Caroline Brady played by Peggy McCay

Caroline is the matriarch of the Brady clan, a feisty lady who will stand up to anyone for the good of her family. Years ago, Caroline had an affair with the shady Victor Kiriakis and gave birth to a son, Bo. She kept her affair a secret for many years and raised Bo as a real Brady. That was until Victor returned to town in 1985 and her secret came out. Despite Bo's struggle with the truth, Caroline and Shawn vowed to continue raising him as a Brady, alongside their other children, Kimberly, Kayla and Roman.

When the Brady/DiMera feud escalated, John, Marlena and Shawn went to Ireland to uncover more family history. They inquired about Colleen, Grandpa Shawn's older sister, who recently died in Ireland. On the way back from their heartfelt trip, the plane went down and Shawn literally died for Bo, giving him his oxygen mask. Caroline was devastated by the news. Her world was rocked again when Bo was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. The situation drew Caroline closer to Bo's biological father, Victor.

Nothing serious became of Caroline and Victor, as he set his sights on the newly widowed Maggie Horton. Caroline then focused all of her time on her children and grandchildren. Caroline has never been shy when it comes to how she feels about some of their choices, especially Bo's marital problems with Hope, and his relationship with Carly.

Caroline proved she would do anything for her family once again, by switching Chloe's paternity test to show Daniel was the father of her baby and not Philip. Caroline feared that if Melanie left Philip once she found out the truth, she'd run to Nathan's arms, prompting him to break up with Caroline's granddaughter Stephanie. What's in store for Caroline now that her scheme has been figured out?

Peggy McCay plays Caroline Brady

Emmy Award winner Peggy McCay joined the cast of "Days of our Lives" as Caroline Brady in January 1983.

A native of Manhattan, McCay attended Barnard College and earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from Columbia University. Two weeks after her graduation, she won a role in a Kraft Television Theater production. At 19, she went on tour in Tennessee Williams' "Summer and Smoke" with the Margo Jones Repertory Company.

McCay won an Emmy as Outstanding Guest Actress in a Drama Series for her performance on "The Trials of Rosie O'Neill." She also earned an Emmy nomination for her work in the miniseries "Woman On the Run: The Lawrencia Bambenek Story."

Her birthday is November 3.