I have gotten many letters and read many internet posts asking about the history of the DiMera family. I have put together this FAQ to answer these questions.

Dustin

new Note On Updates To Come: It's obviously been a long time since I last updated this! With the return of Stefano and a lot of the other DiMeras at once, I thought this summer would be a great time to start doing so! I'm going to eventually start, this week or weekend, by adding a general outline/time line to the end of the FAQ from where it leaves off till the present, slowly filling that in. With almost ten years to back track and cover I will need some help, so don't be afraid to email me and remind me of things and or corrections!

The Setting/The Salem Strangler

Tony and Stefano came to Salem in the midst of the Salem Strangler story line. Marlena had been receiving phone calls on her radio show and had received many letters from the Salem Strangler. Women continued to be strangled and Marlena kept receiving the letters and calls.

The first DiMera, Tony

Tony appeared in Salem in 1981, because he wanted his wife Liz Chandler back. He later became infatuated with Renee DuMonde.

Stefano Dimera

Stefano first appeared in Salem in 1982, after his son Tony.

Renee is attacked

After Tony became interested in Renee, she was attacked by the Salem Strangler. She was not killed, but severely wounded and was hospitalized. Later she was attacked in the hospital by the Strangler and as a result she fell into a coma.

Renee awakens

Renee eventually awoke from her coma and was attacked again by the Strangler for the third time. This time She saw his face, but suppressed the memory of it. Tony took her into hiding in order to keep her safe.

The Strangler is caught

The Strangler sets his sights on Marlena as his next victim. He broke into her apartment and killed her. It created such an uproar from the fans that the writers brought back Marlena's twin sister Samantha (who was played by Hall's real life twin sister Andrea Hall-Lovell). It was her that was killed and not Marlena. When the Strangler realized Marlena was still alive he returned to finish her off. He held her at gunpoint in her apartment. Later, after a struggle with the police he shot himself. The Strangler turned out to be Jake Kositchek, Chris' brother.

Incest among the DiMera's

After Tony and Liz broke up, Tony became involved with Renee DuMonde. They eventually became engaged. Lee DuMonde, Renee's supposed sister, confessed to Stefano that Renee was actually his daughter, who she had as a result of a fling many years back with Stefano. Renee always thought she was Lee's sister, not her daughter. Renee found this piece of information and kept it a secret from Tony, who she broke up with. Tony blamed the break up on Stefano. Renee later showed Tony Lee's diary and her birth certificate to prove that they were siblings. Tony refused to believe it. Stefano asked both of his children to remain in Salem. When Tony refused him he faked a heart attack.

Anna returns to Salem

Anna Brady, Roman's "dead" wife returned to Salem with their daughter Carrie, who Roman knew nothing of. Roman believed Anna to be dead as a result of a boating accident. Anna planned to divorce Roman and leave Carrie with him.

Stefano and Tony considered heroes

Stefano and Tony were considered heroes in Salem after they turned Stuart Wyland over to the cops as the head of an organized crime ring. Wyland had been scamming and stealing money from the hospital. No one knew that Stefano is the actually head of this ring.

Stefano causes Maggie's car crash and kidnaps Mickey.

Evan Whyland, Stuart's son, learned that Stefano was the head of the crime ring that Stuart Wyland was convicted for and he attempted to blackmail Stefano. Stefano had his people tamper with Evans' car's brakes, which resulted in an accident. The accident injured both Evan and Maggie. Evan was rushed into surgery but died. Mickey had tracked Stefano's shady dealings to Venezuela, and went there to investigate further. Stefano found out that Mickey was on to him, so he arranged for Mickey's jet to crash. Stefano killed the pilot, and switched Mickey's dental records for those of the pilot's, so everyone believed that the body found on the plane was Mickey. Mickey eventually escaped only to find his best friend Don Craig and his thought to be widowed wife Maggie professing their love for each other. As a result, Mickey had a heart attack.

Renee Marries

After Renee and Tony broke up, Renee married another man, David Banning (Julie's son). Soon afterwards Tony found out that he and Renee were in fact not siblings. This is when Tony discovered he was not Stefano's son, but the product of an affair that his mother Daphene had while she was involved with Stefano. Even though he confronted Renee with this evidence, she refused to return to him.

