Stephano Dimera

Stephano, a.k.a. The Phoenix, has lived up to his nickname time and time again. He's been shot by Marlena, thrown from a penthouse by a demon, struck by lightning, burned alive and escaped death on every occasion. Since setting foot in Salem in 1982, the notorious Stefano has been at the core of virtually every underhanded plot in town.

When Roman Brady interfered with Stefano's criminal enterprises in the early '80s, his revenge on the Brady's became a mild obsession. The true reason Stefano resents John Black, however, remains a mystery. In fact, Stefano hated him so much that he erased John's memory many years ago. While holding Hope Brady captive at Maison Blanche, Stefano made sure that she, too, had a major memory lapse. Following suite, Stefano also erased most, if not all, of Laura Horton's memory at one time.

In an ironic twist of fate, Stefano learned that Lexie Carver, the wife of Salem's Chief of Police, Abe Carver, was his daughter by long-time confidante Celeste. With the death of his son, Tony DiMera, Lexie is his only living blood relation (as of yet). In other "family" plots, Stefano saved foster son Peter Blake's life, faked his death, and framed Jack Devereaux for the murder. Stefano also helped Kristen Blake con John Black into thinking that she was having John's baby -- actually a pregnant look-alike named Susan was doing the job for Kristen.

Just as Stefano's list of mistresses and "children" never seem to end, neither will his fascination with Dr. Marlena Evans. Although he has kidnapped her many times, he came the closest to winning her over when he made nightly secret visits to her bedroom and led her away on hypnotic trips to a romantic world of his making. Unfortunately for the both of them, her mind-altering experience made Marlena susceptible to demonic possession. Stefano suffered several broken bones after being tossed out a window by one of her resident demons. After her exorcism, Marlena nursed Stefano back to health, but a lightning bolt jolted his memory and restored him to his evil ways.

A connoisseur of fine art, Stefano jumped at the opportunity to marry Vivian Alamain after Jonesey's death so that he could gain control of the priceless artwork in his townhouse. Stefano implanted a microchip into Vivian's tooth so he could control her mood and set his sites on acquiring the last Renet painting to complete his collection. In order to do this, he brainwashed Princess Gina and Hope Williams to steal the artwork for him.

All seemed to be going according to plan until his loyal Gina developed a mind of her own. Greta Von Amberg was instrumental in reinstating Bo's search for Hope and leading a team of Salemites to Europe where she was being held captive. During her time in locked in a turret, Hope actually shared several tender moments with her captor (a rarely seen side of Stefano). The two even shared one secret night of passion thereby putting Stefano in the running as the father of Hope's child! Hope was eventually saved and her identity verified when the imposter "Hope" (Princess Gina) was shot and killed back in Salem. Stefano suffered severe burns (thanks to Hope setting him ablaze) but has since healed to his normal, evil self.

Convinced that he was the father of Hope's baby, he arranged to have her child switched with that of Rolf's drunken niece, Marlo. When Lexie and Abe finally agreed to adopt Marlo's child, Stefano orchestrated the baby switch at the hospital. Lexie and Abe were raising Hope's child and the Bradys had Marlo's baby. When she threatened to expose the scandal, Marlo was destroyed and her body was dumped in a lake.

Now Stefano has returned to Salem, alongside his son Tony. Just what evil is the Phoenix up to now? That remains to be seen. But it is clear that he sent his son EJ to Salem to impregnate Sami Brady so they could use the fetus' stem cells. In addition, information is emerging about the beginnings of the Brady/DiMera feud. Will we learn how it started? And will Stefano agree to let it end?