Characters in the Roseanne television series
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- Jackie Harris redirects here. For the football player, see Jackie Harris (American football).
A list of major characters in the Roseanne television series.
[edit] Main characters
[edit] Roseanne Harris Conner
Played by Roseanne Barr. Born in late 1952, Roseanne, in a take off of her stand-up comedic persona and presumed real-life persona, is a bossy, loud, caustic, and dominant woman. She frequently meddles and tries to control the lives of her husband, daughters, sons, sister, and friends. Despite her dominating nature, Roseanne is a loving mother who works hard and makes as much time for her kids as possible. She, like her family, deals with the many hardships of poverty and domestic troubles with humor. She worked at the Wellman Plastics factory at the beginning of the show's run and quit that job after conflict with the new egotistical domineering boss, Mr. Faber; she led a walkout that included most of her friends. She had several periods of unemployment and held jobs as a fast-food employee, a telemarketer, a bartender, and a shampoo woman/hair sweeper at a beauty salon. Subsequently, she worked for several years as a waitress in the luncheonette at Rodbell's department store (much to the chagrin of daughters Becky and Darlene, who regularly hung out there). She eventually co-owned a successful restaurant called the Lanford Lunch Box with Jackie, her mother Bev, and Nancy (as well as her nemesis Leon, her boss from the luncheonette, who assumed partial ownership of the restaurant after mother Bev sold her share to him). In the ninth (and fictional) season, Roseanne (along with Jackie) gave up her control of the restaurant to Leon and her friend Nancy after winning the lottery.
[edit] Dan Conner
Played by John Goodman. Born in 1951, Dan is a genial, easygoing man who loves the gregarious, bossy, loud Roseanne as she is. He appears to be dominated by her but has his own strong personality, too, which keeps the boundaries clear. He has a very good sense of humor, often making jokes about his wife's bossiness (once joking I'm not Mrs. Conner, I'm a normal human being). Other than his poker buddies (Dan bonding with them parallels the bonding his wife does with Jackie and her other female friends), being easygoing in spite of his family problems, Dan eventually, following extremely trying situations brought on by both, learns to get along with the men in his daughters' lives, particularly Mark and David. Both men end up seeing Dan as a father figure, and he begrudgingly returns the affection much in the way that his caustic wife ultimately cares for her cantankerous children. He is frequently unemployed, but he is a hard worker when he is on the job. Throughout the run of the show, he does drywall, construction, owns a failing bike shop, works as a bus inspector for the city government, and then retires upon hitting the lottery. In the final season, he briefly moved to California to take care of his mentally ill mother. While there, he becomes involved in an affair with one of his mother's nurses, which he soon ended. In the last episode, it is discovered that Dan had really died of the heart attack at the end of the eighth season and that the series was a story written by Roseanne taken from real events, in which she changed it to Dan surviving as a way to cope with the tragedy and whatever she did not like about her real life.
