Julie Olson Williams is a fictional character and member of the Horton family on the NBC daytime drama, Days of Our Lives.

Julie has been played by daytime legend, Susan Seaforth Hayes, off and on since 1968, making her one of the longest tenure actors in American soap operas.

[4] Julie is the last remaining character from the pilot, and Hayes the earliest-appearing actor to appear currently on the serial.

[5][6][7] The Hayeses themselves were a couple whose onscreen and real-life romance (they met on the series in 1970 and married in 1974) was widely covered by both the soap opera magazines and the mainstream press.

Ted Corday and Irna Phillips created Julie in the 1960s as part of the story bible for Days of our Lives, a light-hearted soap opera focusing on the troubles of its core family, the Hortons.

[12] The Julie character officially aired on November 8, 1965, when the show premiered on NBC in color.

Julie was the sole character to represent the younger side of the series' main family compared to her adult co-stars.

To add a contemporary feel to the show, Corday and Philips focused on younger characters, while also mixing in older ones so as not to lose traditional soap opera viewers.

Bell - the show's main writer at the time - decided to give the character a short break from the serial.

Susan's previous soap roles included General Hospital and The Young Marrieds, but made a few appearances on Hallmark Hall of Fame, Bonanza, and Dragnet.

[17] The Hayeses themselves were a couple whose onscreen and real-life romance (they met on the series in 1970) was widely covered by both the soap opera magazines and the mainstream press.

[20] By the 1970s, characters were written with more depth, fitting into archetypes consisting of the young-and-vulnerable romantic heroine, the old-fashioned villain, the rival, the suffering antagonist, Mr.

Julie was generally positioned as the main protagonist being part of the prestigious Horton family.

[20] By the late 1970s, a different set of character types was established, including the chic suburbanite, the subtle single, the traditional family person, the successful professional, and the elegant socialite.

Julie was in the elegant socialite category which comprised "flashy", achievement-oriented characters that often loved their families and friends.

The fictional history of her younger years has been told via behind-the-scenes books such as Days of our Lives: The True Story of one Family's Dream, and the second tie-in novel by Ken Corday, which explains that Julie was born and raised in Salem with the rest of her family before the show premiered.

After the death of her mother Addie Horton in 1974, Julie matured into a young heroine, often helping to raise her baby sister, Hope Williams.

[24] In more recent years, Julie has become a pillar of the community, representing the Horton family and their values.

As Days of our Lives begins in 1965, Julie is a rebellious teenager part of the series's Horton family.

In the first episode, Julie steals an expensive mink from a department store and is caught by a security guard and arrested.

Doug was opposed to this idea; he also did not agree with Julie's plans to take David away from Scott, who loved the boy as his own son.

At midnight, Doug and Addie left for Portofino using the tickets that he had meant to use with Julie- a decision which crushed Julie.

Their contentment is interrupted by Doug's heart attack after finding Hope about to make love with Bo Brady.

Doug comes back to town without her, indicating that Julie's opening of a dress shop in Paris became more important to her than their marriage.

Julie and Doug come back to town for an extended visit in 2004 and are soon enmeshed in the Salem serial killer storyline.

Julie is devastated when Doug is seemingly killed by the serial killer, and she begins to focus on helping Mickey get over Maggie while keeping him from the advances of his housekeeper, Bonnie.

Julie (with or without Doug) has made sporadic appearances ever since (most notably when Nick Fallon was believed dead and, again, when he was actually killed).

Both Doug and Julie were highly involved with the show's 50th anniversary and were around to help Hope deal with the sudden death of Bo Brady from cancer and to comfort Maggie after her son, Daniel, was killed in a car accident.

"[25] By the 1970s, critics deemed Days the most daring daytime drama, as it led the way in using then-controversial themes that other shows of the period avoided, such as artificial insemination and interracial romance.

[5][6][7] The Hayeses themselves were a couple whose onscreen and real-life romance (they met on the series in 1970 and married in 1974) was widely covered by both the soap opera magazines and the mainstream press.