What happened to Victor Kiriakis on Days of Our Lives? Explained

Victor Kiriakis was one of the family heads on Days of Our Lives, having built the empire of the Kiriakis family from the ground up. The character was introduced in 1985 and continued on the soap till his death in 2023.

Victor was a mob boss and eventual businessman who greatly influenced the power dynamics in the story. He was responsible for many of the family rivalries in the plot, especially between the Kiriakis and DiMera families.

John Aniston was the only actor to portray Victor on the soap. Aniston received a Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series nomination in 2017 for his portrayal of Victor. Though the actor had initially joined the cast of Days of Our Lives in 1970 as Dr Eric Richards, he was soon recast in the new role as Victor.

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Victor Kiriakis' storyline on Days of Our Lives explored

Victor Kiriakis in a still from Days of Our Lives (Image via Instagram/@dayspeacock)

Victor Kiriakis was introduced on Days of Our Lives in 1985, as a friend of the Brady family. He was born in Greece and emigrated later to the States. After his introduction as an adult in Salem, it was revealed that Victor was an active part of the mobster world, with connections in Greece and Italy too

During the late 80s and early 90s, Victor made many alliances and many enemies in town, with a prominent rivalry against Stefano DiMera. Victor was even the one responsible for bringing John Black back to Salem in 1986, even with his memory wiped.

Victor even got into multiple relationships and marriages during the course of the soap. Some of his romantic connections included Carly Manning, Kate Roberts, Vivian Alamain, and Nicole Walker. In 2011, he fell in love with Maggie Horton and remained married to her till his death in 2023.

Victor Kiriakis in a still from Days of Our Lives (Image via Instagram/@dayspeacock)

Victor had many children and stepchildren in the storyline. He decided to give up his life of crime for them and become a proper businessman. However, he maintained his connections with a few people in the underworld, which he sometimes used to get the Kiriakis family out of scrapes.

However, Victor's journey with his family was also tricky. He tried to win over custody of his grandson Shawn's daughter Claire for his own son Philip. This was because he believed Philip raised Claire since birth and deserved to have her in his life. This notion was quickly dismissed after Philip agreed to let go of the custody matter as long as he could spend time with Claire.

In late 2010 and early 2011, Victor fell for Maggie Horton and decided to woo her after she became widowed. The two got married in November 2011, and Victor maintained his position as the head of the Kiriakis family. Here, the character took a backseat as he watched his family progress, with a bit of advice and humor from him.

However, Victor was killed in a plane crash offscreen in 2023, after his flight crashed into the Mediterranean Sea. In mid-2024, it was revealed on the soap that Konstantin was the one responsible for sabotaging Victor's plane and causing the crash that killed him.

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Audiences can watch Days of Our Lives streaming online via Peacock. New episodes of the soap are released on all weekdays.