Arianne Bethene Zucker (born June 3, 1974) is an American actress and model. She is known for playing Nicole Walker on the

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of Comcast. It is one of NBCUniversal's ...

daytime soap opera ''

Days of Our Lives ''Days of Our Lives'' (also stylized as ''Days of our Lives''; simply referred to as ''Days'' or ''DOOL'') is an American television soap opera that aired on the network NBC from November 8, 1965, to September 9, 2022; the soap has streamed n ...

'' since 1998.

Early life

Zucker was born in

Northridge, California Northridge is a neighborhood in the San Fernando Valley region of the Los Angeles, City of Los Angeles. The community is home to California State University, Northridge, and the Northridge Fashion Center. Originally named List of minor biblica ...

, and raised in Chatsworth. Zucker's father is

Christian A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a Monotheism, monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the wo ...

, whereas her mother is

Jewish Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

. Her mother, Barbara, is a lab technologist and her father, Barry, is a plumber. She has an older brother, Todd.

Career

Zucker began modeling at the age of sixteen when she was discovered by a scout from It Models. Starting in Los Angeles, her career took her to locations around the world, including

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

and

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

. She attended Chatsworth High School, graduating in 1992. While there, she was a cheerleader during her sophomore and junior years. She later described her cheerleading experience: She appeared in several TV commercials, including national spots for

Mazda is a Japanese Multinational corporation, multinational automotive manufacturer headquartered in Fuchū, Hiroshima (town), Fuchū, Hiroshima Prefecture, Hiroshima, Japan. The company was founded on January 30, 1920, as Toyo Cork Kogyo Co., Ltd. ...

and

McDonald's McDonald's Corporation, doing business as McDonald's, is an American Multinational corporation, multinational fast food chain store, chain. As of 2024, it is the second largest by number of locations in the world, behind only the Chinese ch ...

. Settling in Los Angeles, she began studies as an actress at

Los Angeles Pierce College Los Angeles Pierce College, shortened to Pierce College or simply Pierce, is a public community college in the San Fernando Valley neighborhood of Woodland Hills in Los Angeles, California. It is part of the Los Angeles Community College Distri ...

. She was involved in several workshops that included her performances in

Beth Henley Elizabeth Becker Henley (born May 8, 1952) is an American playwright, screenwriter, and actress. Her play '' Crimes of the Heart'' won the 1981 Pulitzer Prize for Drama, the 1981 New York Drama Critics' Circle Award for Best American Play, and ...

's ''

Crimes of the Heart ''Crimes of the Heart'' is a play by American playwright Beth Henley. It is set in Hazlehurst, Mississippi in the mid-20th century. The play won the 1981 Pulitzer Prize for Drama and was nominated for the Tony Award for Best Play. In 1986, th ...

'' and

Neil Simon Marvin Neil Simon (July 4, 1927 – August 26, 2018) was an American playwright, screenwriter and author. He wrote more than 30 plays and nearly the same number of movie screenplays, mostly film adaptations of his plays. He received three ...

's '' The Last of the Red Hot Lovers''. She continued her studies at the Howard Fine Studio, where she has been a student for many years. In February 1998, she auditioned for and won the role of Nicole Walker on ''

''. In March 2017, Zucker announced she would be leaving ''Days of Our Lives''. Zucker made a brief appearance on the show in 2018, and then returned again in 2019. In a February 2024

wrongful termination In law, wrongful dismissal, also called wrongful termination or wrongful discharge, is a situation in which an employee's contract of employment has been termination of employment, terminated by the employer, where the termination breaches one o ...

lawsuit filing, accusing producers/production of retaliating against her for a sexual harassment complaint she made against co-executive producer/director

Albert Alarr Albert Alarr (born March 30, 1956) is an American television soap opera Television director, director and producer. His role as producer at ''Days of Our Lives'' came under intense scrutiny in the wake of reports of possible on-set misconduct. It ...

(who was fired in August 2023 following an internal investigation), it was announced Zucker's deal with the soap was not renewed.

Personal life

In 2002, Zucker married actor

Kyle Lowder Kyle Brandon Lowder (born August 27, 1980) is an American journalist and former actor. Early life He graduated from Pleasantville High School in Pleasantville, New York in 1998. Career In August 2000, Lowder was cast in the aged role of Br ...

, who co-starred with her on ''Days of Our Lives'' as Brady Black. After five years of marriage, they separated briefly in August 2007, then reconciled in March 2008. They have one child. In March 2014, Zucker and Lowder confirmed they were divorced. In 2014, Zucker began a relationship with former co-star and love interest on ''Days'', Shawn Christian. The two became engaged in June 2021 and were married on August 17, 2024. In October 2016, Zucker made headlines because she appeared in the Donald Trump ''Access Hollywood'' tape. Zucker responded to the controversy by issuing a statement, "It's not about me".

Filmography

Awards and nominations

References

External links

*
Arianne Zucker's Official Website

Arianne Zucker at ModelScouts.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Zucker, Arianne 1974 births American soap opera actresses Jewish American actresses Living people People from Chatsworth, Los Angeles People from Northridge, Los Angeles Los Angeles Pierce College people 20th-century American actresses 21st-century American actresses 21st-century American Jews