Ashley Tesoro (born Ashley Lyn Cafagna; February 15, 1983) is an American actress and singer. She is known for Mrs. Universe 23-24 and Mrs. Nevada Universe 2023. Tesoro is also known for her starring roles in

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 ...

's '' Saved by the Bell: The New Class'' (as Liz Miller) and

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 ...

's ''

The Bold and the Beautiful ''The Bold and the Beautiful'' (often referred to as ''B&B'') is an American television soap opera created by William J. Bell and Lee Phillip Bell for CBS. It premiered on March 23, 1987, as a sister show to the Bells' other soap opera ''Th ...

'' (as Kimberly Fairchild). In 2007, she released a self-titled

country music Country (also called country and western) is a popular music, music genre originating in the southern regions of the United States, both the American South and American southwest, the Southwest. First produced in the 1920s, country music is p ...

EP. In 2010 she released a

country gospel Christian country music (sometimes marketed as country gospel, gospel country, positive country or inspirational country) is music that is written to express either personal or a communal belief regarding Christian life, as well as (in terms ...

EP titled ''Oh You Angel''. In 2012, she released a

gospel Gospel originally meant the Christianity, Christian message ("the gospel"), but in the second century Anno domino, AD the term (, from which the English word originated as a calque) came to be used also for the books in which the message w ...

EP titled ''Simply Worship''.

Early life

Ashley Lyn Cafagna was born in

Iowa City, Iowa Iowa City is the largest city in Johnson County, Iowa, United States, and its county seat. At the time of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census the population was 74,828, making it the state's List of cities in Iowa, fifth-most populous c ...

, the first of three children. She was raised in

Escondido, California Escondido (Spanish language, Spanish for "Hidden") is a city in San Diego County, California, United States. Located in the North County (San Diego area), North County region, it was incorporated in 1888, and is one of the oldest cities in San ...

. At the age of six, she began entering beauty pageants, and won several local pageants from ages six through eight. She was crowned "Little Miss California" at the age of eight. She then started acting in a theater company called Christian Youth Theater. At the age of ten she entered a local talent contest in San Diego, California. After a long process of acting, modeling, and interviews, she took first place out of three hundred contestants. Her win placed her with an acting agent and manager.Ashley Tesoro Bio
Ami, Retrieved 2009

Career

Acting

As a television actress Ashley Tesoro has appeared in

's '' Saved by the Bell: The New Class'' (as Liz Miller) for three seasons and

's ''

'' (as Kimberly Fairchild) for three years. She has had other roles in '' 7th Heaven'', ''Valley of the Dolls'', ''

Hey Arnold! ''Hey Arnold!'' is an American animated sitcom created by Craig Bartlett for Nickelodeon. It originally aired from October 7, 1996, to June 8, 2004. The show centers on fourth grader Arnold Shortman, who lives with his grandparents in an inner ...

'', ''

CBS Morning News ''CBS News Mornings'' (formerly ''CBS Morning News'') is an American early-morning news broadcast presented weekdays on the CBS television network. The program features late-breaking news stories, national weather forecasts and sports highlight ...

'', and has been a guest host for E!. She has presented the

Daytime Emmy Awards 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 ...

, the

Soap Opera Digest Awards ''The Soap Opera Digest Awards'', originally known as ''The Soapy Awards'' when introduced in 1977, was an awards show held by the daytime television magazine ''Soap Opera Digest''. History 1977–1983 The Soapy Awards were an award presented ...

, and was awarded "Best Newcomer on a Daytime Television Show" in

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

. She was also named one of the "Fifty most Beautiful People" on television by ''Soap Opera Digest'' and ''Soap Opera Weekly.'' She has also starred in eight

films A film, also known as a movie or motion picture, is a work of Visual arts, visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, emotions, or atmosphere through the use of moving images that are gen ...

during her career, including; '' The Skulls II'', '' Lord of Illusions'' playing Famke Janssen's younger self, and ''

Mr. Murder Mr. Murder may refer to: * ''Mr. Murder'' (film), a 1969 Hindi suspense thriller * ''Mr. Murder'' (novel), a 1993 horror novel by Dean Koontz ** ''Mr. Murder'' (miniseries), a 1998 American science fiction-crime thriller television miniseries, b ...

'' with

Stephen Baldwin Stephen Andrew Baldwin (born May 12, 1966) is an American actor. He has appeared in the films ''Born on the Fourth of July (film), Born on the Fourth of July'' (1989), ''Posse (1993 film), Posse'' (1993), ''8 Seconds'' (1994), ''Threesome (1994 ...

