‘Days of Our Lives’ Cast Facts You Never Knew

Like sands through the hourglass…”Days of Our Lives” (DOOL) first hit the airwaves on November 8, 1965, and for the past nearly six decades, the show’s cast has been bringing all the daytime drama that soap opera fans yearn for.

Whether captivated by the possession and subsequent exorcism of Marlena, the switched identities of Roman Brady and John Black, or any of the other wacky and inane plot twists, DOOL fans know that this show just may be their guiltiest pleasure.

Let’s take a look at some of the more noteworthy “Days of Our Lives” cast members over the years and find out some interesting facts about their characters.

Dr. Marlena Evans

• Played by Deidre Hall
• Appears 1976-1987, 1991-2009, 2011-present
• Was a psychiatrist
• Married to John Black six times
• Was possessed and levitated

Victor Kiriakis

• Played by John Aniston, father of Jennifer Aniston
• Appeared 1985-1997 and 1999-2022
• Faked his own death
• Married to Maggie Horton
• Upon his real-life passing in November 2022, he was written out of the show as having died in a plane crash

Doug Williams

• Played by Bill Hayes
• Married (three times) to character Julie Williams on the show, who was played by his real-life wife, Susan Seaforth Hayes
• Appeared from 1970 to 2023
• Name at birth was Brent Douglas
• Died in January 2024 at age 98

Julie Williams

• Played by Susan Seaforth Hayes, who is the only actor to appear on the show for all seven decades it’s been on
• Appeared 1968–1984, 1990–1994, 1996 and 1999–present
• Married to Doug Williams
• Gave up a child for adoption
• Later sued the adoptive parents and regained custody

Tom Horton

• Played by Macdonald Carey
• Appeared from 1965 to 1994
• Married to Alice Horton
• He voiced the iconic opening sequence, “Like sands through the hourglass…”
• Passed away of lung cancer in 1994

Alice Horton

• Played by Frances Reid, who is on the list of longest-serving soap opera actors in the U.S. (ranked #5 at the time of her passing)
• Appeared from 1965 to 2007
• Married to Tom Horton, her high school sweetheart
• Had five children (Tommy, Addie, Bill, Mickey and Marie)
• Died in 2010 at age 95

Maggie Horton

• Played by Suzanne Rogers, who was a Rockette dancer prior to being on DOOL
• Appeared from 1973 to present
• Married to Mickey Horton and later Victor Kiriakis
• Diagnosed with Myasthenia Gravis in real life, which was then written into the show
• Listed as the “longest-serving actress still appearing actively on an American soap opera”

Stefano DiMera

• Played by Joseph Mascolo
• Appeared 1982 to 1985, 1988, 1993 to 2001, and 2007 to 2016
• Father of Tony DiMera
• Stefano “died” an estimated 13 times during his time on the show
• Mascolo passed away from Alzheimer’s disease complications in 2016 at the age of 87

Jennifer Horton Deveraux

• Played by Melissa Reeves
• Appeared 1985–1995, 2000–2006 and 2010–2022
• Also appeared on soap opera “Santa Barbara”
• The role of Jennifer Horton Deveraux has been played by five actors
• Married to Jack Deveraux

Caroline Brady

• Played by Peggy McCay
• Appeared from 1983 to 2016
• Married to Shawn Brady
• Mother of Roman, Kimberly, and Kayla (with Shawn ), two adopted children Frankie and Max, and Bo Brady, who was born from an affair with Victor Kiriakis
• McCay passed in 2018 at age 90

Hope Williams Brady

• Played by Kristian Alfonso
• Joined the show in 1983
• Has a long and storied romance with Bo Brady
• Had three children — Shawn Douglas, Ciara and Zack, who tragically passed away when he was run over by Bo Brady’s vehicle
• Was a police officer

Bo Brady

• Played by Peter Reckell
• First appeared on the show in 1983
• Son of Caroline Brady and Victor Kiriakis
• Has two children with Hope Brady: Shawn Douglas and Zack, who tragically passed away when he was run over by his father’s vehicle

