Gabi Hernandez is a fictional character from the American soap opera Days of Our Lives on the NBC network. The role was first introduced in 2009, and played by actress Camila Banus since 2010. The role was created by Dena Higley and Christopher Whitesell, and originated by actress Gabriela Rodriguez on November 20, 2009. Banus stepped into the role on October 4, 2010.
Originally described as a sweet, innocent, and loving girl, a number of events since Gabi's arrival on the series have altered her personality. In 2012, the character experienced a personality shift, which would reveal her manipulative side that was called "crazy" and obsessive. Her storylines have included the death of her sister Arianna Hernandez (Lindsay Hartley), her first love (Will Horton) coming to terms that he is gay, and romances with Chad DiMera (Casey Deidrick/Billy Flynn), Nick Fallon (Blake Berris), JJ Deveraux (Casey Moss), Eli Grant (Lamon Archey), Stefan DiMera (Tyler Christopher/ Brandon Barash) and Jake Lambert (also Barash). Other storylines have included killing Nick, giving birth to Will's daughter, Arianna Horton , going to prison several times, being wrongly accused and imprisoned for the murder of André DiMera and her feuds with Chad, Abigail Deveraux, Julie Olson Williams and Lani Price, amongst others. Gabi is of Latin descent, and Banus has expressed her pride in representing the Hispanic community through her portrayal. Banus' portrayal of Gabi earned her a Daytime Emmy Award nomination for Outstanding Younger Actress in a Drama Series in 2015.
Casting
Gabriela Rodriguez first appeared in the role of Gabi on November 20, 2009. Of auditioning, Rodriguez said "It was honestly so random. I had never auditioned for a soap opera before and I was like "wow this is different. I think I want to give it a try." She seemed like such a cool girl, I was like "hey let's go for it." [...] I ended up talking with the casting director for a while and she just kind of explained to me about the character [...] The next day I got called for a callback and that was that." Fellow Hispanic actress Camilla Banus had also auditioned. Banus stated "I went in and read for the role. It was actually a pretty long process. The first audition then the second audition, then I went in again to meet the casting director and the producer. They then said they wanted me for a screen test. I did the screen test and they ended up not choosing me. They ended up going with the other girl [Rodriguez]. They told me that they wanted to go a little bit younger for the part."
In July 2010, Soap Opera Digest reported that Rodriguez had been replaced by Banus. Banus was previously best known for her role as Lola Montez on One Life to Live. Banus, who first aired as Gabi on October 4, 2010, said that the transition was "super easy" and she was welcomed onto the set with "lots of love".
Explaining her being hired by Days of our Lives, Banus said that two months after her initial audition she was again offered the role of Gabi by its casting director due to the character being aged, but rejected them because of other career projects. She recalled thinking "Days is over" again and "they were never going to call me again". Two months after this, Banus received a second call asking her to reconsider; she said "At that point I felt there was something there and that I HAD to do this, like it was something that was calling me and I said, ‘Yes.’" At the 2013 Emmy ceremony, Banus revealed that she would be departing from the series when her current contract expired. Her announcement followed the news that her costars Casey Deidrick and Chandler Massey were also leaving. Banus last aired on June 12, 2014, and briefly appeared from December 22 to 29, 2014. On April 24, 2015, it was confirmed that Banus would be reprising the role of Gabi to take part in the soap's fiftieth anniversary celebrations; Banus returned on September 17, 2015. In April 2018, Banus announced she had extended her deal with the soap for an additional year. In July 2020, it was announced she would once again exit the role. The following month, Corday Productions announced Banus' exit would be short-lived, and that she was scheduled to return to filming in September.
In May 2023, TheWrap announced Banus' exit from the soap; she last taped on April 28.