List of Ugly Betty characters
This article lists the characters featured in the American ABC comedy-drama series Ugly Betty.
Main characters
Betty Suarez
Beatriz "Betty" U. Suarez, played by America Ferrera, is the main protagonist. Aims to run her own magazine in the future. She initially did not know the true circumstances that led to her hiring (annoyed by Daniel's womanizing, Bradford Meade hired Betty to be his son's assistant knowing that Daniel would find her unattractive and get him to take his job seriously), but stayed on as Daniel's assistant as they forged an unlikely friendship. Soon Betty became one of Daniel's most trusted friends, constantly keeping him from trouble, jail, and even once saving his life when his girlfriend, Reneé, proved to be a sociopath of sorts. She was also most supportive of him whenever he was battling against Wilhelmina, his father Bradford, his trans sister Alexis, or untrue accusations. Betty was at first discriminated by most of her colleagues due to her lacking fashion sense, but as she proved to be kind they ceased to mock her as much. She became best friends with Christina McKinney, the first person who was nice to her at Mode. She also became friends with Marc and Amanda, and though they are occasionally mean to her and enjoy teasing her clothes and ideas, they both bonded with Betty on numerous occasions such as when Amanda ran out of cash and moved in with Betty. She went to London for Hilda's bachelorette party with Amanda. She also met Christina Mckinney who is her best friend there as she is a famous designer. She wrote a column of London Fashion Week 2010 for Mr. Dunne a publisher. In the second to last episode of Season 4 she met Mr. Dunne again, who offered her a job as co-owner of a London magazine and she accepted the offer. In the last episode she met Daniel in London and asked him playfully if he wants a job to be her new assistant.
Daniel Meade
Daniel Meade, played by Eric Mabius, was named Editor-in-Chief of Mode by his father after the death of former editor-in-chief Fey Sommers; his appointment made him a target of Wilhelmina's schemes to take over the job that she felt she rightfully deserved. His womanizing and lackadaisical attitude towards his job led Bradford to hire Betty as Daniel's assistant; despite his initial reluctance and attempts to get Betty to quit, he and Betty forged a working partnership and friendship. His womanizing and later prescription drug addiction stems from his unhappy, dysfunctional family life. Sister and boss, Alexis, later convinces him to take a 'leave of absence', effectively ousting him from Mode. Retakes his job back after sales plummet but in an arrangement by Claire now shares co-EIC duties with Wilhelmina Slater.He then quit Mode and wanted to find what he is really passionate for. At the season 4 finale he went to London and met and asked Betty out to dinner.
Ignacio Suarez
Ignacio Suarez, played Tony Plana, is Betty's father. He spent 30 years in the United States as an illegal immigrant. Fled Mexico with his wife Rosa after presumably murdering Ramiro Vasquez, Rosa's first husband, in self-defense. He was sent back to Mexico after being denied a Visa, and became a target of Ramiro Vasquez's revenge. He made it back to the U.S. safely and became a citizen, thanks to Betty's secret deal with Wilhelmina.
Hilda Suarez
Hilda Suarez Talercio, played by Ana Ortiz, is Betty's older sister. Initially protective and somewhat jealous of Betty as she pursued her career, but later became supportive. She was a sales representative for Herbalux Cosmetics until the company went under; after this she pursued a career in cosmetology and opened her own beauty salon. Single mother to Justin ever since her ex-boyfriend Santos abandoned them, but Santos later returned when she enlisted his help to cover the expenses for Ignacio's immigration dilemma; later reconciled with Santos and became engaged, but their happy ending was cut short by Santos's death. Later, she marries Bobby Talercio, her high school boyfriend, at the end of the last season.
Justin Suarez
Justin Suarez, played by Mark Indelicato, is Betty's nephew. His love of fashion and musical theater and flamboyant attitude has brought up questions over his sexual orientation, but his family is supportive of his interests. He had clashed with his father Santos over not being a "normal boy" in Santos's eyes, but later Santos had accepted his son for the way he is. In Season 4 it is revealed that he is a gay and has a boyfriend named Austin. In Hilda's wedding they danced together. In the last episode he was with Austin. He is usually friendly with Marc St. James, who provides Justin with some emotional support.
