Melissa Reeves (née Brennan; born March 14, 1967) is an American actress, best known for playing

Jennifer Horton Jennifer Horton is a fictional character from '' Days of Our Lives'', an American soap opera on the NBC network, currently played by actress Cady McClain. Jennifer was created by scriptwriter Pat Falken Smith, and executive producer Betty Corday. ...

on the NBC series '' Days of Our Lives'' on-and-off for a total of 26 years (1985–1995, 2000–2006, 2010–2020).

Personal life

Reeves was born in

Eatontown, New Jersey Eatontown is a borough in Monmouth County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2010 Census, the borough's population was 12,709,Scott Reeves. They have 2 children: Emily Taylor Reeves (born June 23, 1992) and Lawrence "Larry" David Reeves (born August 4, 1997).

Career

Among Reeves' early film roles was the thriller '' Summer Camp Nightmare'' (1987). Her first television role was as Jade Perkins on '' Santa Barbara'' from 1984 to 1985. She originated the role of the adult

(later

Jennifer Deveraux Jennifer Horton is a fictional character from ''Days of Our Lives'', an American soap opera on the NBC network, currently played by actress Cady McClain. Jennifer was created by scriptwriter Pat Falken Smith, and executive producer Betty Corday ...

) on '' Days of Our Lives'' in 1985 (prior to which the character had been a child played by a young actress), and remained in the role until 1995. Reeves abruptly left ''Days'' during the show's thirtieth anniversary season, and

Corday Productions Corday Productions is an American production company. The company was founded by Ted and Betty Corday in 1965. The company produces the NBC soap opera ''Days of Our Lives'' which they have produced since 1965. They are based in Burbank, Californ ...

and Sony TV Entertainment sued her for breach of contract. The matter was settled out-of-court with Reeves paying an unspecified sum, which ''Days'' Executive Producer

Ken Corday Kenneth Robert Corday (born June 16, 1950) is an American television soap opera producer and music composer. He is the son of Ted Corday and Betty Corday, the co-creators of ''Days of Our Lives''. His production company Corday Productions owns ...

donated to pediatric AIDS research. The role of Jennifer had quickly been recast with actress Stephanie Cameron, who remained on the show until 1998. In 1999, Melissa and Scott Reeves starred in the made-for-TV movie ''

Half a Dozen Babies ''Half a Dozen Babies'' (also known as ''Life's Little Struggles'') is a 1999 ABC television film. It stars Scott and Melissa Reeves. Plot A young couple have been struggling to have a baby for years, unsuccessfully. Then, suddenly, one day, th ...

''. In 2000, Reeves returned to ''Days of Our Lives'' in the role of Jennifer Horton. After leaving the show for the second time in 2006, she and her family moved to

Tennessee Tennessee ( , ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked state in the Southeastern region of the United States. Tennessee is the 36th-largest by area and the 15th-most populous of the 50 states. It is bordered by Kentucky to th ...

. Reeves returned to ''Days of Our Lives'' on June 9, 2010 for a one-month guest stint and subsequently became a regular cast member again in November of that year. On September 15, 2020, it was announced that Reeves had opted not to return to the role when filming began again after a hiatus brought on by the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identi ...

, and the role would be recast. This followed criticism she received from some fans, as well as her co-star

Linsey Godfrey Linsey Michelle Godfrey (born July 25, 1988) is an American actress. She played Caroline Spencer on the CBS soap opera ''The Bold and the Beautiful'' from March 2012 to October 2016, before returning in a recurring capacity from December 2016 to ...

, for 'liking' social media posts by conservative commentator

Candace Owens Candace Amber Owens Farmer ( Owens; born April 29, 1989) is an American conservative author, talk show host, political commentator, and activist. Initially critical of United States President Donald Trump and the Republican Party, Owens has bee ...

which denounced the

Black Lives Matter Black Lives Matter (abbreviated BLM) is a decentralized political and social movement that seeks to highlight racism, discrimination, and racial inequality experienced by black people. Its primary concerns are incidents of police br ...

movement. Reeves had previously drawn criticism in 2012 for expressing support for fast-food chain Chick-fil-A during a controversy over its

Chief Operating Officer A chief operating officer or chief operations officer, also called a COO, is one of the highest-ranking executive positions in an organization, composing part of the " C-suite". The COO is usually the second-in-command at the firm, especially if ...

declaring the chain's stance against

same-sex marriage Same-sex marriage, also known as gay marriage, is the marriage of two people of the same sex or gender. marriage between same-sex couples is legally performed and recognized in 33 countries, with the most recent being Mexico, constituting ...

Filmography

Awards and nominations

Daytime Emmy Award The Daytime Emmy Awards, or Daytime Emmys, are part of the extensive range of Emmy Awards for artistic and technical merit for the American television industry. Bestowed by the New York–based National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences ...

s *1992: Nominated, "Outstanding Younger Actress in a Drama Series" - ''Days of Our Lives'' *2016: Nominated, "Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series" - ''Days of Our Lives''

Soap Opera Digest Awards ''The Soap Opera Digest Awards'', originally known as ''The Soapy Awards'' when introduced in 1977, is an awards show held by the daytime television magazine ''Soap Opera Digest''. History 1977 until 1983 The Soapy Awards were an award presen ...

*1991: Won, "Outstanding Daytime Super Couple" - ''Days of Our Lives'' (shared w/

Matthew Ashford Matthew Nile Ashford (born January 29, 1960) is an American actor. He is best known for his roles on the soap operas ''Days of Our Lives'' and '' The Bay'', for the former of which he received a nomination for the Daytime Emmy Award for Outstand ...

) *1992: Won, "Best Daytime Wedding" - ''Days of Our Lives'' (shared w/

) *1992: Won, "Best Prime time or Daytime Love Story" - ''Days of Our Lives'' (shared w/

) *1994: Won, "Hottest Female Star" - ''Days of Our Lives''

Young Artist Award The Young Artist Award (originally known as the Youth in Film Award) is an accolade presented by the Young Artist Foundation, a nonprofit organization founded in 1978 to honor excellence of youth performers, and to provide scholarships for young ...

s *1985: Nominated, "Best Young Actress in a Daytime or Nighttime Television Series" - ''Santa Barbara'' *1986: Nominated, "Best Young Actress in a Daytime or Nighttime Television Series" - ''Santa Barbara'' *1987: Nominated, "Exceptional Performance by a Young Actor in a Daytime Series" - ''Days of Our Lives'' *1988: Nominated, "Best Young Actress Starring in a Television Drama Series" - ''Days of Our Lives''

References

External links