Days of Our Lives star Alison Sweeney has played the role of Sami Brady for 21 years, however she just announced on The Ellen DeGeneres Show on Tuesday that this year will be her last. How will the fictitious city of Salem survive without Samantha Brady pulling a stunt, sleeping with someone else’s husband or wreaking havoc in someone’s life?

“I’m celebrating my 21st year, and I decided that it’s going to be my last year with the show,” she told Ellen and her audience.

Alison Sweeney is also the host on The Biggest Loser, and she decided since her daughter Megan just turned five and her son Benjamin is nine that she wants to spend more time at home with them and with her husband. Doing just one show instead of two will allow far more time to spend with her family.

“I’ve been doing both shows for seven years, and I have never had more than a two-week vacation in that whole time,” she said.

As Sami Brady, Sweeney has been part of some rather silly schemes, and has long been one of those characters that people love to hate. She has been married several times, had four children with several different fathers and destroyed more relationships–both married and unmarried, her own and those of others–than the average person could unravel in a lifetime.

This was what Alison looked like as Sami Brady when she made her debut on Days of Our Lives back in January of 1993.

And here’s a clip of today’s Sami Brady.

What a difference 21 years make!

Alison Sweeney told Ellen DeGeneres a few important tidbits regarding her announcement about leaving Days of Our Lives after playing Sami Brady for more than half of her lifetime. She will finish out the better part of 2014. She doesn’t know how she will exit the show. And she doesn’t know what is in store for Sami Brady between now and then.

If Sami’s character remains true to form, she could probably get married at least twice between now and then, give birth to a couple of children and watch at least one of them graduate from high school before she leaves Days.

Everyone knows time on soap operas isn’t the same as time in real life–right?

Image via Wikimedia Commons