Christel Adnana Mina Khalil (born November 30, 1987) is an American actress. She is best known for her role as

Lily Winters Lily Winters is a fictional character from the American CBS Daytime, CBS soap opera ''The Young and the Restless''. Created by William J. Bell, the character appeared as a child for her first five-year period. In 2002, Christel Khalil began portra ...

in ''

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 ...

'', which earned her a

Daytime Emmy Award The Daytime Emmy Awards, or Daytime Emmys, are part of the extensive range of Emmy Awards for artistic and technical merit for the American television industry. Bestowed by the New York-based National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences (NA ...

in 2012. She is also known for providing the voice of Cornelia Hale in the animated adaptation of ''

W.I.T.C.H. ''W.I.T.C.H.'' (stylised as ''W.i.t.c.h.'') is an Italian fantasy Disney comics series created by Elisabetta Gnone, Alessandro Barbucci, and Barbara Canepa. The series features a group of five teenage girls who become the guardians of the classi ...

''.

Background

Khalil was born in

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, ...

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

, to a mother of Native American, African American, and European descent and a

Pakistani Pakistanis (, ) are the citizens and nationals of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan. Pakistan is the fifth-most populous country, with a population of over 241.5 million, having the second-largest Muslim population as of 2023. As much as ...

father. Khalil has stated she identifies as mixed race. She has three older brothers and a younger paternal half-sister. In January 2017, in the wake of

President Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who is the 47th president of the United States. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he served as the 45 ...

's signing of

Executive Order 13769 Executive Order 13769, titled Protecting the Nation from Foreign Terrorist Entry into the United States, labeled the "Muslim ban" by Donald Trump and his supporters and critics alike, and commonly known as such, or commonly referred to as the ...

, Khalil revealed that her father is an

immigrant Immigration is the international movement of people to a destination country of which they are not usual residents or where they do not possess nationality in order to settle as permanent residents. Commuters, tourists, and other short- ...

from his native country of

Pakistan Pakistan, officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of over 241.5 million, having the Islam by country# ...

Career

Khalil is best known for her portrayal as

on the

CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS (an abbreviation of its original name, Columbia Broadcasting System), is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainme ...

soap opera A soap opera (also called a daytime drama or soap) is a genre of a long-running radio or television Serial (radio and television), serial, frequently characterized by melodrama, ensemble casts, and sentimentality. The term ''soap opera'' originat ...

''. At the ''

39th Daytime Emmy Awards The 39th Annual Daytime Emmy Awards presented by the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences (NATAS), "recognizes outstanding achievement in all fields of daytime television production and are presented to individuals and programs broadca ...

'' on June 23, 2012, she won the

Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Younger Actress in a Drama Series The Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Younger Actress in a Drama Series was an award presented annually by the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences (NATAS) and the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (ATAS). It was given annually ...

after four nominations in the category. In August 2018, she announced her decision to downgrade from being on contract with the show and instead continue regularly. Khalil explained the decision was driven by her desire to have more freedom in both her professional and personal life. She continued to make sporadic appearances on the show until being approached by current head writer and co-executive producer

Josh Griffith Joe Shelby "Josh" Griffith (born August 15, 19??) is an American soap opera writer and producer. Personal life Born on August 15, in New York, Josh is the son of Joe (Rip) Griffith and Sue Estes Griffith, both teachers and artists. Career Griffi ...

in January 2020, to return to filming regularly. Khalil has had small roles in films such as ''Dragon Fury'', ''

Matilda Matilda or Mathilda may refer to: Animals * Matilda (chicken) (1990–2006), World's Oldest Living Chicken record holder * Mathilda (gastropod), ''Mathilda'' (gastropod), a genus of gastropods in the family Mathildidae * Matilda (horse) (1824–1 ...

'', ''Interview With the Assassin'' and ''White Like the Moon''. She voiced Cornelia Hale in ''

'', and also appeared on ''

That's So Raven ''That's So Raven'' is an American television fantasy teen sitcom that was created by Michael Poryes and Susan Sherman, and aired on Disney Channel for four seasons between January 2003 and November 2007. The series centers on Raven Baxter ( ...

'' and ''

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'', among other shows. Khalil also performed in Los Angeles theater productions before landing her role on ''The Young and the Restless''. In 2012, she was featured in musician Johnny Britt's music video for his single ''Beautiful Queen''. In spring 2018, Khalil co-starred in the independent thriller, ''Good Deed'', which premiered on the Lifetime network in November 2018 under the title ''Sorority Stalker.'' In spring 2019, she was cast in the independent comedy ''We Need To Talk'' by writer and director Todd Wolfe.