Thomas Haden Church Thomas Haden Church (born Thomas Richard McMillen; June 17, 1960) is an American actor. After starring in the 1990s sitcom '' Wings'' and playing the lead for two seasons in ''Ned & Stacey'' (1995–1997)'','' Church became known for his film work ...

, and

James Coburn James Harrison Coburn III (August 31, 1928 – November 18, 2002) was an American film and television actor who was featured in more than 70 films, largely action roles, and made 100 television appearances during a 45-year career.AllmoviBi ...

Modeling

As a model Ashley Tesoro has worked for companies such as Radiosa Gowns,

Levi's Levi Strauss & Co. ( ) is an American clothing company known worldwide for its Levi's ( ) brand of denim jeans. It was founded in May 1853 when German-Jewish immigrant Levi Strauss moved from Buttenheim, Bavaria, to San Francisco, California, ...

and

Tommy Hilfiger Thomas Jacob Hilfiger ( ; born March 24, 1951) is an American fashion designer and the founder of Tommy Hilfiger (company), Tommy Hilfiger Corporation. After starting his career by co-founding a chain of jeans/fashion stores called People's P ...

. She has starred in commercial ads, and has been featured on the cover of magazines such as; ''

Teen Adolescence () is a transitional stage of human Developmental biology, physical and psychological Human development (biology), development that generally occurs during the period from puberty to adulthood (typically corresponding to the age o ...

'' (''Teen Beauty Guide''), ''

Soap Opera Digest ''Soap Opera Digest'' was a weekly magazine covering American daytime soap operas. It featured onscreen and offscreen news about the series, interviews with and articles about performers, storyline summaries and analysis, and related promotional ...

'', ''

Soap Opera Weekly ''Soap Opera Weekly'' was a weekly magazine covering American daytime 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 characterize ...

'', '' CBS Soaps In Depth'', and ''Cross Point''.

Music

While starring on ''The Bold and the Beautiful'', executive-producer Bradley Bell incorporated singing into her character of Kimberly Fairchild. She recorded several original songs and music videos for the show. One of these songs was premiered on

KIIS-FM KIIS-FM (102.7 FM broadcasting, FM, "102.7 KIIS FM") is a commercial radio station licensed to Los Angeles, California, United States, and broadcasts to the Greater Los Angeles area. The station airs a contemporary hit radio format. Owned by i ...

's ''Valentine Show''. In 2007, Ashley Tesoro made her

debut with a self-titled EP on Tesoro Records. The album was produced by

Ron Aniello Ron Aniello is an American songwriter, record producer, composer and musician who has enjoyed a diverse career working with Bruce Springsteen, Matthew Koma, Shania Twain Eilleen Regina "Shania" Twain ( ; born August 28, 1965) is a Canadi ...

, mixed by Mike Shipley, and mastered by Joe Gastwirt. Larry Eagle, drummer and percussionist on

Bruce Springsteen Bruce Frederick Joseph Springsteen (born September 23, 1949) is an American Rock music, rock singer, songwriter, and guitarist. Nicknamed "the Boss", Springsteen has released 21 studio albums spanning six decades; most of his albums feature th ...

's '' We Shall Overcome: The Seeger Sessions'', played drums on two of the EP's tracks. In 2010, she released her second EP on Tesoro Records titled ''Oh You Angel''. This

album was produced by

, mixed by Clif Norrell, and mastered by Joe Gastwirt. In August 2010, Ashley Tesoro opened for

Jackson Browne Clyde Jackson Browne (born October 9, 1948) is an American rock musician, singer, songwriter, and political activist who has sold over 30 million albums in the United States. Emerging as a teenage songwriter in mid-1960s Los Angeles, he had his ...

at a private event in

Santa Barbara, California Santa Barbara (, meaning ) is a coastal city in Santa Barbara County, California, of which it is also the county seat. Situated on a south-facing section of coastline, the longest such section on the West Coast of the United States excepting A ...

. Supported by the Abiders she performed the song "Heaven Let Me Know" from her EP ''Oh You Angel''. In 2012, she released her third EP on Tesoro Records titled ''Simply Worship''. This

A cappella Music performed a cappella ( , , ; ), less commonly spelled acapella in English, is music performed by a singer or a singing group without instrumental accompaniment. The term ''a cappella'' was originally intended to differentiate between Rena ...

and acoustic

album was produced by

and mixed and mastered by Alec Dixon.Ventura County Star
Dransfeldt, J.; Retrieved June 14, 2014

Personal life

Tesoro graduated "with honors" from the

University of Phoenix University of Phoenix (UoPX) is a Private university, private For-profit higher education in the United States, for-profit university headquartered in Phoenix, Arizona. Founded in 1976, the university confers certificates and degrees at the Ac ...

