Stephanie Johnson played by Shelley Hennig

Stephanie Kay Johnson was born in prison to Kayla, who was serving time for a murder she didn't commit. When crazed nanny Sheila kidnapped Stephanie, Steve and Kayla headed to Australia to locate their baby girl. Soon thereafter, Kayla was exonerated and she, Steve and Stephanie moved to Salem. Their happy family reunion came to tragic end when Steve died in a boat explosion. Grief stricken, Kayla moved to Los Angeles with Stephanie.

Years later, Stephanie returned to Salem, now a risk-taking racecar driver. To her utter surprise, she discovered that her father Steve was still alive. She made it her goal to mend the rift between her parents.

Stephanie enrolled at Salem University and joined the Theta House, but she couldn't get over her ex, Max. In a fit of jealousy, she went on a date with amoral rich kid Ford Decker. Ford drugged and raped Stephanie, sending her into a deep depression. Ford's reign of terror on other female students came to an end when the Theta sisters hatched a plan to catch him in the act and call the cops. The plan went awry, and the girls wound up killing Ford. Stephanie called Max for help hiding the body. The sisters ended up confessing their crime and Max received community service for helping them hide the body.

Stephanie and Max's relationship intensified as they helped one another through trying times. Max offered Stephanie his shoulder to cry on when her parents nearly died in a plane crash. Stephanie helped Max locate his long lost sister Melanie in France. But Stephanie and Melanie didn't get along, and Max chose his sister over his relationship with Stephanie.

Stephanie tried her hand at love again, becoming engaged to Philip Kiriakis. But when his power hungry ways surfaced, she ended her relationship and began dating medical student Nathan Horton. Knowing full well that Nathan is still carrying a torch for Melanie Layton, Stephanie's doing everything she can to keep him by her side. Just how far will she go for love?

Shelley Hennig plays Stephanie Johnson

New Orleans native Shelley Hennig is widely recognized for her status as Miss Teen USA 2004. Her prize was a scholarship to attend The School for Film & Television, which inspired Shelley's undying love for acting. This led to her landing the role of 'Stephanie Johnson' on "Days of our Lives" two months before graduation from SFT. Having lost her brother in an accident with a drunk driver, Shelley has campaigned vigorously in schools across the U.S. against drinking and driving and worked with the organization Buzz Free Prom to encourage students to stay sober for prom.