Young and the Restless star Kristoff St. John has died age 52

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'The Young & the Restless' star Kristoff St. John has died aged 52.

The body of the actor - who played Neil Winters in the CBS soap opera from 1991, earning him nine Daytime Emmy Award nominations - was found by a friend at his home in the San Fernando Valley, California, on Sunday (03.02.19).

Police and paramedics were alerted and responded to the house, where the actor was pronounced dead on the scene and it has been reported that no evidence of foul play in his death was found but sources told TMZ that alcohol was possibly involved.

Kristoff was engaged to Russian model Kseniya Mikhaleva, who shared a heartfelt post mourning her fiance.

Sharing a selfie of the couple, she wrote: "How did it happen ??? How ??? Why did you leave so early ???? and left me alone ..... I can't believe you were everything to me .... you were a loving father, a loving man,.....how (sic)."

Among the first to pay their respects to the star was 'Community' actress Yvette Nicole Brown, who said the news had "truly broken [her] heart".

On Twitter, she wrote: "No!!! This news has truly broken my heart. Kristoff was pure & so kind. I will never forget how wonderful he was to me and everyone else he came into contact with. He was just a good, good man.(sic) "

The actor's last social media activity on Twitter was earlier this month when he retweeted a tweet about losing a child that reads: "Grieving the loss of a child is a process. It begins on the day your child passes, and ends the day the parent joins them. (sic)"

The actor lost his son Julian - who he had with boxing star Mia St John - to suicide in 2014 as he underwent mental health treatment at a hospital in Long Beach.

Kristoff also had two daughters, Paris, 26, whose mother is Mia, and 15-year-old Lola, who he had with second ex-wife Allana Nadal.