Roman vs Stefano

Roman ,who was a police officer, joined up with the ISA to bring down Stefano's crime organization. Anna had used their daughter Carrie to frame Roman, so it looked likes Roman was taking bribes. She had Carrie plant evidence in Roman's house. Roman wanted revenge on Stefano because it was Stefano who paid Anna to frame Roman.

Roman almost shot, Liz and Marlena kidnapped

At Roman and Marlena's wedding Roman was almost shot by one of Stefano's henchman, but was saved by Eugene Bradford's sixth sense. Stefano later kidnapped Marlena and Liz. Both are rescued and Stefano was sent to prison where he died of a stroke.

Tony Marries

Anna got Tony drunk and then forced him into marriage because she wanted his money. Tony wanted to have the marriage annulled the next day, but she begged him not to, and Tony decided to give them a try. They were on and off again throughout the time they were on the show.

Stefano's Will

In order for Renee to receive the money from Stefano's will she had to remain married to David for one year as well as live with Tony in the same house. Renee planned to kill Anna in a boating accident to win back Tony. Alas, she was rejected by Tony. Afterwards she married Alex Marshall, who had an affair with Marie Horton many years back.

Reunited

After many marriages and divorces Tony and Renee were reunited. It was not a long reunion because Renee would soon be found dead. She was murdered at a party she threw to celebrate her inheritance and to tell off everyone who wronged her. She was found with a raven feather in hand, and was the first victim of the Salem Slasher.

Stefano Returns

In 1984 Stefano DiMera returned to the show under the code name "The Phoenix". He had payed off a nurse in prison to keep his secret that he had not died. He had the body of another inmate tagged as his own.

Enter Andre

Andre was Tony's evil cousin, who worked for Stefano. Their plan was to frame Tony as the Salem Slasher by altering Andre's face with plastic surgery to look like Tony. Andre imprisoned Tony in chains in a penthouse apartment so he could pretend to be Tony. As Tony, Andre went out and killed women and left raven feathers with them. Later Anna came across a secret room in Tony's apartment where she found a man chained to the wall with a metal helmet on. When she removed the helmet she was shocked to see that it was Tony. Andre found Anna with Tony and imprisoned her as well. Andre managed to elude Roman and Bo and Tony was taken to the hospital with Anna by his side.

Framing Roman

Stefano also wanted revenge against Roman Brady, so he had Andre wear a mask of Roman and kill Daisy Hawkins. This killing was witnessed by Marlena and she was forced to turn him in. Roman's escape from jail was possible thanks to Mrs. Horton who gave Roman some drugged donuts. The guards thought Roman was sick and called for an ambulance. On the way to the hospital Roman escaped. After escaping Roman went on the run with Anna, who is on the run from Alex Marshall. Alex was after Anna because she had found a letter connecting him to Stefano. Eventually Anna learned that the tapes incriminating Alex had been destroyed and since she was no longer a threat to him without proof of his dirty deeds she could return to Salem. Later Roman staged an explosion at his house to make it appear that he was killed. Roman learned that Stefano was in town and planned to have Marlena killed. Roman saved Marlena and eventually found Tony and Anna imprisoned in a penthouse. Later, Roman chased after Stefano, who's car plunged into the river and his body was not found. Roman was later acquitted of all the charges that were brought up against him.

Megan Hathaway

Megan Hathaway appeared in Salem along with her rich father. Megan was Bo's high school girlfriend and she wanted him back. She appeared with a child, Zachary, and claimed he was Bo's. It eventually turned out to be one of Bo's friend's son. It was later revealed that Megan was Stefano's daughter.

The Prisms

There were 3 prisms scattered about and Stefano wanted them. Megan and Andre were also searching for the prisms. These prisms were invented by Victor Chorvat, who was Larry Welch's father. Stefano needed the prisms to cure him of an inoperable brain tumor. One prism was given to a native girl, Jasmine, in the Bermuda Triangle by Tony. The second was in the stomach of an alligator, which was killed by some poachers and was acquired by Kate Honeycutt in Louisiana. The third was smuggled into Salem by a ice skating troop from the USSR.