Claire Meade
Claire Meade, played by Judith Light, is a recovering alcoholic, she was upset over Bradford's numerous infidelities, especially over his twenty-year-long affair with former Mode editor Fey Sommers. She had admitted to Betty that she killed Fey and attempted to leave the country in order to evade murder charges, but then turned herself in. When it was revealed that she was the true owner of Mode, Wilhelmina plotted to gain control by starting an affair with Bradford which led to his divorcing Claire in order to marry Wilhelmina; this action prompted Claire to escape from prison to stop Wilhelmina. After Bradford's death, Claire was sent back to prison to await her murder trial; she cleared of the crime when it was revealed Claire had unknowingly been under the influence of a poisonous perfume concocted by Fey that was meant to kill Claire, but instead the perfume had caused Claire to go insane and cause the events that led to Fey's demise. Now free, she soon found herself bored and neglected by her children; after meeting with other women with similar feelings of restlessness, she was inspired to start up her own magazine, entitled Hot Flash. She and Cal Hartely had an affair and had a child Tyler Meade-Hartley.
Wilhelmina Slater
Wilhelmina Vivian Slater (née Wanda Slater), played by Vanessa Williams, is the series' main antagonist. A respected figure in the fashion industry, she was passed over in favor of Daniel Meade for the Editor-in-Chief job at Mode after the death of Fey Sommers; she initially plotted to gain control on Mode by undermining Daniel's authority, often taking advantage of his inexperience. Wilhelmina was also in league with Alexis Meade, passing along information about the Meades while Alexis recovered from gender reassignment surgery and plotted to frame Bradford Meade for the murder of Fey Sommers. In exchange for Wilhelmina's loyalty, Alexis immediately appointed her as Mode's Editor-in-Chief, but Daniel's objections based on the company charter blocked the appointment. Alexis and Wilhelmina's partnership later crumbled as Alexis reconciled with her brother; Wilhelmina then set her sights on seducing Bradford, manipulated him into divorcing Claire (the true owner of Mode) with the hope of marrying into the Meade family as a way to gain control of Mode. However, Bradford refused to relinquish Mode; Wilhelmina then plotted to sabotage Mode and start up her own magazine, Slater, in its wake once she married Bradford, but his heart attack at the altar and subsequent death squashed her claims to the Meade empire. Following this, she was immediately fired from Mode - but before leaving she crashed the Mode computers, causing them to lose an important upcoming issue. Taking advantage of the crisis, she convinced most of the Mode staff to work for Slater. The plans for Slater eventually fell apart as Wilhelmina was unable to secure the necessary funds. She then resorted to using Bradford's sperm (which Wilhelmina obtained immediately after his death by bribing a debt-ridden doctor) to produce a child in hope of claiming a substantial stake in the Meade empire; she intended to carry the child herself, but complications of a "hostile womb" led her to enlist Christina as a surrogate. Alexis promotes her to editor in chief, after she succeeds in coming back to Mode. However, she would later be demoted again after sales plummet, only to be given co-EIC duties by Claire after Claire buys out Alexis' stake in Meade publications. She became the sole editor-in-chief of Mode in the last episode of season 4 after Daniel quit from the magazine.
Amanda Tanen
Amanda Tanen Sommers, played by Becki Newton, is initially hostile to Betty because she'd taken the job that Amanda was gunning for; along with Marc, she'd find ways to make Betty's job difficult - misplacing memos, "forgetting" to pass along messages, and being nasty in general. Amanda and Betty would later become 'frenemies' - joining forces when needed (such as when they were both in danger of losing their jobs) and confided in Betty about her unhappiness at being one of Daniel's many girlfriends. Despite knowing his reputation, she'd fallen in love with Daniel and hoped she'd be the one to change his ways. When it was clear that Daniel wasn't interested in getting to know Amanda beyond the bedroom, she broke off their relationship. Amanda later admitted she had gotten her job at Mode because her father dealt with the finances of the editor, Fey Sommers; she would later find out that Fey was actually her birth mother, who'd given Amanda up because Fey felt she couldn't devote her efforts to Mode and to being a mother at the same time. With this discovery, Amanda began a quest to find her biological father, as well as capitalize on her connection to the fashion legend to attain fame and respect. At the second last episode of the last season she quit Mode to be a stylist. She discovered that Spencer Cannon was her biological father.
Marc St. James
Marc St. James (né Marcus Weiner), played by Michael Urie, is the series' secondary antagonist. He was devoted to Wilhelmina, often deeply involved in her schemes to take over Mode and Meade Publications. Like Amanda, he was initially hostile to Betty but later became 'frenemies' when they were in danger of losing their jobs, as well as pretending to be a couple when Marc's overbearing mother visited. Betty had pushed a reluctant Marc to end the ruse and tell his mother that he was gay; he finally came out to his mother who seemingly disowned him because of it. He had an ex-boyfriend Cliff but broke up with him until he told him that he slept with another guy. After his break-up with Cliff he had another boyfriend Troy. He was promoted as Junior Fashion Editor at Mode after 5 years of being Wilhelmina's assistant. In the end of the last season Wilhelmina promoted him as the new creative director of Mode.
