Just days after the news broke, new Days of our Lives hire Kassie DePaiva is overjoyed to be headed to the NBC soap. In a statement on her official web site, kassiedepaiva.com, the actress talked about the bittersweet feelings of letting go of a role she played for 20 years on One Life to Live and the excitement of taking on a new challenge after so long.

"Well, I'm sure you have heard the news by now... I am headed to NBC," DePaiva wrote. "And now that it is official I can shout it from the mountain tops! I got the call ironically in December on the 20th anniversary of my debut as Blair Cramer on ABC's One Life to Live.

DePaiva is best known for her work as Blair on OLTL -- and a brief crossover as the same character on General Hospital. DePaiva debuted on OLTL in December 1993. In 2005, she earned an Outstanding Lead Actress Daytime Emmy nomination.

"And as sad as it is to say goodbye or put Blair on hold... I'm equally as happy to say hello to Eve Donovan," DePaiva continued. "She seems to have a very rich history in Salem with many family members to surround her. I look forward to discovering the character as well as the town. I wish the gloriously beautiful and talented Charlotte Ross great success as she starts her new adventure on ABC's Nashville. I know she is greatly loved by the DAYS audience and I have very big shoes to fill. I promise to do my best to live up to everyone's expectations. So all you One Life to Live watchers...it's time to start watching Days of our Lives now. You will be caught up and ready to really invest in Salem by the time I start airing this summer."

Fans thinking of making the jump into DAYS can get caught up quickly with Soap Central. For details on who plays who, check out our Cast and Credits section. For more information on the various characters -- including Eve Donovan, visit our Who's Who in Salem character profiles. Both sections are available by selecting ABOUT DAYS from the navigation menu at the top of any page.

For story details, we can supply you with Daily Recaps for every DAYS episodes dating back to 1996. If you don't have time to read more than 4,000 recaps -- and we'll understand if you don't -- you can read weekly summaries in our Recaps Archive. Read a bare bones detail of what happened every week, and you'll be up to speed in no time.

"Needless to say... I am a huge soap fan. I love the genre and couldn't be happier to be back in the mix. Thank you all for all your lovely comments and tweets. I look forward to the coming year with great anticipation. I start working on set very soon and will keep you posted!"

UPDATE (June 3, 2014):
DePaiva's first airdate has been announced as June 18, 2014.

What are your thoughts on DePaiva's addition to DAYS? Are you familiar with the character of Eve? Tell us what you think in the Comments area below, or you can also click here to submit feedback.