# Alison Sweeney

Alison Ann Sweeney (born September 19, 1976) is an American actress, reality show host, director and author. Sweeney is best known for her portrayal of Samantha "Sami" Brady on the NBC soap opera Days of Our Lives, a role she played under contract with the show from January 6, 1993 to October 30, 2014. In this role, she earned a Daytime Emmy Award nomination, four Soap Opera Digest Awards and a Fan Voted Daytime Emmy Award. After making sporadic appearances since then, she returned as a series regular in 2021. In 2007, she became the host of The Biggest Loser in its fourth season, and left the series at the end of the 16th season in 2015.

## Personal life

Sweeney is of Irish descent and has two brothers. She studied economics at UCLA but left due to her commitment to Days of Our Lives. On July 8, 2000, Sweeney married David Sanov, after dating for nearly three years. The couple have two children: a son born on February 25, 2005, and a daughter born on January 12, 2009. The family currently lives in Los Angeles.

## Career

Sweeney's television debut was at age five in a Kodak advertisement. A few years later, she was in the episode "I Can't Help Saying Goodbye" of the horror series Tales from the Darkside, playing a young girl who could sense when others were going to die shortly before their deaths. In 1988, she appeared on the short-lived ABC sitcom Family Man, and the following year, was cast as Christy McCray on Brand New Life, a miniseries from future X-Files creator Chris Carter that aired within NBC's Magical World of Disney in October 1989. The miniseries, which co-starred Barbara Eden as Sweeney's mother and Don Murray as her new stepfather, was considered for pick-up as a stand-alone series beyond its Disney tryout, but the regular series never materialized.
On January 6, 1993, then 16-year-old Sweeney first appeared in the role of Samantha "Sami" Brady in the NBC soap opera Days of Our Lives—a show of which she was a fan.
In the 1990s, cultural society continued to have very problematic views on weight. Sweeney was a US dress size 12 (UK dress size 16). She was not obese by medical standards, but still larger than her television peers; this it became an issue. She documented all the tabloid talk and personal anguish in her 2004 memoir, All The Days of My Life (So Far).
In 2002, she appeared on a celebrity episode of the NBC reality game show Fear Factor. She has appeared in other NBC shows such as Friends, where she played an actress on Days of Our Lives, and Las Vegas. In 2007, she joined the Jerry Lewis MDA Telethon as a co-host for the live television broadcast. She returned to her co-hosting duties for the 2008, 2009, and 2010 telethons.
In 2007, Sweeney took over hosting duties on The Biggest Loser, replacing Caroline Rhea since the fourth season. She was surprised but happy to be offered the role, where she is able to cheer on contestants and share their victories.
Sweeney has written four books: All The Days of My Life (So Far) (released in May 2004), The Star Attraction (released in May 2013), Scared Scriptless: A Novel (released in June 2014) and Opportunity Knocks (released in April 2016).
In July 2013, Sweeney appeared in Second Chances, a Hallmark Original Movie, alongside Days co-star Greg Vaughan. The movie was filmed before Sweeney and Vaughn became siblings on Days of Our Lives.
On January 20, 2014, Sweeney announced on The Ellen DeGeneres Show that after 21 years of being on the air on Days of Our Lives, she was leaving the show, to focus on spending more time with her family, and to work on her other show, The Biggest Loser. She stated in the interview that she would be on the show throughout 2014, and that she would like her character on the show to have a happy ending with a Breaking Bad twist.
On July 9, 2014, it was announced that Sweeney would be joining General Hospital behind the scenes as a director, starting later that month. On April 26, 2015, Sweeney announced that she will be returning to Days of Our Lives to be part of the show's 50th anniversary celebrations.
On August 25, 2015, it was announced that Sweeney would not be returning to The Biggest Loser.
Beginning on October 13, 2017, Sweeney reprised her long-term role as Sami Brady on Days of Our Lives, over 24 years after her first appearance as a teenaged Sami Brady.
She played podcast host Alex McPherson in the Hallmark Movies & Mysteries film series Chronicle Mysteries, which started in 2019, with a fifth movie in 2021.
From 2015 to present, Sweeney appeared in the Hallmark Movies & Mysteries film series Murder, She Baked, based on Joanne Fluke's books.

