List of Desperate Housewives characters

Encyclopedia : L : LI : LIS : List of Desperate Housewives characters

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The following is a comprehensive list of characters (and descriptions of them) in the ABC television series Desperate Housewives.

[Spoiler warningSpoiler warning]: Plot and/or ending details follow.

Contents

• 0.1 The Van De Kamp family
• 0.2 The Scavo family
• 0.3 The Mayer family
• 0.4 The Solis family
• 0.5 The Britt family
• 0.6 The Young/Forrest family
• 0.7 The Delfino and Taylor families
• 0.8 The Applewhite family
• 0.9 The Rowland family
• 0.10 The Williams Family
• 0.11 The Hodge Family
• 0.12 The Tilman/Huber family
• 0.13 The Gibbons family
• 0.14 The McCluskey family
• 0.15 The Ferrara Family
• 0.16 Other neighbors

The Van De Kamp family

Marcia Cross as Bree Van De Kamp, the perfect housewife who has a not-so-perfect family

Bree Van De Kamp in season 1

• Bree Mason Van De Kamp:
• Rex Van De Kamp (deceased):
• Andrew Van De Kamp:
• Danielle Van De Kamp:
• Dr. Albert Goldfine: Dr. Albert Goldfine is supposedly known as the "number one" marriage counselor in Fairview. His cases range from all sorts of problems. He thought he had seen everything, that is until he met the Van De Kamps. Dr. Goldfine first appears in the second episode: Ah, But Underneath, when Rex and Bree have their first appointment with him. Throughout the whole time, Bree talks "small talk" with Dr. Goldfine and focuses on his jacket the entire time due to her obsessive-compulsive ways. She then returns later, fixes his jacket, and actually goes through with a private session. Goldfine, slightly seduced by her domestic ways, asks Rex the following session, "Regardless of her flaws, have you ever stopped and said thank you for all she does for you around the house"? Dr. Goldfine appears again in the next episode, Pretty Little Picture, where Bree sees a session recording tape labeled with Mary Alice's name. Bree steals it and puts it in her purse, and later shares it with the other housewives. Dr. Goldfine makes an appearance in the fourteenth episode, Love is in the Air, where he encourages Bree to finally ask Rex about his true sexual feelings on domination. He returned in Season Two to give Bree advice in the aftermath of Rex's death and also to give her advice on George Williams. However, George found out about that the Doctor had been giving Bree advice to take their relationship slowly and promptly stalked him on his exercise path. George then beat up Dr. Goldfine and threw him over a bridge; it was found out later that he had survived. Dr. Goldfine mentioned to Bree that his attacker had a blue bike -- Bree had just seen George with a blue bike earlier that day. This prompts Bree to connect everything together, and she discovers the depths of George's mad obsession.

• Justin: Gabrielle's former gardener and John's roommate who is in a sexual relationship with Andrew Van De Kamp. He was beaten up by Carlos Solis on suspicion of having an affair with Gabrielle. In season two, Andrew confided in him that he had to stop loving his mother because he didn't want to get hurt anymore and that Bree had to be punished because she told him he wasn't going to get into heaven because of his sexuality. When Andrew needed fuel for his emancipation bid, he forced his boyfriend to hit him and passed off the bruises as being caused by Bree. Justin was with Andrew when he told his mother he would accuse her of sexual molestation if she didn't let him go. Justin seemed both angered and horrified by Andrew's threat, and shot a sympathetic look at Bree. When Bree's parents planned on taking Andrew back to Rhode Island with them, Justin angrily confronted his boyfriend. Bree overheard the commotion and consoled Justin, who told her he loved her son. Incredulously, Bree asked why. Justin claimed that when his parents threw him out of the house for being gay and said they were ashamed of him, Andrew comforted him by saying that his parents should be ashamed of themselves for not realizing what a great person their son was. Bree then enlisted his help to keep Andrew at home by asking for gay pornography (which was passed off as Andrew's) to scare her parents away.

• Reverend Sikes: Reverend at the local Protestant church. He first appeared on Live Alone and Like It when he met with Andrew about his sexual orientation. Andrew tells him he plans on getting revenge by "rocking" Bree's world (which Sikes cannot warn Bree about due to the rules of confession). His most recent appearance is Next when he was at Rex's funeral.

• Phyllis Van De Kamp: Rex's mother who has a very cold relationship with Bree.

