Sami Brady is a fictional character from Days of Our Lives, an American soap opera on the Peacock streaming service, portrayed by Alison Sweeney since 1993. The character is first seen as a newborn baby in the episode of October 16, 1984, in which mom Marlena Evans (Deidre Hall) gives birth to her and her twin brother Eric Brady. Initially played by a series of child actresses, Sweeney took over the role of Sami when the character was rapidly-aged from a pre-teen to a teenager, in January 1993, under the pen of head writers Sheri Anderson and James E. Reilly.<ref>"18 and Life". Soap Opera Digest. January 4, 2011. p. 50.</ref>
Sami is known for her outlandish trouble-making ways in pursuit of what she wants, her turbulent relationships with men, and fiercely fighting for her children. She has been described as vindictive and the girl "you love to hate", but like as she is "so over the top." Sami has been part of two daytime supercouples: with Lucas Horton (Bryan Dattilo), and EJ DiMera (James Scott); and is the mother of iconic LGBT character, Will Horton.
Sweeney won a Special Fan Award for "America's Favorite Villain" at the 2002 Daytime Emmy Awards; and in 2015 she was nominated for Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series.
Casting
Seven child actresses portrayed Sami. Baby Ronit Arnoff initially represented Sami; and babies Lauren Ann Bundy (October 22, 1984 to April 10, 1985) and Jessica Davis (December 6, 1985 to May 20, 1986) followed. Sami was rapidly-aged about two years when Tiffany Nicole Palma (August 7 to September 9, 1986) stepped in to play Sami. Ashleigh Sterling became the first child actress to play Sami over an extended period (December 24, 1986 to June 5, 1990), followed by Christina Wagoner (August 10, 1990 to June 22, 1992). Finally the current actress Alison Sweeney took over the role of Sami as a teenager on January 22, 1993, and played her into adulthood. Sweeney has been portraying Sami for over twenty-one years. When Sweeney took maternity leave in 2005, Sami stayed on the show; Days achieved this by having Sami go under-cover, disguising herself as a man named Stan played by actor Dan Wells. Sweeney and Sami departed the show in 2014, but Sweeney has returned since for short-term appearances.
Sami was not Sweeney's first role on the show; she had previously portrayed Adrienne Johnson as a child in 1987. Sweeney has talked about starting on the show as Sami: "I remember my first day at work. I was so excited to be a part of a show that I'd been a fan of [...] My first two weeks on the show I was sneaking around Salem, so there weren't a lot of lines to memorize. My first scene was with Wayne Northrop (then-Roman Brady), who pulled a gun on me and said something like '''Freeze or I'll shoot!'" Sweeney has cited Northrop, Deidre Hall (Marlena), and Drake Hogestyn (John) as influences on her career playing the role, stating: "I learned so many lessons from them".
When her 20th anniversary as Sami was approaching, fans speculated that she might depart from the series, but Sweeney inked a new deal with the show. She said, "I am super-excited to stay, and I am so honored that they asked me to stay. The job continues to surprise and challenge me. I have already shot my 20th anniversary episode, which airs on January 6 [2013], so I had this huge milestone and it's been such an amazing journey. I love my job, I love the people I work with and I love Sami." In January 2014, Sweeney announced she was quitting the series after 21 years. She revealed on The Ellen DeGeneres Show, "I've been on Days of Our Lives for 21 years. I'm celebrating my 21st year and I decided that it's going to be my last year with the show," Sweeney announced. "I've been on Days of Our Lives since I was 16-years-old, and I have never had more than a two-week vacation in that whole time. It's awesome. I love Sami, I love Salem, I love my job, I love daytime, I love the fans—I love everything about it." Her departing episode aired October 30, 2014.