Lani Price is a fictional character on the NBC soap opera Days of Our Lives, played by Sal Stowers. On September 25, 2015, Lani was introduced by co-head writers Josh Griffith and Dena Higley as a rookie police officer, who is revealed to be the daughter of long-running character, Mayor Abe Carver (James Reynolds). While Lani is quickly promoted to detective, the character struggles to find a place on the canvas and is abruptly written out on June 9, 2016, after Stowers was released from her contract. Lani was reintroduced on December 19, 2016, and Stowers became a series regular again a year later.
Lani's first major romance with JJ Deveraux (Casey Moss) starts with controversy as it breaks up his relationship with Gabi Hernandez (Camila Banus). Lani and JJ become partners at the police department where she clashes with Gabi's new boyfriend, FBI agent Eli Grant (Lamon Archey). When the fiercely independent Lani is forced to lean on Eli during an investigation they grow closer as Lani doubts her future with JJ. When JJ dumps Lani after he shoots her brother Theo Carver (Cameron Johnson), Lani and Eli sleep together after she finds JJ with Gabi. While the affair results in the stillbirth of their son, and Eli and Lani ultimately fall in love, in spite of their grief. The romance is plagued by Gabi's vendetta against Lani after she accidentally kills Stefan DiMera, Gabi's husband, in the line of the duty. With their 2020 wedding, Eli and Lani are the first African-American couple to marry onscreen in the show's history.
In 2021, head writer Ron Carlivati revisited Lani's backstory with the introduction of her wealthy aunt Paulina Price played by sitcom legend Jackée Harry and Paulina's wayward daughter Chanel Dupree (Precious Way, Raven Bowens). Lani struggles to forgive Paulina when she takes advantage of Abe's trust. With the arrival of matriarch Olivia Price, played by Harry's 227 co-star Marla Gibbs, it is revealed that Paulina's is Lani's biological mother.
Lani left Salem after she was charged with killing her biological father to protect Paulina. Her last appearance was on July 1, 2022. She briefly returned on July 4, 2023 after Abe was supposedly dead and was granted furlough for his funeral.
Storylines Lani comes to Salem in 2015 and takes a special interest in Mayor Abe Carver. The ambitious Lani also befriends fellow officer Rafe Hernandez (Galen Gering) when he has her consult on two high-profile homicide cases on her first day. Lani ask Rafe on a date but he insist they keep things strictly professional. However, Rafe and Lani attend Salem's bicentennial together so they don't have to go alone. At the party, Abe confronts Lani about the pictures of him he found on her laptop and Lani reveals she is Abe's daughter with Tamara Price (Marilyn McCoo). While Abe welcomes Lani with open arms, he hesitates to tell his autistic teenage son Theo (Kyler Pettis) for fear of his reaction. However, Lani helps Theo call for help when his friend Joey Johnson (James Lastovic) collapses. Lani bonds with Theo over baseball but when Abe tells him they are brother and sister, Theo doesn't take it well. With the help of JJ Deveraux, Lani arrest serial killer Ben Weston (Robert Scott Wilson) and she is then promoted to detective.
In 2016, Theo confides in Lani that he is being cyber bullied and she encourages him to confide in Abe. Lani gives up on a potential romance with Rafe when she realizes he is in love with Hope Brady (Kristian Alfonso). Lani soon takes an interest in Hope's recently divorced son Shawn-Douglas Brady (Brandon Beemer) and they start dating. Lani tells Shawn that she is falling for him and confides in him about a bad breakup. Their plans to consummate the relationship are interrupted when they bust up a local drug ring operating out of the motel room next door. Not long after, Shawn and Lani split when he admits he still loves his ex-wife, Belle Black (Martha Madison). While she appears jealous, Lani wishes him well. Lani goes back to Miami soon after. Lani returns in December 2016 to visit Abe who is recovering from a gunshot wound. Lani runs into JJ and it is revealed that they had a drunken fling in Florida. It ultimately breaks up his romance with Gabi Hernandez.
