Victor Kiriakis first arrived in Salem in 1985. Caroline Brady was not happy to see him, because it would later be revealed that he was Bo Brady's biological father. Victor also discovered he had an illegitimate daughter, Isabella. When Isabella died of cancer, Victor vowed to turn his life around and be a respectable businessman.
Victor started Titan Industries and teamed up with Kate Roberts. He eventually fell in love with her and wanted her to bear him a child. Kate went to a fertility clinic, only to have her embryos switched by scheming Vivian who wanted to carry Victor's child herself. Vivian gave birth to Victor's child and named him Philip. Victor suffered a stroke before being able to confront Vivian about the switching of embryos and was moved into a nursing home.