Vivian Alamain | |||||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Days of Our Lives | |||||||||||||||
Portrayed by | Louise Sorel (1992–2000, 2009–11, 2017–18, 2020, 2023) Marj Dusay (temp. 1993) Robin Strasser (2019) Linda Dano (2021) | ||||||||||||||
Current status | Former; Recurring | ||||||||||||||
Duration | 1992–2000, 2009–11, 2017–21, 2023 | ||||||||||||||
First appearance | March 2, 1992 | ||||||||||||||
Last appearance | 2023 | ||||||||||||||
Created by | Richard J. Allen and Beth Milstein | ||||||||||||||
Introduced by | Ken Corday and Al Rabin (1992) Ken Corday and Gary Tomlin (2009) | ||||||||||||||
Profile | |||||||||||||||
Nickname(s) | Mommy Weirdest (by Gabi) | ||||||||||||||
Alias(es) | Vivian Kiriakis Vivian Jones Vivian DiMera Dr.Cramer | ||||||||||||||
Gender | Female | ||||||||||||||
Occupation | Socialite Bollywood Actress Businesswoman | ||||||||||||||
Residence | Formally DiMera Mansion in Salem, Illinois (2018) Mumbai, India (before 2017) | ||||||||||||||
|
Vivian Alamain is a character from the soap opera Days of Our Lives, portrayed by Louise Sorel from 1992–2000, 2009–11, and again from 2017–18. Robin Strasser took over the role briefly in 2019.
It was announced in August 2017 that Sorel would once again return to the soap first airing December 29, 2017, and last airing May 10, 2018 when the character is killed off. Vivian reappeared alive on May 23 after being injected with a serum (presumably Dr. Rolf's return from the dead serum) awaking in the morgue.
On March 29, 2019 it was announced that actress Robin Strasser would join the show in an undisclosed role. On May 31, it was revealed that Strasser will be playing a recasted Vivian replacing Louise Sorel who was unable to return due to short notice. Strasser is set to appear for 15 episodes beginning on September 3 and last airing October 7.
In December 2019, it was announced that Louise Sorel will return as Vivian. She returned from June 30th, to July 20, 2020, when the character was presumed deceased.
In December 2020, it was announced that actress Linda Dano will join the series as a recast Vivian, first airing in February 3 2021.
Storylines
Vivian, the aunt of Lawrence Alamain arrives in Salem on March 2, 1992. She is determined to take over Alamain corporations, but is foiled when John Black inherits them. Vivian looks to be rich, and powerful, so she pursues wealthy crime lord, Victor Kiriakis. Vivian marries Victor for business purposes, but the marriage is short lived. After Victor leaves her for Kate Roberts, Vivian sets out to destroy Carly Manning. Vivian is taking herbal pills from Dr. Wu, which makes her loopy. She begins to target Carly's patients, by injecting them with cleaning fluids. The police begin to investigate Carly for murder. Carly learns Vivian is the one killing off her patients, and sets out to prove it.
A crazed Vivian gives Carly a strong dose of morphine to put her in a very deep sleep. Vivian gives Carly a serum that gives her a deathlike paralysis. Carly is pronounced dead, and Vivian buries Carly alive in a coffin, built with a low oxygen supply, and little water. Vivian stops taking her herbs, and realizes what she is doing is crazy, and with the help of Lawrence she digs Carly up. Vivian is arrested and put in Pine Haven Sanitarium.Vivian is released, and sets her sights on destroying Kate and Victor's marriage. She finds out that Kate can't produce a male heir, so she steals and has herself implanted with Kate and Victor’s fertilized egg. Vivian is now pregnant with their child, and tries to seduce Victor who doesn't fall for her tricks. Vivian gives birth to Philip Kiriakis, and Kate tries everything to get custody. Vivian also tricked Victor into marrying her by replacing Kate during the wedding rehearsal and made it the real deal.
