DAYS Finally Reveals Sydney Malakeh’s Secret Role — Sydney DiMera Is Coming Home to Salem

For months, Sydney Malakeh’s role on Days of Our Lives carried an air of mystery. Now the secret is officially out: the actress is stepping into the role of Sydney DiMera, the daughter of Sami Brady and EJ DiMera, bringing one of Salem’s next-generation legacy characters back onto the canvas.

And Sydney’s return carries far more history than her young age might suggest.

Days of Our Lives confirmed that Sydney Malakeh will make her Salem debut as Sydney DiMera on Wednesday, September 9. Malakeh’s previous television credits include Grey’s Anatomy, Shrinking and The Sex Lives of College Girls.

The casting immediately places her at the crossroads of two of the show’s most powerful families. Sydney is the daughter of Sami Brady, played by Alison Sweeney, and EJ DiMera, currently played by Dan Feuerriegel.

That Brady-DiMera connection gives the character built-in history before Malakeh even appears on screen.

Sydney DiMera Has Been Missing From Salem for Years

Sydney was born in 2009 and was portrayed by several sets of twins during her early years on DAYS. She eventually left Salem when Sami relocated to California with Sydney and her brother Johnny in 2014.

The character later appeared in the 2021 spinoff movie Days of Our Lives: A Very Salem Christmas, where Evelyn Stephenson played Sydney as a preteen.

Malakeh’s arrival therefore represents more than a routine recast. Sydney is returning at a very different stage of her life, giving the series an opportunity to develop the character beyond the childhood storylines that originally defined her.

Her Story Began With One of DAYS’ Most Painful Baby-Swap Plots

Sydney’s family history is complicated even by Salem standards.

Before Sydney was born, Nicole Walker had suffered a miscarriage while married to EJ. Desperate to keep the truth hidden, Nicole became involved in a scheme surrounding Sami’s pregnancy and ultimately took Sami and EJ’s newborn daughter, raising the child as Sydney. Sami, meanwhile, unknowingly left with another baby, Grace.

Grace later died from meningitis, devastating Sami. The truth about the babies eventually emerged, allowing Sami to reunite with her biological daughter.

It remains one of the darkest chapters connected to Sydney’s childhood, and it gives the returning character emotional roots that stretch across multiple generations of Days of Our Lives history.

Sydney Already Has Powerful Family Connections in Salem

Sami will not be in Salem when Malakeh initially debuts. However, Sydney will hardly be without family.

Her father EJ remains a major presence, while her brother Johnny DiMera, played by Carson Boatman, is also on the canvas. Her maternal grandparents Marlena Evans and Roman Brady give Sydney another direct link to Salem’s veteran families.

Those relationships give the writers several natural ways to integrate Sydney without immediately relying on her mother.

And there is already another major family chapter on the horizon.

Sami Brady’s Return Could Make Sydney’s Story Even Bigger

Soap Opera Digest reports that Sami is scheduled to return to Days of Our Lives in June 2027 for a storyline also involving Carrie Brady, Lucas Horton and Will Horton.

That announced return makes Sydney’s September arrival particularly interesting. The show has time to establish Malakeh’s version of the character independently before bringing Sami back into the picture.

For viewers who remember Sydney primarily as the baby at the center of Nicole and Sami’s heartbreaking storyline, seeing her return as a young woman marks a striking generational shift.

Sydney DiMera began her life as the center of a secret that tore families apart. Now she is coming back to Salem old enough to have stories, relationships and choices of her own.

What kind of relationship would you most like to see Sydney build first: with EJ, Johnny, Marlena, or eventually Sami?