Theresa Donovan

Theresa Donovan

Jen Lilley as Theresa Donovan
Days of Our Lives character
Portrayed by
  • Hannah Taylor Simmons (1990–91)
  • Emily and Alicia Pillatzke (1991–92)
  • Caitlin Wachs (1992)
  • Gabriella Massari (1992)
  • Jen Lilley (2013–)
Duration
  • 1990–92
  • 1996–97
  • 2013–
First appearance September 3, 1990
Created by Richard J. Allen and Anne Schoettle
Introduced by
Classification Present; regular
Profile
Occupation HR Assistant at Salem University Hospital (2013–)
Residence
  • Apt #542
  • 2501 Kenilworth Drive
  • Salem, U.S.

Jeannie Theresa Donovan is a fictional character on the NBC daytime soap opera, Days of Our Lives. Introduced on-screen in September 1990, she was portrayed by several child actors until the character left the series in 1992, with further guest appearances in both 1996 and 1997. She is currently portrayed by actress Jen Lilley, best known for her portrayal as Maxie Jones on the ABC Daytime soap, General Hospital. Lilley has portrayed the role (now going by her middle name, Theresa) on-screen since July 3, 2013.

Theresa is the daughter of supercouple Shane Donovan and Kimberly Brady (Charles Shaughnessy and, most prominently, Patsy Pease). With the casting of Lilley in the role, the character entered her first major storyline, opposite Casey Moss who portrays JJ Deveraux.

Casting

Lilley's temporary portrayal of Maxie Jones on General Hospital caught the eye of executive producer Ken Corday and other executives at Days of Our Lives, which lead to her audition for Theresa.

In April 2013, it was announced by Soap Opera Digest and several other sources that actress Jen Lilley, who was previously known for temporarily filling in for Kirsten Storms in her portrayal of Maxie Jones on ABC's General Hospital, was announced to have joined the cast of Days of Our Lives in a newly created role with ties to the canvas.[1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9] Due to the show's advanced filming schedule, Lilley began filming in the (then-unknown) role in March 2013.[1] Lilley made her on-screen debut as Theresa on July 3, 2013.[10][11][12]

Character development

With the casting of Lilley, executive producer Ken Corday admits that seeing the actress' work on General Hospital helped with the casting of the actress in the role of Theresa.[13] Upon Theresa's re-appearance on the canvas, she was characterized as the "bad girl". In an interview with MSN Entertainment on her role, Lilley spoke: "Part of me doesn't want to make excuses for her, because you can have horrible upbringing and make something positive of it. Some of the most amazing, well-grounded people have come from the wrong side of the tracks. Obviously, the Brady-Donovan family is a great family, but her dad Shane is a spy and I watched the episode where he leaves the kids with Kimberly. Theresa was probably one, at most, so she didn't have a dad growing up, which is a formula for trouble. Typical psychological path for a girl like that is to look for love in the wrong places and look for a father figure in older guys."[14] The role of Theresa has been described as "Sarcastic, calculating, mischievous" and "mysterious".[15] Lilley also called her "such a badass".[16]

"Ugh, it's such a blessing. I feel like I'm finally part of something. On General Hospital, I had two bleeding ulcers because I was so stressed out. I never knew what was going to happen, day in and day out. I can finally relax a bit."[14]

Lilley on creating a role of her own from the start, compared to her temporary casting as Maxie on GH (2013)

For her casting, Lilley stated she originally went in for two roles, the roles of both Theresa and Jordan Ridgeway. At the time, she was hoping to book the "good girl" role; however for her second audition, was asked to amp it up to a more bad girl persona and concentrate on Theresa. She revealed: "I got to skip the first audition, which is called a pre-read and is an audition to audition. So then I auditioned with everyone else, and I got to do my screen test twice, which is very unusual. I was the only girl who got to do that, so I went first and last. The reason they had me do it twice is that I wore my hair curly, and I have a really young face, and they said that I looked too sweet and innocent and young with the curly hair. So they straightened my hair and had me do it again. On the second take, I knew that I had nothing to lose. I had already done a perfect first take, and they told me it wasn't going to get better than that so I could do whatever I wanted. I just did everything out of the box, and that's what got me the job. I mean I took the guy's shirt off in the scene! I told the actor that this is a character with no concept of personal space, so I asked him if it's ok if I touch him. He said that was fine and it was my screen test. So I took his shirt off and I threw some props at him at the end. I broke all the rules, and I think [the casting staff] thought, that is that character."[17]

Storylines

Jeannie Theresa Donovan was born on-screen on September 3, 1990, to Kimberly Brady (Patsy Pease) and was originally believed to be the daughter of Cal Winters.[18] However, paternity tests and a confession from Cal proved her father to be Shane Donovan (Charles Shaughnessy). She grew up with her parents in Salem, before relocating to Los Angeles.[19][20]

In July 2013, Jeannie returned to Salem, this time going by her middle name, Theresa. Initially, she strikes up a connection with resident bad boy JJ Deveraux (Casey Moss) while trying to secure some marijuana.[21] During a confrontation with JJ and his mother Jennifer Horton (Melissa Reeves) in her office, her aunt Kayla Brady (Mary Beth Evans) confirms that Theresa is in fact Jeannie and that Jen promised to hire her as her assistant, a promise she reluctantly agrees to. Kayla reminds Theresa it is her last chance at a fresh start.[22] Theresa also strikes up a bad first impression with Jennifer's daughter Abigail Deveraux (Kate Mansi) when Abigail smells marijuana on Theresa in her mother's office.[23]

In early 2014, Theresa begins a relationship with Brady Black (Eric Martsolf), much to the disdain of his father, John (Drake Hogestyn) and other relatives.