When Kate finds out, Vivian drugs Kate's coffee, but the coffee is given to the pilot of a plane Kate is on. The plane crashes, but Kate lives although they can't find her body. She and Victor make love, after they can't find Kate's body. Kate returns, and wants custody of Philip, and gets it. Victor later divorces Vivian, and Vivian takes comfort in Rudolfo.
Vivian receives bad news when she learns she is fired from Titan. She meets Steven "Jonesy" Jones, an elderly man whom she thinks is wealthy, but is merely a caretaker for Stefano DiMera. She marries him after a brief romance, and he dies on their wedding night after making love to her. She inherits his belongings, which makes Stefano romance her in order to get his possessions back. He implants a device in her tooth allowing him to control her moods. After they are married, she discovers what he did and files for divorce. He gives her the townhouse and money in exchange for her silence. She begins to look for alternative methods to cure Victor after he suffers a stroke. Once Victor recovers, he returns to Kate. Vivian leaves Salem with her sidekick Ivan to get a fresh start. They travel around the world, and live off Ivan Marais's lottery winnings.Vivian returned to Salem in 2009, seeking revenge on Carly Manning for killing her nephew Lawrence. She arranges for someone else to take the fall for her nephew's killing, however, as she wants to deal with Carly personally. She discovers that Carly had an illegitimate child, the result of an affair, and that Lawrence had forced her to give up the child. Vivian resolves to find the now grown child, and kill her in order to hurt Carly as revenge for Lawrence's death. A vision of Lawrence encourages her in this scheme. Victor Kiriakis, her old flame and a fellow adversary of Carly, invites Vivian to live in his mansion and offers to help her in her vengeful scheme.
With the help of her new manservant and henchman Gus, Vivian learns that Carly's daughter is Melanie Jonas (Layton), who is engaged to Victor's son Phillip. Victor forbids her to kill Melanie, and tells Vivian to focus on Carly instead. Vivian ignores him and befriends Melanie. She helps with the wedding and poisons a comb that she gives Melanie to wear on her wedding day. Gus holds Carly hostage in a warehouse where she will watch her daughter's death. Carly attacks Gus and steals his phone. She texts Vivian, calling her to the warehouse. Vivian arrives and is attacked by Carly, but Hope has discovered Vivian's plot also.
Hope arrives and stops Carly from killing Vivian by revealing that Melanie is fine. Victor discovered Vivian's scheme and switched the poisoned comb with a safe one. Hope begins to cuff Vivian and arrest her, but Gus awakens behind a stack of crates and topples them onto Hope and Carly. Vivian returns to the wedding at the Kiriakis mansion and lures Melanie to the rooftop terrace to hurl her off. Carly follows with Hope's gun and is about to shoot Vivian but Melanie steps in front of Vivian and is shot and fall into a coma. Victor scolds Vivian for defying him and threatens to turn her over to the police if Melanie dies. If Melanie lives however, he will get her off and ensure that Carly is sent to prison for the shooting.
Vivian and Carly are both arrested after Hope's statement implicates Vivian. Bo Brady interrogates Vivian to no avail. Victor has hidden all evidence pointing to Vivian's involvement and she is freed. Phillip and Daniel Jonas, who has recently learned that he is Melanie's father, also threaten Vivian. Melanie lives and Victor warns her that he will hand the police the evidence against her if she makes another attempt on Melanie.
Vivian, nevertheless, makes another attempt on her life, but Melanie wakes as Vivian is about to suffocate her in her hospital bed. The dazed Melanie tells Vivian to kill her, and reveals her tormented childhood to Vivian. Vivian is moved and relents. She tells the vision of Lawrence that she refuses to kill the young woman and, with Victor's encouragement, she focuses on Carly. Gus is arrested and questioned by Bo and Hope, but does not give up his mistress and is released. Vivian moves out of the mansion temporarily when Phillip tells Victor that he will not return with Melanie while Vivian is there. She soon returns, however, and makes a deal with Carly. She will leave Carly and her loved ones alone if Carly will plead guilty to shooting Melanie.