[edit] Marjorie "Jackie" Harris
Played by Laurie Metcalf. Born in 1955, Jackie is Roseanne's younger sister by three years. She was named "Marjorie" at birth, but when Roseanne tried to pronounce it as a child it always came out sounding like "My Jackie", so they just started calling her Jackie. Jackie is an intelligent, warm, highly sensitive underachiever who often lacks faith in herself. Roseanne seems to be in charge of Jackie's life, which is a frequent cause of conflict between the two; however, Jackie sometimes enjoys having Roseanne mother her, especially when Jackie feels vulnerable. Jackie's character seems to become more animated and colorful as the series progresses. She begins the series as a single woman on the prowl, then after a traumatic experience with an abusive boyfriend which also triggers buried memories of her father's belt beatings, her deeply troubled side comes out more and for a while, she appears to be affected by post-traumatic stress disorder, but after a failed marriage and giving birth, becomes much freer, somewhat zany with her creative, wacky side coming out more. Jackie has held numerous jobs; she was working in the Wellman Plastics factory for several years until the walkout, then became a police officer until she was injured on the job, and later was a truck driver, and then opened the Lanford Lunch Box with Roseanne and Nancy. Jackie often comes up with seemingly off-the-wall "crazy" ideas, but it turns out that many of her unconventional ideas actually work. Her romantic relationships were frequently unstable, including one where she dated a man named Fisher and became the victim of domestic violence. However, she did eventually marry Dan's co-worker Fred, who impregnated her after a one-night stand and who only got the idea to propose to her in the "perfect way" by taking notes from Jackie's favorite soap opera, One Life to Live. Jackie gave birth to their son, Andy, two months before she married Fred. At one point Jackie, getting unhappy with the self-absorbed couch potato Fred, starts going out with another couple, which then becomes one man. Dan sees her, warns her about Fred's possible reaction, but later accidentally blurts it out to Fred. Fred leaves in a huffy snit, accusing Jackie of "adultery" and refusing to speak to her. Roseanne, with Bev's help, has Fred realize that his accusations against Jackie are unjustified, and he goes back. However, at this point Jackie is realizing that she's happier being single. The marriage would prove to be short-lived because Jackie found Fred boring, petty, and self-centered and they fell out of love. Jackie is crushed by the divorce at first, but she then moves on to become a successful single mom to Andy and continues running the diner with Roseanne, Nancy, and Leon. She was partly the beneficiary of the winning lottery ticket in the final season. At the time of Andy's birth, Jackie's full name is revealed to be Marjorie by Beverly; however, older sister Roseanne supposedly could only pronounce Marjorie as My Jackie, and the nickname stuck. Before Beverly telling Jackie about her name, she did not even know about it herself. Despite Jackie's apparent flightiness in the early episodes, Jackie is actually the backbone of the Conner/Harris family in many ways, as Roseanne admits in the last episode. Roseanne, Dan and each of the kids often come to Jackie for help since she is kind, a very good listener and usually gives very good advice. When the ninth season was revealed as fictional in the last episode, it was discovered that Jackie was a lesbian; Roseanne penned her as heterosexual because she always imagined her with men.
[edit] Rebecca "Becky" Conner Healy
Played by Lecy Goranson and Sarah Chalke. Born in 1975, Becky, the oldest of Roseanne and Dan's kids, is quite bright and is an overachiever, but she is also somewhat quick-tempered and sometimes angry with her parents and younger sister Darlene. She dates her rebellious biker boyfriend Mark Healy against her parents' wishes and then, at age 17, leaves home to marry him and move to Minneapolis. Later, Becky and Mark return home to live with Roseanne and Dan and then move out again into a trailer. In the final episode, it is revealed that she is pregnant and that Mark is the father.
[edit] Darlene Conner Healy
Played by Sara Gilbert. Born in late 1976, Darlene in the early years was a "tomboy" who loved sports, but at puberty she became moody, artistic, an animal rights activist, and a vegetarian to more closely match the real-life views and personality of Sara Gilbert. During her freshman year of high school, she begins dating David. (David is the younger brother of Becky's husband, Mark.) Darlene possesses the same sarcasm and domineering attitude as her mother, often causing the two to clash. Her bossy nature is best seen with David, who usually gives in to her will. Darlene is a very talented writer. Along with David's artistic talents, they began working seriously on a graphic novel, and Darlene eventually applies for and is awarded early admission and a scholarship to an exclusive art school in Chicago before she finishes high school, which Roseanne allows her to attend after realizing it is her only chance to get out of Lanford and make a better life for herself as the writer Roseanne never was able to be. While in college, she met a boy named Jimmy, who she dated while still with David. David was aware she was dating Jimmy, but eventually told her she had to choose between them. She chose Jimmy. Later on he dumped her because he couldn't get close to her. She later became pregnant by David and soon marries him. She eventually finished art school and later gave birth to her daughter, Harris. Harris is born very prematurely and almost doesn't survive, but by the support of her family and her own endurance, she survives and becomes a healthy child by the series' end.