Matt Hartley
Matt Hartley (season 4; recurring in season 3), played by Daniel Eric Gold, is a love interest for Betty. The two hit it off, leading to indications that they could be more than just friends. He also has an MBA and almost became a lawyer. It was later revealed that he comes from a wealthy family after Betty discovered that a check sent to her family came from him. In the season 3 Finale, Matt and Betty are about to move in together. However, Matt sees Betty kissing Henry and breaks up with her at the end of the episode. In season 4, Matt ignores Betty and tries to show that he has no feelings for Betty but he has. In order to make Betty realize what she is missing, Matt takes a job as managing editor at Mode. He makes her life miserable, but they grow closer. Later on in the episode "The Bahamas Triangle", Matt kisses Betty and they get back together again, until Matt leaves in "Back in Her Place" to tour and help out in Africa.
Recurring characters
| Name | Portrayed by | Occupation(s) | Biography |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cliff St. Paul | David Blue | Photographer | Marc's fiance; Marc was initially ashamed of having their relationship out in the open at Mode due to Cliff's less-than-fashionable appearance, but Marc later apologized after realizing he really didn't care what others thought of their relationship as long as they were happy. The relationship would end after Marc admitted that he slept with another guy to him just before he proposed to Cliff. |
| Suzuki St. Pierre (the alias of Byron Wu) |
Alec Mapa | Fashion TV host | Suzuki St. Pierre is a flamboyantly gay host on the Fashion Channel whose reporting on the Meade family and Mode often fuels the intensity/plotting of the main characters. It is later revealed that St. Pierre's real name is Byron Wu and he is in fact a serious journalist, heterosexual, and lives a mainstream life with his wife and children in the suburbs when not on air. He developed the Suzuki St. Pierre character when he was unable to find lucrative employment in mainstream media and has been blackmailed by people threatening to "out" him as straight. |
| Elena | Lauren Velez | Nurse | Ignacio's girlfriend; Was friendly with Hilda when she hired her to watch over Ignacio, who at first disliked her changing his normal routine after his heart attack. But that would all changed when he began to warm up to her, resulting in the two becoming a couple, a move that would cause Hilda to turn on her but later warm up to. She also helped deliver the presumed "Meade-Slater" baby during Fashion Week 2009. |
| Connor Owens | Grant Bowler | Chief Financial Officer of Meade Publications | Originally hired by Wilhelmina (but in reality by Daniel as part of his scheme) to help solve a financial crisis at the company. He is a long-time friend of Daniel. He had a fiancee, Molly, but that would end abruptly thanks to Wilhelmina (who wanted Connor) and by Daniel (whom he would punch out after Molly dumped Connor). Betty later learned that he was siphoning money out of the company, and when Wilhelmina was tempted with an offer to go away with him, she accepted only to discover that he had left the country after she tried to turn him in. |
| Nico Slater | Jowharah Jones (season 1) Yaya DaCosta (season 4) |
Daughter of Wilhelmina Slater | Her relationship with Wilhelmina is uneasy, as Wilhelmina treats Nico more as a nuisance; they later reconcile. Nico later attempts to extort Wilhelmina by telling her that she had murdered her abusive boyfriend, but due to interference from Marc, Wilhelmina exposed Nico who left in shame. |
| Calvin "Cal" Hartley | David Rasche | Billionaire businessman | Father of Matt Hartley. Agrees to invest in Meade Publications, which will go broke if he doesn't. Insists that Wilhelmina remain with the company even though she was not the mother of the baby she believed was the biological son of Bradford. He had an affair with Claire Meade that resulted in a baby. |
| Victoria Hartley | Christine Baranski | Socialite | Protective of her son Matt and resented Betty for dating him. Estranged from Calvin because of his affair with Claire, thus in turn make both ladies enemies. |
| Meegan | Smith Cho | Betty's co-worker | Tends to give Betty the cold shoulder, despite Betty's efforts to win her over. |
| Natalie | Jamie-Lynn Sigler | Assistant to Daniel Meade | She met Daniel at a support group and became close. She also took over Betty's assistant role, much to the resentment of Betty. She also began manipulating Daniel by luring him into a cult-like organization |
| Bennett Wallace | Dylan Baker | Cult leader | Leader of "The Community of the Phoenix," a cult that is trying to lure Daniel into their fold by using Mode as their front. Natalie is a member and supposedly taking orders from him. |
| Austin Marley | Ryan McGinnis | High school student | Began a rivalry with Justin over a girl in their acting class. Following one of the class's performances, the two shared an unexpected kiss when the curtain fell. Austin and Justin date secretly, with Justin's stepfather-to-be Bobby seeing them stealing a kiss at the front door of the Suarez house. Austin is very patient with Justin as he deals with his sexuality. Austin attends Hilda's wedding as Justin's date and the two dance together. |
