Eli Grant

Eli Grant
Days of Our Lives character
Portrayed by	Lamon Archey
Duration	2017–
First appearance	February 23, 2017 (2017-02-23)
Classification	Present; guest
Created by	Dena Higley and Ryan Quan
Introduced by	Ken Corday, Albert Alarr and Greg Meng
Spin-off appearances	Days of Our Lives: Beyond Salem (2021)
In-universe information Other names Elijah Grant (full name)[1] Occupation FBI agent (until 2017; since 2022) Police detective (2017–2022) Security consultant (2019–2020) Father David Banning Mother Valerie Grant Half-brothers Scotty Banning Wife Lani Price (2020–present) Sons David Grant Carver Grant Daughters Jules Grant Grandparents Paul Grant Helen Grant David Martin Julie Olson Williams Scott Banning (adoptive) Janet Banning (adoptive) Uncles Danny Grant Dickie Martin Other relatives Hope Williams Brady Jennifer Horton Tom Horton Alice Horton JJ Deveraux

Eli Grant is a fictional character from Days of Our Lives, an American soap opera on the NBC network, portrayed by Lamon Archey. The character made his first appearance on February 23, 2017, and was introduced as the son of established character, Valerie Grant (Vanessa Williams) and the previously unknown grandson of Julie Olson Williams (Susan Seaforth Hayes). As Valerie's son with Julie's late son David Banning (Gregg Marx), Eli is the product of daytime's first interracial romance, and the first African-American member of the show's core family, the Hortons.

Though he is embraced by Julie and his new family, it puts a strain on his budding romance with Gabi Hernandez (Camila Banus). However, the relationship ultimately falls apart due to Eli's one-night-stand with his co-worker Lani Price (Sal Stowers) which culminates in the birth of their stillborn son. Eli falls for Lani but she struggles fearing the feelings are only due to their shared grief. After interference from Eli's friend Sheila (Tionne "T-Boz" Watkins), the couple finally make it official and start dating. In 2019, their failed wedding leaves Eli devastated when a vengeful Gabi blackmails Lani into dumping him at the altar. The couple reunite in 2020 and are finally married later that year. They go onto have twins a boy and girl an over year later into their marriage.

While the reception to the writing for the character's introduction was less positive, Archey's portrayal quickly won many fans and critics over. Eli and Lani's romance also became quite popular with viewers. The pair go on to make Days of Our Lives history in 2020 when they become the first African-American couple to marry on-screen.