The Island

Stefano had devised a plan to lure all his enemies to a tropical island. On the plane carrying Stefano's enemies (Eugene, Calliope, Bo, Hope, Anna, Liz, Carlos, Daphne, and Tony) Andre pulled a gun on the pilot and demanded he fly the plane to the island. The pilot had a heart attack and the plane crashed. As a result Tony's mother Daphene died on the island in Andre's arms. When Tony found out he fought Andre in a bitter battle, alas, Andre drowned in quicksand. Roman went to the island to rescue his family. On top of a cliff Roman faced off with Stefano. Roman and Stefano fought Roman fell off the cliff. Roman's body laid on the shore, Stefano was no where to be found. Bo went to get help for Roman, but when he returned Roman was gone.

Stefano's where abouts

Later, Bo found out that the ISA knew of Stefano's whereabouts. In order to get revenge, Bo joined the ISA to hunt down Stefano. Later, Stefano's daughter Megan was killed by Larry Welch, while she was trying to kill Hope by electrocuting her in a hot tub. Stefano blamed the Brady's for her death because Megan was always after Bo.

Stefano's search for the prisms and his revenge on Marlena.

On his secret island where he had Roman's body tucked away, Stefano had acquired one of the mystic prisms. He searched for the others because he believes they hold a cure for a brain tumor which he was suffering from. Stefano took his revenge out on Marlena. He planned to kidnap her, marry her, and adopt her children as his own. He successfully kidnapped the twins, but Bo rescued them. Marlena went after Stefano seeking revenge. Marlena and Bo head to an ice arena where Stefano had one of the prisms stored. There on a scaffolding Marlena and Stefano wrestle. Marlena then shot and killed Stefano. Marlena was put on trial for Stefano's murder, but the charges were dropped.

Enter Benji/the Fake Marlena

While on their honeymoon, Steve and Kayla found a little deaf boy named Benji. They took him in and brought him back to Salem. They were told by Benji's grandfather, Orion, and his mother Ellen that they had to protect him from his evil father who was after him. His father eventually turned out to be Stefano. Stefano wanted revenge on Roman (John Black) because he held him responsible for his son's deafness. Part of his plan of revenge was to make Roman (John Black) believe that Marlena was alive and living with Stefano. Stefano had a henchmen in Salem doing his dirty work for him. This henchmen ended up being Andrew Jonathan David Donovan III, who was Shane's twin brother Drew. Stefano eventually had Carrie kidnapped and brought to his Caribbean Island. Roman (John), Diana, and the rest of the Salem crew went after him. At his island Stefano did not have Marlena, but a woman who pretended to play her. She was living in a recreation of Roman and Marlena's house, which was hidden in a cave behind a locked door. The key to the door was 3 interlocked rings, which could be joined to form a ring. Both Stefano and Roman (John) each wore one of these rings. It eventually turned out that the woman John believed to be Marlena was a fake. There Stefano captured Roman (John Black) and tried to have him kill everyone through hypnosis. Diana broke the hold Stefano had over Roman (John Black) and everyone escaped from Stefano, who escaped once again.

Marlena and Roman held hostage

Little known to the outside world, Stefano had Marlena and Roman held hostage on the island of St. Christobal. In the summer of 1991 in a little house on the island a woman in a coma was on a bed surrounded by a mosquito net. The doctors around her felt the woman was coming out of her coma. One day she awoke and we saw the world through her eyes. She made her way to a mirror, in which we saw a blur of a woman's face. As her vision focused we see Marlena Evans Brady staring at herself in a mirror. When a violent storm hit the island, Marlena made her way to a cargo plane were she hid aboard a crate. The crate was later moved to a large passenger plane. Once out of the crate, Marlena found herself in the cargo hold of the plane. In one of the suitcases Marlena found a pink jogging suit, which she "borrowed". Once the plane landed, she suck off she found herself in Salem. Marlena was determined to get Roman back. She snuck around town for a week or two, trying to meet up with Roman. She became very depressed after meeting her children in the park only to have them not recognize her. Feeling alone she took a alk along the pier where she happened to bump into Roman (John Black). The two are reunited at last. Roman (John) decided to hide Marlena at the house until he could figure out what to do. He told his sister Kim about Marlena in hopes she could have be of some assistance in discovering where Marlena had been these past 5 years. With Kimberly's assistance, they discovered that Marlena was being held on the island of St. Christobal, but Marlena swears that Roman was there with her.

