All The Soap Opera Characters Days Of Our Lives' Tamara Braun Has Played

Tamara Braun is a prolific actress who has become well-known for her roles on several major soap operas over the course of her career. In between stints on "General Hospital," "All My Children," and "Days of Our Lives," Braun has appeared in several films and TV shows, but it is really her time on daytime television that she is most celebrated for. She has been nominated for and won several awards throughout her career for her soap work, as well as her role in the film "Little Chenier" in 2006.

For 20 years, Braun has graced our screens as several different soap characters, from villainous bad girls to respectable professionals. Though she has been reprising her role as Ava Vitali on "Days of Our Lives" since 2020, Braun has left such a mark on every soap she's starred in that there's no doubt she has a place in daytime television for as long as she wants one, as she remains a favorite of both showrunners and fans.

Tamara Braun got her start in Daytime as Carly Corinthos on "General Hospital." Replacing the first Carly, Sarah Joy Brown, Braun was beloved by "GH" fans and became the star of many significant storylines. She became the woman trapped between two rival mobsters, Sonny Corinthos (Maurice Bernard) and Lorenzo Alcazar (Ted King). Though Sonny was the father of her two sons, his increasingly manipulative behavior pushed Carly straight into the arms of his enemy Lorenzo, who had planned to use Carly as a pawn in his twisted game of mob politics, before actually falling for her (via Soap Central). After experiencing violence and emotional turmoil due to the dangerous lives of these men, Carly's mental health declined and she was taken away from her children and committed to a mental institution. Braun was nominated for a Daytime Emmy for her portrayal of Carly before leaving the show in 2005 to pursue other roles.

Braun first joined the cast of "Days of Our Lives" in 2008 as mafia princess Ava Vitali, who was responsible for the plane crash that killed patriarch Shawn Brady (Frank Parker). Ava was seeking revenge against Shawn's son-in-law Steve Johnson (Stephen Nichols) for leaving her at the altar years earlier, but after she was found out she went on the run.

Ava reappeared in town in 2015 and formed a plan with Steve's son Joey Johnson (James Lastovic) to reunite his parents as a way to make amends for her actions. Joey found himself falling for Ava before realizing it was all a manipulation for Ava to steal Steve for herself. Ava kidnapped Steve's wife Kayla Brady (Mary Beth Evans) and threatened to kill her if Steve didn't sleep with her, to which he complied. Later, an enraged Joey attempted to smother Ava with a pillow and she was presumed dead.

In 2020, Ava "returned from the dead" on the Vitali family business. Ava risked being caught by the police when she went to her son Tripp Johnson (Lucas Adams) who was being accused of a rape that was actually committed by Ava's other son Charlie Dale (Mike C. Manning), who was later murdered. After she came out of hiding Ava managed to strike a deal for her immunity and as of this writing is in a war against her ex Rafe Hernandez (Galen Gering) and his girlfriend Nicole (Arianne Zucker).

In between her first two stints on "DOOL" as Ava Vitali, Braun joined the cast of "All My Children" as architect Reese Williams. Reese followed her girlfriend Bianca Montgomery (Eden Riegel) from Paris to Pennsylvania after Bianca had returned to her hometown to share the news of her pregnancy with her family (via Soaps). Soon after arriving in town, Bianca was caught in a tornado and unexpectedly gave birth. Reese rushed to her side, along with Bianca's older daughter Miranda (Haley Evans), so their family could be together. Reese and Bianca were overcome with emotion over their newborn daughter Gabrielle, who they conceived with the help of a sperm donor, Zach Slater (Thorsten Kaye). Shortly after, Reese proposed to Bianca and she happily accepted. Bianca and Reese, or "Breese" as they were affectionately called by fans, were the first people to portray a same-sex proposal, a legal same-sex marriage, and same-sex parents on daytime television, according to Out. "AMC" was nominated for a GLAAD Award in 2009 in honor of this storyline.

Also before Braun returned to "DOOL" as Ava Vitali, she appeared on the show as a different character — Taylor Walker, previously played by fellow "GH"-alum Natalia Livingston. Taylor had returned to Salem to seek financial support from her sister Nicole Walker (Arianne Zucker), but soon found herself engaging in an affair with her sister's husband E.J. DiMera (James Scott), according to Soap Central. Ultimately, Taylor ended things with E.J. in an effort to rebuild the relationship with her sister. Later, she reconnected with an ex-boyfriend Quinn Hudson (Bren Foster) who had once gotten her arrested for prostitution and possession of marijuana. Though Taylor and Quinn seemed to be on good terms, Taylor was offered a job in Paris and the two decided to split amicably. Quinn stayed in town and Taylor moved overseas and hasn't been seen in Salem since, though Braun returned to the show to play Ava Vitali.

In 2017, after consulting with her loved ones, Braun made the decision to return to the cast of "GH" in a completely new role as Dr. Kim Nero, according to Soaps in Depth. Kim arrived in Port Charles to see her teenage son Oscar Nero (Rio Mangini, Garren Stitt) whom she shared with Drew Cain (Cameron Mathison). Kim reunited with Drew who was also living in town, though at the time he was unaware of their connection due to memory loss. The parents bonded over their mutual grief when Oscar later tragically died from cancer (via Soap Central). Kim then found herself romantically entangled with mobster Julian Jerome (William DeVry) and later after discovering she was pregnant with his child, she left town without informing anyone about the baby or who its father was. Kim hasn't been seen on screen since, though as part of Julian's storyline just before he was killed, he traveled to Kim's apartment in NYC and met their young son Andy, but sadly never learned the baby was his (via Soaps). Braun was awarded a Daytime Emmy for her work as Kim Nero.