As Days of Our Lives Fans Anxiously Count Down to Sami’s Return, Celebrate the the 37th Anniversary of the Pot Stirrer’s ‘Debut’ With a Photo Gallery Full of Indelible Memories
Saturday, October 16th, 2021
It was double trouble for Marlena and Roman on October 16, 1984: That’s the day they welcomed into the world not just one child but two. (And you don’t need us to tell you which of them would be raising hell forevermore!)
There’s not a soul alive (or dead, for that matter) whose life hadn’t been changed if a child was added to the mix. But when that child is Days of Our Lives’ Sami Brady, the change signifies a whole lot more than just sleepless nights, soccer practices and playdates. Heck, if Marlena or Roman ever got more than a couple of winks after the October 16, 1984, birth of their daughter and her angelic twin brother, Eric, we’d be surprised.
Poor Marlena was already dealing with a lot of stress as her due date drew near. The impending arrival of her and Roman’s kids was bringing to the forefront of her mind tear-stained memories of her and ex-husband Don’s baby, who succumbed to Sudden Infant Death Syndrome not long after he was born. (Watch how the Bradys handle the issue here.)
Above: Wayne Northrop was playing Roman opposite Deidre Hall back when the twins were born.
Credit: Gene Trindl/TV Guide/NBC/Courtesy of the Everett Collection
Turned out, Sami’s health was a nonissue. However, she and Eric could easily have been used as pawns in the long-running Brady/DiMera feud. So after Marlena’s disappearance, their dad shipped them off to Colorado, where their birth year was changed to 1977 and Sami, apparently, grew into quite the teenage hellion.
As we eagerly await Alison Sweeney’s return to the role — the actress has already confirmed that she’s been taping — celebrate Sami’s birthday with a review of the mischief she’s made over the years in the below photo gallery. Get comfy, though — there’s been a lot of mischief!
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Image: ABC/Courtesy of the Everett Collection
1/22
<p>Years before future <em>Supernatural</em> leading man Jensen Ackles would join <em>Days of Our Lives</em> as Eric Brady, the NBC soap aged the character’s twin sister, Sami, and returned her to Salem in the form of Alison Sweeney, who was not only a fan of the show but a 16-year-old showbiz vet who’d already been a series regular on the short-lived ABC sitcom <em>Family Man</em> (pictured).</p>
Image: Gary Null/NBC/Courtesy of the Everett Collection, Chris Haston/NBC/Courtesy of the Everett Collection
2/22
<p>No sooner had Roman and Marlena Brady’s daughter set foot back in Salem than she’d decided that she was head over heels in love with buff boxer Austin Reed (Patrick Muldoon here). That he turned out to be the boyfriend of her half sister, Carrie, was of little concern. What followed was a never-ending tug of war between the sibling rivals and Austin’s half brother, Lucas <span style="text-decoration: line-through">Roberts</span> Horton, who was smitten with Carrie but far better suited to Sami.</p>
Image: Paul Skipper/JPI
3/22
<p>Upon learning that baby sister Belle had been fathered not by Roman but “Roman” — aka Marlena’s true love, John Black — Sami first altered the paternity-test results to keep her family intact, then made plans to sell the newborn on the black market. “She’s small,” Sami reasoned. “Who’s gonna notice that she’s missing?” Unfortunately for Sami, <em>everybody</em> noticed that the kid (pictured here as a teenage Kirsten Storms) had been ’napped.</p>
Image: Lisa Rose/JPI
4/22
<p>Were you to ask Sami, it would be that stepdad John is in it with her mom and twin brother, and not her actual father. But that’s what Photoshop was invented for, right, Sami?</p>
Image: John Paschal/JPI
5/22
<p>After slipping Austin a mickey that landed him in her bed, a pregnant Sami at last got him to the altar… only to have Carrie reveal that the baby had actually been fathered by Lucas. So it was Carrie to whom Austin said, “I do,” not his treacherous new… Oh, that <em>had</em> to have been awkward. His treacherous new sister-in-law. Mazel tov?</p>
Image: Jesse Grant/JPI
6/22
<p>Eons before Ben Weston prettied up Death Row, Sami came <em>thisclose</em> to receiving a lethal injection for the murder of would-be husband Franco Kelly — a crime that had actually been committed by Lucas. Did we mention how deeply felt is the sentiment that Lumi are soulmates? Did we need to? No? Cool. (Also, as you may have guessed, this is not a picture of Sami on Death Row.)</p>
Image: Paul Skipper/JPI
7/22
<p>Sami could have gotten her happy ending with Abe Carver’s son, Brandon Walker (despite his obvious discomfort with shirtlessness). But she just couldn’t help herself — she lied and lied and lied to the point that on their wedding day, the groom learned more “You are/are not the father!” secrets than you’d get in an entire season of <em>The Maury Povich Show</em>. Afterwards, he did what anyone with a working brain cell would and ran for the hills.</p>
Image: Paul Skipper/JPI
8/22