It was at this time we began to see a man being held in a cell underneath the house Marlena was held in on the island. He is shown on a TV screen video footage of Marlena and Roman (John) at there house together with their children. Eventually, the man was revealed to be Roman Brady (Wayne Northrop). He was informed by a woman that John Black had been programmed with his thoughts and had been made to believe that he was Roman Brady. She warned him that John was a dangerous man capable of killing Marlena in a second if he was ever to see the true Roman. Roman began working on an escape plan.

At the same time Roman #2 (John) and Marlena were on their way to the island in a small private jet. Once there they began searching around the island for clues. Roman (the real one) put his escape plan into action and broke out. Once above ground, Roman ran into Marlena, who fainted at the sight of him. Then Roman #2 (John) showed up. Each was armed with a gun and were prepared to duke it out until Marlena awoke and stopped them. They realized that the guards on the island were aware of their presence, so the three of them went back to the plane and flew back to Salem.

Once back in Salem, the Brady's were faced with the evidence that the real Roman was held on the island while the Roman they knew was not their son at all. The Brady's decide to refer to John as John Black once again because no one knows his true name. Roman and John made a truce when they realized that they were both victims in a game being played by a powerful figure.

The Mayan Pyramid story

Shortly after Roman, Marlena, and John resettled in Salem they were led to Mexico by the medallions found on Marlena and Roman. There they uncovered that Stefano was behind their imprisonment and John's brainwashing. He had programmed in their minds the information needed to acquire a lost Mayan treasure, which was a set of Codices that were part of Mexican history. The location of these Codices were told to Roman in the early 80's as part of a case called the Landen Case he was working on. He was supposed to have recovered them and returned them to the Mexican government. Stefano found out about this and this was his reason for kidnapping Roman. He then programmed the information into John's head and John was supposed to recover them for him, while acting as Roman who was still on the Landen Case. John, Roman, Marlena, Bo, Carly, and Isabella confronted Stefano inside the Castillo. Their he tormented John with a satchel which contained the secrets of his past. An explosion occurred and the satchel was burned in the fire, but John managed to grab it before it was completely destroyed. Everyone but Stefano escaped, he was believed to have died when the cave they were in collapsed.

Kristen and Peter arrive in Salem

Kristen Blake arrived in Salem in 1993. She was a social worker who worked at a Salem Community Center with the kids of Salem. Kristen met John Black one day and she liked him, but when she found out who he was she coldly brushed him off. Kristen often receive phone calls from another man, who turned out to be her brother Peter Blake. Peter would frequently check in with his sister to find out how things were going and to warn her to stay away from John Black. After the Salem Community Center burned down Alice and Tom Horton opened up the Horton Center in their home and offered Kristen a job there. The Horton Center was expensive and needed funding, which John Black provided, as long as he remained an anonymous donor. He knew Kristen would not approve of his donation. In return Mrs. Horton made John one of the people in charge of running the Horton Center. This meant John and Kristen would be working together. Despite warnings from her brother, Kristen found herself falling in love with John. When Kristen was attacked by some thugs John discovered a bullet scar in her back. After he discovered a bloody wedding dress in her apartment, Kristen told him that she was engaged to be married with another man, but she was shot at the wedding and they never finished it. Kristen did not care what her brother told her about John Black, she was in love with him. Later, Kristen and Peter's father was kidnapped and held for ransom by Curtis Reed. While on smith Island with John, in a terrible storm Kristen received news that her father was being brought to her. The only problem was that John was with her and she didn't want him to find out her father was Stefano DiMera. Kristen begged John to leave the island but he didn't and ended up coming face to face with Stefano himself.

Stefano's brain tumor

After Stefano had returned to Salem he was taken to University Hospital for treatment. Stefano was paralyzed as a result of the explosion in the Mayan Pyramid. Kristen explained to John that Stefano had adopted both Kristen and Peter as children when their parents were killed in a car accident. She had hated John because Stefano had fed her and Peter with lies about John Black and the horrible things he and the other people of Salem had done to him and his family. At first John was disgusted with Kristen, but later realized that he still loved her and who her adopted father was made no difference. He continued to see her, even though it was against Stefano and Peter's wishes. Stefano eventually overcame his paralysis, only to be told he has a terminal brain tumor (which seems to have disappeared). Before he died he was determined to see Kristen marry the man she was supposed to.