Melanie, angry at finding out that Carly is the mother who gave her up, does not help and is hateful towards Carly, to Vivian's delight. Hope, however, brings Melanie around, and as Carly is about to be sentenced, Melanie exonerates her by telling the judge that the shooting was an accident. Vivian is not pleased, and threatens to kill Carly, and continues to torment her, even in spite of Bo's warning to leave her alone.
Bo goes to Vivian and threatens to kill her, even if it means jail time, in order to protect Carly. Victor, who does not want Bo in jail or Vivian dead, offers to marry Vivian if she will stop her vendetta, and she agrees. She learns, however, that Carly has been threatening to ruin Chloe Lane's relationship with Daniel due to an affair Chloe had with Phillip. Vivian offers her support to Chloe in dealing with Carly. Vivian is married to Victor in a somber ceremony, both Victor and the attending guests are bitter and cynical about the bizarre proceedings. Chloe, however, turns to Vivian for help. Vivian gives Chloe the number of one of her past henchmen and tells Chloe to ensure that Carly is in an elevator at the hospital when the henchman instructs. Chloe is uncomfortable with killing Carly, but Vivian convinces her that it is the only way. When the time comes, however, Chloe attempts to stop the killing several times, finally pushing Carly from the elevator and ending up being dropped herself when the cable malfunctions.
Vivian, meanwhile, is on her honeymoon and Victor notices her preoccupation. He threatens to end the marriage and make her life very difficult if anything happens to Carly. Vivian, however, discovers that Chloe was in the elevator and has survived. She vows to punish Chloe for failing to kill Carly. Now, Vivian wants to get rid of Maggie Horton Kiriakis, whom she thinks Victor has eyes on. Her evil plan is similar to Carly's but putting her in a sarcophagus and try to bury her alive. With her henchmen, Gus, she may be able to pull it off, but Melanie thinks Maggie is leaving town. Under the ruse of creating a celebration of Isabella Toscano's (Brady's mother and Victor's daughter) life, Vivian commences her plan to kidnap and entomb Maggie in a new sarcophagus, which has supposedly been purchased to contain Isabella's remains.
Vivian gets overly confident, and, hence, sloppy in the final stages of her plan. Her trusty assistant, Gus, gets cold feet and quits. Brady Black happens upon her plan and discovers what Vivian has planned and that she has deposited his mother's remains in a pet cemetery. Brady ends up interring Vivian in the sarcophagus rather than Maggie, to Vivian's horror. Vivian is freed by Gus and they entomb Maggie. Victor frees Maggie and plans for Vivian to be arrested but Brady decides she deserves to be free. Vivian and Gus are then dropped on an island but Brady rescues them in June.
We discover that Vivian had an affair years ago and has a son Quinn Hudson, who is a pimp. Quinn is blackmailing Chloe into becoming a prostitute but no one besides Chloe and Taylor knows what his occupation is. At first he doesn't get along with Vivian because she abandoned him but he soon turns around and agrees to give his mother a second chance much to Gus's dismay. Carly develops a drug addiction to Vivian's delight, however Quinn helps Carly through it and Vivian disowns him. Months later, Vivian and Quinn reconcile and Vivian's side-kick, Gus frames Quinn for a series of assaults on prostitutes when in reality, he is the culprit. On September 21, 2011 it is revealed that Quinn is innocent and Gus is guilty when Gus' latest victim (Chloe Lane) comes out of the coma caused by his attack on her, at which time Gus takes Nicole Walker hostage in the police station. Gus is eventually wrestled to the ground and hauled off to a jail cell to await trial. Vivian’s friend/former-henchman, Ivan suddenly returns to Salem, shows her the great wealth he has acquired as a Bollywood movie director/producer, expresses his undying love to her, and then takes her with him to India to make her a movie star, and open a new chapter in their lives together as equals.