• Detective Barton: A detective who accused Bree of murdering Rex on You Could Drive a Person Crazy. He continues suspecting her on You'll Never Get Away from Me. He even digs up Rex's body. He found her innocent on They Asked Me Why I Believe In You. On That's Good, That's Bad, he discovers that George is the culprit. On Coming Home, he informs Bree that his men found George dead in his hotel room. Bree pretends to be surprised. His most recent appearance is We're Gonna Be All Right when he arrests Bree for driving under the influence of alcohol. He feels bad about this later, so he makes it up to Bree by giving her information on Curtis Monroe, the dead guy they found it front of the Applewhites' house. He also flirts with her on that same episode.

• Bree's mother (deceased): she was nice to Bree and complimented her no matter what, much different from Bree's step-mother, Eleanor. She died in a hit-and-run in Bree's youth. Bree cleaned her mother's blood off the street.

• Henry Mason: Bree's father who was a prosecutor who said the simplest explanation was always the best one. He and his second wife, Eleanor, come for a visit in the second season.

• Eleanor Mason: Bree's step-mother who is a very uptight and proper lady for whom appearances mean everything. A lot of what Bree says comes from this woman. She and her husband, Henry, come for a visit in the second season to mediate between Andrew and Bree. She can be rather critical of Bree, making a comment about her peanut butter cookies. Bree responds by saying, "Those were kick-ass peanut butter cookies".

• Aunt Fern: Bree mentioned her Aunt Fern who lives in Philadelphia. She also told Bree that even during hard times, the best was always yet to come. She will make an apperance in season 3 when she makes a toast at Orson & Bree's wedding.

• Ty Grant: Bree's ex-boyfriend whom she dumped for Rex. After George and Bree get engaged, Bree runs into him during a date with George. They dance together, much to George's displeasure.

• Samuel "Sam" Bormanis: Andrew's lawyer whom he gets to emancipate him. Bree is polite and civil with him, as always, despite his role as Andrew's lawyer. Noting her consummate civility, he tells Andrew that presentation is paramount in open court, and that if Bree knows anything it is presentation. He advises Andrew that if he really wants to be free of his mother, his best chance is to convince her that she is better off without him. This leads Andrew to tell Bree that he will accuse her of sexual molestation if he doesn't get his way.

• Peter McMillan: Bree's AA supervisor who has a romantic relationship with her. He also suffers from sexual addiction. Andrew found this out and used this knowledge to his advantage when he seduced Peter into sleeping with him to get back at Bree.

• Donna: Bree's new AA supervisor. Peter hired her because he doesn't think he and Bree should have any more contact after making out. Donna said out of the blue that she's not a lesbian.

• Rex's father (probably deceased): He did not attend Rex's funeral.

• Mental Hospital Patient: Bree meets at women at the Mental Hospital who is very strange.

• Alfred: Bree has an argument with the Mental Hospital Janitor when he refuses to let Bree leave. His name is Alfred, and Bree calls him "Alfie".

• Dr. Barr: Bree has an argument with the Mental Hospital Doctor after he wants to know about Bree's relationship with her kids and he refuses to let her leave or give her medication.

• Rex's sibling: Rex's mother mentions that Rex was her first born.

• Dr. Lee Craig: A doctor friend of Rex who treated him for his heart condition. He informed Rex that he was probably being poisoned and that it was probably Bree. He also informed Bree of Rex's death. It was also he who informed Detective Barton that Bree was probably the culprit of Rex's death.

The Scavo family

• Lynette "Lynnie" Lindquist Scavo:

Felicity Huffman as Lynette Scavo, a former businesswoman turned mom who more recently has returned back to the work force.

• Tom Scavo:

• Preston and Porter Scavo: The Scavos' twin boys. They repeatedly misbehave and drive Lynette to distraction.

• Parker Scavo: The third son of the Scavos. After the twins put gum in his hair, Lynette shaved his head and used Parker to get into a yoga class by pretending he was afflicted with cancer. Parker also invented an imaginary friend to help him cope with his mother's new job. Parker for a short period of time had became fascinated by the female figure.

• Penny Scavo: A baby girl, 18 months old.

• Rodney Scavo: Tom's father. Tom confided in him that he has a secret, one that Lynette doesn't know about. Rodney is also known for cheating on his own wife, but Tom's mother knew about it.

• Allison Scavo: Tom's mother. Tom's father has cheated on her for many years. Allison seems to have come to peace with Rodney's infidelity. Allison has yet to be seen onscreen.

• Lois McDaniel: Rodney's mistress whom he claimed to be a supplier.

