JR and Sue Ellen were going to the hospital one day to bring the newborn John Ross home, when they were met outside the hospital by a swarm of reporters. It was then they found out their son (though JR wasn't sure at that time that the infant was his) had been kidnapped. Cliff Barnes was a suspect in the disappearance of the boy; he had had an affair with Sue Ellen, and was certain the child was his. However, it turned out that John Ross had been taken from the hospital by a woman who had had her own child die, and she wasn't accepting that fact very well.

John Ross' young life still wasn't very easy for him when he got back to Southfork. His mother was very cold and unmotherlike towards him, refusing to tend to her son. To her, he was just a reminder of her affair with Cliff, whom she thought had just used her to get back at JR. Sue Ellen herself was pretty sure Cliff was the father of John Ross, though she and JR did have sex one night around the time the baby was conceived. Eventually Cliff Barnes did file a paternity suit for visitation rights. Surprisingly, the baby was proven to be JR's. It was only when JR found out he indeed was the father that he brought himself to hold the boy.

John Ross' life with his parents was like a pendulum... sometimes his parents got along, sometimes not. When they weren't getting along, it was downright ugly, and John Ross was usually caught in the middle, a pawn one parent would use against the other, over who would have custody of him. His parents separated one time, and Sue Ellen (with Pam's help) was able to take John Ross to the Southern Cross Ranch, where her boyfriend Dusty Farlow lived. She and JR got a divorce at this separation, but Sue Ellen and John Ross didn't stay with Dusty after all. John Ross and his mother moved to a house in Dallas. Eventually John Ross' parents remarried and he and his mother moved back to Southfork, and John Ross was happy for a while.

But then JR and Sue Ellen went back into the "hate" phase of their love-hate relationship. Sue Ellen enrolled John Ross into a camp for troubled boys, where John Ross became very attached to his counselor, a young man by the name of Peter Richards. He enjoyed Peter's company immensely, as did his mother, at least for a while. He never knew why Peter suddenly left his life, but it was something he had to accept.

By this time John Ross had a cousin to play with...Bobby and Pam's adopted son Christopher. They sometimes got along, but there would be some jealousy and rivalry between the two boys, which would extend into their young adult years. Around the time Peter was in John Ross' life he had to have an emergency appendectomy, which he made a full recovery from.

John Ross was kidnapped for a second time in his young life, this time by a man named BD Calhoun, who had illicit dealings with JR. This was BD's way of getting revenge on JR for doublecrossing him. John Ross, Christopher, Sue Ellen, and Pam were out in California when BD tracked them down, and kidnapped John Ross. JR, Ray, and Bobby went out to California to rescue the boy, but not before JR was shot again, this time by Calhoun.

Eventually John Ross' parents went through another divorce. Sue Ellen once again wanted to have primary custody of her son, but she sensed that John Ross really would be happier staying at Southfork than by being with her. She allowed him to decide for himself where he was to live, and he chose to stay at Southfork. It was not too much longer when the boys went on a hunting trip with their fathers; John Ross was at first very squeamish about shooting an animal, but that quickly changed when John Ross shot his deer. JR was very proud of him.

It was on this hunting trip that JR met a woman who would eventually become John Ross' stepmother, a woman named Cally Harper. John Ross at first was very resentful and hateful towards his young stepmother, but they became closer after Cally rescued John Ross from the Southfork swimming pool one day. He had hit his head and fallen into the pool, and Cally saved him from drowning.

It eventually happened that JR had tired of his relationship with Cally and was doing everything possible to drive her off Southfork. Cally was leaving one night when John Ross tearfully begged her to stay. She did so, at least for a while longer.

Sue Ellen had met and fallen in love with a British movie producer named Don Lockwood. Eventually she decided to marry him and move to Great Britain with him. John Ross missed his mother, but stayed at Southfork. John Ross had a newly discovered half-brother in his life by then, a young man named James Beaumont. John Ross was deeply hurt over JR's favoring of James over him, to the point when he went to see his mother on a visit one time he told JR he wasn't coming back to live at Southfork.

