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Matthew Ashford

Matthew Nile Ashford (born January 29, 1960) is an American actor who has played various roles on Days of Our Lives and The Bay. In 2012, he was nominated for the Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series.

Early life and education

Ashford is the sixth of eight children, and has three sisters and four brothers. He was born in Davenport, Iowa to Patricia (†2020), an executive secretary, and Cecil Ashford, a civil engineer. He graduated with a BFA in Theater from the University of North Carolina School of the Arts in Winston-Salem, North Carolina.

Career

20th century

Ashford's career began in New York City, where he was cast as Drew Ralston on One Life to Live, a role he played from 1982 to 1983. He was subsequently cast as Cagney McCleary on Search for Tomorrow, a role Ashford would play until the show's ending in December 1986.

He has played Jack Deveraux on the NBC soap opera, Days of Our Lives. Ashford has had several stints playing Jack Deveraux, a popular character who began as a villain and raped another character. In subsequent years, the character of Jack was reformed and paired with Jennifer Horton. Ashford's pairing with Melissa Reeves' Jennifer was wildly popular, winning the 7th Soap Opera Digest award for favorite super couple, and the couple is considered a supercouple, by soap opera standards. Ashford's initial run was from 1987 to 1993.

21st century

He returned to Days of Our Lives from 2001 to 2003, but was written off as part of a controversial storyline where nearly a dozen residents of the fictional town of Salem appeared to have been murdered. He returned to the show in 2004, but spent much of his time since on the back burner, and was off-screen for large portions of 2005 and 2006.

In September 2006, Ashford was again let go from the Days of Our Lives. Ashford made a brief appearance as Jack in April 2007, and in September 2011 returned to the show until being fired again in April 2012. After guest appearances in 2016 and 2017, Ashford returned to Days of Our Lives as a regular cast member in late 2018.

Ashford has also appeared on other daytime soaps, including a stint as Tom Hardy on General Hospital from 1995 to 1997, and a return to One Life to Live as serial killer Stephen Haver from 2003 to 2004.

Since 2011, Ashford has starred on the soap opera web series The Bay as Steve Jenson, opposite his former Days of Our Lives co-star, Mary Beth Evans.

Ashford is part of a production company, NGM Productions, which produced The Unlikeleys, a movie, in which Ashford plays the most famous soap star in the world and his exact look-alike. Ashford's production company has also produced The Exorcism of Tina Miller, a movie.

In May 2007, Ashford appeared with Scott Bakula in a production of No Strings.

From February to June 2010, he played Bill in the North American tour of Mamma Mia!. The final performances were cut short due to security concerns with the G20 Summit in Toronto, which was held nearby.

Personal life

Ashford married singer-actress Christina Saffran Ashford on June 6, 1987 but they have since divorced. They have two daughters, Grace and Emma (born in 1997).

In May 2010, while on tour in Toronto, he obtained U.S.-Canadian dual citizenship. Ashford's father was born in Canada, which made him and his siblings eligible to become Canadians without relinquishing their American citizenship.

Ashford married Lana Buss in November 2016. They have two children together, a son born in May 2013, and a daughter born in December 2015.

Awards and recognition

2012 Daytime Emmy Award Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series (Days of Our Lives) - Nomination
1993 Soap Opera Digest Award Outstanding Comic Performance (Days of Our Lives)
1992 Soap Opera Digest Award Best Love Story Daytime or Primetime (with Melissa Reeves) (Days of Our Lives)
1992 Soap Opera Digest Award Best Daytime Wedding (with Melissa Reeves) (Days of Our Lives)
1991 Soap Opera Digest Award Favorite Daytime Super Couple (with Melissa Reeves) (Days of Our Lives)
1989 Soap Opera Digest Award Outstanding Daytime Villain (Days of Our Lives)