List of ''American Horror Story: Coven'' characters

American Horror Story: Coven is the third season of the FX horror anthology series American Horror Story. The season focuses on the oppression and marginalization of witches, who resides in present-day New Orleans, as they try to combat organized efforts to destroy them posed by shell corporations and a racially charged Voodoo tribe. But while the witches learn to harness their supernatural powers, they learn their biggest threat comes from within the coven in the form of a greedy Supreme Witch, who enlists the help of barbaric serial killers to locate the rising Supreme and kill her so she may remain in power forever.

Veteran cast members include Sarah Paulson, Taissa Farmiga, Jessica Lange, Evan Peters, Lily Rabe, Denis O'Hare, and Frances Conroy, while Emma Roberts and Kathy Bates made their debuts. Special guest stars who made appearances include Gabourey Sidibe, Angela Bassett, Danny Huston, and Patti LuPone. Recurring appearances by veteran cast members were made by Jamie Brewer, Alexandra Breckenridge, and Robin Bartlett.

Cast members

Main cast

Supporting cast

Characters

Main characters

Cordelia Foxx

Cordelia Foxx (portrayed by Sarah Paulson) is the "disappointing" and infertile daughter of the current Supreme, Fiona Goode, and the practical headmistress of Miss Robichaux's Academy. She is protective of her students, content with her role, and prefers to settle conflict in a peaceful manner, opposing her mother's beliefs. However, Cordelia never backs down from doing what is best for the Coven and her students, even when that means attempting to murder her own mother, or committing self-mutilation. In "Fearful Pranks Ensue", an unknown assailant throws sulphuric acid on her face when she is in a restaurant bathroom and Cordelia is blinded. As a result, Cordelia develops the gift of Second Sight, which enables her to receive visions of the past and future. This new power leads her to discover her husband Hank's infidelity, as well as the other dark secrets of Coven members. Growing in confidence from this ability and her mother's ever-weakening state, Cordelia begins to develop other powers and takes a more assertive leadership role when freed from her mother's shadow. Cordelia is talented at mixing potions due to her proficiency and knowledge of botany and magical plants. Cordelia's relationship with Fiona is complicated and contentious, and Cordelia considers Myrtle Snow, whom Cordelia calls "Auntie Myrtle", her substitute mother and role model. Her personal hell is pathetically begging for her mother's approval and being slapped for it on eternal loop. Cordelia assumes the title of Supreme after completing the 7 Wonders on the urging of Myrtle, the resulting surge of energy healing her wounded eyes. For her performance, Paulson was nominated for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Miniseries or a Movie.

Zoe Benson

Zoe Benson (portrayed by Taissa Farmiga) is a shy, young girl who discovers she is a witch in "Bitchcraft", when she accidentally kills her boyfriend Charlie by causing him to have a severe brain aneurysm and subsequently dying when they have sex for the first time. She is then sent to Miss Robichaux's Academy by her mother, who knew of her family's genetic affliction and is afraid of Zoe's power. Zoe accompanies Madison Montgomery to a college party where she meets and falls in love at first sight with Kyle Spencer, a university student – however, Kyle is murdered by Madison that same night. Obsessed and depressed with Kyle's death, Zoe brings about his eventual resurrection. With Kyle's support, Zoe quickly becomes a more assertive witch and a strong contender for the next Supreme, growing from the nervous, innocent and frightened young witch into a woman willing to kill for her sister witches and the Coven. Zoe often acts as a leader and is an influence on the other students, encouraging them to act as a united team – though she frequently comes into conflict with Madison. Unlike the other students, she is also very proficient at casting spells. In "Burn, Witch. Burn!", she demonstrates her power when she breaks a strong curse placed on the undead by voodoo priestess Marie Laveau. She also develops undefined intuitive abilities and several other powers. Her strong-willed naiveté often leads her into trouble, such as when she unwittingly revives the Axeman. Her personal version of hell is Kyle continuously breaking up with her and saying he no longer loves her.

