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Adrienne Johnson Kiriakis

Adrienne Johnson Kiriakis is a fictional character on NBC's daytime drama Days of Our Lives. She had been portrayed by actress Denise Wanner from November to December 1986 before Judi Evans took over the role from December 1986 to February 1991, from May 2007 to January 2008, and from March 2010 to January 2020. She reprised the role in June 2025 when Adrienne appeared before Steve Johnson.

Casting and characterization
The role was initially played by Denise Wanner, as a mysterious character whose face wasn't shown until Judi Evans debuted in the role on December 26 of that year after a widely popular run on the CBS soap opera Guiding Light, where she played Beth Raines from 1983 to 1986. Her run on the NBC soap opera centered on her battles with childhood abuse and her relationship with Justin Kiriakis, played by Wally Kurth. After she left the show in 1991, she joined Another World that year as Paulina Cory Carlino until the show ended in 1999. After a short break from daytime, she returned to DAYS in 2003 as an entirely different character, Bonnie Lockhart and remained in the role until 2007 when she was immediately brought back as Adrienne from 2007 to 2008 and then since 2010. The role lasted for several months and followed her almost-relationship with Holden Snyder, played by Jon Hensley. Evans' casting on ATWT coincided with Kurth's return to DAYS, ending plans for a Justin and Adrienne reunion At the time of her 2010 return, Evans spoke to the Sony Pictures Days of our Lives website about her character's onscreen reunion with Justin and their struggling marriage. "...The way they wrote the characters...they really matured them, they really caught the gist of what their relationship had been as opposed to what it is now. Wally and I kept marveling at how wonderful the writing is. And true to form, true to life, true to the characters." —Judi Evans, Sony Pictures/Days of our Lives In February 2015, nearly five years since her return Evans has been upgraded to contract status alongside Wally Kurth and Mary Beth Evans. In December 2015, Evans and Kurth were downgraded back to recurring status. Evans exited the role on January 24, 2020. ==Storylines==
Storylines
1986–1991 Adrienne Johnson, an abused teenager runs away to Salem, where she becomes friends, and moves in with Kayla Brady. At that time Kayla is falling in love with Adrienne's oldest brother Steven Earl "Patch" Johnson. Their abusive father Duke comes to Salem in search of his daughter. He beats and rapes Adrienne when he finds her alone. After the attack she finds a gun, and shoots him. Steve takes the blame and goes on trial for his murder. Adrienne confesses to the crime but after explaining everything does not go to jail. After the murder trial she meets Justin Kiriakis. In 1987 they marry in Greece. and is engulfed in a struggling marriage with Justin, who has feelings for Hope Williams Brady. The couple soon welcome their son Sonny Kiriakis back to town and it is revealed that he is gay. They support him as he comes out to his uncle Victor and as he makes a home for himself with his new life. After remarrying Justin, Adrienne is killed when she is involved in a car accident caused by supervillain Orpheus. In June 2025, Adrienne appears in a dream Steve was having to reassure him John was being well cared for. ==Reception==
Reception
In 2020, Charlie Mason from Soaps She Knows placed Adrienne 35th on his list of the 35 most memorable characters from Days of Our Lives, saying that "The bigger the heart, the more painful the breaks — so Judi Evans' down-to-earth angel taught us. Thankfully, when she was killed off, she left behind brassy lookalike Bonnie Lockhart to leaven our grief." ==See also==
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