Days of our Lives is bringing beloved character Stephanie Johnson back to the canvas! Texas native Abigail Klein is said to have joined the NBC soap opera as Steve (Stephen Nichols) and Kayla's (Mary Beth Evans) daughter, who was last seen in 2017 when she was played by Shelley Hennig.
Soap Central has yet to hear back from a DAYS rep with confirmation of the casting information, but according to Soap Opera News, Klein will soon be making her way to Salem. The actress will also be appearing in the upcoming second season of Beyond Salem, which will see various Salemites like Patch, Kayla, Marlena (Deidre Hall), John (Drake Hogestyn), Hope (Kristian Alfonso), and Bo (Peter Reckell) go on an exciting, global adventure.
As fans may recall, Stephanie had a rough go of it when she was living in Salem. While attending Salem University, she was drugged and raped by Ford Decker (Matthew Florida), who she later accidentally killed during a revenge scheme with her sorority sisters.
After that traumatic experience, Stephanie began falling for Max Brady (Darin Brooks), but their relationship hit the skids when Stephanie got tangled in a strong rivalry with Melanie Jonas (Molly Burnett). The girls' animosity toward one another escalated even further when Stephanie began dating Philip Kiriakis (Kyle Brandt/Jay Kenneth Johnson), whom Melanie also fancied. And the two later fought over Nathan Horton (Mark Hapka), as well. Stephanie eventually moved to Chicago, last appearing in Salem back in 2017 for her parents' wedding.
Klein has appeared on various television shows, including American Housewife, S.W.A.T., GLOW, Code Black, Castle, CSI, and 90210. She also appeared in a 2011 episode of The Young and the Restless as a nanny.
Some of her film credits include Christmas on Ice, Girlfriends of Christmas Past, Transformers: Age of Extinction, and Butterfly Caught.
UPDATE (May 4, 2022): DAYS head writer Ron Carlivati confirmed the casting news in an interview with Soaps. “We’ll see [Stephanie] first in Beyond Salem,” he revealed. “One of the great things about [the spinoff] is that it gives us an opportunity to catch up with people who have left town, given that almost the entire story takes place in these other locations. This is an example of that.”
He continues, “It will be interesting to find out where she is in her life and what might bring her back to Salem.”
How do you feel about DAYS recasting the role of Stephanie Johnson? What do you hope the writers have planned for Steve and Kayla's daughter? We want to hear from you -- so drop your comments in the Comments section below, tweet about it on Twitter, share it on Facebook, or chat about it on our Message Boards.