Sami Brady

• Played by Alison Sweeney
• First appeared in 1993
• Daughter of Roman Brady and Dr. Marlena Evans
• Has had relationships with Austin Reed, Lucas Horton and E.J. DiMera
• Has five children (Will, Johnny, Allie, Sydney and Grace) and one grandchild (Henry)
• Accused of heinous crimes

John Black & Roman Brady

• Played by Drake Hogestyn
• John Black first appeared in 1986
• Originally Roman Brady until he was brainwashed into being John Black
• Has a long-standing relationship with Dr. Marlena Evans, whom he affectionately calls “Doc”
• Has been a private investigator and CEO of Basic Black, the fashion company from which he was accused of embezzling funds and for which he was later arrested

Roman Brady

• Originally played by Wayne Northrop (pictured)
• Later played by Josh Taylor and Drake Hogestyn
• The character first appeared on DOOL in 1981
• Son of Shawn and Caroline Brady
• Is a police officer in Salem

Kristen DiMera

• Originally played by Eileen Davidson (pictured)
• Was orphaned and taken in by Stefano DiMera
• Was intended to marry Tony DiMera, Stefano’s son
• Had relationships with John Black and Brady Black, with whom she had a child
• Was mugged and then rescued by John Black

Steve “Patch” Johnson

• Played by Stephen Nichols
• First appeared in 1985
• Wore a patch to cover the loss of his eye in a fight with Bo Brady
• Worked for Victory Kiriakis
• Had a long-time relationship with and marriage to Kayla Brady

Kayla Brady

• Played by Mary Beth Evans
• First appeared in 1982
• Married to Steve “Patch” Johnson and has two kids: Stephanie and Joey
• Has worked in nursing and hospital administration
• Has experienced several bouts of amnesia and was deaf and mute for a time as a result of trauma caused by Jack Deveraux

Billie Reed

• Played by Lisa Rinna and later by Krista Allen and Julie Pinson
• First appeared in 1992
• Had relationships with Bo Brady and Jack Deveraux
• Half-siblings are Austin Reed and Lucas Horton
• Had an illegal substances problem early on
• Jobs included detective, head of security and CEO of Countess Wilhelmina cosmetics company

Abe Carver

• Played by James Reynolds
• First appeared in 1981
• Abe Carver is the “longest-running African American character in American soap opera history”
• Married to Lexie Carver, until she died of cancer in 2012
• Death was faked when he was taken to Melaswen, the replica of Salem (and “new Salem” spelled backward)
• Had two retinal transplants and received two corneas, which were donated when Zack Brady passed away

Tony DiMera

• Played by Thaao Penghlis
• First appeared in 1981
• Son of Stefano DiMera
• Tony faked his death in 1995
• Though Tony died at Salem University Hospital, he was found alive in 2019 in Chicago

Jack Deveraux

• Played by Matthew Ashford
• First appeared in 1985
• Was most notably romantically tied to Jennifer Horton (later Deveraux)
• Was a journalist
• Committed a crime against Kayla when he found out she’d had an affair during their marriage
• Suffered a nervous breakdown and checked into The Meadows, a mental health clinic

Austin Reed

• First played by Patrick Muldoon (1992-1995, 2011-2012) and later Austin Peck (pictured, 1995-2002)
• First appeared in 1992
• Married to Sami Brady, but was in love with Carrie Brady
• Eventually ended up with Carrie and their baby in Switzerland

Justin Kiriakis

• Played by Wally Curth, who also was on “General Hospital”
• First appeared in 1987
• Was married to Adrienne Johnson (twice) and Anjelica Deveraux
• Justin and Adrienne have three sons
• Was a lawyer and nephew of Victor Kiriakis

Shane Donovan

• Played by Charles Shaughnessy
• First appeared in 1984
• Husband of Kimberly Brady Donovan
• Had amnesia
• Spent time in jail