Who is Susan Banks on Days of Our Lives? Everything to know as the character returns to Salem

Susan Banks is the mother of EJ DiMera on the Peacock soap opera Days of Our Lives. Actress Eileen Davidson played the role of Susan from November 4, 1996 to April 8, 1998, and then in 2014 and 2017. Later, Brynn Thayer took over the role on December 7, 2011. Currently, Stacy Haiduk portrays Susan, marking her debut on the show on August 21, 2018.

As per the latest developments in the storyline of Days of Our Lives, Susan Banks returned to Salem after EJ's shooting. In the episode that premiered on April 21, 2025, she visited EJ's room to check on him.

When Susan tried to get close to EJ, Kayla walked into the room. Susan asked her to wake EJ up. In the meantime, when Belle arrived at the scene, Susan encouraged her to talk to him.

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Days of Our Lives: A glance at Susan Banks' character

According to the storyline of Days of Our Lives, Susan Banks had been one of the most eccentric characters in Salem. She appeared in the show for the first time in 1996 and her narrative was heavily impacted by her ties to the DiMera family.

Susan's character was introduced in the show when Stefano DiMera hired her to pretend to be Kristen Blake's doppelganger. She was asked to become a surrogate mother for John Black and her child. When Susan went into labor, Kristen, who was disguised as a nurse, was compelled to watch John marry Susan, who believed that she was actually Kristen.

As the show progressed, Susan gave birth to EJ DiMera and pretended to be Kristen. However, things took a turn when Kristen manipulated Susan and imprisoned her. Kristen's attempt to force Susan into giving the child back resulted in the death of Susan's identical sister, Penelope Kent.

Susan was kidnapped by Xander in November 2022, as per Ava Vitali's orders to blackmail EJ for money after he tried to blackmail her to leave Salem. She managed to persuade Xander and convinced him to let her go. When she went to meet Ava and EJ, Ava held her at gunpoint. Later, Ava's car exploded as she drove off the road.

The current ongoings in the Peacock daytime drama revealed that Susan Banks returned to Salem after receiving the news of EJ's shooting.

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More about Stacy Haiduk's life and career as Susan returns to Salem

Stacy Haiduk is an American actress who was born on April 24, 1968, in Grand Rapids, Michigan. She has been recognized by fans for her roles as Lana Lang in the syndicated superhero series Superboy, and as Katherine Hitchcock in the NBC science fiction series, SeaQuest DSV.

Apart from portraying the roles of Kristen DiMera and Susan Banks on Days of Our Lives, Stacy Haiduk has starred in popular productions such as All My Children, The Chicago Code, Wildfire, Sketch Artist, The Darwin Conspiracy, and Final Approach.

Haiduk landed a Daytime Emmy Award nomination for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series in 2017 for her performance as Patty Williams and Emily Peterson on the CBS soap opera The Young and the Restless. She bagged nominations for the same category in 2022 and 2023 for playing Susan Banks and Kristen on Days of Our Lives, respectively.

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Fans of Days of Our Lives can watch new episodes of the show on Peacock.