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Kristoff St John, who played Neil Winters on The Young and the Restless, died in February 2019 due to heart disease. Taking other factors into consideration, the coroner described Kristoff's death as an accident.
His sudden demise led to a void in the storyline, which was incorporated into the plot by letting Devon discover Neil dying peacefully in sleep due to a stroke.
Recently inducted fans of The Young and the Restless may not know the history of Neil Winters on The Young and the Restless, the long-running soap on CBS. The soap premiered in 1973. Kristoff joined in 1991 and portrayed Neil Winters from the character's inception till his death.
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Kristoff had other shows and films in his wide work experience as well. However, he battled alcoholism in his personal life, a habit he had acquired in an attempt to cope with his son's suicide.
The Young and the Restless: Kristoff St John died of heart disease
The Young and the Restless actor Kristoff was found unresponsive on February 3, 2019, afternoon.
The 52-year-old was at his home in Morea Way of Woodland Hills, at the time. An autopsy done on him ruled out possibility of alcohol poisoning and stated hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, a form of heart disease, as the main cause of his death.
However, as per the LA County Coroner's office, there were other contributing conditions leading to his death due to heart disease. Two of them were the effects of ethanol from alcohol consumption and the myocardial bridging of the left anterior descending coronary artery.
As per reports, Kristoff was struggling to cope with his son, Julian's suicide in 2014. His social media account had messages related to the same. Moreover, an emotional Kristoff had referred to the phone call about his son's death being the worst one he had ever received, during his 2017 interview with Entertainment Tonight.
Besides Julian, Kristoff had two daughters, Lola and Paris, from his two marriages. At the time of his death, he was engaged to Russian model, Ksenitya Mikhaleva, and the duo was slated to be married in the fall of 2019.
A brief history of Kristoff's Neil Winters on The Young and the Restless
First appearing on The Young and the Restless in 1991, Neil Winters, the character played by Kristoff St John, was an overachieving young executive in Jabot Cosmetics. His work took him from Jabot to Newman Enterprises and then to Chancellor Industries.
His journey in Genoa City started with Drucilla Barber employing him to break up Olivia and Nathan but falling for him instead. While Neil and Drucilla married, Neil's half-brother, Malcolm, came to town and wooed his brother's wife. Their intimacy led to Dru's pregnancy, resulting in Lily Winters' birth.
Dru let Neil believe that Lily was his daughter. However, differences of opinion caused them to grow apart, and Dru left Genoa City with Lily. Neil moved on with Victoria Newman as she carried her pregnancy with Cole Howard. However, with Eve declared dead at birth, Neil and Victoria's plan to marry fell through.
The Young and the Restless storyline of 2002 found Dru back in town with a rebellious teenager Lily. The couple remarried and two years later took on Devon Hamilton as a foster child. On one hand, they adopted Devon as he turned 18, while on the other, Neil found out that Lily was Malcolm's biological daughter.
Also Read: 5 fan-favorite characters who need to return to The Young and the Restless
Some of his other romantic relationships include Karen Taylor, Tyra Hamilton, Sofia Dupre, Ashley Abbott and Leslie Michaelson. However, when Sofia gave birth to his baby, Moses, her then-husband, Malcolm, divorced her, and Neil had to get married to Sofia for the baby's care.
As Neil wasn't interested in Sofia but wanted to get close to Devon's biological mother, Harmony Hamilton, the duo decided to divorce.
Neil testified against Adam Newman and in favor of Victoria, Nick and Abby, knowing that it would cost his former employer, Victor Newman, a huge sum.
A large portion of his story arc on The Young and the Restless was occupied by Lily's marriage with Cane Ashby, Cane's death leaving Lily with a pair of twins, Colin's attempt at kidnapping the twins, Cane's return,and later the revelation that Cane's twin, Caleb, had died.
Kristoff's portrayal of Neil Winters earned him recognition and love from fans. He was awarded two Daytime Emmys besides being given NAACP Image Awards, eight times.
While Neil's character was not recast on the soap, his onscreen children Devon and Lily play central roles in the current plot. Stay tuned to CBS on weekdays at 12.30 p.m. ET to catch the latest happenings in the show.