. She earned degrees in psychology and communication/culture & communication. Ashley Tesoro grew up singing in church and performing in the theater company Christian Youth Theater. She and her husband Anthony are both Christian ministers, and run the Tesoro Ministry Foundation, a non-profit charity-ministry foundation founded by Anthony in 2000. She is the co-writer of ''Life Is For Living''; a Christian ministry and lifestyle blog, and the co-host of Life Is For Living TV a Christian ministry and lifestyle web series. Ashley enjoys training in the martial arts and has earned red belts in Combat Karate and

American Tang Soo Do American Tang Soo Do is a hybrid martial art brought to the US by Shin Jae Chul who was sent to Springfield, NJ by Hwang Kee in the mid-60’s. Tang Soo Do combined the Korean martial art of Tang Soo Do ( Moo Duk Kwan) with Japanese styles of ...

from her husband Anthony Tesoro who is a lifelong martial artist and former karate instructor. She has trained in boxing, kickboxing, Karate, Tang Soo Do, and grappling.

Marriage and family

On September 30, 2001, Ashley Cafagna married Anthony Tesoro, a Christian minister. Anthony formerly worked on

Wall Street Wall Street is a street in the Financial District, Manhattan, Financial District of Lower Manhattan in New York City. It runs eight city blocks between Broadway (Manhattan), Broadway in the west and South Street (Manhattan), South Str ...

for ''

Paine Webber PaineWebber & Co. was an American investment bank and stock brokerage firm that was acquired by the Swiss bank UBS in 2000. The company was founded in 1880 in Boston, Massachusetts, by William A. Paine and Wallace G. Webber. Operating with two ...

'' and then ''Jones Institutional Trading Services'' before entering the non-profit sector and founding ministry/charity organization the Tesoro Ministry Foundation, Inc. in 2000. In 2005, Ashley and her husband Anthony founded ''Tesoro Entertainment'', a production company; and in 2007, they launched Tesoro Entertainment's music label division, ''Tesoro Records''; with the Christian music sub-label ''Sacred Music'' launching in 2012. Their daughter, Gabriella Lyn, was born on November 18, 2013; and their son Anthony John, was born December 24, 2015.

Discography

Albums

Singles

CBS Daytime
Retrieved August 5, 2014

Music videos

Filmography

Film

Television

Honors and awards

Honors

* The Honorable Order of Kentucky Colonels ** 2009 - Honorary Kentucky Colonel for service and contributions to the global community - honoree * ''

'' ** 1999 - Soap Opera's 50 Most Beautiful People - recipient * ''

'' ** 1999 - Soap Opera's 50 Most Beautiful People - recipient

Awards

Young Artist Awards The Young Artist Award (originally known as the Youth in Film Award) is an accolade presented by the Young Artist Foundation, a nonprofit organization founded in 1978 to honor excellence of youth performers, and to provide scholarships for young ...

** 2002 - Best Performance in a TV Drama Series - Leading Young Actress for ''The Bold and the Beautiful'' - nominated ** 2001 - Best Performance in a Daytime TV Series - Young Actress for ''The Bold and the Beautiful'' - nominated ** 2000 - Best Performance in a TV Comedy Series - Supporting Young Actress for ''Saved by the Bell: The New Class'' - nominated * YoungStar Awards (The Hollywood Reporter's Annual YoungStar Awards) ** 2000 - Best Young Actress/Performance in a Saturday Morning TV Series for ''Saved by the Bell: The New Class'' - nominated ** 2000 - Best Young Actress/Performance in a Daytime TV Series for ''The Bold and the Beautiful'' - nominated ** 1999 - Best Performance by a Young Actress in a Saturday Morning TV Program for ''Saved by the Bell: The New Class'' - nominated ** 1999 - Best Performance by a Young Actress in a Daytime TV Program for ''The Bold and the Beautiful'' - nominated * ''Inside Soap'' Awards ** 1999 - Best Newcomer for ''The Bold and the Beautiful'' - winner Internet Movie Database
IMDb, Retrieved January 31, 2010

References

External links

*
Ashley Tesoro , The Official Website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Tesoro, Ashley 1983 births American child actresses American women country singers American country singer-songwriters American people of Italian descent American film actresses American performers of Christian music American soap opera actresses American television actresses Living people Actresses from Davenport, Iowa People from Escondido, California Singer-songwriters from California 21st-century American singer-songwriters 21st-century American women singers Country musicians from California Singer-songwriters from Iowa