Kristen DeAnn Alderson (born May 29, 1991)
is an American actress and singer. She is best known for playing the role of
Starr Manning on the
ABC soap opera ''
One Life to Live
''One Life to Live'' (often abbreviated as ''OLTL'') is an American soap opera broadcast on the American Broadcasting Company, ABC television network for more than 43 years, from July 15, 1968, to January 13, 2012, and then on the internet as ...
'' (1998 to 2012) and the ABC soap opera ''
General Hospital
''General Hospital'' (often abbreviated as ''GH'') is an American daytime television soap opera created by Frank and Doris Hursley which has been broadcast on American Broadcasting Company, ABC since April 1, 1963. Originally a half-hour seria ...
'' (2012 to 2013). She also originated the role of
Kiki Jerome on ''General Hospital'' (2013 to 2015). She won a
Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Younger Actress for her role as Starr on ''General Hospital'' in 2013. She received nominations in the same category in 2014 and 2015.
Early life
Alderson was born in
Huntingdon Valley, Pennsylvania. She is the older sister of actor
Eddie Alderson, who played Matthew Buchanan on ''
One Life to Live
''One Life to Live'' (often abbreviated as ''OLTL'') is an American soap opera broadcast on the American Broadcasting Company, ABC television network for more than 43 years, from July 15, 1968, to January 13, 2012, and then on the internet as ...
'' (2001 to 2012). She began acting at the age of five, after being inspired by a film about the making of ''
Annie''.
She attended Catholic school in Pennsylvania through seventh grade, but decided to receive tutoring on the set of ''One Life to Live'' for eighth grade. Alderson was a cheerleader in junior high school. She and her brother attended a performing arts high school in New York.
Career
When she was four years old, Alderson's dance class appeared on a locally televised talent show, ''Al Alberts Showcase''. Alderson was then individually chosen to perform on the series each week. An agent saw one of her performances and suggested that she audition for the Broadway production of ''
Annie''. Alderson was cast as Molly, replacing Christiana Anbri. She also played the role in a national tour of the musical.
Alderson played Lexi Jules in the Eleventh Hour "Agro" 2008,and as Taisiya Seaver in The Hawthrone series "Trust Me" in 2009, Alderson, was 16 when she played Lexi Jules in 2008,and in 2009 she was 17 when she played Taisiya Seaver,In July 21,2009,played Haley Reed in (The Eye 2008),she was the Same age as Jessica Alba in the movie.
Alderson auditioned for the role of
Starr Manning on ''
One Life to Live
''One Life to Live'' (often abbreviated as ''OLTL'') is an American soap opera broadcast on the American Broadcasting Company, ABC television network for more than 43 years, from July 15, 1968, to January 13, 2012, and then on the internet as ...
'' in February 1998 and won the part, replacing Meghan Rayder. She was six years old at the time. Her first airdate was March 20, 1998. The role was initially recurring, but Alderson was put on contract in April 2001.
She won a
Soap Opera Digest Award for ''Favorite Teen'' in 2005 for her work on ''One Life to Live''.
In 2006, Alderson performed the song "Valentine" on ''One Life: Many Voices for Hurricane Relief'', an album of songs by ''One Life to Live'' actors to raise funds for victims of
Hurricane Katrina
Hurricane Katrina was a powerful, devastating and historic tropical cyclone that caused 1,392 fatalities and damages estimated at $125 billion in late August 2005, particularly in the city of New Orleans and its surrounding area. ...
. She sang ''
Sleigh Ride'' on ''A Holiday Affair'', an album of classic holiday songs performed by actors from ABC soap operas. She also performed with the ensemble on the closing track, ''
We Wish You a Merry Christmas''. The album was promoted with a special on
Soapnet, ''A Very Soapy Christmas''. Alderson performed in musical episodes of ''One Life to Live'', such as "Babes Behind Bars", "Prom Night: The Musical," and "Starr X'd Lovers." She also appeared in television commercials for
JC Penney,
Citgo
Citgo Petroleum Corporation, or Citgo (stylized as CITGO), is a United States–based refiner, transporter and marketer of transportation fuels, lubricants, petrochemicals and other industrial products. Headquartered in the Energy Corridor area ...
and Soap Network.
On April 14, 2011, ABC announced the cancellations of both ''
All My Children
''All My Children'' (often shortened to ''AMC'') is an American television soap opera that aired on American Broadcasting Company, ABC from January 5, 1970, to September 23, 2011, and on The Online Network (TOLN) from April 29 to September 2, 2 ...
'' and ''One Life to Live'', leaving ''
General Hospital
''General Hospital'' (often abbreviated as ''GH'') is an American daytime television soap opera created by Frank and Doris Hursley which has been broadcast on American Broadcasting Company, ABC since April 1, 1963. Originally a half-hour seria ...
'' as the last remaining soap opera airing on the network after January 13, 2012. After ''One Life to Live'' finished filming on November 18, 2011, Alderson and her brother, who was also a ''OLTL'' cast member, turned down offers to reprise their roles in an online revival. They decided instead to relocate to Los Angeles.
On January 11, 2012, it was announced that Alderson and her former ''
One Life to Live
''One Life to Live'' (often abbreviated as ''OLTL'') is an American soap opera broadcast on the American Broadcasting Company, ABC television network for more than 43 years, from July 15, 1968, to January 13, 2012, and then on the internet as ...
'' co-stars
Kassie DePaiva,
Michael Easton, and
Roger Howarth, would reprise their roles on ''
General Hospital
''General Hospital'' (often abbreviated as ''GH'') is an American daytime television soap opera created by Frank and Doris Hursley which has been broadcast on American Broadcasting Company, ABC since April 1, 1963. Originally a half-hour seria ...