| Bradford Meade (seasons 1 & 2) | Alan Dale | CEO of Meade Publications | Placed his son Daniel in charge of Mode following the death of Fey Sommers, the previous Mode editor and Bradford's mistress; this appointment angered Wilhelmina, who immediately began plotting to take over Mode. Annoyed by Daniel's lackadaisical attitude towards work and tendency to sleep with his assistants, Bradford hired Betty knowing that Daniel would find her unattractive and get him to focus on his job. He was suspected in Fey's murder, but was cleared when his wife Claire confessed. Bradford favored his son Alex over Daniel, until Alex told Bradford that he'd wanted a sex change; Bradford vehemently objected and threatened to disown Alex if he went through with the operation. After faking his death, Alex re-emerged as Alexis and with a vendetta against Bradford. When her partnership with Alexis fell apart, Wilhelmina set her sights on seducing Bradford, hoping to marry him and seize control of Meade Publications; however, Bradford suffered a heart attack and later died before he could say "I do". |
| Alexis Meade (seasons 1-3) (né Alexander Spencer Meade) |
Elizabeth Payne (credited as "The Mysterious Woman") Rebecca Romijn |
CEO and President of Meade Publications Editor-in-chief of Mode |
Formerly Alex Meade and the actual father (now second blood mother) of Daniel Meade, Jr.; upon Bradford's vehement objections over Alex's desire to have gender reassignment surgery, he faked his death and hid for two years prior to the series start, recuperating from the surgery and emerged as Alexis. She was in league with Wilhelmina in plotting revenge against Bradford (in exchange for her loyalty, she promised Wilhelmina the editor job at Mode), but their schemes fell through as Alexis reconciled with Daniel and even attempted to make peace with her father, until she found out Bradford was plotting to get Alexis out of the country. In revenge, she hired a hitman to kill Bradford, but this plan backfired as the hitman had cut the brakes of Bradford's car that Alexis drove and crashed in a rush to get Daniel help following an overdose. After the accident Alexis suffered from retrograde amnesia, but has since remembered everything. Upon Bradford's death, she and Daniel fought over control of Meade Publications - which they'd settled though a paintball game in the Mode offices. She briefly sided with Wilhelmina by giving her the EIC role but changed her mind and reinstated Daniel after sales plummet. She would later give up her role as owner of Meade Publications by giving her shares back to Claire after she agreed to plead guilty after she accidentally pushed Christina down a flight of stairs. Claire gives shares to Wilhelmina in return for Alexis's freedom. When released, Alexis decides to leave and live in Paris. |
| Christina McKinney (seasons 1-3; recurring season 4) | Ashley Jensen | Seamstress at Mode Fashion designer |
She was the first person to befriend Betty when she arrived at Mode; with her knack for office gossip, she revealed to Betty about the true circumstances that led to Betty's hiring as Daniel's assistant. Despite her lack of trust in "the bitches at Mode" and especially Wilhelmina, she often became a willing pawn in Wilhelmina's schemes: as an aspiring fashion designer, Christina agreed to deliver evidence that would implicate Bradford Meade for the murder of Fey Sommers; in exchange Wilhelmina featured Christina's designs in the Mode fashion show. Christina admitted that she emigrated from Scotland five years prior to the first season, after abandoning her alcoholic husband Stuart. Stuart would later track Christina down at Mode, where he revealed he had severe liver damage and only had a few months to live, unless he secured the funds for an experimental treatment. Christina promised to get the money, but after her initial attempts failed, she reluctantly accepted Wilhelmina's offer in exchange to serve as the surrogate mother for Wilhelmina and Bradford Meade's child. She later gave birth to the baby (actually her own) during Fashion Week 2009. She eventually leaves with the baby and Stuart to go back to Scotland. She became a famous fashion designer in London and introduces Betty to Mr. Dunne who is a publisher and was last seen in Hilda's bachelorette party. |
| Daniel "DJ" Meade, Jr. | Julian de la Celle | Schoolboy | Daniel "DJ" Meade, Jr. is the illegitimate son of character Alexis Meade. His existence was revealed in the final episode (2.18) of Season 2. Daniel Sr. had an affair with the child's mother over a decade earlier, but she had never contacted him to let him know the child was his. When she died, she left a letter for her son naming Daniel Sr. as the father. When Daniel Jr. came to New York City on a field trip, he left the group and wandered to Mode magazine, where he found Daniel. With the help of a translator, he told Daniel Sr. his story. Daniel initially denied he was the boy's father and demanded a paternity test, attributing the scandal to his nemesis, Wilhelmina Slater. Upon reading the letter from the boy's mother, he was convinced.