[edit] David Jacob "DJ" Conner
Played by Sal Barone in the pilot, and Michael Fishman for the remainder of the series (apparently Sara Gilbert didn't get along with Sal, but according to Roseanne, he felt he was too old and not right for the role and voluntarily left.) Born in 1981, DJ was a lonely, bizarre, and unpopular child who was frequently taunted by his sisters and peers. He is portrayed as being something of a simpleton in school and abnormally weird, as in the time he peeked at both Darlene and Becky naked at different times, as well as the time Becky found dismembered Barbie dolls under his bed. As a teenager, he showed interest in filmmaking and eventually found a girlfriend who shared his interests. One episode dealt with DJ's relationship in a mature way, showing the couple's decision not to rush into a deep commitment too soon. In Season 3, it is also stated that while Becky and Darlene were planned pregnancies for the Conners, DJ was a "surprise". Later in the series, it is mentioned that Jose Cuervo Tequila was responsible for the interlude that lead to DJ's conception. In the Season 9 first episode, it's revealed that DJ was the one who saved Dan's life by doing CPR on him, while the rest of the wedding attendees were shocked.
[edit] Jerry Garcia Conner
Played by Cole Roberts. Born in 1995, Jerry was the family's baby, born to Roseanne and Dan while they were in their forties. His name is a tribute to Jerry Garcia of the Grateful Dead. Roseanne's pregnancy in the seventh season was to coincide with her real-life pregnancy, made possible via fertility drugs and methods in a clinic (which Roseanne even explained in great detail at the end of an episode in which she did not appear due to her pregnancy). Also, as explained by Roseanne at the end of the season 8 Halloween episode, Roseanne's character became pregnant 3 months before the actress Roseanne did. In addition, Roseanne's labor was to occur during a Grateful Dead concert; however, because of Jerry Garcia's death in 1995, that was changed. Before Jerry's birth, it is understood that Roseanne's baby will be a girl. It is never addressed why the baby was instead born male, despite the information provided by her doctor. It is also hinted that Jerry was part of the fantasy of the latter part of season 8 and all season nine, because Roseanne mentions him as part of the things that she wished could have been. Considering her re-writing Dan's fatal heart attack as survival, changing Jackie to her mother coming out, and both daughters ending up marrying the opposite guys, it is very likely he did not exist at all.
[edit] Other major characters
[edit] Mark Healy
Played by Glenn Quinn. Mark is an edgy "rebel without a cause"-type who dated and later eloped with Becky, much to the Conners' consternation. Despite Mark's tough-guy image, he is rarely seen to engage in criminal activity, except when Mark was intoxicated at the Lobo Lounge and punched through the glass of the bar's jukebox, another time when he punched out Becky's verbally abusive boss at the Buy & Bag market, and when he mooned photographers swarming the house after the Conner's won the lottery. Mark is strongly disliked by Roseanne for his condescending attitude toward her. Dan initially dislikes Mark also but respects Mark's work ethic and hires him as a mechanic both at his bike shop and his truck-inspection office. Mark later proves himself to be a responsible husband and earns Roseanne's and the family's grudging respect.
[edit] David Healy
Played by Johnny Galecki. David is Mark's younger brother, but he is very much Mark's opposite. David is soft-spoken, artistic, and intelligent and was in a relationship with Darlene during much of the series. He is a talented artist and drew comic books that Darlene wrote, and his well-behaved manner endears him to the Conner family, who think of him as part of the family and in fact, jokingly, is referred to as being more welcome to the family than Darlene is. He moved in with the Conners after Roseanne, a victim of child abuse, saw how abusive his family life was. He has a long-term off-and-on relationship with Darlene and eventually fathers her child. David often finds himself dominated by Darlene's powerful personality. David was meant to be his name on the series for the show's entire run; however, at the time of his introduction, Johnny was already playing a character named David on the Head of the Class spin-off Billy, so the producers changed his name to Kevin so that there would be no confusion. By the time of his second appearance on Roseanne, Billy was canceled, so he was given the name David again. (The line said by Roseanne in season 6 about David not being his real name was a joke, and only a joke.) David always tells the truth, as pointed out by Roseanne in an episode where David was down in the basement playing Monopoly (she believed he and Darlene were having sex until DJ came in holding a Monopoly box). She then tells David not to tell her or Dan the truth, explaining that they "raised three kids through lies and did just fine". Dan then walks in, asking David why he was there, making David lie about there being a bird caught in the screen door so as not to upset the proper balance of the way of life in the Conner household.
