Who Are All of Stefano DiMera’s Children on Days of our Lives?

Days of our Lives fans hear Stefano DiMera’s name uttered almost daily by his kids on the Peacock soap — but who are all of the children of The Phoenix?

The following is a transcript from Soap Dirt’s soap spoilers podcast where we do a deep dive into the latest

Stefano DiMera’s Twisted Family Tree on Days of our Lives – Who Are His Children?

Stefano DiMera’s family tree is large, twisted, and has some curious overlaps. He’s got a blend of biological and adopted children, many of whom inherited his dark, scheming, and dangerous nature.

Stefano came to Salem in 1982. Immediately, he stirred trouble for many people and the Bradys were a constant target of his. Remember, he kidnapped Hope Williams Brady and brainwashed her on Days of our Lives.

He’s also kidnapped John Black and Marlena Evans, his Queen of the Night. But what about the kids? How many kids does Stefano have, who were their moms, and how many were adopted? And did he marry any of the mothers of his children?

The Nine Biological Children of Stefano DiMera

Renee DuMonde was Stefano DiMera’s oldest child. Her mother was Lee DuMonde, a woman he met in Europe. Of note is that Renee is dead. She was murdered by the Salem Slasher although the Salem Strangler also came after her.

She was a big hit with Salem serial killers. Recently, Sarah Horton read her journal and believed she was Renee until she got medical treatment.

Andre DiMera is the product of an unknown mother and the bad boy DiMera. And Andre was a vile person. Stefano’s oldest son was the Salem Slasher serial killer, although he and daddy Stefano tried to pin those crimes on John Black.

Andre DiMera - Tony DiMera (Thaao Penghlis)
DOOL: Tony & Andre DiMera played by Thaao Penghlis | Shutterstock

It wasn’t until 2015 that Days of our Lives revealed he was Stefano’s bio-son. But he was soon killed off at the hands of Abigail Deveraux in self-defense. Salem was overjoyed to see him really dead that time.

For decades, Salemites believed Megan Hathaway to be dead but she’s back now and wreaking havoc. Her mother is also unknown. Back in the day, she’d been adopted by Maxwell Hathaway and that’s why she doesn’t have the DiMera name.

She was presumed dead for many years after she was dumped into a hot tub, hotwired for murder. Her dad, Stefano DiMera froze her until he could find a way to bring her back to life. And now she is back, thawed out, and still an ice-cold b*tch.

Another Two Children Dead on DOOL

Alexandra Brooks Carver, AKA Lexie Carver, is another of Stefanos’s biological children. Her mother was Celeste Perrault but she grew up in an adoptive family with no idea that she was adopted.

Celeste had given her up as a child to avoid the rumored DiMera curse. But she eventually found her way to Salem and her biological parents. Unfortunately, Lexie is another child of Stefano’s that didn’t survive. She died of complications of a brain tumor.

Benjy Hawk was the son of Ellen Hawk and Stefano DiMera on Days of our Lives. His mom went on the run to keep him away from his awful father.

But the Phoenix chased them down and murdered Ellen. He was a pretty nice guy and so he did not survive. His biological older brother Andre DiMera suffocated him to death.

Stefano’s Surviving Biological Sons on Days of our Lives

EJ DiMera is the son of kooky Elvis-loving psychic Susan Banks and the patriarch. At the time of his birth, Susan really thought EJ was the child of Elvis Presley and so she named him Elvis Junior.

She later figured out that it was Stefano’s son and not the rock’n’roll legend that sired her offspring. Despite being presumed dead at one point, he’s not. EJ’s alive, well, and scheming. His dead father would be proud.

Chad DiMera is one of those secret kids that turns up in life years later. He came to Days of our Lives in 2009. His mother was Madeline Peterson Woods and she let him grow up not knowing that his father was the elder DiMera.

DOOL: Chad DiMera (Billy Flynn)
Chad & Stefan | Shutterstock

Instead, he thought his father was Charles Woods but that man was just his adoptive father who was married to his bio mom. But Kate Roberts knew exactly who Chad was and offered him that critical piece of information about his back story.

