Thorsten Kaye
Thorsten Kaye (born Thorsten Ernst Kieselbach, 22 February 1966) is a German-British-American actor. He is best known for his soap opera roles as Dr. Ian Thornhart on Port Charles, Zach Slater on All My Children and Ridge Forrester on The Bold and the Beautiful.
Thorsten Kaye
- Name
- Thorsten Kaye
- Born
- 22 February 1966
- Birthplace
- Frankfurt, Germany
- Birth Name
- Thorsten Ernst Kieselbach
- Occupation
- Actor
- Nationality
- Germany · United Kingdom
- Education
- Wayne State University
- Languages
- German
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Thorsten Kaye (born Thorsten Ernst Kieselbach, 22 February 1966) is a German-British-American actor. He is best known for his soap opera roles as Dr. Ian Thornhart on Port Charles, Zach Slater on All My Children and Ridge Forrester on The Bold and the Beautiful.
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wikidata · Q7796756 · wikipedia · Thorsten Kaye
In this article
Biography
Biography
For his performances, he received nine Daytime Emmy Award nominations for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series, winning the award twice, in 2023 and 2024, for his role as Ridge Forrester.
Key facts
Key facts
• Name — Thorsten Kaye • Born — 22 February 1966 • Birthplace — Frankfurt, Germany • Citizenship — * Germany • United Kingdom • United States of America • Birth Name — Thorsten Ernst Kieselbach • Occupation — Actor • Years Active — 1991–present • Partner — Susan Haskell • Children — 2
Acting career
Acting career
Kaye was born in Frankfurt, Federal Republic of Germany. He appeared in many classical theater roles, including The Winter's Tale, Tartuffe, Macbeth, Much Ado About Nothing, Hamlet, Love's Labour's Lost, Twelfth Night, and The Taming of the Shrew, both in London and with the Hilberry Repertory Company in Detroit. Kaye then moved to Los Angeles, where he acted in many television shows, including the miniseries, Sidney Sheldon's Nothing Lasts Forever, before moving to New York to play Patrick Thornhart on ABC's One Life to Live (1995–1997). The character gained quite a bit of popularity, and it is where he would meet his real life partner, Susan Haskell. After completing a two-year stint on OLTL, Thorsten did some guest starring work for other shows, as well as starring in a few feature films. In April 2000, Thorsten accepted the role of the dedicated physician Ian Thornhart (Patrick's older brother) on the ABC daytime soap (and the spin-off show of General Hospital), Port Charles (2000–2003). He appeared on the soap until its run ended in October 2003. Thorsten received two Daytime Emmy Award Nominations for Outstanding Lead Actor for his portrayal of Ian in 2003 and 2004. In April 2004, Thorsten returned to New York to join the cast of the ABC soap All My Children in the role of casino owner, Zach Slater. He was nominated for two Daytime Emmy Awards in 2006 and 2009. Thorsten portrayed Slater until December 2009. He returned three times in 2010, and again in 2011 to bring Zach's storyline to a close when AMC came to an end after 41 years, in September 2011. Thorsten Kaye has one of the lead roles in a new psychological thriller (feature-length film) titled Occupant, which was released in the U.S and Canada in October 2011 on demand in many cable/satellite markets as well as on most digital platforms, including iTunes, Amazon, Blockbuster, and PlayStation. In 2012, Kaye began appearing in the role of Nick, a recurring character on the NBC series Smash. In October 2013, it was announced that Kaye was cast to portray Ridge Forrester on The Bold and the Beautiful, replacing originator Ronn Moss, who departed the series in 2012 after 25 years in the role. On 15 December 2023 Kaye became the first German-British to win the Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series, which he won for his portrayal of Ridge Forrester. He won again in 2024.
Personal life
Personal life
When not working, Kaye enjoys music, literature and riding American motorcycles. He is a fan of the Miami Dolphins and the Detroit Red Wings. While appearing on One Life to Live, he met his partner, Susan Haskell, who played his on-show love interest (Margaret "Marty" Saybrooke). They have two daughters, McKenna (born February 2003) and Marlowe (born January 2007). Kaye was an active blogger for the Detroit Red Wings at NHL.com during the 2008 and 2009 Stanley Cup Playoffs.
Filmography
Filmography
Film roles • Year — Title — Role — Notes • 1996 — The Silencers — Jasper • 2000 — The Prophet's Game — Joey Highsmith (adult) • 2000 — Shark Attack 2 — Dr. Nick Harris — Direct-to-video • 2011 — Occupant — Joe • 2014 — Animal — Carl Television roles • Year — Title — Role — Notes • 1991 — Deadly Desire — Airport Agent — TV film • 1995 — Nothing Lasts Forever — Jury Foreman — TV film • 1995–1997 — One Life to Live — Patrick Thornhart — Regular role • 1998 — Sliders — Ralph Hackett — Episode: "Asylum" • 1999 — Air America — Sam Moon — Episode: "Fear of Flying" • 2000 — Falcone — Isadore Rechelko — Episode: "Pilot" • 2000–2003 — Port Charles — Dr. Ian Thornhart — Regular role • 2004–2011, 2013 — All My Children — Zach Slater — Regular role • 2012–2013 — Smash — Nick Felder — Recurring role, 13 episodes • 2013–present — The Bold and the Beautiful — Ridge Forrester — Regular role • 2016 — Falling Water — Javier Mendoza — Episode: "Castles Made of Sand"
Identity
Identity
Thorsten Kaye is recorded with the occupation television actor. Recorded as a citizen of United Kingdom.
Life and career
Dated record
Life and career
The full dated record · 1 entries
1966
Thorsten Kaye was born on 22 February 1966.
Primary material
Documents and archives
reference work
- “Thorsten Kaye”, English Wikipedia, consulted as further reading
Reputable secondary · Wikipedia
authority record
- Wikidata, structured authority record Q7796756: Thorsten Kaye
Unverified · Wikidata
Awards and nominations
List of acting awards and nominations • Year — Award — Category — Title — Result — Ref. References • 1993 — Soap Opera Digest Award — Outstanding Male Newcomer — One Life to Live • 2001 — Soap Opera Digest Award — Outstanding Hero — Port Charles • 2003 — Daytime Emmy Award — Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series — Port Charles • 2003 — Soap Opera Digest Award — Outstanding Lead Actor — Port Charles • 2004 — Daytime Emmy Award — Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series — Port Charles • 2005 — Soap Opera Digest Award — Favourite Return — All My Children • 2006 — Daytime Emmy Award — Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series — All My Children • 2009 — Daytime Emmy Award — Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series — All My Children • Soap Awards France — Best Actor of the Year — The Bold and the Beautiful • Soap Awards France — Best Couple of the Year – "Caroline and Ridge" (shared with Linsey Godfrey) — The Bold and the Beautiful • 2020 — Daytime Emmy Award — Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series — The Bold and the Beautiful • Soap Hub Awards — Favorite The Bold and the Beautiful Actor — The Bold and the Beautiful • 2021 — Daytime Emmy Award — Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series — The Bold and the Beautiful • 2023 — Daytime Emmy Award — Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series — The Bold and the Beautiful • 2024 — Daytime Emmy Award — Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series — The Bold and the Beautiful • 2026 — Daytime Emmy Award — Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series — The Bold and the Beautiful
Citations
References
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The Encyclopedia exists whether or not anything is for sale. Corrections are recorded rather than overwritten, and every version of this record is kept. Published 14 August 2026.
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