John Ross lived with his mother in England for the next five years. During that time, Sue Ellen and Don Lockwood separated. Not long after, John Ross received a disturbing call from Christopher—J.R. had been killed in a car wreck after returning to Dallas. Sue Ellen and John Ross took the next flight to Dallas. During the funeral, J.R. showed up at Southfork riding on the back of a pig truck! It turned out he had faked his death in order to get some shares of a software company that Jock had left John Ross (John Ross could claim it on his 18th birthday, but only if J.R. was dead.) John Ross was thrilled and Sue Ellen agreed to stay in Dallas for a while.

The following occurred on the Return to Southfork

The next fall, John Ross went off to college, but instead of going to school in Texas like J.R. and Sue Ellen thought he would, John Ross moved to Oklahoma where he attended Oklahoma State University. It was there that he met Karen Beam, who he fell in love with. During spring break, he proposed to her and they announced their plans to Sue Ellen and J.R. But, tragedy would strike when J.R. found out Karen was the daughter of his old nemesis, Alan Beam. Determined not to let the wedding take place, J.R. hired Ratigan to dig up dirt on Karen. However, he found nothing. J.R. and Ratigan devised another scheme and Ratigan uncovered a little secret: John Ross and Pamela Rebecca had slept together and Pamela Rebecca was pregnant. Ever resourceful, J.R. and Ratigan acquired photos (though it's still undetermined how…perhaps they were fakes) of John Ross and Pamela Rebecca in bed. The wedding was off! However, Sue Ellen had given John Ross 25% of Ewing Oil as a wedding gift…J.R. tricked him out of it that same night. John Ross would later convince J.R. to give it back.

During the next few months, Pamela Rebecca realized her love for John Ross and she schemed to keep him away from Karen. One night, she devised the ultimate scheme with J.R. J.R. had Karen's brakes sabotaged, but John Ross ended up taking the car. His car collided with Ratigan's. Ratigan was killed and John Ross was in a coma.

While John Ross was comatose, Karen and Christopher fell in love. When John Ross woke up, two months later, Karen was forced to pretend like she still loved him. She did this because of his fragile condition and wanted to help him get better. However, this was soon uncovered. John Ross began to date a volunteer from the hospital, named Candy. He took her to the Halloween ball and Pamela Rebecca schemed there too. Pamela Rebecca gave birth to his daughter, Megan, and John Ross decided that he'd marry Pamela Rebecca for her sake. John Ross later met Melissa McSween, a cop who was seven years his senior. They enjoyed a flirtation for a while, but at Christmas, they slept together. Other than that, John Ross was faithful to Pamela Rebecca and they enjoyed a nice Christmas together, but John Ross was afraid to make the commitment of marriage to her.

On New Year's Day, Katherine planted a bomb in Southfork to kill Pam, but it ended up seriously injuring Megan. She needed a blood transfusion, but, her blood type didn't match John Ross' or Pamela Rebecca's—which meant John Ross was not her father. It was determined that it was Christopher. John Ross was devastated.

John Ross later decided he couldn't marry Pamela Rebecca and he took her on a trip to Hawaii to stall her from wanting to marry him. But, earlier, John Ross had backed out of a deal with a shady character, Akbar, and Akbar followed John Ross to Hawaii. Melissa also showed up and she and John Ross made love again, which Pamela Rebecca witnessed.

Pamela Rebecca was soon kidnapped by Akbar and John Ross was determined to save her. He later confessed that he no longer had feelings for her. He then began to pursue his relationship with Melissa McSween full time. In May, they left on an extended trip around the world and returned to Southfork nearly three months later. After their trip, they both slowed down the relationship, but they are still together. No plans of marriage have been made yet, but it's probably only a matter of time. Currently, John Ross is rebelling against his father's ways and working with his uncle Gary on a construction project. Will John Ross be able to keep out from under J.R.'s influence, or will he turn out to be his father's son?