Abigail Klein (born December 24, 1988) is an American actress and former professional cheerleader. She is best known for playing the role of Stephanie Johnson on the

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of Comcast. It is one of NBCUniversal's ...

and

Peacock Peafowl is a common name for two bird species of the genus '' Pavo'' and one species of the closely related genus '' Afropavo'' within the tribe Pavonini of the family Phasianidae (the pheasants and their allies). Male peafowl are referred t ...

Daytime soap opera ''

Days of Our Lives ''Days of Our Lives'' (also stylized as ''Days of our Lives''; simply referred to as ''Days'' or ''DOOL'') is an American television soap opera that aired on the network NBC from November 8, 1965, to September 9, 2022; the soap has streamed n ...

'' since 2022. She is a former Dallas Cowboys cheerleader.

Early life

Klein was born in

Dallas, Texas Dallas () is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of Texas metropolitan areas, most populous metropolitan area in Texas and the Metropolitan statistical area, fourth-most ...

, and raised in Irving. She grew up down the street from where the

Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders The Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders (sometimes initialized as DCC, and officially nicknamed "America's Sweethearts") are the National Football League Cheerleading, National Football League cheerleading squad representing the Dallas Cowboys team. The ...

practiced. She had a passion for acting and dancing since childhood. Klein attended North Lake College.

Career

At eighteen, Klein decided to audition for the

Dallas Cowboys cheerleaders The Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders (sometimes initialized as DCC, and officially nicknamed "America's Sweethearts") are the National Football League Cheerleading, National Football League cheerleading squad representing the Dallas Cowboys team. The ...

. During the audition process, she visited a friend on the set of the film ''Iron Man'' and felt tempted to pursue acting instead. Klein ultimately decided to stick with cheerleading. She was hired by the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders, traveling with them on a

USO The United Service Organizations Inc. (USO) is an American nonprofit-charitable corporation that provides live entertainment, such as comedians, actors and musicians, social facilities, and other programs to members of the United States Armed F ...

tour to

Kuwait Kuwait, officially the State of Kuwait, is a country in West Asia and the geopolitical region known as the Middle East. It is situated in the northern edge of the Arabian Peninsula at the head of the Persian Gulf, bordering Iraq to Iraq–Kuwait ...

Iraq Iraq, officially the Republic of Iraq, is a country in West Asia. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to Iraq–Saudi Arabia border, the south, Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq border, the east, the Persian Gulf and ...

, and

Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. It is bordered by Pakistan to the Durand Line, east and south, Iran to the Afghanistan–Iran borde ...

. Klein appeared as herself on a few seasons of '' Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders: Making the Team.'' After three years, she decided to retire from cheerleading and focus on acting. After moving to

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

, Klein's first acting job was an "under five" role as a nanny on ''

The Young and the Restless ''The Young and the Restless'' (often abbreviated as ''Y&R'') is an American television soap opera created by William J. Bell and Lee Phillip Bell for CBS. The show is set in the fictional Genoa City (named after the real-life Genoa City, Wiscon ...

.'' She soon landed a role in the

Adam Sandler Adam Richard Sandler (born September 9, 1966) is an American actor, comedian, producer and screenwriter. Primarily a comedic leading actor in films, List of awards and nominations received by Adam Sandler, his accolades include an Independent Sp ...

film ''That's My Boy''. Klein made guest appearances on ''90210'', ''Castle'', ''

Drop Dead Diva ''Drop Dead Diva'' is an American legal comedy-drama/fantasy television series that aired on Lifetime from July 12, 2009, to June 22, 2014. The series was created by Josh Berman and produced by Sony Pictures Television. It stars Brooke Elliot ...

'', ''The Comeback'', and '' CSI: Crime Scene Investigation''. Klein was cast in ''Cabot College'', an unaired 2014 comedy pilot starring Fortune Feimster. She starred in a TV commercial for

Taco Bell Taco Bell Corp. is an American multinational chain of fast food restaurants founded in 1962 by Glen Bell (1923–2010) in Downey, California. Taco Bell is a subsidiary of Yum! Brands, Inc. The restaurants serve a variety of Mexican-inspired ...

, playing a girlfriend who's always taking Instagram photos. Klein appeared in '' Transformers: Age of Extinction''. She also had roles in the TV Movies ''10 Year Reunion'' and ''Girlfriends of Christmas Past.'' In 2015 and 2018, Klein had a recurring role as Stacey on ''The Incredible Life of Darrell''. From 2016 to 2017, she had a recurring role as Nurse Eloise on ''Code Black''. Michael Bay filming

She appeared in the film ''Butterfly Caught.'' On television, she guest starred on ''S.W.A.T.'', ''

American Housewife ''American Housewife'' is an American television sitcom created and written by Sarah Dunn and executive produced with Aaron Kaplan, Kenny Schwartz, Rick Wiener, and for the pilot only Ruben Fleischer. The show, which premiered on ABC on October ...

'', ''

Ryan Hansen Solves Crimes on Television ''Ryan Hansen Solves Crimes on Television'' is an action comedy series created by Rawson Marshall Thurber and starring Ryan Hansen that premiered on October 25, 2017, on YouTube Red (now YouTube Premium). In July 2018, it was announced that t ...

'', and ''GLOW.'' Klein had recurring roles on '' There's...Johnny!'' and ''Aussie Girl''. She starred as Courtney Bennett in the 2020 Lifetime TV Movie ''Christmas on Ice''. Since 2022, Klein has played the role of Stephanie Johnson on ''

''. The role was previously played by

Shelley Hennig Shelley Hennig (born January 2, 1987) is an American actress, model and beauty queen. She is the recipient of several accolades, including a Teen Choice Award and two Daytime Emmy Award nominations. Prior to pursuing an acting career, Hennig co ...

. Klein first appeared as Stephanie in the

spinoff '' Days of Our Lives: Beyond Salem'', before moving to the main series.

Personal life

Klein met her husband, Chris Armstrong, in 2012, after she saw him in a photo on her friend's Twitter account. They were married on October 22, 2016. Armstrong is a sports agent who manages

PGA tour The PGA Tour (stylized as PGA TOUR by its officials) is the organizer of professional golf tours in North America. It organizes most of the events on the flagship annual series of tournaments also known as the PGA Tour, the PGA Tour Champion ...

golfers.

Filmography

Film

Television

References

External links

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Abigail Klein
a
AllMovie
{{DEFAULTSORT:Klein, Abigail Living people 1988 births NFL cheerleaders American soap opera actresses American television actresses Actresses from Dallas 21st-century American actresses