Days of Our Lives Comings and Goings: Louise Sorel Returns As Vivian Alamain
Louise Sorel is returning to Days of Our Lives for another appearance as iconic villainess Vivian Alamain. The beloved daytime vet, who is also known for her memorable run as Augusta Lockridge on Santa Barbara and has appeared on several other soaps, will back on-screen during the week of January 26 after a nearly year-long absence.
The Alamain Event
Sorel made her DAYS debut in 1992 and ended her first run in 2000, returning again from 2009-11, 2017-18, and in 2020, 2023, 2024 and 2025, making her last on-screen appearance last April. In recent years, two other daytime luminaries (both of whom have won Daytime Emmys as Outstanding Lead Actress) have also popped in as Vivan; in 2019, One Life to Live legend Robin Strasser (ex-Dorian Lord) briefly played the role, with Another World‘s Linda Dano (ex-Felicia Gallant) portraying her in 2021.
In 2015, the actress looked back her early days on the show in an interview with Soap Opera Digest. “The first day I came on the set, I think it was darling Michael Sabatino [ex-Lawrence Alamain, Vivian’s newphew] and Crystal Chappell [ex-Carly Manning] and somebody else who had come to kill Lawrence. So I just remember the first thing I had was to walk in and shoot somebody and then say, ‘I shoot first and ask questions later.’ I think that was my very first thing, which was kind of fun to establish that crazy character. The character was appealing to me because I like playing those crazy, comic villains.”
Sorel was at the center of one of the show’s most infamous storylines in 1992, when Vivian buried Carly alive, and over the years, her outlandish schemes kept coming. Indeed, Vivian gave birth to Philip (John-Paul Lavoisier) in 1995 after stealing Kate (Lauren Koslow) and Victor’s (John Aniston) embryo and having it implanted into her own uterus!
When she reprised Vivian in 2024, Sorel mused to Digest of the character’s evolution, “All she does is grab for things and manipulate things, which she’s been doing since the very beginning. Of course, so much has happened over the years. The stories change. The needs of people change. So there are adjustments being made, but hopefully she still has the same annoying personality. She’s the same person with the same sort of desperation and humor.
The actress also shared that when she comes back to the show after an extended absence, it’s never hard for her to find the character again. “The essence of Vivian is there,” she said. “It’s sort of tucked away [inside me] somewhere, because I’m really not like that at all. I’ve just sort of created something, and I’m trying to bring it back.”
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