Alison Ann Sweeney (born September 19, 1976)[2] is an American actress, reality show host, director and author. Sweeney is best known for her portrayal of Samantha "Sami" Brady on the NBC soap opera Days of Our Lives,[3] a role she played under contract with the show from January 6, 1993[4] to October 30, 2014.[5] In this role, she has earned a Daytime Emmy Award nomination, four Soap Opera Digest Awards and a Fan Voted Daytime Emmy Award.[6] In 2007, she became the host of The Biggest Loser, and left the series at the end of the sixteenth season in 2015.