With the two working so closely together, Lani and JJ begin dating in 2017. Fearing JJ will let the budding romance interfere in their work, Lani cuts JJ out of her attempt to infiltrate a local drug ring. Lani is dosed with a designer drug called "halo" and left for dead. Fellow cop Eli Grant supports Lani through her withdrawals and covers for her with Abe and JJ. In May 2017, Lani and several officers including JJ and Eli go to Greece to arrest Deimos Kiriakis (Vincent Irizarry). On their way back, the group are stranded on a deserted island after a plane crash. As Lani worries that JJ isn't as invested in the relationship as she is, Eli offers his support and they bond. JJ organizes a surprise birthday party for Lani in November 2017 and they profess their love for each other soon after. Their evening is interrupted when they get called to the scene of a break-in. JJ shoots the perp believing the person has a gun. Lani is devastated when she and JJ realize that Theo is the "perp" and he is unarmed. With Theo in emergency surgery, Lani is torn between JJ and Abe who vows never to forgive JJ. Lani is further upset when JJ suddenly breaks up with her as he can't forgive himself. Lani is distraught when she finds JJ in bed with Eli's girlfriend Gabi on Christmas Eve and she sleeps with Eli. Lani is horrified to learn that Gabi was comforting JJ after his attempted suicide. She and Eli then agree to keep quiet about their tryst.
In January 2018, Lani learns she is pregnant. Though she initially doesn't know who the father is, once Kayla Brady (Mary Beth Evans) tells her how far along she is, Lani knows the baby can only be Eli's. She plans to terminate the pregnancy but JJ overhears her making the appointment and assumes the baby is his. With JJ feeling hopeful about the future again, Lani starts to rethink her decision to terminate the pregnancy. Once JJ shares the news with their families, Lani abandons her abortion plans and decides to keep quiet for fear of disappointing JJ and everyone else who is excited about the baby. Eli's mother Valerie Grant (Vanessa Williams) confronts Lani about her lies and forces her to tell Eli the truth. While Eli isn't thrilled, he wants to step up. However, Lani convinces Eli to let her raise the baby with JJ as they are engaged to be married. When Gabi is framed for André DiMera's (Thaao Penghlis) murder, Lani catches her trying to destroy evidence. Gabi ask her not to report it in exchange for Lani keeping quiet about Lani and Eli's affair. However at Gabi's trial, her lawyer Justin Kiriakis (Wally Kurth) forces Lani to admit to the affair under oath. Lani is then forced to tell JJ that Eli is her baby's father and JJ dumps her. In addition to Abe's support, Eli offers to support Lani more as she prepares for the baby, but Lani is adamant that he not be involved. Despite her rejection, Eli gets Lani to the hospital when she experiences cramping caused by Placenta praevia. In June 2018, Lani experiences cramping again and JJ rushes her to the hospital where she goes into premature labor. She wants to stall her labor but Kayla and JJ inform her that it could be dangerous and Lani is rushed into emergency surgery. Lani is destroyed when she wakes up from her surgery and Eli tells her their son did not survive. Eli and Lani name their son David Abraham, after their fathers. When Lani delivers Eli a copy of their son's death certificate, Eli kisses her and Lani furiously rejects him. Lani finally admits her feelings for Eli when his friend Sheila (T-Boz) deliberately makes her jealous and they start dating.
In 2019, Lani becomes attached to baby David Ridgeway when Rafe takes him in. When Rafe gets shot on the job, she goes so far as to spend the night with Rafe to assist with David. When Lani rejects the notion that she's using David to fill the void left by their son, Eli breaks up with her. She then kisses Rafe and he helps her realize she is in denial. Lani then reconciles with Eli and they become engaged on July 4, 2019. However, when Eli's grandmother Julie Williams (Susan Seaforth Hayes) suffers a heart attack, the couple want to postpone the wedding until she recovers though Julie encourages them to move forward. Lani tries to apprehend escaped fugitive Vivian Alamain (Robin Strasser) and Vivian pulls a gun on her. Lani shoots at her but her son Stefan DiMera (Brandon Barash) jumps in the way of the bullet and Vivian escapes. Though Lani gets him to the hospital, Stefan is braindead leaving Gabi, his wife, devastated. Meanwhile, Julie is in desperate need of a heart transplant and Gabi refuses to donate his heart to save her leaving her loved ones, including Eli, devastated. At the last minute, Gabi comes to Lani and agrees to save Julie on one condition. Lani makes it clear that she never intended to hurt Stefan, and even attends Stefan's funeral with Eli to show her support and gratitude to Gabi for saving Julie. But the history between them doesn't reassure Gabi and instead, she demands that Lani to dump Eli at the altar. Gabi reveals that she rigged Julie's pacemaker to explode and orders Lani to dump Eli or watch him grieve his grandmother. Lani ultimately caves, and leaves Eli at the altar. He tries to convince her to go through with the wedding but Lani claims she doesn't love him and leaves. A year later, Lani is set to take her final vows as a nun when she confides in Kristen DiMera (Stacy Haiduk) about how Gabi forced her to leave Eli. Though Kristen urges her to fight for Eli, Lani isn't sure it's safe. Lani sees Eli again when he tracks Kristen to the convent in Europe and he reveals that he and Gabi are together.