Tony returns

Tony DiMera returned to Salem to reclaim his bride to be, Kristen. Upon return Tony and Stefano made up for all the bad feelings between them. Tony went on a religious journey around the world to find inner peace after the years of hate between him and Stefano. However, Tony was unaware that Kristen has fallen in love with John.

Stefano's part in breaking up Roman and Marlena and ruining John in Kristen's eyes.

Stefano knew that Kristen was a very religious person who abided by the laws of the church and he uses this to his advantage. Stefano found out that John and Marlena had an affair and saw this information as being useful to kill 2 birds with 1 stone. At Belle's Christening, Marlena realized Stefano knew about the affair and blurt out the truth to everyone before Stefano had the chance to. Not only did he succeed in hurting Roman and Marlena, but he had dethroned John in Kristen's eyes. Later, to make his conquest final, Stefano gave Roman Sami's diary, which he stole. The diary told that Belle is John's child and not Roman's. After this news Kristen returned to Tony and planed to marry him.

Stefano kills Curtis Reed

Stefano was being blackmailed by Curtis Reed and he met Curtis in an alley. There Curtis pulled out a gun. Stefano and Curtis fought over the gun when it went off and Curtis was shot. All the evidence pointed to Billie, and she was charged with the murder. Billie later remembered seeing Stefano shoot Curtis.

Stefano fakes his death to get Kristen and Tony together

Even though John had become "not so holy" in Kristen's eyes, she still loved him. John showed up at Kristen and Tony's wedding determined to stop it. Stefano, who had anticipated this, already made a plan. Stefano showed up at the wedding, and angered John. Stefano pulled out a gun and he and John wrestled for it. Stefano allowed John to get the gun and then he drove away in a car. John shot at the car and blew out the tire. Stefano's car went off the road and blew up. As part of his plan, Kristen saw John kill her father and married Tony without hesitation.

Stefano's kidnapping of John and Marlena

While in the hospital, Stefano realized that John was regaining his memory. He knew that this could be dangerous if John remembered that it was Stefano who killed Peter and Kristen's parents. The only thing he can do is to brainwash John again. Through memory flashes, John found his way to Maison Blanche where he suspected Stefano was hiding. Once he arrived he realizes that this is the place where all his memories are from and where he was brainwashed. Once there he was captured by Stefano and he was locked in a dungeon located in the basement. Stefano then used a tape recording of John's voice to lure Marlena to Maison Blanche. Once there, Marlena is imprisoned with John. Eventually both John and Marlena escaped. It was Roman who came to their rescue. Kristen, who believed her father to be dead, saw her father in the window at Maison Blanche. Later she found out that Tony knew that Stefano was still alive and was keeping it a secret from her. Celeste tried to burn Maison Blanche down and kill Marlena because she was jealous that Stefano wanted Marlena and not her. Stefano escaped in a boat with Hope, who was a prisoner there as well. John went after Stefano in another boat, but a storm tipped both of the boats and threw everyone into the sea. John recognized Hope and saved her, which allowed Stefano to get away. Everyone believed that Stefano had drowned in the sea.

Stefano's involvement with Hope "Gina" Brady

After the explosion in which Hope was believed to have been killed, a woman's body washed a shore in New Orleans. The woman was picked up by a hospital orderly and taken to the hospital. There she was treated for severe burns to her body. Stefano saw the woman in the hospital one day and took pity on her because she could not remember who she was. He asked the doctors to reconstruct her face as best as possible. After the surgery the woman's reconstructed face was that of Hope's. Stefano took her back to Maison Blanche where he kept her hidden. She could not remember anything, so they called her Gina. After being rescued by John, Gina was brought back to Salem. While in Salem, Stefano had Celeste brainwash Gina into thinking she was Hope. Celeste had a book of Hopes memories that she implanted into Gina's head at random times. Everyone believed Gina to be Hope until the book of memories Celeste had was found. Once again Gina was Gina. Eventually Gina opened a puzzle box that only two people knew the combination to, Tom Horton and Hope. Inside the box was a sealed envelope which contained a letter Hope had written to Bo the night before their wedding. Bo matched Hope's fingerprints on the letter to Gina's and it was finally settled that Gina was really Hope.