Myrtle Snow

Myrtle Snow (portrayed by Frances Conroy as old Myrtle, Michelle Page as young Myrtle) is the eccentric head of the Witches' Council with shocking orange hair. Though she adores Fiona's daughter Cordelia as her own, Myrtle holds a lifelong grudge against Fiona, whom she (correctly) believes murdered the previous Supreme while the two were together at school, and makes frequent attempts to denounce or overthrow her. Fiona, in turn, scape-goats, frames, and eventually (ineffectually) burns Myrtle at the stake. Myrtle is a graduate and former headmistress of Miss Robichaux's Academy. Myrtle is a Guardian of Veracity in the Vernacular, which means she has the ability to know when the truth is being told and can detect lies. She can enchant others so they will utter nothing but the truth, and she is also seen using telekinesis, which is her favorite of the powers that she possesses. Myrtle also has the power of transmutation (teleportation) and uses it frequently, disappearing and reappearing throughout the Academy. Myrtle is a traveled gourmand who adores exquisite food, haute couture, jewelry, romance, and associating with fashion designers. Fiercely loyal to the Coven as a whole (though this does not stop her from gleefully murdering the remaining members of the Witches' Council) and to Cordelia, Myrtle wants what is best for their future and believes Misty Day or Zoe to be the strongest candidates for future Supreme. Myrtle's last word before her second and final death is "Balenciaga". For her performance, Conroy was nominated for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Miniseries or a Movie.

Kyle Spencer

Kyle Spencer (portrayed by Evan Peters) is a cheerful college student on a scholarship, and the leader of his fraternity. He falls in love with Zoe at first sight. The victim of extensive sexual abuse, Kyle worked hard to earn a scholarship and escape poverty for college, and Kyle's dream was to become a civil engineer and ensure a catastrophe like Hurricane Katrina would never happen again. He is killed at the beginning of the season, when Madison flips over a bus he is riding in. He is later revived in the morgue using a spell cast by Zoe and Madison, after his severed head is attached to various body parts from other victims of the crash. He suffers severe drawbacks after his resurrection – such as rarely being able to speak, suffering fits of murderous rage, and often being confused, as a child would be. Kyle enters into a menage-a-trois relationship with Zoe and Madison, and becomes the "guard dog" of the Coven. Kyle chooses Zoe exclusively once he fully regains his mental abilities. Eventually, Kyle becomes the new butler of the Academy, taking over Spalding's role.

Misty Day

Misty Day (portrayed by Lily Rabe) is a young witch who is not associated with a Coven of her own. She was discovered as a witch after being ostracized and burned alive by her Pentecostal community for exhibiting the extremely rare "gift of resurgence" (the ability to fully resurrect the long dead, as opposed to the Seven Wonders' vitalum vitalis, which merely balances life forces between the healthy witch performing it, and the ill/just dead receiver). Her death made the news and Misty was thought to be dead, but she mysteriously revived herself and spends her time alone walking through the swamps. She is a lonely woman who is obsessed with Stevie Nicks, believing her to be a kindred spirit and a white witch. Misty is kind, despises killing, and is desperate to find a place where she'll belong as family, though she is reluctant at first to become the next Supreme everyone assumes she will be. She helps heal Kyle's body after Zoe and Madison revive him with a spell, and also ends up using her healing powers to revive Myrtle Snow after Myrtle is burned at the stake. Her powers seem limited based on the amount of time the body has been dead, as observed in "The Axeman Cometh", when she struggles to revive Madison, who had been dead for weeks. She has also shown minor abilities controlling animals, such as making the alligators attack the poachers and also calling animals away from Myrtle's charred body. Misty has demonstrated telekinetic abilities and has also been observed manifesting in other areas at will, potentially demonstrating teleportation ability. Misty's personal hell is a memory from her school days, where she revives a dead frog meant for dissection in order to save it, only to be forced to murder it herself as she screams and her classmates laugh at her, and then, when she revives it again, the murder and laughter repeat. Misty perishes when she cannot escape her personal hell within the allotted time, her body reduced to ash in the physical world.

Madison Montgomery

Madison Montgomery (portrayed by Emma Roberts) is a young Hollywood star who makes $7 million a picture. She finds out that she's a witch after using her unknown Telekinesis to murder her director who annoyed and mistreated her. She had been in and out of rehab for many years and was the sole support of her parasitic family from a very young age. In "Bitchcraft" after being drugged and gang raped by the frat boys who film the event, Madison uses her power to flip the frat boy bus in revenge, killing Kyle. She forges a bond with Zoe, who uses her power to kill the surviving ring leader. The two then revive Kyle amateurishly. Madison craves popularity and fashion and proves herself to be the next Supreme after setting the curtains on fire at new neighbour Luke Ramsey (Alexander Dreymon) house, displaying a new power in "The Replacements" causing Fiona to kill Madison in the exact spot where Fiona killed Anna-Lee Leighton back in 1971 so that Fiona's chances to stay the Supreme are more likely, regardless of her battle with cancer. She communicates with the girls using a ouija board and is hidden inside Spalding's room. Misty revives her, but she cannot feel any pain or sensation and after her resurrection due to the amount of time she was dead. She begins a love triangle with Kyle and Zoe and becomes more desperate for the throne. In the Seven Wonders, Madison refuses to revive a killed Zoe and fails to complete a challenge causing her to storm out, threatening to reveal the Coven's secrets to the rest of the world. While packing to leave, Kyle chokes Madison to death for refusing to resurrect Zoe.

