Days of our Lives

Seven Things To Know About New Days of our Lives Star Emily O’Brien

Published by

Janet Di Lauro

4 years ago

Emily O’Brien made her Days of our Lives debut as Gwen, Claire’s Bayview sanitarium pal and Jake’s mysterious ex-girlfriend. While all we know about her is that she’s hiding out from her ex by pretending to be crazy, here are seven things to know about her portrayer.

Emily O’Brien — Get To Know Her

The former star of The Young and the Restless – she played Jana Hawkes Fisher, Kevin’s wife, from 2006 to 2011 – is a talented actress with an interesting past. Here are seven things to know about her:

1. Born in Bedfordshire, England, O’Brien moved to California with her family when she was 9. She worked hard to lose her British accent to fit in with the children at school, who teased her about it. Ironically, she’s used that accent in both of her daytime roles.

2. The actress loves culture and travel. She’s been to France, Sweden, Finland, and Africa, to name a few of her destinations. And, according to her Instagram page, O’Brien also loves “the occasional decadent chocolate cake.”

3. She rescued a three-legged, black and white cat from a dilapidated building on Valentine’s Day 2016. The male kitty was promptly named Valentine, “and every day he lives up to his name,” she posted.

4. During her run as YR’s Jana, O’Brien earned critical acclaim. She was nominated for three Daytime Emmy Awards as Outstanding Younger Actress in a Drama Series in 2008, 2009, and 2011.

5. O’Brien’s mom is Persian, and her dad is British. She speaks fluent Farsi and knows French and Spanish as well.

6. She has a thriving voice-over career. O’Brien portrayed the voice of The Woman in “The Witness” episode of Netflix’s animated anthology series, Love, Death + Robots. She’s also voiced numerous video games, including Guardians of the Galaxy: The Telltale Series (as Gamora), Death Stranding (as Amelie), and Batman: The Enemy Within (as Special Agent Iman Avesta).

7. She writes, too. She fell in love with that creative outlet after leaving YR. She penned Beatrice, which won Best Short Film in 2012 at the Big Island Film Festival held on the Kohala Coast on the Big Island of Hawaii. Days of our Lives (DOOL) airs weekdays on NBC. Check your local listings for airtimes.