Ilene Kristen Invites You Into Her New York City Home! (EXCLUSIVE)

Above Kristen and Donatelli’s bed is a painting by artist Mimi Stephens. “The Shark Bar music club used to showcase different painters every month. I was there performing, and that painting called out to me,” she explains. “It really reminded me of sitting in a dressing room before you put on your costume to go on stage.”

The fireplace in Kristen’s living room displays her and Donatelli’s collection of walking sticks. “It was amazing that both of us collected them,” she smiled. On the mantel, black and white photos of Kristen’s grandparents and Donatelli’s great-grandparents are surrounded by candles and a Buddha head. “I got it at a street fair at the [nearby] schoolyard,” says Kristen. “It’s cold in my apartment and Buddha definitely needed a hat!”

A talented singer and songwriter, Kristen had toured the country with her cabaret act, but unfortunately hasn’t been able to perform much lately due to the pandemic. “I studied piano and guitar, but I am so much of a better actor than I am a musician,” she admitted. “I don’t consider myself a musician, but I think like a musician and my album is all songs that I wrote.”

Kristen was twice nominated for a Daytime Emmy Award for her portrayal of hilariously inappropriate Roxy on OLTL, but never took home the gold. Her partner, himself a multiple Emmy winner, sweetly remedied that by gifting Kristen with one of his! “Gary felt terrible that I hadn’t gotten one, so he rededicated one of his to me,” she shared. “It was very, very lovely gift.”

Also proudly displayed in Kristen’s living room is a beautiful piece of art created by her nephew, Cinque Schatz. “We talked over what colors I wanted, and he painted it for me,” said the proud aunt.

Huge windows give Kristen’s living room a very airy feel — and offer a great place for her to display an antique model airplane she picked up years ago. “I got it at a crazy antique store that used to be on Columbus Avenue,” she said. “It was almost like a junk store. It was all antiques, but there was a lot of very strange stuff there.”

Kristen’s collection of Roseville Pottery is nicely displayed in this unique green chest that she says was once in a barn! “Some of those Roseville pieces are from the 30s and 40s,” she notes.

“I’ve collected shells for a long time, but the big shell was given to me by a very special person.” That special person was the late Mark Melamed, the founder of The Gabriel Project, an organization that assists children in need of medical treatment. “He was a very special person. And this shell he brought back for himself, but when he came to my house and he saw that I had other shells, he gave it to me. I was so deeply touched.”

During a visit to Rabbit Hash, Kentucky, Kristen picked up this unique turquoise guitar. “Rabbit Hash is this one-block town that had a dog as it’s mayor,” she chuckled. “We went into the general store, and Gary said, ‘We’ve got to buy something.’ So I got this guitar. It’s a really beautiful little guitar.”

“I’m not a major cook, but I do like to cook vegetables,” Kristen confessed. “My vegetable of the month is broccolini.”

The hallway leading back to the guest room has more artwork displayed, along with some photographs from Kristen’s decades-long career. The large black-and-white photograph is from a production of Street Venus the actress performed in alongside Roma Maffia. “The other artwork on the wall, I got at a thrift shop. They were like $20 each and I just loved them.”

Celebrated celebrity photographer Timothy White took this shot of Kristen for an old SOAPnet promotional campaign.

The smaller back bedroom doubles as the couple’s guest room and Donatelli’s office and features a huge bookshelf that takes up an entire wall. “Most of those books are mine,” says Kristen. “Now I read on Kindle. I have no more space for books.”

The late Roscoe Born once rented the guest room from Kristen while he was playing OLTL’s Mitch. “He was with me for at least six months,” she says of her dearly departed friend. “I feel like we’d been through so many episodes of our lives together. He was a special person.”

Neighbor Emily Rothstein is a makeup artist who got Kristen camera-ready for our at-home photo shoot! “Her father is my neighbor,” the actress smiles.