AnnaLynne McCord’s mystery role on Days of Our Lives has finally been revealed after much anticipation.
During the Wednesday, August 14, episode of the long-running soap opera, McCord, 37, was revealed to be Abigail DiMera, who was previously portrayed by Ashley Benson from 2004 to 2007, Kate Mansi from 2011 to 2016 and Marci Miller from 2016 to 2022. McCord’s character — who was presumed dead — is the daughter of Jack and Jennifer Deveraux (Matthew Ashford and Melissa Reeves) and the wife of Chad DiMera (Billy Flynn).
A DNA test confirmed Abigail’s identity, and while Chad and Jack were excited to see her, something still wasn’t quite right.
“I don’t know you — any of you! I don’t feel like I belong here. None of this makes any sense to me at all,” Abigail, suffering from amnesia, shared on Wednesday’s episode before reluctantly agreeing to stay in Salem at the DiMera mansion.
In December 2023, Deadline reported that McCord signed a one-year contract on Days of Our Lives to play a new character named Marin.
According to the outlet, Marin is a “fascinating and complicated woman who is devastatingly beautiful, almost angelic in her outward appearance” and is “the desire of many, but her heart belongs to only one man who continues to push her away for her own good.”
Prior to Days of Our Lives, McCord starred as Eden Lord on Nip/Tuck from 2007 to 2009 and as Naomi Clark on 90210 from 2008 to 2013. The actress also has appeared on the big screen in films such as 2012’s Excision, 2018’s First We Take Brooklyn and 2023’s Condition of Return.
In October 2023, McCord opened up about feeling reluctant to take on her role in the film Condition of Return. She played Eve Sullivan, a devout schoolteacher who committed a mass shooting and is then interrogated by a psychoanalyst to determine whether she is fit enough to stand trial.
“I had to figure out why I didn’t want to do it — and it’s because of the nature of the film,” she shared with Us Weekly at the time. “When I read this script, I was like, ‘Wow, I will not be doing this.’ [But then I thought] ‘Oh, if I don’t want to do it, I need to say yes.’ I’ve never said yes faster to a project.”
McCord went on to explain how she approached playing a villain, even though the nature of the film was “really heavy.”
“To play a villain, you cannot judge your character,” she explained to Us. “Playing villains my entire career, I’ve learned one thing: They don’t exist. People do good things and bad things, and sometimes those bad things are horrible.”
Days of Our Lives is available to stream on Peacock.