Stefano's part in the possession storyline

Upon his return to Salem, Stefano rented the apartment next door to Marlena's place. He then preceded to blackmail Mike Horton for the pass code to bypass Marlena's security system. While in Israel, Mike thought he was shipping Medical supplies to wounded citizens. He eventually found out that he was shipping arms. Stefano was blackmailing Mike with this information and he threatened to continue shipping more arms to the people if Mike didn't give him the pass code. Mike finally gave in and Stefano got access to Marlena's apartment. He then constructed a secret doorway that led into Marlena's bedroom through her wardrobe. At night he would visit Marlena wearing a mask, and would make Marlena believe that it was all a dream. Eventually Stefano's nightly visits would make Marlena easy prey for the devil, who overtook Marlena's body and tried to take her soul. As a result, Marlena threw Stefano out of her bedroom window. Stefano suffered amnesia and was paralyzed from the waist down. After the possession story line was over, a guilty Marlena befriended Stefano and oversaw his physical therapy.

Tony's plan to frame John

After finding out that Tony had been lying to Kristen many times, Kristen returned to John in hopes of creating a new life and a new family for herself. Tony soon learned that he had a very rare and fatal blood disease. Determined to keep John from Kristen, Tony planned to frame John for his murder. In a move to save his soul, he confessed his plan in a confessional at the church. Unfortunately he confessed to Father Francis, who swore to find a way to tell John. When Tony found out that Father Francis had contacted the bishop about breaking the vows of silence he startled Father Francis into a seizure/heart attack, and he would not give him his blood pressure pills. Tony's plan failed when Father Francis did not die. John found a cufflink clutched in Father Francis' hand which was from Tony's coat. This convinced John that Tony had something to do with Father Francis' heart attack. Later after Father Francis regained conscience, Tony cut off his air supply from the tanks in the hospital basement, which cause Father Francis to fall into a deep coma. Later in Aremid at Jen and Peter's wedding, Tony was ready to put his plan into action. At the wedding reception Tony accused John of still being in love with Marlena. He eventually worked John into a frenzy until John shouted out "I'd like nothing better than to wipe you and your father off the face of the earth". Later, Tony left the reception and placed a call to John. Using a machine to disguise his voice, Tony told John that he knew that Tony caused Father Francis' heart attack and coma. John went up to Tony's room to have it out. Tony used every thing he could to get John angered up. Locking the door to the hallway, the Salem residents listened to the two of them fight. John eventually left through the back door, which had gun powder sprinkled on the knob. After John left Tony started screaming "Don't shoot me John, please don't shoot me." Using John's gun, which he cleverly stole from the loft, Tony shot himself using some type of remote control set up in a fake stack of books, which was controlled by a remote disguised as a bald point pen. Eventually the residents got to Tony, but they could not save him. Before he died, Tony said that that John shot him. Stefano, who had regained his memory, blackmailed the judge into finding John guilty and sentenced him to death by the gas chamber. Stefano had found the diary, which the Lady in White lost and he realized that John was innocent. Because he knew Marlena would never love him with John still alive he chose to let John die. Marlena, who had learned about this from the Lady in White formed a plan to get the diary from Stefano. Once Marlena had the diary she gave it to the Lady in White. However, the Lady in White dropped the diary in the snow, where it was later found by Jack and Jennifer. Jack and Jennifer rushed the diary to the prison, where John was already in the gas chamber. John was saved at the last minuet.

Stefano kidnaps Marlena, again

After finding out that Marlena had tricked him so she could gain Tony's diary, Stefano drugged Marlena and took her hostage. He escaped through the tunnels underneath the Blake house. He almost got away when Lexie caught him and told him that she was his daughter. However, a cave in prevented Lexie, John, and Abe from reaching him. Stefano made his way to the beach were he took a boat out to sea. John made his way through the rubble, swam into the ocean, wrestled with Stefano, and eventually saved Marlena. Stefano got away in a helicopter but vowed to return for Marlena.

The Stefano DiMera/ DiMera Family FAQ

Version 2.8 May 30, 1999

by Dustin Cushman

About this FAQ