On New Year's Eve, 2020, Vivian crashes the DiMera family's New Year's Eve party claiming to have been accompanied by Stefano DiMera. In actuality, she is accompanied by her and Stefano's son, Stefano O Dimera (Stefan DiMera). Vivian watches in admiration as Stefan seizes control of DiMera Enterprises and lays claim to the DiMera mansion.
Vivian is revealed to be secretly scheming with André DiMera, who had fed the information to Stefan and Vivian that was necessary to take control of DiMera. André is somewhat remorseful due to the fact that he has to lie to Kate and his family, but he knows the board will never let him have any real control of DiMera, so he and Vivian acts as joint shadow CEOs while Stefan served as a figure head.In order to maximize DiMera's profits under Stefan's leadership, André and Vivian plot to use Gabi Hernandez's contact to legally steal GabiChic from her while firing her as well. André is soon found dead after being hit in the head with the urn that allegedly contains the ashes of Tony DiMera.
Despite using her son, Vivian also cares about him. Vivian expresses her pride in Stefan and gives him Lawrence's watch. Vivian and Stefan worry they could go down for André's murder since Stefan is in possession of André's phone. Vivian attends André's funeral where it is crashed by one of André's past victims Hattie Adams.
Vivian goes to Victor with a proposal to team up, but Victor refuses. She also encounters Brady, who nearly strangles her to death. Vivian hired Leo Stark to seduce Victor's great-nephew Sonny Kiriakis, and then subsequently accuse him of sexual assault. Vivian worries about Stefan when it is discovered that his sister-in-law Abigail DiMera has Dissociative Identity Disorder, and Stefan has fallen in love with her altar Gabby.
Vivian is almost attacked by Gabby, but Stefan defuses the situation. When Vivian starts to insinuate that she will tell Chad DiMera the truth about his wife, an obsessed Stefan locks Vivian in the DiMera tunnels. She is later joined by Kate and Marlena Evans, who also got too close to the truth. The three of them are eventually rescued when the truth about Stefan and "Gabby" are revealed.
Soon after Vivian is freed, Kate exposes her scheme with Leo, Vivian offers Kate to team up, but Kate refuses. Vivian holds a gun on Kate and they struggle over the gun. Vivian is shot just as Stefan arrives home to find Vivian on the floor Kate holding the gun. Vivian dies at the hospital and Stefan blames Kate for killing her even though Kate claims it was an accident. Vivian is later seen to be alive in an undisclosed location.
In September 2019, Vivian is revealed to have been revived by Dr. Wilhelm Rolf on Kristen DiMera's orders. Jack Deveraux had also been revived by Rolf, and he seeks out Rolf's help tore restore his lost memories. Rolf and Vivian both decided to return to Salem and Vivian immediately makes contact with Stefan, but is dismayed to find he and Gabi are together.
Stefan is overjoyed that Vivian is alive and hides her in a hotel. Vivian confirms to Stefan that Kate had intentionally shot her, and Stefan promises her she will have revenge, but she has to stay hidden. Vivian lured Kate to the cemetery and them shoots her into an open grave and buries her there.
Kate survives, and Vivian panics. She goes to Rolf for help, and asks him to get in touch with Stefano to hide her. Rolf tells her that while he has no doubt Stefano is still alive, he has no way to reach him. [[Lani Price tracks Vivian down and they get into a stand off with their guns drawn. Stefan arrives, and jumps in front of Vivian as Lani shoots.
Vivian cries in anguish as Stefan falls to the ground clutching his neck. Lani runs to check on Stefan, and Vivian flees. Vivian learns Stefan ended up brain dead and is heart was donated. Vivian quietly leaves town after a brief encounter with Eve Donovan where they both discuss losing a child.
In 2020, Vivian makes a surprising return during Lani's wedding to Eli Grant where she tries to shoot Lani. Vivian was arrested and met her son, Jake Lambert. She was convinced that Jake was Stefan brought back from the dead. Ivan came to Salem to be by Vivian's side. Vivian excitedly told Ivan that Stefan was alive, and Ivan told her she better call Jake and get him down to the station.
