All Of Stefano DiMera's Children On Days Of Our Lives
The DiMera family tree is a complicated one, to say the least. Stefano DiMera's family seems to continue to grow, despite the death of Salem's all-time greatest villain. Over the years, the DiMera family has become one of the most entertaining parts of "Days of Our Lives" with Stefano (Joseph Mascolo) and his children wreaking havoc on the people of Salem (via Soap Central).
Stefano first appeared in Salem in 1982 when he came to town with his friend Lee DuMonde. Stefano — who was known as "The Phoenix" due to his ability to rise from the ashes and return from the dead — soon began to stir up trouble for many people in town and particularly set his sights on the prominent Brady family (via Soap Opera News). During his reign of terror, Stefano kidnapped many Salemites, brainwashed characters like Hope Brady (Kristian Alfonso) and John Black (Drake Hogestyn), and became obsessed with Dr. Marlena Evans (Deidre Hall), per Soaps in Depth.
Meanwhile, Stefano was also revealed to have fathered many children with many different women, and it's been hard to keep up with all of the super villain's offspring over the years, as more of his children continue to pop up in Salem to this day.
Stefano had three biological daughters
"Days of Our Lives" viewers watched Stefano DiMera's children come and go from Salem over the years. Some he knew about, and others were a surprise even to him. However, while Stefano has many children, only three of his biological kids were daughters, per Soap Central.
Stefano found out that Renée DuMonde was actually his biological daughter. Renee's mother, Lee DuMonde, knew that Stefano was the father of her child and it was later revealed when Renee fell in love with Stefano's son, Tony. Eventually, Renee became the target of the Salem Strangler and survived two attacks only to be killed by another serial killer, The Salem Slasher (via Monsters and Critics).
Meghan Hathaway was also discovered to be Stefano's daughter in the 1980s. Megan was Bo Brady's high school sweetheart and believed her father to be Maxwell Hathaway. After it was revealed that Stefano was her father, she began working closely with him to find the three prisms, which held the medical technology that Stefano needed to cure his brain tumor (via Soap Opera Spy). Megan was later killed by Larry Welch and left floating in a hot tub.
Stefano's final biological daughter was Lexie Carver, whom he shared with Salem's own psychic Celeste Perrault. Upon finding out that Stefano was her father, Lexie began a parental relationship with him, although there were many ups and downs (via Soaps in Depth). Lexie later died from cancer in one of the show's saddest deaths ever.
Andre DiMera and Benjy Hawk are Stefano's sons
"Days of Our Lives" viewers are used to seeing Stefano DiMera's children come out of the woodwork. Over the years, some big paternity surprises have come to light concerning The Phoenix himself. One of those twists was the parentage of Andre DiMera (Thaao Penghlis). Andre first came to Salem as Stefano's nephew. Stefano convinced Andre to get plastic surgery to look identical to his son Tony DiMera (via Soaps). After that, Andre began working closely with Stefano and even assumed Tony's identity for many years. Andre was behind many devious plots in Salem and eventually found out that Stefano was his father, not his uncle (via Michael Fairman TV). He was killed by Abigail Deveraux while she was suffering from a split-personality disorder.
Stefano was also the father of Benjy Hawk. Benjy's mother, Ellen Hawk, had a brief relationship with Stefano, per Soap Central. However, when she learned about his devilish ways, she took her son and fled. Stefano eventually caught up to them and had Ellen killed. Benjy later found himself deaf after getting caught in an explosion that Stefano orchestrated.
Later, Steve Johnson and Kayla Brady found Benjy while on their honeymoon and wanted to raise the little boy until Stefano stepped in. Eventually, Benjy went to live with his maternal grandfather, Orion Hawk.
Years later, Benjy returned to Salem with his family after being threatened by Stefano. Benjy was kidnapped when Stefano was looking for an organ donor. When Stefano was presumed dead shortly after, it was Benjy's body that was found in his coffin at the funeral.
Stefano had three adopted children
Stefano DiMera not only has many biological children but he's also the adopted dad of three children. Tony DiMera believed for many years that he was the biological son of Stefano and Daphne. However, it was later revealed that the man who raised him was not his father, per Soaps. By that time, Tony was already acclimated into the DiMera family, although Stefano and Andre had treated him poorly and even locked him away for many years (via Soaps in Depth).
Over the years, Stefano also grew close with siblings Kristen and Peter Blake. Peter helped Stefano manipulate Kristen, and trafficked drugs through a club that he owned in Salem (via Soaps). Longtime "Days of Our Lives" fans may also remember that Peter caused a lot of problems in Jack Deveraux and Jennifer Horton's relationship.
Meanwhile, Kristen Blake started off as a nice girl who grew close to Stefano. She eventually began to take on many of her adoptive father's traits and started scheming and plotting to get what she wanted (via Soap Central). Kristen eventually changed her last name to DiMera and became an important member of the family.
Stefano grew close to sons EJ and Chad later in life
EJ DiMera and Chad DiMera are two of the most important members of the DiMera family. "Days of Our Lives" fans have come to love the characters, although each has had their devious moments as well. Fans first met EJ when he was just a baby. Stefano plotted to help Kristen DiMera save her relationship with John Black, so he brought a pregnant woman named Susan Banks to Salem. Stefano convinced Susan to disguise herself as Kristen when needed and later give her baby to Kristen and John (via Soap Central). Of course, John knew nothing about the scheme. After the baby was born, the scheme was uncovered and it was discovered that Stefano was the father of Susan's baby after he dressed up like Elvis Presley and tricked her into artificial insemination. Susan later named her son Elvis after her favorite singer and left Salem. EJ returned years later as an adult and was ready to take his rightful place at Stefano's side.
Chad was first introduced to fans as a teenager. At the time he was the son of court judge Madeline Peterson. Following his mother's death, Chad found out that his father was Stefano and that his mother and father met when his mom was working as a prostitute and Stefano was her pimp, per Soaps. However, Chad went on to embrace the DiMera name, helping run the business and later giving Stefano grandchildren with his wife Abigail Deveraux (via Soaps in Depth).
Stefano never got to meet his twin sons Jake and Stefan
In 2017, "Days of Our Lives" viewers were shocked to see Vivian Alamain return to Salem after years of creating drama. This time, she had a mystery man on her arm (via Soap Central). The man revealed that his name was Stefan O. DiMera, and that he was the biological son of Vivian and the late Stefano DiMera. Stefan wanted to take his place in the DiMera family and help run the empire. He fell in love with Gabi Hernandez and married her before his untimely death. Not only after Stefan's death, his look-alike showed up in Salem in the form of a man named Jake Lambert. Jake was revealed to be Stefan's identical twin brother, per Soaps in Depth.
The twins were conceived when Stefano was posing as Rudolpho Meradi in an attempt to steal Vivian's priceless ruby (via Soaps). Vivian gave birth to her sons but was told that there was only one baby who had died. She later discovered the truth and reconnected with both Stefan and Jake.
It's currently unknown if Stefano has any other children roaming the earth, and if any of them will eventually pop up in Salem. Now that Stefano is dead, his children carry on his legacy and continue to make things interesting in Salem.