Exclusive: Jackie Cox On Returning To DAYS OF OUR LIVES!

Jackie Cox makes a glamorous return to Salem.

Drag artist and RUPAUL’S DRAG RACE alum Jackie Cox, who first appeared on DAYS OF OUR LIVES: BEYOND SALEM in 2021 and was last seen on DAYS in 2022, is making a return trip to the soap next week.

Cox is delighted that their appearance on the show has resonated with its fans. “What’s amazing is that the fans are always asking me, like, ‘Am I the person who murdered Abigail?’ ‘Is she the one who’s helping Leo?’ They see me in the show even when I’m not there!” Cox marvels. “And I think Ron [Carlivati, head writer] and the team have picked up on that a little and they’re trying to squeeze me back in where they can, which is so much fun because I think Leo is such a fun character on the show and I love how connected my character is with him. The minute I met Greg [Rikaart, Leo] when we did BEYOND SALEM a couple of years ago, I was like, ‘I’m like the Natasha to your Boris!’ We’re these funny little gay people who are maybe good, maybe bad. We’re not sure!”

When DAYS extended its latest invitation to visit Salem, Cox readily agreed, despite a jam-packed touring schedule (click here for the December performance dates of her current show). “The best thing about daytime is how fast it is,” Cox says. “You can literally fly in the night before, do your episode and fly out the day after because it is so fast. And the team there is so great. I was like, ‘Tell me the exact day [you need me] and we’ll make it happen!’ ”

This time around, Cox got to share substantial scenes with Peter Porte (Dimitri). “I cannot say enough amazing things about Peter,” Cox enthuses. “We met briefly doing BEYOND SALEM, when he was Agent Graham, of course, who was later revealed to be Dimitri. But we didn’t have any dialogue together, really, so I didn’t get to work with him as much. But then this experience was just so lovely because he was so willing to work with me. When they were shooting other stuff, he was like, ‘Let’s work on our scenes together!’ He was like, ‘I’m so happy you’re here,’ and since then, life keeps pulling me and Peter together” — thus far, they’ve run into each other in three different cities! “I told him ‘Peter, I don’t know what’s going on. The world is just wanting me to cheat on Greg with you [laughs]!’ I think that’s what the universe is telling me and I’m not mad about it!” Although, Cox teases, “I’m still waiting to see if Billy Flynn [Chad] gets a bisexual storyline at some point. Chad is a great drag queen! Anything is possible.

Cox was thrilled with what the writers cooked up for Jackie in this latest comeback. “The thing is, a soap opera will always lean towards the melodrama,” Cox notes. “Whether it’s [my character] worrying about immigration, or Dimitri and Leo’s [troubles], all of these things are happening that are tragic. But I think what’s great about my storyline is that it’s not about the fact that I’m gay or that I’m a drag queen; those are the facts about my life that just happen to be part of the story. The daytime audience is so broad and diverse and it’s so amazing to see different stories for all of us and humanizing all of us in different ways. I think it’s beautiful and no matter where people are in their personal lives or their personal views, I think it’s important to see that other people exist, that their lives are real, and in real life, I am a drag queen who does travel around and perform in drag, so there’s no reason why that kind of person couldn’t exist in Salem, as well.”

The artist is grateful to the fans for supporting their soapy turn. “I want to say thank you to all of you guys because I see you on Twitter and everywhere, talking about how fun it is to see me and always thinking up what I could be up to next. I love it, because I swear the writers are looking at it somewhere! So, keep writing your dreams of what you want Jackie to do next because they may hear you! And thank you for supporting this kind of different take on a queer story in daytime television. A drag queen who has an immigration issue?! These are things I don’t think I could have predicted when I was watching soap operas with my mom in the ’90s! I love that my role so far in the Salem universe has been to come and grab my big wooden spoon and stir up the pot and see where the chips fall afterward. It’s definitely been wild every time I come back to Salem, and who knows what will be next. But this is a fun little trip I’m getting to go on, for sure.”

Lisa Lisa: Cox with Lisa Rinna (ex-Billie) during her 2021 appearance on DAYS OF OUR LIVES: BEYOND SALEM.