[edit] Beverly Lorraine "Bev" Harris
Played by Estelle Parsons. Bev is the mother of Roseanne and Jackie and the wife of Al. She is overbearing and shrill and is avoided by all members of her family. She nags them with her shockingly whiny voice, often with good intentions but coming off the wrong way (in a discussion with Fred at the end of an episode, she revealed her attitude to be an act). The family (especially sensitive Jackie) is always taking measures to avoid having to spend any extended time with Beverly, as she is quick to inadvertently over-criticize how people live their lives (after going back and forth playing tricks on each other in one Halloween episode, Roseanne ultimately got the upper hand by having a fake phone conversation with Bev in front of Dan where she agreed to let her mother stay for two months). She is very traditional and conservative, as opposed to her daughters' more liberal and feminist philosophies. She has proven herself generous with the wealth she received from her husband's alimony, constantly giving financial gifts to the family to bail them out. She even provided the seed money for the Lanford Lunch Box and insisted on staying on as a partner, but she was later forced out because Roseanne and Jackie did not want to work with her. As revenge, she sold her share of the restaurant to Roseanne's ex-boss and rival, Leon Carp, effectively making him their new partner. During the show's final season, she came out as a lesbian (according to one of Roseanne's fictional twists on her family, along with winning the lottery), this is revealed in the finale in which Roseanne states that her mother is not a lesbian but that her sister is; she just thought it'd be interesting to put a radical twist on the character of her Mother who was staunchly conservative and intensely disapproved of homosexuality.
[edit] Crystal Anderson Conner
Played by Natalie West. Crystal is a neurotic but goodhearted friend of Roseanne's and Jackie's from childhood and later became Dan's stepmother, despite being roughly the same age as Dan. A self-described "doormat" when it comes to men, she speaks with a Southern accent despite having grown up in Lanford because her father was from Arkansas. Crystal lost her first husband, Sonny, in a construction accident but had a son, Lonnie, with him. Crystal worked at the Wellman Plastics factory with Roseanne and Jackie and quit in order to start a successful cosmetics sales career. Crystal went on to marry two more times (all before the series started) before she married Dan's father, Ed (against Dan's strong disapproval), and bore two children with Ed. Their marriage was perceived to be happy, with Ed's absences creating most of the conflict. A regular cast-member for the first four seasons, Crystal appears as an occasional recurring character afterward.
[edit] Leon Carp
Played by Martin Mull. Leon plays the sarcastic, urbane foil to Roseanne as her put-upon boss at Rodbell's luncheonette. Leon is gay and is seen dating many men and having romantic troubles. He later married his life partner Scott (played by Fred Willard) in a very public ceremony. He and Roseanne had a contentious relationship as her boss. He later purchased Beverly's share in the Lanford Lunch Box, much to Roseanne's chagrin. He was especially upset when Roseanne won the lottery. They actually are friends, although neither of them will admit it.
[edit] Nancy Bartlett
Played by Sandra Bernhard. Nancy is the part owner of the Lanford Lunch Box. She was married to Arnie but later came out as a lesbian after he left her, then later admitted to being bisexual. She frequently was seen dating very attractive women; her first girlfriend is played by Morgan Fairchild. Nancy is never ashamed of her promiscuity, nor does she ever show any self-consciousness of her bizarre behavior. In fact, she is the most self-confident of all the characters in the series, often even more so than outspoken Roseanne. Her tendency toward self-absorption seems to only be quelled while dating a woman or being around Jackie. Nancy turns out to be a loyal and good friend to both Roseanne and Jackie throughout the series.