• Alisa Stevens: The deaf woman with a husband that makes fun of her state which makes Lynette interfere with their life

• Lauren: Yoga daycare center supervisor whom Lynette gets upset with because she won't let Penny and Parker go into daycare because it's full. Lynette complains about her busy schedule to her; getting up at 5 AM, dropping the twins off at school, and lugging a baby (Penny) and a sick child (Parker). Lauren shoos her off. Later that day, the twins put bubble gum in Parker's hair, so Lynette shaves him bald. She tries daycare again the following day--but it was still full! Lauren notices bald Parker and incorrectly assumes (remembering what Lynette said about him being sick) that he has cancer. Lynette uses that to get into daycare regardless of if it was full or not. Unfortunately, the truth came out when they meet a survivor.

• Callie: Lauren's friend who's a breast cancer survivor. She meets Parker, whom she thinks is afflicted, and Parker is confused so Lynette told everyone the truth.

Brent Kinsman, Shane Kinsman, and Zane Huett As Preston and Porter Scavo, the twins and Parker Scavo, their younger brother, the brats of Wisteria Lane.

• Lynette's mother: Lynette once revealed that her mother used to beat up her sisters and her, obstensibly for misbehaving, which is why Lynette refuses to discipline her unruly children physically. After discovering Tom's seeming infidelity, Lynette was going to take the children to live with their grandmother.

• Lynette's sister: Lynette has revealed she has at least two sisters.

• Annabel Foster: Tom Scavo's ex-girlfriend, Lynette is extremely jealous of her and has been doing anything she can to break her up from Tom. She gets the promotion of Vice President which Tom was eyeing. No relation with Melanie Foster as far as we know, except that they both lived in Chicago.

• Natalie "Nat" Klein: Lynette's old boss at her former job. Nat first appeared on the pilot episode when Lynette runs into her at the supermarket. She asked Lynette how she likes being a mother. Lynette almost told her "no", but she instead told her that it's the best job she's ever had. Her most recent appearance is Goodbye for Now when she has lunch with Lynette. Lynette, trying to get Tom and Annabel apart, told her that she should consider hiring Tom. Nat declines the suggestion and instead tells Lynette that she needs someone like her; a shark. Lynette then tells her she could get a shark for her and tells her about Annabel. Annabel gets a call from the company offering her a job, but she instead takes Peterson's offer of taking Duggen's old job.

• Tim Duggen: Tom's former co-worker whom he resented because he was promoted over him. Tim has a heart attack while playing softball and takes a leave of absence for a few months. He has a relapse the day he was supposed to return, which results in Annabel taking the job.

• Claire: a nanny who was hired by Lynette to help her take care of her kids. However, she was fired by Lynette after it was found out she was sexually exciting her husband.

• Nurse Abigail: The school nurse at Barcliff Academy (the twins' school). When they were being framed for a head lice outbreak at school, Abigail tells Lynette the culprit is Topher Brennan.

Teacher: The school teacher which was hit by Parker during his imaginary friend phase.

• Nina Fletcher: Lynette's boss at an ad agency who makes it clear to Lynette on her interview that she despises mothers who put their children above everything else. When Lynette brings Penny to work after Tom has a back problem, Lynette hides the baby with the receptionist. However, this does not go as planned. Lynette then brings baby Penny in and multitasks by changing a diaper and delivering a business plan at the same time. Nina's boss is very impressed and welcomes her aboard. Nina is less welcoming and wants Lynette to be dedicated to her work and not her children. Nina was eventually fired for having a fling with a fellow co-worker and as a result Lynette got her job.

• Dan Peterson: The boss of Tom's old firm. He didn't give Tom a promotion because Lynette begged that he wouldn't because he would be away too much and her family would be hurt. During Tom's final confrontation with him, he is openly rude to him and tells him he makes crappy decisions on a daily basis. Tom quits after that.

• Mrs. Peterson: Dan's wife who has a lot to do with the firm. During a dinner party at the Scavos' she liked Lynette's idea of advertising better than Tom. When Lynette realized Tom's promotion meant that he would be home less often, she begged her to tell Dan that Annabel should get the promotion instead. Tom finds this out and quits. Neither one of the Petersons have been heard from since.

• Stu: A worker who had an office romance with Nina Fletcher, he then filed a sexual harassment suit against his former employer after Nina fired him so that he wouldn't tell the boss about their affair.

• Veronica: A woman who was hired at Parcher & Murphy. When Lynette discovered she was breastfeeding her 5-year-old son, she gave him chocolate milk which knocked him out of the habit of breastmilk. She later feels guilty when Veronica tells her she breastfed just to keep from getting fat.

• Parker's dog: In Don't Look at Me, Lynette gives Parker a dog so he could forget about vaginas.