Spalding

Spalding (portrayed by Denis O'Hare) is the butler of the Academy. He has been mute since 1971 when he cut off his own tongue to prevent the Witches' Council from finding out the truth about Anna-Lee's murder. He has been in unrequited love with Fiona for many years. Spalding is fond of tea parties and has an extensive doll collection that he plays with while dressing in a woman's nightgown. He adds Madison's body to his collection. He later is interrogated by Zoe, Nan and Queenie about Madison's murder, claiming he was responsible, though Zoe is skeptical. Later, Zoe recites an incantation, enchanting Spalding's tongue and returning it to his mouth. He admits that Fiona was responsible for murdering Madison, due to his tongue being enchanted to tell the truth, and Zoe stabs Spalding in the chest, killing him. After his death, he remains in the Academy as a ghost, and, along with LaLaurie, is responsible for the death of Marie Laveau. He then acts as a mentor to Kyle as the new butler, saying that they are "the help".

Delphine LaLaurie

Delphine LaLaurie (portrayed by Kathy Bates) is based on the true-life New Orleans socialite from the 1830s, infamous for killing and torturing her slaves. To punish Delphine for disfiguring the houseboy, Bastien, the voodoo priestess Marie Laveau tricks Delphine into drinking a potion of eternal life and buries her alive. Delphine is re-discovered by Nan and a war rekindles between the voodoo tribe and the witches when Fiona digs Delphine up and houses her to use as a bargaining chip against Laveau. Delphine is immortal because of Marie Laveau's potion and cannot die. Delphine is a complex, dualistic character, at once pitiable and monstrous. Arrogant and proud, she's also practical and willing to get her hands dirty. She truly loves her family, but is willing to torture them to keep them from disobeying her. In the Academy, Delphine is required to be Queenie's slave and the two form a tentatively fond relationship. Queenie's betrayal smashes Delphine's trust and inclinations to attempt atonement for her racist ways, and Delphine again takes up her murderous hobbies when tempted. Delphine longs for death, but her personal hell is being locked in a cage in her torture attic, just out of reach of her daughters, and forced to watch her African-American enemy torture her children in front of her, without being able to help. For her performance, Bates was nominated for the Saturn Award for Best Supporting Actress on Television and the Satellite Award for Best Supporting Actress – Series, Miniseries or Television Film, and won the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Miniseries or a Movie.

Fiona Goode

Fiona Goode (portrayed by Jessica Lange as adult Fiona, Riley Voelkel as teen Fiona) is the Supreme witch of her generation, the leader of the Salem witch descendants. She lives a glamorous life of luxury in Los Angeles. She returns to Miss Robichaux's Academy after the murder of Misty Day with the intention of teaching the young witches to fight, and reconciling with her estranged daughter Cordelia. She yearns for eternal life and looks for any way to get it. Fiona, being the Supreme, embodies countless magical abilities including, but not limited to, telekinesis, pyrokinesis, vitalum vitalis, clairvoyance, concilium, descensum, resurgence, divination, and transmutation. As the Supreme, Fiona has mastered the Seven Wonders, seven magical abilities that signify a witch as the Supreme. Fiona grows terribly ill and develops terminal cancer due to a new Supreme rising within the Coven. She tries at all costs to regain her youth. At first, she attempts to obtain immortality by seeking it from an immortal voodoo priestess Marie Laveau. After failing miserably, she believes the only way to stay alive is to kill the emerging Supreme. She murders several of the students, but still continues to grow weaker. Fiona conspires with the Axeman and fakes her own death by implanting a false vision inside him, revealing that he murdered her. Fiona returns to the Academy to kill the new Supreme – however, after realizing her daughter has taken her position, Fiona renounces her self-serving, murderous intentions and dies of her cancer. In her own personal hell, Fiona is bound to live in a shack with the Axeman for all eternity. For her performance, Lange was nominated for the Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Drama Series, the Satellite Award for Best Actress – Miniseries or Television Film, the Saturn Award for Best Actress on Television, the Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Miniseries or Television Film and won the Dorian Award for Best TV Performance of the Year – Actress and the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Miniseries or a Movie.

Supporting characters

Minor characters

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