Season 3 begins one month after the finale, in late summer to early fall. Daniel Jr., now called DJ, understands more English, although he speaks very little. The same goes for Daniel Sr. in the reverse. He and his father communicate by predominately speaking to one another in their native languages with the occasional usage of words or sentences from the other. They understand each another with increasing success. As the show was English-language, DJ's French dialog was often clarified by situational context, the responses of the other characters or subtitles. |
| Henry Grubstick (season 2; recurring in seasons 1, 3, 4) | Christopher Gorham | Accountant at Mode Accountant |
Originally from Tucson, Arizona. At the series start he shared a flirtation with Betty, but didn't make any serious advances since she was still involved with Walter. However, when Betty had finally broken up with Walter, Henry's ex-girlfriend Charlie had arrived from Tucson to reconcile with Henry. Betty admitted to Henry she had feelings for him, but was uncomfortable staying friends with him and Charlie. He later broke up with Charlie in order to date Betty, but then Charlie dropped in on their first date to reveal she was pregnant with Henry's child. Despite the circumstances, he and Betty start up a relationship, ever present of the looming deadline and heartbreak in store for them. The two would later break up after she turned down his marriage proposal. He also breaks up with Charlie after he returns to Arizona and now travels around the world with a new girlfriend. Later, he receives a drunk dialed message from Betty, inviting him to be her date to Hilda's wedding. The two eventually figure out they are too different to be together, and remain friends. |
| Sofia Reyes | Salma Hayek | Editor-In-Chief of MYW Author |
Used Daniel and Betty by luring Betty away from Mode and manipulating Daniel into falling in love with and proposing to her so she could make him the subject of her premiere issue, and in the process endures Amanda's wrath. |
| Santos | Kevin Alejandro | Petty criminal | Hilda's late fiance and Justin's father; Known for gambling and running into trouble with loan sharks; Was hated by Ignacio because of his background and abandoning Hilda and Justin; Homophobic towards Justin, but defended him regardless; Asked Hilda to marry him, but would lose his life when he tried to protect a shopkeeper against a robber. |
| Walter | Kevin Sussman | Electronics store employee | Betty's boyfriend at series start; in the pilot episode, he abruptly dumped Betty for Gina Gambarro, but then pleaded Betty to take him back after finding out that Gina only wanted him for his employee discount. He and Betty reconciled briefly, although Walter's derision of Betty's job at Mode and her ambitions in general further strained their fragile relationship. They eventually broke up when Walter decided to accept a new job in Maryland; the split was amicable as they both admitted they had been drifting apart for a long time. |
| Gina Gambarro | Ava Gaudet | Housewife | Used Walter; Archenemy of Betty and Hilda; spent time in Juvenile Detention as teen; spreads gossip; left Queens to marry a wealthy doctor, used that to restart her feud with Hilda. According to Christina and Daniel, Gina has a name that would fit a fashion designer. |
| Fabia | Gina Gershon | Fashion/cosmetics mogul | Is a top advertiser at Mode. A close "frenemy" to Wilhelmina Slater. With the exception of the "Pilot", in every appearance in season 1, she insults Wilhemina, with comments about her age or appearance. |
| Steve | Stelio Savante | Private investigator | Hired by Bradford Meade to dig up information about Fey Sommers' death, especially anything that would implicate Bradford's involvement in Fey's death. He was later discovered to be a double agent - presumed by Bradford that Steve was working for Fey, but actually worked for Alexis and Wilhelmina - and buried alive by Bradford's henchman. |
| Grace Chin | Lucy Liu | Lawyer | An accomplished defense attorney hired to represent Bradford, who was accused of Fey Sommers' murder. She agreed to take the case only after Daniel fully apologized for standing her up during their college days. She and Daniel briefly had a relationship, which ended (along with her involvement in Bradford's case) when Alexis threatened to expose their affair. |
