Before ‘Days of Our Lives,’ This Star Almost Swapped Acting for a Restaurant Uniform

It’s been 40 years since Mary Beth Evans became one of the most iconic characters on Days of Our Lives. Before the soap opera, the actress was prepared to give up on acting altogether.

In a recent interview with TV Insider, she reflected on a time when financial struggles were mounting, and she was willing to work anywhere to get by. Then she landed the role of KaylaBrady, and it changed her life.

“At the time, my husband was a resident, so he didn’t make very much money. We bought a house, and I hadn’t been getting jobs for, like, six months,” Evans said.

The actress applied to work in a restaurant before she auditioned for Days of Our Lives. She held out hope that she would be cast in the show. 

 “I said to my husband, ‘I’m just gonna try to stall picking up that uniform until I hear about this Days of Our Lives job.’ And obviously, it changed our lives,” Evans recalled.

Although grateful to be a working actress again, she was a bit hesitant about the contract demands.

“It was a three-year contract, which they don’t do anymore, but it just seemed like, ‘Oh, my God, that is such a long time,’” she said. “‘And then you end up doing 40 years, and you don’t even know how that happened.”

Days of Our Lives is now one of the longest-running scripted television shows. It has aired almost every weekday since it all began on November 8, 1965.

It’s been 40 years since Evans’ character Kayla Brady first appeared in the fictional town of Salem, Illinois. The actress is honored by the loyal fans who have been with her since the beginning.

“I appreciate that they’ve gone on this journey with us,” she said. “It’s been a long time, but I hope that we inspire people to have healthy, good, heartfelt, and honest relationships. That’s what I’m always striving for here.”