Most people know Jennifer Aniston as Rachel Green from Friends or the face of a million rom-coms. But soap opera die-hards? They know her as the daughter of the man who ruled Salem with an iron fist and a razor-sharp tongue.
Jennifer Aniston dad on Days of Our Lives, the late John Aniston, wasn't just another face in the cast. He was Victor Kiriakis. For nearly forty years, he played the kind of villain you couldn't help but love, mostly because he was just so much smarter than everyone else in the room.
The Man Behind the Mobster
John Aniston didn’t start out as a soap legend. Honestly, he had a whole life before he ever stepped foot in Salem. Born Yannis Anastassakis in Crete, Greece, he moved to the U.S. when he was just two years old. His father anglicized the name to Aniston—probably a good move for a guy who’d eventually want his name on a dressing room door.
Before he was a Kiriakis, he was actually a Lieutenant Commander in the Navy. Imagine that. An intelligence officer. It makes sense when you look at how he played Victor; there was always this sense that he was three steps ahead of the ISA or whatever rival was trying to topple his empire that week.
He didn't just jump into Days of Our Lives as Victor, either. Most fans forget that he actually appeared on the show way back in 1970 as a character named Dr. Eric Richards. It was a brief stint. He spent years on other soaps like Love of Life and Search for Tomorrow before returning to Days in 1985 to originate the role of Victor. That was the moment everything changed.
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Why Victor Kiriakis Redefined the Soap Villain
You’ve got your classic soap villains who just twirl their mustaches and cackle. Then you had Victor. He was a Greek mobster, sure, but he had this "dangerously handsome" vibe—as Jennifer herself put it during his Lifetime Achievement Award tribute.
- The Wit: Nobody delivered a one-liner like John Aniston. He could dismantle a character’s entire dignity with five words and a raised eyebrow.
- The Complexity: He wasn't just "bad." He was a patriarch. He loved his family, even when he was making their lives a living hell by manipulating their marriages or business deals.
- The Redemption: Over the decades, he shifted from a pure underworld figure to a "legitimate" (mostly) businessman. He became the grumpy, sarcastic grandfather of the show.
His chemistry with Suzanne Rogers, who played Maggie Horton, was the heart of his later years. It shouldn't have worked—the town’s purest soul and its most notorious criminal—but it was magic. It gave Victor a vulnerability that made his eventual passing even harder for the fans to swallow.
Jennifer’s Connection to the Show
There’s this funny bit of trivia that doesn't get talked about enough. Jennifer Aniston actually had a tiny role on a soap her dad was on. Not Days, though. It was Search for Tomorrow in the early 80s. She was about 13 or 14, and she appeared as an extra. She actually auditioned for a speaking role (the character T.R.), but she lost out to Jane Krakowski. Can you imagine?
Anyway, John wasn't exactly thrilled about his daughter joining the family business at first. He told her point-blank that "show business stinks." He wanted her to be a lawyer or something stable. Obviously, she didn't listen.
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By the time the 2022 Daytime Emmys rolled around, the pride was pretty clear. Jennifer appeared via video to present him with his Lifetime Achievement Award. It was a "truly special moment," she said. She called his career the "definition of lifetime achievement." Sadly, he passed away just a few months later, on November 11, 2022.
What Happened to Victor After John Passed?
Soap operas have a weird way of dealing with death. Often, they’ll recast a role because "the show must go on." But with Victor Kiriakis? No chance. You can't replace that voice or that specific brand of Greek gravitas.
The producers waited a bit, out of respect. Then, in 2023, they scripted a massive send-off. Victor died in a plane crash off-screen while returning from Greece. The tribute episodes were a tear-jerker marathon. They brought back legacy characters and showed montages of John’s best work spanning 37 years. It felt final. It felt right.
Why We Still Care in 2026
Looking back now, John Aniston represents a dying breed of television actor. He stayed with one character for nearly four thousand episodes. That kind of dedication is unheard of in the modern streaming era where shows get canceled after two seasons.
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He brought a layer of "human quality" to a genre that is often mocked for being over-the-top. He reminded us that even in a world of secret twins and demonic possessions (classic Salem), a father's love and a sharp wit could ground the whole thing.
Actionable Takeaways for Fans
If you're looking to dive back into the legacy of jennifer aniston dad on days of our lives, here’s how to do it right:
- Watch the 2022 Daytime Emmy Tribute: It’s on YouTube. Seeing Jennifer talk about her "sweet papa" gives you a glimpse into their real-life bond that the tabloids usually miss.
- Peacock Archives: Days is on Peacock now. Look for episodes from the mid-80s if you want to see Victor in his prime "mob boss" era. It’s peak soap opera.
- Read the Memoirs: Several Days cast members have written books (like Deidre Hall or Stephen Nichols) that mention John’s legendary status on set. He was apparently the funniest guy behind the scenes.
John Aniston was more than just a famous actress's father. He was a pillar of daytime TV. He proved that you could play a "bad guy" for forty years and still have the entire world cry when you finally sail into the sunset.
The best way to honor that legacy is simply to remember the work. Whether he was Dr. Eric Richards or the formidable Victor Kiriakis, he was always, fundamentally, a master of his craft. He didn't just play a character; he built a world. And that world, even without him, is a lot richer because he was in it.