Donnell Turner
Growing up a “General Hospital” fan, in 2014, Donnell Turner auditioned for a contract role as a doctor on the show. However, ABC and “GH” had other plans, and one month later offered a four-year contract to bring life to an original character created specifically for him. Since 2015, Turner has been gracing screens portraying the charismatic, big-hearted, no-nonsense and sexy Curtis Ashford. A former PI, Curtis now owns the popular nightclub and music venue, The Savoy. He was recently reunited with his father, Marshal Ashford, and is engaged to Dr. Portia Robinson.
Donnell Turner was born Jan. 8 in Tacoma, Washington. Before his 10th birthday, his family relocated to Chicago and then to Northern California. His love for acting was born as a child when he participated in church and junior high school plays. In high school, his hunger for performance was fed by playing basketball, competing in martial arts tournaments, and playing trumpet in the band.
Since moving to Los Angeles in 2001, Turner has appeared in several dozen television shows, films and commercials. He has 100+ modeling and print ads all over the world including Hong Kong, Thailand, France, Italy, Amsterdam and Spain. In 2021, Turner played charming, tech mogul and sophisticated art thief Christopher North in the romantic comedy “Most Wanted Santa” on the Tubi Network.
Turner was a keynote speaker at the 2016 No More conference in Portland, Oregon, shining a light on sexual assault, domestic violence and human trafficking. He has also given many motivational speeches across the country at high schools, colleges, religious organizations, and professional business events inspiring, encouraging and empowering others. On April 2, 2016 (Global Autism Awareness Day), Turner was an honored guest speaker at the Autism Speaks Walk Now event. In 2017, he helped raise over $100,000 for autism, including earning $20,000 on the popular game show “Who Wants To Be A Millionaire.”
Turner has received the Arts 4 Peace Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Daytime Series and was honored as Best Supporting Actor in the award-winning film “Love Interrupted” at the Rise Above Film festival, Downtown L.A.
In January 2017, Turner was grand marshal in the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day parade in Inglewood, California, where he sang onstage with legendary performer Stevie Wonder.
Currently, Turner is in his final year at The Los Angeles Film School, pursuing a Bachelor of Science degree in digital filmmaking and maintains a 4.0 GPA. He hopes that his going to college later in life will motivate and show others that it is never too late to turn a dream into a reality.