[edit] Fred
Played by Michael O'Keefe. Fred is a mechanic who worked at the truck inspection with Dan and was introduced to Jackie, leading to a one-night stand, accidental impregnation, and marriage. It took a lot of encouragement for Jackie to eventually warm up and face the fact that Fred is the father of her child and therefore a part of their life (in the beginning, Jackie was still healing from her trauma with Fisher and was fearful of getting too close to another man again). Fred at first assumes that Jackie's just putting him off lightly and initially doesn't get that Jackie has been through a very traumatic experience (which Jackie told Fred about early on) that is not easily healed in addition to her traumatic childhood. It took a verbal butt-kick from Roseanne in order for Fred to also realize that Jackie was the mother of the then-unborn Andy and that Jackie had her own rights that needed to be respected as much as Fred's rights. Fred is very conventional and average and is shocked by the Conners and Harrises' unconventional ways and cannot understand the whole subculture of Jackie's family. These two aspects, and his having very few interests outside himself leads the dissolution of his marriage to Jackie who has varied, unusual interests and likes to try new things. Despite their attempts to make their marriage work, Jackie and Fred break up when they discover how incompatible they are.
[edit] Arnie Thomas
Played by Tom Arnold. Arnie is the overweight, jovial friend of Dan. He frequently cheats on the women he dates and is very ill-mannered. However, Arnie always tries to be a good friend to Dan. He married Nancy but left her, claiming to be abducted by aliens (later played upon in the fourth-season finale's end-credit sketch, where he was seen conversing with aliens on a spaceship). While engaged to Nancy, he had a one-night stand with a drunk Jackie. Arnie is often seen wearing a yellow University of Iowa sweatshirt (actor Tom Arnold attended the University of Iowa in real life).
[edit] Andy Harris
Played by Garrett Hazen and Kent Hazen. Andy is Jackie and Fred's son, born slightly before his cousin Jerry. In a segment set in the future, Andy is seen resembling an attractive female cheerleader. This is because, despite Fred's protests, Jackie dresses baby Andy in "feminine" (mostly loose red shirts and little skirts). At one point, Jackie expresses relief in being divorced and proclaims that even if dressing her son as a girl "turns" him gay in the future that she loves him so much that she would march with him in a Gay Pride Parade. Andy is a little overprotected by his nervous mother. In most episodes that revolve around Andy, Jackie is fearful about being a new mother and constantly worries about the well-being of her child. Examples include her wanting to have the baby sleep in the same bed with her and Fred (while Fred wanted Andy in his crib way down the hall and was annoyed at Jackie's getting up and going to Andy and "interrupting" Fred's sleep), her becoming uptight when allowing Becky to use Andy to learn the proper way to hold a baby, and her becoming irate at Roseanne for feeding him Oreo cookies. In later episodes, there are vague, small, but significant hints that Andy has inherited much of Jackie's personality and quirks.
[edit] Ed Conner
Played by Ned Beatty. Ed is Dan's father, a charming struggling traveling novelty salesman who always brings presents for the grandchildren. Dan dislikes his father, but he is well-liked by everyone else. Ed never makes any blatant attempt on the show to anger Dan on purpose, but he often does bait his son covertly (eg, when Ed began to date Crystal and when Dan questions him on it, Ed makes a rude, catty crack about Dan being "interested" in Crystal). It usually doesn't take long for Dan to become annoyed at his father's presence. He is portrayed as irresponsible and neglectful of his family. He marries and has two children with Crystal, even though she is over 20 years younger than he is.
[edit] Booker Brooks
Played by George Clooney. Booker is the handsome foreman at Wellman Plastics who is the object of affection for much of the factory's predominantly female workforce. He briefly dated Jackie, then cheated on her.
[edit] Bonnie Watkins
Played by Bonnie Bramlett. Bonnie is a waitress at Rodbell's luncheonette. She is considerably more polite and hard-working than Roseanne at the luncheonette and frequently covers for her. Bonnie also has a beautiful singing voice and often performs country music at social gatherings. At one point in the series, Bonnie admitted that she and her husband (played by David Crosby) once robbed a liquor store in desperation for money. That point was soon viewed as insignificant when Jackie admitted that she had a one-night stand with Arnie.
[edit] Anne Marie Mitchell
Played by Adilah Barnes. One of the few black characters on Roseanne, Anne Marie was a former high school classmate of Roseanne's. They meet again in their old high school principal's office when both of their children are suspended from school. Anne Marie quickly becomes a part of the "girl group," going on nights out with Roseanne, Jackie, Crystal, and Bonnie. She is married to Chuck (James Pickens, Jr.), Dan's poker buddy and high school football teammate.