It turns out Stefano didn’t know about Chad either but once he knew he was his son, he actively encouraged him to be a real DiMera. Chad is another of Stefano DiMera’s kids still alive and kicking today.

Twins That The Phoenix Never Knew — One Dead, One Alive

Jake Lambert DiMera and Stefan O. DiMera were twins born of Vivian Alamain. She married Stefano and bore him the only children he had within wedlock but he didn’t know it.

And the twins never knew him or each other. She named one twin for their father. That was Stefan Octavious DiMera. This was a role invented for Tyler Christopher. It gets complicated here because the writers had already written Stefan’s exit via death.

Then, they hired Brandon Barash to complete the final scenes after Tyler was abruptly fired. He was shot to death while trying to save his mother.

Days of our Lives: Stefan DiMera - Jake Lambert (Brandon Barash) - Stefano's son
DOOL: Stefan & Jake DiMera | Shutterstock

By the time episodes aired six months after shooting them, the writers realized that fans loved Barash as the recast. But they’d killed off the character.

So, they invented a twin named Jake who was a mechanic with mob ties who his mom never knew. However, Jake was less popular than Stefan. Then, Days of our Lives killed Jake off and used his heart to revive Stefan.

The DiMera’s pet mad scientist Dr. Rolf kept him in cold storage. So, he rolled him out and they popped in his twin’s heart. Now, we have Stefan once again on the Peacock soap opera.

Three Adopted Children of Stefano DiMera

Peter Blake and Kristen Blake DiMera are siblings. They’re the children of Rachel Blake. And Stefano DiMera adopted them both. Peter was a bad, bad man, who dealt drugs but wanted to change for his love, Jennifer Horton.

The court sent Peter off to prison, where he presumably remains, for a litany of crimes. His sister Kristen is also in jail but gets regular visits from daughter Rachel, whom she named for her mother.

Kristen Blake was Stefano’s ward for a time before he formally adopted her. And before the adoption, she’d married his other adoptive kid, Tony. Talk about a family tree that doesn’t branch properly…

Although she’s not a blood DiMera, she’s just as wicked as the daddy who adopted her on Days of our Lives. Last, we have Tony DiMera.

If you wonder why Tony looks just like Andre DiMera when they share no DNA, that’s down to one of Stefano DiMera’s many plots. Andre’s father had him get plastic surgery to look just like Tony.

If you don’t recall, Tony’s mom was Daphne DiMera but she was common law with the Phoenix, not a legal wife. Nor did she bear him any children. His biological father’s first name was Enrico.

He met Stefano as a grown man and was his protégé for years before the adult adoption. Not only did Tony marry his adoptive sister Kristen at one point but he also had a fling with Stefano’s firstborn — Renee DuMonde.

He was also not a nice guy for a long time – a rapist and violent man. Now, though, he turned over a new leaf and is the sweet hubby to Anna DiMera.

Days of our Lives: Megan Hathaway (Miranda Wilson) DiMera daughter
DOOL: Megan Hathaway (Miranda Wilson) | Shutterstock

Stefano DiMera Had 12 Children Total – 7 Are Still Alive on Days of our Lives

To summarize, Stefano DiMera had nine biological children on Days of our Lives. Of those, only four are alive now. That’s Megan, EJ, Chad, and Stefan. Those four survived. That’s less than a 50% survival rate.

Of his adopted kids, Tony, Peter, and Kristen are all still alive. It’s a much better survival rate than those who share his DNA. In the end, there are seven DiMera kids alive and roaming around if you count bio and adopted offspring.

But two of them are in prison now – siblings Kristen and Peter. Meanwhile, Stefano DiMera’s legend lives on as we see his portrait daily in the living room of the family mansion.

And his children often talk to it, asking it for advice, bragging about their triumphs, and wondering if he’d be proud of them.

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Featured image via Shutterstock