May 20, 1992 to September 10, 1992; 1993-1994 [guest appearances]

March 6, 2003 to May 8, 2003; June 1, 2004 to July 14, 2004; January 26, 2006 to January 30, 2006; March 23, 2006 to May 26, 2006; November 21, 2006 to November 22, 2006; March 7, 2008 to May 9, 2008; November 9, 2012 to December 26, 2012; December 24, 2013; February 14, 2017 to February 16, 2017 [guest appearances]

Kristen Forrester is the daughter of Forrester Creations' co-founders Eric and Stephanie Forrester. Kristen had a tense relationship with Stephanie and therefore lived far from home, but when she came back from New York for her brother Ridge Forrester's wedding to Caroline Spencer, Kristen found herself romanced by fellow fashion designer Clarke Garrison. Though it later came out that Stephanie had hired the womanizing Clarke because she felt Kristen was too attached to Eric and might be frigid, Kristen warmed to Clarke and slipped one of his designs into her own collection, which was produced as the show-stopper. Unaware that Clarke was cheating on her with Margo Lynley, Kristen gently rebuffed the attentions of attorney Storm Logan.

Kristen happily eloped to Las Vegas with Clarke and gave him the $100,000 he asked for, not knowing it was a demand for child support from Margo, who was having Clarke's baby. Wanting to know what Clarke did with the money, Kristen fell for it when Clarke showed her an unfinished house and said he was buying it for her. But soon Kristen caught on and blasted Clarke, taking him to see his son, Mark; Kristen felt her marriage still had a chance when Clarke showed little interest in the boy.

As Kristen tired of Clarke's lies, she found herself face to face with Mick Savage, an old boyfriend from New York. Kristen didn't know Margo had brought Mick to Los Angeles because she wanted Clarke for herself. Kristen was intrigued by Mick but hugged him goodbye, which Clarke saw. Eventually, Kristen reunited with Mick and left town with him.

A single Kristen returned for Ridge's wedding to Taylor Hayes and ran into Clarke, who was now married to Spectra Fashions owner Sally Spectra. Kristen allowed herself to make love to Clarke, not knowing the encounter was being videotaped by Sally's employees, who knew Clarke was to receive half ownership of Spectra on his second anniversary if he stayed faithful to Sally. The following year, Kristen joined her family in wearing black to express her resistance to Eric marrying the enigmatic and unpopular Sheila Carter.

In 1994, Kristen was the maid of honor when Ridge married longtime love Brooke Logan, but wasn't seen again until 2001, when Kristen decided to give Los Angeles another try and finally worked through her problems with Stephanie. Kristen was tasked with luring hot new designer Antonio "Tony" Dominguez away from Spectra Fashions; Kristen was intrigued when Tony turned down her business offer but asked her for a date. Kristen fell in love with Tony but their relationship hit a snag when he discovered a past encounter had left him HIV-positive. As Tony pulled away, Kristen did her best to convince him she loved him anyway, despite the opposition of her family. After coming to terms with the reality of being a sero-different couple, Kristen and Tony were married with Eric and Stephanie's blessing.

While honeymooning in Africa, Kristen and Tony's camera was stolen by young Zende, who impressed the newlyweds by bringing it back. Kristen learned that Zende had been living in an orphanage since he lost his parents and brother to AIDS; knowing adoption was the only way they could have a child, Kristen and Tony asked Zende if they could be his parents.

Kristen refused to get in the middle when Ridge battled Brooke and Eric over control of Forrester Creations. Later, Kristen approved of Brooke's daughter-in-law, Amber Moore, revamping Eric's designs to appeal to the youth market, but listened incredulously as Amber swore she was not the star of a pornographic DVD that surfaced. Kristen moved to Miami with Tony and Zende, but attended the remarriage of Ridge and Brooke, shocked when Brooke left Ridge at the altar.

Kristen was on hand for three weddings during the summer of 2004: Brooke's to Nick Marone, which was interrupted by FBI agents, Thorne's to Darla Einstein, and another of Ridge's to Brooke. In 2006, Kristen came home for the remarriage of her parents, which was the dying wish of her sister, Felicia Forrester; Kristen was devastated when Felicia succumbed to terminal cancer. Kristen shared her family's astonishment and relief when Stephanie wheeled a very much alive Felicia into the room, stunned that Stephanie had spirited Felicia away to a private clinic and lied about her death in case the experimental treatment didn't work.

2006 also saw the visiting Kristen in the middle of more intrigue at Forrester Creations: Stephanie had given Brooke a 50% share in the company to please Ridge, who had suffered a heart attack; Kristen accepted a chunk of the remaining stock. Later that year, Kristen watched helplessly as Nick took over Forrester as revenge on Stephanie, who was inadvertently responsible for pushing his mother, Jackie Marone, over a balcony. In 2008, Kristen received an invitation to an anniversary party Stephanie threw for Eric, shocked when Eric used the gathering to announce he was marrying Brooke's sister, Donna Logan; Kristen grudgingly attended those nuptials.

In 2012, Kristen came home for a "celebration of life party" given for Stephanie, who was dying of cancer; Kristen mourned as Stephanie passed away in Brooke's arms, and stayed through the holidays to support the grieving Eric. Kristen visited for Christmas in 2013 and received mention when a grown-up Zende relocated to Los Angeles on his own in 2015; Kristen returned with Tony in 2017 to attend Zende's wedding to Nicole Avant.