

“I watched it the first time, I’ll never watch it again,” he said. “It’s not something I want to see.”

He was open about his own battles with depression following the death of his son and in 2017, Entertainment Weekly reported that the star had taken a leave of absence from his show to deal with mental health issues.

Mia St. John took to social media after her ex-husband’s passing sharing an emotional post linking his death to Julian’s.

She wrote, “THAT HOSPITAL KILLED OUR SON @TheArtofJulian THEN MY HUSBAND @kristoffstjohn1. THATS WHAT HAPPENED! THEY KILLED MY FAMILY”

The post has since been deleted.

In September 2018, St. John announced his engagement to Russian model Kseniya Mikhaleva.

Mikhaleva wrote monday morning on social media, “So early…so early” on her Instagram story with crying and heart emojis. “Why are you leave so early?” she wrote. “Why…you are always in my heart.”

Fans react

Celebrities and soap opera fans took to social media to share their thoughts on Kristoff St. John’s impact.

.@YRInsider has been my guilty pleasure for 20 years. This is just heartbreaking. Kristoff St. John’s character was so revolutionary because he & @victoriarowell represented the only black family on Y&R, the no. 1 soap. Kristoff is appreciated and will be sorely missed. https://t.co/dEeC4Ef5y9

— Jemele Hill (@jemelehill) February 4, 2019

Sad to hear about Kristoff St. John – staple in daytime tv stories. RIP, man. #YoungAndTheRestless https://t.co/pDtcoMJUP8

— Rickey Smiley (@RickeySmiley) February 4, 2019

Kristoff St. John–I mean, he WAS black soap opera royalty–right up there with Debbi Morgan/Darnell Williams. Never watched one second of Y&R–I was DIEHARD AMC–but you just KNEW who KSJ was REGARDLESS. That’s how impactful he was on the soap genre… #KristoffStJohn

— Ms. Williams (@MsWilliamsWorld) February 4, 2019

Terrible news to wake up to this morning. The death of actor Kristoff St. John. Depression is one of the most pervasive illnesses in our society yet one of the least talked about. RIP. https://t.co/AOW4MlQsBR

— Shaun Robinson (@shaunrobinson) February 4, 2019

Kristoff Saint John. I will miss you my friend RIP pic.twitter.com/Aqg1APCYak

— Todd Bridges (@ToddBridges) February 4, 2019

No!!! This news has truly broken my heart. Kristoff was pure & so kind. I will never forget how wonderful he was to me and everyone else he came into contact with. He was just a good, good man. ?

‘Young & the Restless’ Star Kristoff St. John Dead at 52 https://t.co/7JCE8WcXWN

— yvette nicole brown (@YNB) February 4, 2019

My heart is with the family and loved ones of Kristoff St. John. Sending you strength and healing. May he be met with the comforting arms of his beloved son and may their gentle souls rest together for eternity ?? https://t.co/9ZistnNghK

— Alice Hunter (@itsalicehunter) February 4, 2019

View this post on Instagram

GM Dawlings! It is with a very heavy heart that I wake up this morning to hear about the passing of my good friend @KristoffStJohn who I started off my acting career with on the Soap Operas #Generations & #Young&TheRestless and recently #AChristmasCruise WOW! Kristoff I will soo miss u my brotha! U were a true gentleman 4sho! #GONETOSOON #RESTINPARADISE my friend! #Blessed #Respect ????‍♀️

A post shared by Vivica A Fox (@msvfox) on Feb 4, 2019 at 7:35am PST