| Constance Grady | Octavia Spencer | Immigration caseworker | Caseworker who made Ignacio's life a living hell...until she starts falling for him; Has a habit of falling for male immigrants and uses that scheme to hold their green cards applications over their heads; When Ignacio told her he wasn't her boyfriend she slapped an ankle bracelet on him as payback; Discovered by Hilda that she was actually fired after she attempted to marry Ignacio. |
| Ameila "Yoga" Bluman | Lorraine Toussaint | She was a convict who befriended Claire and aided with her escape from prison; she was incredibly protective of Claire, keeping her from doing something rash that would lead to their capture. They planned to flee to Italy until Claire heard of Bradford's heart attack: they briefly hid at the Suarez home when Claire decided to see Bradford one last time while Yoga stayed behind. Upon her re-arrest, Claire told the police that Yoga was killed during their escape; after hearing this, Yoga fled the Suarez home (presumably for Italy as originally planned) and has not been seen since. | |
| Renee Slater (née Rhonda Slater) |
Gabrielle Union | Wilhelmina's younger sister; dated Daniel despite Wilhelmina's objections. She has a history of serious mental illness that led to the accidental death of her ex-boyfriend, and underwent years of therapy and was on medication. When Renee found out the truth about Wilhelmina's child with Bradford Meade, Wilhelmina switched her medication, prompting Renee's disorder to re-emerge: Renee became irrationally jealous and moody, and was so convinced that Betty was in love with Daniel that she accidentally set Daniel's apartment on fire and attempted to kill Betty. Following this incident, she was committed to a mental hospital. | |
| Kimmie Keegan | Lindsay Lohan | Manager at Flushing Burger Associate Editor at Mode |
Betty's High School schoolmate who tortured her on numerous accounts. She worked as Ignacio Suarez's boss at Flushing Burger earlier in season three. After abusing Ignacio at work, she was confronted by Betty and Hilda, getting them all into a food fight after she destroyed Betty's "idea binder". She and Betty later reconciled after Betty apologized for her behavior, and Kimmie admitted that she was jealous of Betty because she seemed to have everything "so together". She later arrived at Mode in hope for Betty to find her a job, and was originally a disaster but after Betty decided to help her, became more successful. She then befriended Marc and Amanda, but after Betty accidentally got her a big promotion, she began to treat Marc, Amanda, as well as Betty horribly. However, Wilhelmina soon fired her after she attempted to trump Willi in a decision for the cover shoot that Betty was in charge of. This a scheme concocted by Marc, Amanda, and Betty, although the latter tried to warn her eventually but she did not listen. She vowed to get revenge before being taken away by security. |
| Beckett "Becks" Scott | Bailey Chase | Photographer | Known to be a playboy and hangs out with Daniel when he is in town; spent a lot of time in Africa. Though a loyal friend, he can sometimes be a bad influence in motivating Daniel to continue his womanizing ways. His character is the American counterpart of Mario Calderon. |
| Nick Pepper | Max Greenfield | Assistant to Alexis Meade | Not liked by the other assistants because of his "I'm better than anyone" attitude; has an ongoing (and romantic) rivalry with Amanda, who wants to take his job. He would end up taking a bigger paying job as an assistant editor at a New York daily. He had a sort of babyish attitude and takes advantage of some things but not with Alexis. He has been hated by everybody at Mode but a subtle relationship for Alexis and is sometimes sarcastic. He inspired Betty to apply at YETI after he became an editor. |
| Giovanni "Gio" Rossi | Freddy Rodriguez | Sandwich salesman | His annoyance has gotten Betty's attention in more ways than one; has dreams of owning a restaurant. As Hilda has noted, Gio appears to have a crush on Betty. After she turned down his offer to go to Rome, he went as far as banning her from his life, but in the end they become friends and has moved on. In season 4, Gio meets Betty in England and states he is engaged to another and inspires her to step off the path of fashion |