[edit] Kathy Bowman
Played by Meagen Fay. Roseanne's uptight neighbor in seasons 3 and 4. She moves to Lanford after her husband Jerry accepts a high-paying job with Wellman Plastics. Born and raised in Chicago, Kathy is appalled by what she perceives Lanford to be — full of classless people living uneventful lives. She takes out her frustrations on Roseanne, whom she believes to be the worst of all. Roseanne refers to her as "the Ice Pop Woman — frozen solid with a big ol' stick up her butt." She moves away after Wellman goes bust and halfheartedly apologizes to Roseanne for her behavior before she leaves.
[edit] Fisher
Played by Matt Roth. Fisher played "the younger man" who dated Jackie and was DJ's hockey tutor in the fifth season of Roseanne. Dan beat him up after it was found out that he abused Jackie while they were dating. In real life, Matt Roth is married to Laurie Metcalf (who played Jackie) and is the father of the child she was pregnant with when her character was pregnant on the show.
[edit] Al Harris
Played by John Randolph. Al is Roseanne and Jackie's physically abusive father who had a mistress for over 20 years. Upon his death, Roseanne met with his mistress, Joan. It was also revealed that Al is Jewish. Despite his violent nature, Al possessed a highly humorous nature that, even in his passing, Roseanne thanks him for after reading a list of many things she hated him for doing to her and Jackie.
[edit] Nana Mary
| Nana Mary | |
|---|---|
| Information | |
| Species | Human |
| Gender | Female |
| Age | 85 |
| Occupation | Pensioner |
| Family | Beverly Lorraine Harris (daughter) Joe (husband; deceased) Marvin (husband; deceased) Roseanne Harris Conner (granddaughter) Marjorie "Jackie" Harris (granddaughter) |
Played by Shelley Winters. Nana Mary is Beverly's mother. She is a brash, outspoken, and lovable woman who gambles with her grandchildren and great-grandchildren. Unlike Bev, she is popular with the family. She can (and does) outsmart and drive Bev crazy, much to the amusement of Roseanne and Jackie. Her character is used often as a comic relief to the family, as well as offering a balance between Roseanne and Jackie's relationship with their mother, and Bev's relationship with Nana Mary. She was promiscuous in her younger days and claimed to have dated Pablo Picasso and Louis Armstrong. She is a big fan of a local radio call-in show that revolves around sex, as she stated in the episode, "If I don't call, they worry".
[edit] Audrey Conner
Played by Ann Wedgeworth and Debbie Reynolds. Audrey is Dan's mother. She is described to have been friendly and a great mother but had serious mental problems. She was later institutionalized and it is revealed that though Dan always despised his father for being gone on business all the time (supposedly the trigger for Audrey's insanity), that he pretended to be neglectful and have Dan stay with other family members in truth to hide the fact that Audrey was actually coming in and out of institutions throughout Dan's childhood; his father thought it'd be easier for Dan to believe he had a "bastard for a father, than a crazy person for a mother". In the lottery fantasy, she was released from the mental hospital once and attempted to kill Dan. (She claimed that he took away her life by locking her in the hospital, so she had to take away his.) Audrey is Pentecostal.
[edit] Ty Tilden
Played by Wings Hauser. Ty, a single parent with two teenage daughters (Charlotte (Mara Hobel) and Molly (Danielle Harris) moved into Kathy Bowman's old house during Season 5. Charlotte was very introverted, a people-pleaser, and shy, and loved to cook for other people (to the point where Roseanne had to tell her to stop bringing food every time she came to the house). Molly, however, was flirty, empty-headed, often thoughtless, sneaky, and engaged in drug use, which made Darlene dislike her when she left her alone after a concert out-of-town. Roseanne saw through Molly's façade, even though her father was too busy with his job to, and gave her a stern dressing-down for being irresponsible. It was Ty's Winnebago in which the Conners and the Tildens traveled to Hollywood for a taping of The Jackie Thomas Show. After Season 5, these characters were dropped from the storyline.