Reception

Upon the news of Lilley joining the cast, Michael Fairman of On-Air On-Soaps credited her casting as, "fantastic news for [Jen Lilley] fans".[6] Despite rumors of Lilley joining the cast as a recast for either Belle Black or Cassie Brady, it was informed she would portray a new character.[7] Janet DiLauro of About.com praised Theresa as a "riveting character", writing: "Days of our Lives has been seriously lacking in the bad girl department [...] Enter the deliciously naughty Theresa Donovan and suddenly it seems like Salem will never be the same."[15]

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 SOD (April 6, 2013). "EXCLUSIVE! Jen Lilley joins DAYS". Soap Opera Digest. Soapoperadigest.com. Retrieved April 6, 2013.
  2. ↑ Kroll, Dan J. (April 6, 2013). "Jen Lilley joins DAYS cast". Soap Central. Soapcentral.com. Retrieved July 9, 2013.
  3. ↑ Simms, Richard M. (April 9, 2013). "Jen Lilley Has Moved To Salem!". Soaps In Depth. ABC.soapsindepth.com. Retrieved July 9, 2013.
  4. ↑ Clifford, Kimbra (April 9, 2013). "Jen Lilley Headed to ‘DAYS’". Soap Opera Network. Soapoperanetwork.com. Retrieved July 9, 2013.
  5. ↑ Bowe, Jillian (April 9, 2013). "Jen Lilley Heads to Days of Our Lives!". Daytime Confidential. Daytimeconfidential.zap2it.com. Retrieved July 9, 2013.
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 Fairman, Michael (April 9, 2013). "Jen Lilley Joins The Cast of Days Of Our Lives! But … Who Is She Playing?". On Air On Soaps. Michaelfairmansoaps.com. Retrieved July 9, 2013.
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 White-Nobles, Omar (April 9, 2013). "Jen Lilley Cast on ‘Days of our Lives’". TV Source Magazine. TVsourcemagazine.com. Retrieved July 9, 2013.
  8. ↑ Newcomb, Roger (April 9, 2013). "Jen Lilley Joins DAYS OF OUR LIVES". We Love Soaps. Welovesoaps.net. Retrieved July 9, 2013.
  9. ↑ Purvis, Matt (April 9, 2013). "Days Of Our Lives Casts Jen Lilley". Soaps She Knows. Soaps.com. Retrieved July 9, 2013.
  10. ↑ "Comings and Goings". Soap Opera Digest (July 9, 2013). 2013.
  11. ↑ Brar, Jeevan (July 1, 2013). "Soap News: Kelly Sullivan exits GH while Lisa LoCicero is sticking around – Plus: Jen Lilley debuts on DAYS". MSN Entertainment Canada. Blogs.TV.MSN.ca. Retrieved July 9, 2013.
  12. ↑ Sloane, Stephanie (July 9, 2013). "Jen Lilley Debuts on DAYS". Soap Opera Digest (via Zinio). Soapoperadigest.com. Retrieved July 28, 2013.
  13. ↑ Fairman, Michael (July 2, 2013). "The Ken Corday Interview – Days of our Lives". On Air On Soaps. Michaelfairmansoaps.com. Retrieved July 9, 2013.
  14. ↑ 14.0 14.1 Barnert, Deanna (July 26, 2013). "Q&A: Jen Lilley of 'Days of Our Lives' gets feisty". MSN Entertainment. Social.entertainment.msn.com. Retrieved July 28, 2013.
  15. ↑ 15.0 15.1 Di Lauro, Janet. "Theresa Donovan Quick Profile". About. About.com. Retrieved August 19, 2013.
  16. ↑ "A day in the life of… Jen Lilley". TV Week (Bauer Media Group). January 2015. Retrieved March 7, 2015.
  17. ↑ Ellie (July 26, 2013). "Daytime Royalty Interview with Jen Lilley". Daytime Royalty. Daytimeroyaltyonline.com. Retrieved July 28, 2013.
  18. ↑ "The Soaps: Clay and Gwyn in love again?". Moscow-Pullman Daily News. May 10, 1990. p. 8. Retrieved July 28, 2013.
  19. ↑ Nancy Reichardt (November 29, 1991). "On the Soapbox". The Telegraph-Herald. p. 46. Retrieved July 28, 2013.
  20. ↑ Nancy Reichardt (November 6, 1992). "Speaking of Soaps". The Post and Courier. p. 28. Retrieved July 28, 2013.
  21. ↑ Gary Tomlin and Christopher Whitesell (July 3, 2013). "Daily Episode Update for July 2013 (7/03/2013)". National Broadcasting Company. NBC.com/Daysourlives. Retrieved July 9, 2013.
  22. ↑ Gary Tomlin and Christopher Whitesell (July 9, 2013). "Daily Episode Update for July 2013 (7/09/2013)". National Broadcasting Company. NBC.com/Daysofourlives. Retrieved July 9, 2013.
  23. ↑ Gary Tomlin and Christopher Whitesell (July 16, 2013). "Daily Episode Update for July 2013 (7/03/2013)". National Broadcasting Company. NBC.com/Daysofourlives. Retrieved July 28, 2013.

External links