Theresa Donovan

Jeannie Theresa Donovan is a fictional character from ''Days of Our Lives'', an American soap opera on the NBC network. Introduced in September 1990, she was portrayed by several child actors until the character left the series in 1992, with further guest appearances in both 1996 and 1997. The character was reintroduced to the series in July 2013, under the portrayal of actress Jen Lilley, best known for her portrayal of Maxie Jones on ''General Hospital'', and departed in November 2016. Lilley reprised the role in May 2018 for a three-month stint, departing again in July.

Theresa is the daughter of supercouple Shane Donovan and Kimberly Brady (Charles Shaughnessy and, most prominently, Patsy Pease). With the casting of Lilley in the role, the character entered her first major story line, opposite Casey Moss who portrays JJ Deveraux.

Casting

In April 2013, it was announced by ''Soap Opera Digest'' and several other sources that Jen Lilley joined the cast of ''Days of Our Lives'' in a newly created role with ties to the canvas. Due to the show's advanced filming schedule, Lilley began filming in the (then-unknown) role in March 2013. Lilley made her on-screen debut as Theresa on July 3, 2013.

In May 2016, Daytime Confidential reported that Lilley had quit the soap after three years. Lilley made her final appearance on November 18, 2016. On November 17, 2017, it was announced that Lilley would reprise the role of Theresa; she returned on May 3, 2018. Lilley once again exited the role on July 19, 2018.

Character development

With the casting of Lilley, executive producer Ken Corday admits that seeing the actress' work on ''General Hospital'' helped with the casting of the actress in the role of Theresa. Upon Theresa's re-appearance on the canvas, she was characterized as the "bad girl". In an interview with ''MSN Entertainment'' on her role, Lilley spoke: "Part of me doesn't want to make excuses for her, because you can have horrible upbringing and make something positive of it. Some of the most amazing, well-grounded people have come from the wrong side of the tracks. Obviously, the Brady-Donovan family is a great family, but her dad Shane is a spy and I watched the episode where he leaves the kids with Kimberly. Theresa was probably one, at most, so she didn't have a dad growing up, which is a formula for trouble. Typical psychological path for a girl like that is to look for love in the wrong places and look for a father figure in older guys." The role of Theresa has been described as "sarcastic, calculating, mischievous" and "mysterious". Lilley also called her "such a badass".

For her casting, Lilley stated she originally went in for two roles, those of both Theresa and Jordan Ridgeway. At the time, she was hoping to book the "good girl" role; however for her second audition, was asked to amp it up to a more bad girl persona and concentrate on Theresa. She revealed: "I got to skip the first audition, which is called a pre-read and is an audition to audition. So then I auditioned with everyone else, and I got to do my screen test twice, which is very unusual. I was the only girl who got to do that, so I went first and last. The reason they had me do it twice is that I wore my hair curly, and I have a really young face, and they said that I looked too sweet and innocent and young with the curly hair. So they straightened my hair and had me do it again. On the second take, I knew that I had nothing to lose. I had already done a perfect first take, and they told me it wasn't going to get better than that so I could do whatever I wanted. I just did everything out of the box, and that's what got me the job. I mean I took the guy's shirt off in the scene! I told the actor that this is a character with no concept of personal space, so I asked him if it's ok if I touch him. He said that was fine and it was my screen test. So I took his shirt off and I threw some props at him at the end. I broke all the rules, and I think he casting staffthought, that is that character."

Storylines

Jeannie Theresa Donovan is introduced in September 1990, to Kimberly Brady (Patsy Pease), and was originally believed to be the daughter of Cal Winter. However, paternity tests and a confession from Cal proved her father to be Shane Donovan (Charles Shaughnessy). She grew up with her parents in Salem, before relocating to Los Angeles.

In July 2013, Jeannie returns to Salem, this time going by her middle name, Theresa. Initially, she strikes up a connection with resident bad boy JJ Deveraux (Casey Moss) while trying to secure some pot. During a confrontation with JJ and his mother Jennifer Horton (Melissa Reeves) in her office, her aunt Kayla confirms that Theresa is in fact Jeannie and that Jen promised to hire her as her assistant, a promise she reluctantly agrees to. Kayla reminds Theresa it is her last chance at a fresh start. Theresa also strikes up a bad first impression with Jennifer's daughter Abigail Deveraux (Kate Mansi

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