| Sheila | Illeana Douglas | Creative Director at Mode | Sarcastic version of a Wilhelmina-in-training; treats Betty as if she never existed; admitted to having made out with Fey Sommers and made her true feelings known about daughter Amanda and her talents; Obsessed with Victoria's Secret and drinking under working stress. Briefly took over as Creative Director of Mode when Wilhelmina left to start her own magazine. |
| Kenny | John Cho | Accountant | Henry's friend and fellow accountant at Meade Publications; despite his preppy, upper-class upbringing, he harbors dreams of becoming a rap superstar. His habit of "street-talking" annoys everyone, especially Betty and Alexis. |
| Hilary | Juliette Goglia | Junior high school student | Justin's best friend and fellow Drama Club member; she told Justin about where Hilda was really working at after she was fired from her first job at a beauty salon; Is under peer pressure from her fellow female classmates to be more like them. |
| Charlotte "Charlie" | Jayma Mays | Jewelry designer | Henry's ex-girlfriend and Betty's rival; came to New York unannounced in order to rekindle her relationship with Henry, who was in love with Betty. She initially befriended Betty, but later realized Betty and Henry's attraction to each other and became jealous. Henry later broke up with her in order to date Betty, but then Charlie revealed that she was pregnant. Betty would find out that Charlie had a fling with Dr. Farkas, Betty's orthodontist, putting her child's paternity in question. After Henry found out about Charlie's infidelity, a paternity test was done and revealed that Henry was the father. She moved back to Tucson, but returned to New York late in her pregnancy; bitter about the turn of events, she was incredibly nasty to Betty and looked for ways to keep Henry and Betty from spending time together. Charlie later reconciled with Betty, admitting that she cheated because Henry was in love with Betty and she acted out against both of them because she was alone and afraid. After Charlie gave birth to their son Nate, both she and Henry returned to Tucson, but the two would later break up. |
| Jodi Papadakis | Bernadette Peters | Teacher at YETI Editor at the New York Review |
Proclaimed by Betty as her idol, but she somehow gives her a hard time when it comes to handing out difficult assignments. In the season 3 finale she steals Betty's dream job at the New York Review. |
| Molly Meade | Sarah Lafleur | Elementary school teacher | Connor's former fiancée and Daniel's wife. They became a couple after she broke with Connor, but the relationship took a turn for the worse after she reveals to Daniel that she has cancer. Even though he was shocked, they finally get back together and after a while he proposes to her. In the season finale of season 3, to Daniel's shock and dejection, Molly dies. |
| Archie Rodriguez | Ralph Macchio | New York City councilman | He was responsible for having Hilda shut down her beauty shop because she didn't have a license, but later advised her she could operate as a boutique. The two begin to date, but drift apart slowly, so they break up |
| Randy | Max Ehrich | High school student | Randy was one of the bullies in Justin's school who later surprised Justin by showing up at an audition for a Broadway musical. He became Justin's new best friend but under pressure from his "jock" friends, he humiliated Justin by calling him "pathetic", thus ending their friendship. |
| Bobby Talercio | Adam Rodriguez | Teacher | Hilda's love interest in season 4 and eventually husband. Bobby and Hilda dated in high school, not long before she got involved with Santos. Betty always had a crush on Bobby, but he always thought of her as a kid. Hilda and Bobby became reacquainted when she discovered that he was teaching Driver's Ed at Justin's school. Hilda and Bobby then began seeing each other again, but Ignacio wasn't pleased, because he had always believed that the rumors about Bobby's family being involved with the mob were true. Eventually, Bobby proves himself to Hilda, as well as to her family, and he asks her to marry him. Bobby accidentally spots Justin kissing Austin and "promises" not to tell Hilda, but intentionally clues her in. They were planning a "come-out" party until Marc told them it was the best idea to let him come out to them in his own time. Bobby and Hilda get married in the second final episode, and later move into their own apartment with Justin. |
Minor characters
Characters who appeared in at least one episode as part of various storylines.
