DAYS Character Spotlight – Adrienne Kiriakis

Character Name: Adrienne Kiriakis
Actor:  (Judi Evans Luciano)
Occupation: Owner of The Cheatin’ Heart
Spouse: Justin Kiriakis
Children: Joseph Kiriakis, Victor Kiriakis II, and Jackson Kiriakis

Raised without her brothers after her mother, Joy, gave them up to keep them from their abusive father, Duke, Adrienne arrived in Salem looking for them in 1986.

She eventually found both Steve and Billy (by then known as Jack Deveraux), but her father found her raped her. In a state of temporary insanity, Adrienne killed her father, but never served time due to the circumstances.

After reuniting with her mother and brothers, Adrienne met rich playboy Justin Kiriakis, who swept her off her feet and to Greece, where they married in an elaborate ceremony.  Of course, they had to overcome Justin’s uncle’s objection to the marriage, as well as the objections of older woman Angelica Deveraux, who didn’t want to give up her former boy toy, Justin.

To thwart their relationship, Uncle Victor and Angelica conspired to slip Justin impotency pills, but her eventually found out. Once Victor accepted the impending marriage, he flew the couple, their friends, and family to Greece for a wedding Adrienne never dreamed of when she grew up in a poor and violent household.

After battling infertility, the couple adopted twins who they named after themselves. When Little Justin and Adrienne were just a few months old, Mommy Adrienne found herself finally pregnant. She gave birth to a son named Jackson and the happy family chose to start a new life away from all their trials and tribulations in Salem. They moved to Texas where they started AJ construction and stayed there for nearly two decades.

Adrienne made her return to Salem alone in 2007 to help brother Steve escape a mental hospital. She made a second return as a shoulder to lean on for old friend, Hope, in 2010. That is when she announced she and Justin had divorced the year before. The couple remarried off-screen one year later and it is assumed they are happy, as Justin is never seen and Adrienne remains in town as a confidant for Salem residents. She gives advice to niece, Stephanie, and is a constant friend to the women she met way back in the 1980s.

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