For her portrayal of Jill, Walton was honored with a Daytime Emmy Award as Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series in 1997 and was nominated for Emmys in that category in 1996 and 2000. She received Daytime Emmy nominations in 1990 and 1991 as Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series and went on to win the award in 1991. Additional honors include a 1993 Soap Opera Award as Outstanding Lead Actress and a nomination for the same award in 1999.

Walton guest-starred in many notable television series through the course of her career including "The Rockford Files," "Cannon," "Marcus Welby, M.D.," "The Six Million Dollar Man," "The Streets of San Francisco," "Barnaby Jones," "Ironside," "Starsky & Hutch" and "Kojak." She starred as Kelly Harper on the daytime drama "Capitol" for three years.

She has starred in the made for television movies "Montserrat," "You'll Never See Me Again," "The Storm," "Diary of a Madman" and "Mod Squad II."

Walton studied at the Toronto Workshop Productions' Repertory Theater for three years and appeared in summer stock and repertory company productions including "Uncle Vanya" and "The Right Honorable Gentleman."

She was born in Grand Rapids, Michigan and grew up in Toronto, Canada.

Walton is married to the internationally renowned grief recovery authority John W. James, founder of the Grief Recovery Institute and co-author of the national bestsellers The Grief Recovery Handbook and When Children Grieve.

Walton and her husband live in Los Angeles.