| Nancy Wesley | |||||||||||||
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| Days of our Lives character | |||||||||||||
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| Portrayed by | Patrika Darbo | ||||||||||||
| Duration |
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| First appearance | June 18, 1998 | ||||||||||||
| Last appearance | December 28, 2022 | ||||||||||||
| Classification | Past; recurring | ||||||||||||
| Created by | Sally Sussman Morina | ||||||||||||
| Introduced by | Ken Corday and Tom Langan (1998) Ken Corday, Lisa de Cazotte and Greg Meng (2013) | ||||||||||||
| Spin-off appearances | Last Blast Reunion (2019) | ||||||||||||
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Nancy Wesley is a fictional character from the American NBC soap opera Days of Our Lives, played by Patrika Darbo. Nancy was created when the serial's producer Tom Langan wanted a "real woman" as opposed to a "super-skinny" actress to join the cast. Casting director Fran Bascom contacted Darbo with the offer and she accepted. Langan did not require the actress to audition for the role. Nancy is introduced as the wife of Craig Wesley (Kevin Spirtas) and is described as a loyal spouse. Langan liked the dynamic between the two characters; he believed that "handsome" Craig loved the "not super-thin" Nancy very much. Darbo has spoken about the characters sharing a mutual love and credits her own rapport with Spirtas to the character's popularity. Nancy has been featured in storylines involving breast cancer, a feud with Mike Horton (Roark Critchlow), getting run over by a truck, and having a child to provide her leukemia stricken daughter, Chloe Lane (Nadia Bjorlin) with a bone marrow transplant. The character was also involved in a storyline that was part of a promotional campaign for food franchisor Mrs. Fields and charity Leukemia & Lymphoma Society.
The character has been met with positive reviews. Mark Edward Wilows from the Post-Tribune reported that critics were "raving" about the "pivotal role" Nancy. Alessandra Stanley of The New York Times said that Nancy was the most notable celebration of larger-size females on daytime television. Larger female viewers have praised the character because they felt there was a place for themselves on television. For her portrayal of Nancy, Darbo has won a newcomer award at the Soap Opera Digest Awards and has been nominated for a Daytime Emmy Award.