| Name | Portrayed by | Occupation(s) | Biography |
|---|---|---|---|
| Vincent Bianchi | Rhys Coiro | Photographer | In "Queens for a Day": Initially refused to work for Mode due to a dispute, but after bonding with Betty over their neighborhood connections, she convinced him to change his mind. |
| Leah Stillman | Debi Mazar | Confidence trickster | Befriended Hilda by claiming to be a lawyer's assistant; scammed Hilda out of thousands of dollars when Leah promised to help out with Ignacio's immigration troubles. |
| Ted LeBeau | Brett Cullen | Owner of Beau-Mart | Texan businessman who romanced Wilhelmina, but ended their relationship when he decided to reconcile with his ex-wife. |
| Hunter | Teddy Sears | Stripper | In Four Thanksgivings and a Funeral, he posed as Sofia Reyes's perfect fiancé to make Daniel feel insecure. His real job and involvement in Sofia's plot was later discovered by Betty and Christina in "Sofia's Choice". |
| Petra | AnnaLynne McCord | Fashion model | In "Punch Out" and "Petra-Gate": pretended to be 16 years old after she slept with Daniel in an attempt to further her career; revealed to be actually 20 years old. |
| Lena | Ivana Miličević | Manager | In "Punch Out" and "Petra-Gate": Petra's mother and manager, who initially posed as her sister to charm Daniel; after Daniel slept with Petra, she admitted that she was actually her mother and would turn Daniel in to the police unless he put Petra on the cover of Mode. Their plan is foiled when Petra's true age is revealed. |
| Tavares | Mykel Shannon-Jenkins | Fashion designer | In Petra-Gate and A Tree Grows in Guadalajara: Pretended to be gay in order to be taken seriously as a designer; he charmed Amanda into getting him an appointment with Wilhelmina.Him and Amanda often had sex thought she turned him straight and he admitted that he was actually straight ; they then started dating in secret. He treated Amanda horribly in public to keep up the ruse prompting her to break it off, but not before exposing and humiliating him. |
| Rodrigo Veloso | Cristian de la Fuente | Creative Director at Mode Brasil | Alexis' ex-boyfriend.At Wilhelmina's suggestion, he was recruited by Bradford to seduce Alexis and convince her to move to Brazil with him, in exchange for the editor-in-chief job at Mode Brasil. His relationship with Alexis ended when he discovered the truth. |
| Dwayne | Rick Fox | Bodyguard | Wilhelmina's bodyguard and lover, despite her engagement to Bradford Meade. Betty found out about their affair, but agreed to keep it a secret when Wilhelmina offered to use her connections to speed up Ignacio's return from Mexico. |
| Diane | Kristin Chenoweth | Dental nurse | A dental nurse who helped Betty uncover the affair between Dr. Farkass and Charlie, and encouraged her to tell Henry. Diane had a love for romantic comedy films and regularly compared life situations to movies. |
| Lily | High school student | A student at Justin's drama class. Justin claimed to have a crush on Lily, and kissed her on stage, but later admitted that in fact it was their classmate Austin that he had the crush on. | |
| Penny Meadows | Rachel Dratch | Features editor at Mode | The former features editor at Mode who apparently isn't that pleasant to be around. Betty tells Daniel that "She's mean and scary, and always has terrible breath like coffee and mothballs". She falls 28 stories off the Meade Publications building to her death after trying to shoo pigeons off the window sill of her office. Marc and Betty vie for her job, and after a flip of a coin, Betty receives it. |
| Heinrich | Michael Stuhlbarg | Fashion Designer | Appeared in There's No Place Like Mode Heinrich was an eccentric fashion designer whose designs centred around the idea of pain, using materials such as; broken glass, barbed wire and razor blades. Betty was asked to write his press release for the Mode show but eventually ran his show. She at first was unsure of an idea due to Heinrich being obscure with what he wanted and telling her to 'listen to the clothes. After Matt gave her the idea to personally get involved, she discovered that he'd grown up behind the Berlin wall and lost his father as he tried to escape, using this as an idea she presented the show that William would be born at. Heinrich loved the show and gave her a barbed wire headpiece which Amanda then tried to steal. According to Amanda he is her favourite designer even though originally she said she'd never heard of him. At the end of the episode Betty jokingly threatens Daniel with making him wear Heinrich's clothes. |
Unseen characters
The following characters play important roles in Ugly Betty, although they are never seen on screen.
| Name | Occupation(s) | Biography |
|---|---|---|
| Fey Sommers | Former Editor-in-chief of Mode | (Died: 2006) Formidable longtime editor of Mode magazine, Fey gave birth to a daughter (Amanda Tanen), but placed the baby up for adoption. Fey conducted an affair with Bradford Meade and attempted to poison his wife Claire, but the murder attempt backfired when Claire cut the brakes on Fey's car. Her former assistant, then-Creative Director Wilhelmina Slater, attempted to frame Bradford for the murder, but failed. |
| Rosa Suarez (née Sálazar, formerly Vasquez) |
Unknown (possible housewife) | (Died: 2004) Deceased mother of Betty and Hilda Suarez and wife of Ignacio Suarez. She was originally married to Ramiro Vasquez in Mexico and Ignacio was employed as their cook — Ramiro was physically abusive to Rosa and Ignacio killed him. Ignacio and Rosa fled to the U.S. where they married, and also where Rosa died after a long battle with cancer. In the episode "A Tree Grows in Guadalajara", it is mentioned that Betty strongly resembles Rosa. |
See also
- Ugly Betty
- List of Ugly Betty cast members
- Vidas de Fuego, the Show-within-a-show telenovela.
External links
- Bettysuarez.com Official website at ABC.com, with info on the characters.
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