<p>While Sweeney was on maternity leave in 2005, <em>Days of Our Lives</em> had Sami seek revenge on her enemies in what was obviously the most practical way possible: by running around Salem masquerading as a dude named Stan (played by Dan Wells, pictured). As so often happens with her plots, this one backfired. In the end, she not only wound up being sent to fight in Afghanistan, she also nearly got convicted of treason — and <em>not</em> by one of her husbands, either.</p>
Image: Brian Lowe/JPI
9/22
<p>After spending so many years throwing sparks — whether of the romantic or antagonistic variety — that it’s a wonder they never burned down Salem, the scheme team of Sami and Lucas decided to make an honest woman and man of one another. Or as honest as either of them were ever gonna get. But alas, their wedding was interrupted by the groom’s mother, Kate Roberts, who spilled the beans about Sami’s stint as troublemaking Stan.</p>
Image: Paul Skipper/JPI
10/22
<p>In 2006, Sami maneuvered Austin (then Austin Peck) in the direction of the altar yet again — this time, by hatching a plot to convince him and Carrie that they shared a genetic marker that would adversely affect any children that they might have. But, as will happen when one makes as many enemies as the bride does, she received a call on her wedding day threatening to ruin her if she didn’t call it off.</p>
Image: Paul Skipper/JPI
11/22
<p>This <em>looks</em> like just a lovely photo of Roman and Marlena walking their little girl down the aisle at one of her weddings, right? But what it <em>actually</em> is is an illustration of the best strategy that Sami’s parents ever found to keep the hurricane in check. “You take that arm, I’ll take this one, and may the odds be ever in our favor!”</p>
Image: Paul Skipper/JPI
12/22
<p>Actually, “It’s complicated” doesn’t even <em>begin</em> to cover the early days of Sami’s relationship with EJ DiMera (then James Scott), what with him blackmailing her into having sex and her nearly setting him on fire. In hopes of flambéing him, it bears mentioning. After having twins — one fathered by Lucas, the other by EJ — Sami was forced by DiMera patriarch Stefano to marry into the family. </p>
Image: Brian Lowe/JPI
13/22
<p>To keep EJ from finding out that she’d had yet another of his children while in witness protection, Sami claimed to have adopted a baby while out of town. Ya know, as anyone would. Of course, what even <em>she</em> didn’t know was that her newborn had been swapped out with another by EJ’s resourceful new squeeze, Nicole Walker.</p>
Image: Paul Skipper/JPI
14/22
<p>Though Sami really, truly fell in love with her witness protection… um, <em>protector</em>, Rafe Hernandez, their marriage was motivated less by that fact than by her need to keep from coming to light that she’d shot EJ in the head and left him to die. (Did we mention that “it’s complicated”?) Of course, upon recovering, EJ did what any sane person would and had Rafe replaced by a doppelganger. Wait, <em>what</em>?!?</p>
Image: Howard Wise/JPI
15/22
<p>After Rafe’s sister, Gabi, accidentally killed Nick Fallon, sorta nemeses Sami and Kate helped dispose of the body. But — seriously, do we need to tell you? — Nick wasn’t really dead and soon returned to blackmail the coconspirators. Thankfully, the <em>next</em> time that Gabi killed Nick, she was way better at it. Maybe because it was on purpose?</p>
Image: Paul Skipper/JPI
16/22
<p>EJ and Sami’s subsequent stab at togetherness drew blood when she found out that he’d slept with Abigail Deveraux. Furious, Sami had him arrested for insider trading and took over his family’s company. Yet somehow, they forgave one another and were prepared to become man and wife again… until he was fatally shot. His last words to her? “You were worth everything.” </p>
Image: Jill Johnson/JPI
17/22
<p>Sami was devastated when son Will was murdered by Necktie Killer Ben Weston. But she’d later learn that not only was her baby boy actually alive, so was EJ. It <em>was</em> Salem, after all. Upon finding out where her on-again/off-again husband was being kept, his sorta “widow” devoted herself to helping him recover. </p>
Image: Jill Johnson/JPI
18/22
<p>Returning to Salem just in time to crash Nicole and Eric’s nuptials, Sami caused a scene, one that only grew in intensity once she found out she was the last to know that daughter Allie was pregnant! Thankfully, Sami and Nicole fought less physically over baby Henry than they had over that wedding cake. That poor, poor wedding cake.</p>
Image: Jill Johnson/JPI
19/22
<p>See the expression being worn here by EJ (now Dan Feuerriegel)? That’s pretty much a <em>tame</em> version of his reaction to learning that, while he and Sami were apart, she indulged in a bit of that ol’ “Lumi” magic. Then, when she otherwise might have been attempting to undo the damage to her marriage, she went and got kidnapped!</p>
Image: Jill Johnson/JPI
20/22
<p>Convinced that EJ was behind her abduction, Sami doubled down on her flimsy commitment to Lucas, who — wait for it — was <em>really</em> behind her kidnapping. Does Sami have <em>any</em> normal relationships? Rhetorical question. No. No, she does not.</p>
Image: Jill Johnson/JPI
21/22
<p>Reeling from Lucas’ betrayal, Sami boomeranged back to EJ… just in time to catch him in flagrante delicto with Belle (now Martha Madison). “Dang it,” thought Sami, and not for the first time. “If only I’d managed to sell that brat when she was a baby!” </p>
Image: NBC
22/22