Once Jake and Gabi were there, Ivan explained that she had twins unknowingly due to her passing out and Jake was taken from her before she awakened. Alone, Ivan helped Vivian fake a heart attack. A funeral was held for Vivian that Ivan attended to make it seem genuine. After the funeral, Ivan and Vivian left town to go into hiding together.
Vivian is first seen again on February 3rd when Ivan returns home with twin babies. Vivian is confused why he has twin babies with him, and Ivan says there are for her. He admits how guilty he feels not letting Vivian raise Stefan and Jake. Vivian says she is too old to be a mother and tells Ivan to take them back, but Ivan says it was a closed adoption.
Vivian eventually relents and imagines them raising them in the lap of luxury. She wants to name them Stefan and Jacob, but notices one is a girl. Ivan says that is the best he could do, so Vivian names the girl Stefania. Vivian hears loud music and asks Ivan to turn it down.
When Vivian turns off the music, she heard yelling and banging. Ivan admits he stole the babies from Eli and Lani the same way as revenge for Lani killing Stefan. Vivian says she can't give up the twins as she has grown too attached to them. Ivan suggest they run, but Vivian takes a gun to shoot them.
Lani and Eli overpower Vivian and arrest her and Ivan, making them sit at the table as they reunite with their babies. Vivian and Ivan are taken back to the Salem where Vivian fakes memory loss, and says she needs to be with her babies. Kate doesn't buy Vivian's act and brings in Jake.
Vivian claims he can't be her Jacob since he is just a little baby. Vivian calls Kate his aunt, causing Kate to attack her. After Jake pulls Kate away from Vivian, Kate kisses Jake. Vivian demands Kate get away from her son, exposing herself. Kate says that since the room recorded her, she can't fake an insanity plea, and is going to prison.
Alone in the interrogation, Vivian curses Kate out for sleeping with Jake. Ivan is brought into the interrogation room as well, and apologizes to Vivian. Ivan says he he failed Vivian, but Vivian says he can still do something for her. Ivan asks what, and Vivian asks him to kill her since she can't survive prison. Ivan says he doesn't have access to the herbs necessary to fake her death, and asks for forgiveness again.
Vivian tells Ivan she knows he did what he did out of loyalty. Ivan says he also did it out of love, and tells Vivian he can give her one last gift. Ivan hands Vivian a paper heart, and says he will always love her. Ivan stands up and kisses Vivian's hands before being led away. Vivian holds the paper heart close to her.
Upon entering Statesville prison, Vivian immediately encounters Kristen. Kristen and Vivian argue about Lani killing Stefan, and Vivian taking Lani's twins. Vivian smirks that it wasn't her idea, and Kristen warns Vivian not to cross her. Vivian says they both know what it is like to being separated from theirs babies. Kristen says she won't be separated for long, and Vivian says if Kristen is planning to escape prison, then she wants in. Vivian covers for Kristen when she switches places with Susan, but never managed to escape prison as Kristen plan falls apart.
On June 2022, Jake is murdered during a mugger, but a month later, Stefan returns from the dead. Upon the revelation that Jake's marriage to Ava Vitali was a sham, Jake's shares are transferred to Vivian as a next in kin, and Vivian transfers them to Stefan.
However, on January 2023, Vivian calls Stefan after Gabi had him tied up so she could get Dr. Rolf to deprogram him until loving her again, Stefan begs for Vivian's help, who lambasts him for not coming to visit her. Stefan apologizes to Vivian and swears if she alerts the authorities he will do everything in his power to get her out and back home where he belongs. Vivian notes her son's desperation, so doesn't trust what he says. Stefan admits he is desperate, but promises he means what he says. Gabi returns, and talks Vivian into letting her deprogram Stefan, saying it's possible that when Stefan was programmed into hating Gabi, his love for Vivian was also programmed out, and promised to make sure Stefan visited Vivian at least once a week.
Vivian returns, showing up at Victor Kiriakis funeral and free from jail.