Alison Ann Sweeney (born September 19, 1976) is an
American soap opera actress. Sweeney is best known for her portrayal of
Samantha "Sami" Gene Brady on the American
soap opera Days of our Lives.
In this role, she has earned four
Soap Opera Digest Awards and a Fan Voted Daytime Emmy Award.
She has been on
Days since January 6, 1993.
In 2007, she became the host of
The Biggest Loser.
Career
Her television debut was at age 4 in a
Kodak advertisement. A few years later, she was in an episode of
Tales from the Darkside. The episode, titled
I Can't Help Saying Goodbye, first aired on October 5, 1986. She played the part of a young girl named Karen who could sense when others were going to die shortly before their deaths.
In January of 1993, Sweeney began playing the role of Samantha "Sami" Gene Brady in the NBC
soap opera Days of Our Lives—a show of which she was a fan.
In the 1990s, Sweeney struggled with her weight. She eventually was a dress size 12, not obese by medical standards, but still quite larger than her television peers. She documented all the tabloid talk and personal anguish in her 2004 memoir,
All The Days of My Life (So Far).
In 2002, she appeared on a celebrity episode of the
NBC reality
game show Fear Factor. She has appeared in other
NBC shows such as
Friends and
Las Vegas. In 2007, she joined the Jerry Lewis
MDA Telethon as a co-host for the live television broadcast. She returned to her co-hosting duties for the 2008 Telethon, which was broadcast live from Las Vegas.
In 2007, Sweeney took over hosting duties on
The Biggest Loser, replacing
Caroline Rhea since the fourth season. She was surprised but happy to be offered the role, where she is able to cheer on contestants and share their victories.
Personal life
Alison has struggled with weight in the past. She is also a long-time allergy sufferer.
She has been married to David Sanov, a California Highway Patrolman who once appeared on
Days of our Lives in the role of a police officer, since July 8, 2000. On February 25, 2005, Alison gave birth to her first child, a son, Benjamin Edward Sanov. On December 4, 2008, Alison appeared on
Ellen and pretended to go into labor. In January 2009, she gave birth to a daughter, Megan Hope Sanov, right after filming an episode of
The Biggest Loser.
[www.celebrity-babies.com/2008/11/alison-sweeney.html] The family lives in
Los Angeles.
Soaps