Personal life

In September 2008, she married musician Stephen Hensley. ''The Young and the Restless'' co-star

Elizabeth Hendrickson Elizabeth Hendrickson (born July 3, 1979) is an American actress. Her big break came when she was cast as character Frankie Stone on the daytime drama ''All My Children''. Her equally popular role of Maggie Stone, the character's identical twin, ...

served as a bridesmaid while

Bryton James Bryton McClure (born August 17, 1986), also credited as Bryton James and mononymously as Bryton, is an American musical theater, film and television actor. As a child actor, he played Richie Crawford on the ABC/CBS sitcom '' Family Matters''. ...

was a groomsman. Khalil gave birth to their son on April 17, 2010, during an at-home

water birth Water birth is childbirth that occurs in water, usually a birthing pool. It may include the use of water for relaxation and pain relief during the first stage of labour, birth into water in the second stage of labour, and the delivery of the pla ...

. Bryton James is his godfather and actress Fadhia Marcelin is his godmother. She and Hensley split in early 2011 and divorced later that year. In 2015, Khalil stated she had been in a relationship with bar runner Ray Wicks for 4 years. Khalil ended the relationship in August 2015. In the summer of 2018, Khalil stated that she in a relationship with Canadian businessman Sam Restagno, who works in private equity. The two met in 2016, during that year

Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival Coachella (officially called the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival and sometimes known as Coachella Festival) is an annual music and arts festival held at the Empire Polo Club in Indio, California, in the Coachella Valley in the Colora ...

Indio, California Indio (Spanish language, Spanish for "Indian") is a city in Riverside County, California, United States, in the Coachella Valley of Southern California's Colorado Desert region. Indio is approximately east of Los Angeles, east of Palm Springs, ...

. In 2019, Khalil and her son relocated to

Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...

Ontario Ontario is the southernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Located in Central Canada, Ontario is the Population of Canada by province and territory, country's most populous province. As of the 2021 Canadian census, it ...

to be with Restagno, who was born and based there. In July 2020, Khalil moved back to Los Angeles. In June 2023, she announced she was expecting her second child, her first with Restagno. She is best friends with

, who portrays her character's brother,

Devon Hamilton Devon Hamilton (also Winters) is a fictional character from ''The Young and the Restless'', an American soap opera, portrayed by Bryton James. The character made his first appearance on June 1, 2004. He was introduced as a homeless teenager who i ...

on ''The Young and the Restless''. She is also friends with several former and current ''The Young and the Restless'' co-stars, including

Mishael Morgan Marie-Charms Mishael Morgan (born July 15, 1986) known professionally as Mishael Morgan, is a Trinidadian-Canadian actress known for the roles of Hilary Curtis and Amanda Sinclair on CBS Daytime soap opera, ''The Young and the Restless'', the latt ...

and

Nadine Heimann Nadine Nicole Heimann (born September 15, 1983), known professionally as Nadine Nicole,"Working Girl." ''Soap Opera Digest''. November 30, 2015. pg. 45. is an American actress. Personal life Nicole was born in Rochester, Michigan, to a German fat ...

. In October 2015, she modeled for Heimann's

non-profit A nonprofit organization (NPO), also known as a nonbusiness entity, nonprofit institution, not-for-profit organization, or simply a nonprofit, is a non-governmental (private) legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public, or so ...

, True Connection. In June 2015, after the

United States Supreme Court The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all U.S. federal court cases, and over state court cases that turn on question ...

's decision on ''

Obergefell v. Hodges ''Obergefell v. Hodges'', ( ), is a landmark decision of the United States Supreme Court which ruled that the fundamental right to marry is guaranteed to same-sex couples by both the Due Process Clause and the Equal Protection Clause of th ...

'', she voiced her support for same-sex marriage. Khalil has said one of her favorite hobbies is traveling because she loves experiencing different cultures and travel makes her feel connected to who she is as a person.

Filmography

Awards and nominations

References

External links

*
Christel Khalil Official Twitter
on Twitter.com {{DEFAULTSORT:Khalil, Christel 1987 births 20th-century American actresses 21st-century American actresses Living people Actresses from Los Angeles Daytime Emmy Award winners Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Younger Actress in a Drama Series winners American television actresses American voice actresses American soap opera actresses American child actresses American actors of Pakistani descent 20th-century African-American actresses 21st-century African-American actresses