## Filmography

Television :
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 1984 | Simon & Simon | Lyla | Episode: “The Wrong Stuff” |
| 1985 | St. Elsewhere | Chrissy | Episode: "Santa Claus Is Dead" |
| 1985 | Webster | Beth | Episode: "The Uh-Oh Feeling" |
| 1985 | Tales from the Darkside | Karen | Episode: "I Can't Help Saying Goodbye" |
| 1987, 1993–2015, 2017– | Days of Our Lives | Adrienne Johnson Samantha Brady Colleen Brady | Role: 1987 – Flashbacks Role: January 1993 – October 2014; October – November 2015; October – December 2017; August – November 2018; July 2019; June 2020–present Role: 2007 – September 2007; February 2008 – Flashbacks |
| 1988 | Family Man | Rosie Tobin | 7 episodes |
| 1989–1990 | Brand New Life | Christy McCary | 6 episodes |
| 1994 | Bay State | Casey Mills | Episodes: "Episode #4.4", "Episode #4.5" |
| 2001 | Friends | Jessica Ashley | Episode: "The One With Joey's Award" |
| 2002 | Fear Factor | Herself | Episode: "Celebrity Fear Factor" |
| 2004 | American Dreams | Miss USA | Episode: "Old Enough to Fight" |
| 2004 | Las Vegas | Caroline Pzarchik | Episode: "Nevada State" |
| 2007–2015 | The Biggest Loser | Herself | Host (seasons 4–16) |
| 2010 | Mercy | Becky Sorensen | Episode: I Did Kill You, Didn't I? |
| 2015 | Beat Bobby Flay | Herself | Episode: "Raising the Bar" Judge / Mentor |
Films :
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 1987 | The Price of Life | Young Alice | Short film |
| 1990 | The End of Innocence | Stephanie (12–15 years old) | |
| 1993 | Night Sins | Sami Brady | Television film |
| 2002 | Happiness | Girlfriend | Short film |
| 2013 | Second Chances, AKA Hearts on Fire | Jenny McLean | Television film (Hallmark) |
| 2015 | Murder, She Baked: A Chocolate Chip Cookie Murder | Hannah Swensen | Television film (Hallmark Movies & Mysteries) |
| 2015 | Love on the Air | Sonia | Television film (Hallmark) |
| 2015 | Murder She Baked: A Plum Pudding Murder Mystery | Hannah Swensen | Television film (Hallmark Movies & Mysteries) |
| 2015 | Murder, She Baked: A Peach Cobbler Mystery | Hannah Swensen | Television film (Hallmark Movies & Mysteries) |
| 2016 | Murder, She Baked: A Deadly Recipe | Hannah Swensen | Television film (Hallmark Movies & Mysteries) |
| 2016 | The Irresistible Blueberry Farm | Ellen | Television film (Hallmark Movies & Mysteries) |
| 2017 | Murder, She Baked: Just Desserts | Hannah Swensen | Television film (Hallmark Movies & Mysteries) |
| 2017 | Christmas At Holly Lodge | Sophie Bennett | Television film (Hallmark) |
| 2019 | Chronicle Mysteries: Recovered | Alex McPherson | Television film (Hallmark Movies & Mysteries) First in a series |
| 2019 | Chronicle Mysteries: The Wrong Man | Alex McPherson | Television film (Hallmark Movies & Mysteries) Second in a series |
| 2019 | Chronicle Mysteries: Vines That Bind | Alex McPherson | Television film (Hallmark Movies & Mysteries) Third in a series |
| 2019 | Chronicle Mysteries: The Deep End | Alex McPherson | Television film (Hallmark Movies & Mysteries) Fourth in a series |
| 2019 | Time For You To Come Home for Christmas | Katherine Moss | Television film (Hallmark Movies & Mysteries) Executive producer: Blake Shelton |
| 2020 | Good Morning Christmas! | Melissa Merry | Television film (Hallmark) |
| 2021 | Chronicle Mysteries: Helped to Death | Alex McPherson | Television film (Hallmark Movies & Mysteries) Fifth in a series |
| 2021 | Sweet Revenge: A Hannah Swensen Mystery | Hannah Swensen | Television film (Hallmark Movies & Mysteries) |
| 2021 | Open By Christmas | Nicky | Television film (Hallmark) |
| 2021 | Days of Our Lives: A Very Salem Christmas | Sami Brady | Peacock Original Movie |
| 2022 | The Wedding Veil | Tracy Goodwyn | Television Film Trilogy (Hallmark) |
| 2022 | The Wedding Veil Unveiled | Tracy Goodwyn | Television Film Trilogy (Hallmark) |
| 2022 | The Wedding Veil Legacy | Tracy Goodwyn | Television Film Trilogy (Hallmark) |
| 2022 | A Magical Christmas Village | Summer | Television film (Hallmark) |
| 2023 | The Wedding Veil Expectations | Tracy Serchio | Television Film Trilogy (Hallmark) |
| 2023 | The Wedding Veil Inspiration | Tracy Serchio | Television Film Trilogy (Hallmark) |
| 2023 | The Wedding Veil Journey | Tracy Serchio | Television Film Trilogy (Hallmark) |
| 2023 | Carrot Cake Murder: A Hannah Swensen Mystery | Hannah Swensen | Television film (Hallmark) |
| 2023 | A Zest for Death: A Hannah Swensen Mystery | Hannah Swensen | Television film (Hallmark) |
| 2024 | Love and Jane | Lilly Thorpe | Television film (Hallmark) |
| 2024 | One Bad Apple: A Hannah Swensen Mystery | Hannah Swensen | Television film (Hallmark) |

## Awards and nominations

List of acting awards and nominations :
| Year | Award | Category | Title | Result |
| 1994 | Young Artist Award | Best Youth Actress in a Soap Opera | Days of Our Lives | Nominated |
| 1996 | Soap Opera Digest Award | Outstanding Villainess | Days of Our Lives | Won |
| 1997 | Young Artist Award | Best Performance in a Daytime Drama: Young Actress | Days of Our Lives | Nominated |
| 1998 | Soap Opera Digest Award | Outstanding Villainess | Days of Our Lives | Won |
| 1999 | Soap Opera Digest Award | Outstanding Villainess | Days of Our Lives | Won |
| 2000 | Soap Opera Digest Award | Outstanding Younger Lead Actress | Days of Our Lives | Nominated |
| 2001 | Soap Opera Digest Award | Outstanding Younger Lead Actress | Days of Our Lives | Won |
| 2002 | Daytime Emmy Award | America's Favorite Villain — Special Fan Award | Days of Our Lives | Won |
| 2003 | Soap Opera Digest Award | Outstanding Supporting Actress | Days of Our Lives | Nominated |
| 2005 | Soap Opera Digest Award | Favorite New Couple (shared with Bryan Dattilo) | Days of Our Lives | Won |
| 2005 | Soap Opera Digest Award | Outstanding Supporting Actress | Days of Our Lives | Won |
| 2015 | Daytime Emmy Award | Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series | Days of Our Lives | Nominated |
| 2020 | Soap Hub Awards | Favorite Social Media Star | Days of Our Lives | Won |
| 2022 | Just Jared Awards | Favorite Hallmark Channel Star of 2022 | Herself | Nominated |