Kayla Brady played by Mary Beth Evans

Kayla Brady is one of Caroline and Shawn's children. She grew up in Salem, the city where she has found love, lost love and found love again. Kayla blossomed into a beautiful young woman and landed a job at the Riverfront Emergency Clinic; it was there she met and grew closer to Steve Johnson. Steve was hired by the Kiriakis family to spy on the Bradys. Through a series of events that led Kayla and Steve to Sweden and back, the two fell in love. When Kayla discovered that Steve originally was employed by the Kiriakis family to spy on the Bradys, she felt betrayed and ended their relationship.

A serial killer called the Riverfront Killer was roaming Salem and attacked Kayla. During the attack, an explosion ignited a fire and knocked Kayla unconscious. Steve rescued her, and when she awoke, Kayla was deaf and mute. The explosion had severely damaged her hearing and her vocal cords. Steve and Kayla both learned sign language. After Kayla helped in the arrest of the Riverfront Killer and her hearing was restored, Steve proposed to her and she accepted. The wedding took place on a yacht in Salem Harbor. During the vows, Kayla stopped signing and attempted to speak. She shocked everybody when she was able to say, "I do." Afterwards, they took off for a honeymoon in Asia.

Shortly after, Kayla found out she was expecting her own bundle of joy. A mysterious woman from Steve's past also showed up claiming to still be married to Steve. Kayla was determined to keep her baby safe. When Marina ended up dead, Kayla was accused of murdering her and sent to prison. It was there she gave birth to a daughter, Stephanie. Steve was able to get custody and help raise her with the help of a deranged nanny, Sheila. When Sheila kidnapped Stephanie, Kayla escaped prison and joined Steve in Australia to search for their daughter. They eventually found Stephanie and returned back to Salem where Kayla was exonerated for her crime.

After Steve and Kayla were legally married, Steve joined the Salem Police Department and helped Bo investigate the shady Lawrence Alamain. Steve stumbled upon a bomb on a boat that was meant for Bo; the bomb exploded, and Steve was knocked into a coma. While at the hospital, Steve was pronounced dead. Shane had helped Kayla get over her grief, but when her sister Kimberly returned to Salem, Kayla knew it was time to pack her bags, take Stephanie and move to Los Angeles to start over.

Years later, Kayla returned to Salem to attend Frankie and Jennifer's wedding. She was in complete shock when she saw a presumed-dead Steve also at the wedding. Steve was suffering from amnesia, and Kayla decided to stay in Salem to help him regain his memory. Slowly, Steve began to remember details of the past, and it was revealed he had been brainwashed by the DiMeras. Through love and patience, Steve was able to overcome the DiMera control and work with Kayla at putting their life back together.

In 2008, Kayla and Steve supported Stephanie after it was revealed that she was raped by Ford Decker. They traveled to Ireland to help Shawn meet with the sister he had thought was dead. While there, Kayla learned she was pregnant. Kayla and Steve were both caught in the plane crash on the way back to Salem that killed her father Shawn Brady and was later found to be the work of a deranged Ava Vitali. Kayla aided Daniel and Lexie in treating Bo's pancreas condition. Under all these stresses, she began to have problems with her pregnancy, which led Steve to keep the information about his ex-girlfriend Ava from her. Stressed and with an already troubled pregnancy, Kayla went into premature labor. Joe Johnson was delivered at 26 weeks. After stabilizing, he was briefly kidnapped by Stefano DiMera.

Kayla and Steve decided to leave Salem to run a clinic in a remote part of the world. They took their infant son with them and related their decision and the details of their situation to their daughter Stephanie in a letter.

Mary Beth Evans plays Kayla Brady

Mary Beth Evans returns to NBC's hit daytime drama "Days of our Lives" in the role of beloved Brady family daughter and sister, "Kayla Brady," after a 14-year absence.

Evans was voted Best Actress by her 4th-grade classmates in Orange County, California. From there the self-described "beach girl" set her sights on a performing career. At 14 she got a job in a fast-food restaurant and had her older sister drive her to acting classes.

Following graduation from Huntington Beach High School, Evans spent five months in Europe before joining the prestigious South Coast Repertory Conservatory.

Evans is known not only for her earlier stint on "Days," but also as "Katherine Bell" on "General Hospital" and "Sierra Montgomery" on "As the World Turns." She has appeared in many television shows and movies in guest roles, local theatre productions and won a Soap Opera Digest Award for Favorite Supercouple with co-star Stephen Nichols ("Steve 'Patch' Johnson").

As a working mother, Evans finds time to enjoy interior decorating, cooking and crafts. She has a mail order business for fresh, bake-them-yourself, apple pies. She married Dr. Michael Schwartz in 1985 and together they reside in Southern California with their three children, Danny, Katie and Matthew.