''. Alderson's first airdate was February 24, 2012. In March 2013, a legal conflict developed between
ABC and
Prospect Park, the company producing the online revival of ''OLTL''. Prospect Park owned the rights to all ''OLTL'' characters at that time, preventing ''General Hospital'' from continuing to use them. ''
TV Guide
TV Guide is an American digital media
In mass communication, digital media is any media (communication), communication media that operates in conjunction with various encoded machine-readable data formats. Digital content can be created, vi ...
'' reported that the former ''One Life to Live'' actors would have to portray "characters that in no way resemble the current ones" in order to stay on ''General Hospital''.
Alderson's final airdate as Starr Manning on ''General Hospital'' was March 20, 2013. She debuted as a new character,
Kiki Jerome, on May 13, 2013.
In 2013, she received a
Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Younger Actress in a Drama Series for her work as Starr on ''General Hospital''.
On September 24, 2013, Alderson was honored as "The Star of Tomorrow" by the ZEPHRA Magazine Recognition Awards and the city of
West Hollywood issued a proclamation for the actress. In 2014, she was nominated for a
Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Younger Actress for her role as Kiki on ''
General Hospital
''General Hospital'' (often abbreviated as ''GH'') is an American daytime television soap opera created by Frank and Doris Hursley which has been broadcast on American Broadcasting Company, ABC since April 1, 1963. Originally a half-hour seria ...
''. On October 26, 2014, Alderson performed
The Star-Spangled Banner
"The Star-Spangled Banner" is the national anthem of the United States. The lyrics come from the "Defence of Fort M'Henry", a poem written by American lawyer Francis Scott Key on September 14, 1814, after he witnessed the bombardment of Fort ...
at the
University of Phoenix Stadium where the visiting
Philadelphia Eagles
The Philadelphia Eagles are a professional American football team based in Philadelphia. The Eagles compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East division. The team plays its ...
faced the
Arizona Cardinals
The Arizona Cardinals are a professional American football team based in the Phoenix metropolitan area. The Cardinals compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC West, West division. The ...
.
On January 10, 2015, ''Soap Opera Digest'' reported that Alderson had decided to depart ''
General Hospital
''General Hospital'' (often abbreviated as ''GH'') is an American daytime television soap opera created by Frank and Doris Hursley which has been broadcast on American Broadcasting Company, ABC since April 1, 1963. Originally a half-hour seria ...
'', opting to not renew her contract. Her last airdate was February 16, 2015. The role of Kiki was recast with
Hayley Erin. Alderson was nominated for a
Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Younger Actress for the role of Kiki on ''General Hospital'' in 2015.
Alderson starred as Cindy Lou in the
Off-Broadway
An off-Broadway theatre is any professional theatre venue in New York City with a seating capacity between 100 and 499, inclusive. These theatres are smaller than Broadway theatres, but larger than off-off-Broadway theatres, which seat fewer tha ...
play, ''
The Marvelous Wonderettes'', in April 2018 at New York's
Theatre Row.
In June 2018, Alderson said that she would be open to returning to ''General Hospital'' as Starr Manning, because Prospect Park no longer owns the rights to ''
One Life to Live
''One Life to Live'' (often abbreviated as ''OLTL'') is an American soap opera broadcast on the American Broadcasting Company, ABC television network for more than 43 years, from July 15, 1968, to January 13, 2012, and then on the internet as ...
'' characters. In 2019, she was cast in the title role in the film ''The Glorious Resurrection of Claire Owens''. In 2020, she appeared in the pilot episode of ''Mélange'', an LGBT-focused series set in the 1980s.
In April 2022, Alderson starred on stage in ''
Newsical'' at the
Majestic Repertory Theatre in
Las Vegas
Las Vegas, colloquially referred to as Vegas, is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and the county seat of Clark County. The Las Vegas Valley metropolitan area is the largest within the greater Mojave Desert, and second-l ...
. Her partner, Taylor Crousore, co-starred with her in the production. The show also played at the
V Theater in November 2022.
In September 2022, they brought ''Newsical'' to the
Garner Galleria Theatre in
Denver
Denver ( ) is a List of municipalities in Colorado#Consolidated city and county, consolidated city and county, the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Colorado, most populous city of the U.S. state of ...
.
In March 2023, they performed Off-Broadway in ''Newsical'' at the
AMT Theater in New York.
In 2023, Alderson and Crousore launched a podcast about preparing for the birth of their first child, ''Expecting You''. Alderson starred as Ashley Burke in the
Lifetime film ''
The Man in the Guest House'', airing in February 2024.
Personal life
Alderson became engaged to actor and comedian Taylor Crousore in July 2023. He proposed at Pier 84 at
Hudson River Park, the location of their first meeting almost exactly two years earlier. In September 2023, Alderson announced that she was expecting her first child with Crousore. They announced the birth of their daughter in January 2024.
Filmography
Television
Awards and nominations
References
External links
*
*
Celebrity Corner: Kristen Aldersono
PhiladelphiaEagles.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Alderson, Kristen
1991 births
20th-century American actresses
21st-century American actresses
Actresses from Pennsylvania
American child actresses
American soap opera actresses
American stage actresses
American television actresses
Living people
Daytime Emmy Award winners
Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Younger Actress in a Drama Series winners
Actors from Bucks County, Pennsylvania
Musicians from Bucks County, Pennsylvania
21st-century American women singers
21st-century American singers