• Nora: A woman whom Lynette mistook for Tom's mistress. She was his one night stand and they had a kid, Kayla, together. She will be pivotal for the third season.

• Kayla: Tom's daughter that he had with Nora during their one night stand. Kayla is eleven years old, and said to be pretty, intelligent, and athletic.

• Tom's aunt Penny: Tom says that his aunt Penny was a slut and that is why he did not want to name his daughter Penny.

• Pat: Receptionist at Parcher & Murphy.

The Mayer family

• Susan "Susie" Bremmer Mayer:

Teri Hatcher as Susan Mayer, a single mother living on Wisteria Lane with her daughter.

• Julie Alexandra Mayer:
• Karl Mayer:
• Brandi: Karl's secretary. He cheated with her during his marriage with Susan, which causes them to get a divorce. Karl and Brandi break up after Karl finds her in bed with another guy.
• Sophie Bremmer:

Bob Newhart as Morty and Lesley Ann Warren as Susan's mother Sophie

• Morty Flickman: Sophie Bremmer's fifth husband (formerly known as her long time boyfriend) and Susan's latest step-father. Morty first appears in Children Will Listen when Sophie makes Susan help her with the conflict between the two of them. It fails and the two end up fighting with Susan having to break it up. He appears once again in Sunday in the Park with George, where he proposes to Sophie, and the two decide to marry shortly after. Morty owns a diner that is beginning to expand.

• Dolores Flickman (deceased): Morty's first wife. When he proposed to Sophie, he gave her Dolores's ring, but Sophie requested it changed.

• Sophie's first husband: A man who liked to gamble.

• Sophie's second and fourth husband: A man who liked to drink. They were married twice, but neither marriage worked out.

• Sophie's third husband: A bisexual.

• Addison Prudy: Susan's real father, he works at a feed supply store in town. He is discovered to be Susan's real father when Sophie finally tells Susan the truth that her father is not a war hero. He has a heart attack when Susan informs him that she is his daughter, and while in the hospital he asks her to leave because he does not want his wife to know since he has cheated on her many times. Later, his wife finds out about them and Addison tells Susan they'll have more time to bond after he's sorted out his marriage.

• Carol Prudy: Addison's jealous wife of 39 years.

• Lonny Moon: Susan Mayer's long-time book agent who has run into financial trouble. Lonny has been with Susan for a long time, being the one who helps her out in difficult situations. He misinterprets her talks with him, thinking she is interested in him. As a result he tries to kiss Susan and has not been heard from since.

• Bill Cunningham: Bill Cunningham is a construction worker who works with Edie Britt on her new house. He appears in There Won't Be Trumpets in which he goes on a date with Edie Britt. He quickly loses interest in Edie and becomes attracted to Susan. He takes her out for dinner, and Susan discusses her failed relationship with Mike the whole time. Edie tracks the two down, ends her relationship with Susan, and breaks up with and fires Bill.

• Officer Rick Thompson: Officer Thompson was the police officer that coordinated the neighborhood watch program and dated Susan in Come In, Stranger. Susan first met Officer Thompson at a neighborhood watch meeting after Mike broke into Alberta Fromme's house in search of possible information regarding Dierdre's murder. Susan was watching over Mrs. Fromme's cat at the time and she noticed someone broke in and called the police. Mike quickly fled the scene but left behind one of his screwdrivers which the forensics team would not investigate. Susan then asked Officer Thompson to take the evidence to the Police Forensics labs for DNA fingerprinting. Officer Thompson told her he would and then asked her out on a date. This later caused a break between Susan and Mike. After their date, Susan finds the screwdriver in the trunk of his squad car and realizes he lied to pull her on the date. Susan realized that Officer Thompson was the "Karl in disguise" and not someone who she had originally expected.

• Jim Halverson: One of Susan's blind dates who tells very offensive and obscene jokes. They bump each others' heads when they both bend down to the floor to pick up a spoon. They go to the hospital, which is how Susan meets Dr. Ron.

• Dr. Ron McCready: A surgeon at Sacred Heart Hospital, Ron has become Susan's love interest midway through the second season, despite a somewhat clumsy beginning to their relationship. A difference in age between the two has been shown as a possible issue. (In reality, Jay Harrington, the actor portraying the character, is slightly less than 7 years younger than Teri Hatcher.) They date anyway. When he begins to perform Susan's splenectomy, he tells her that he loves her. Susan responds by saying "I love Mike". At that moment, Nurse Heisel tells him about her marriage with Karl. Susan tells Ron she was probably just hallucinating about a guy that didn't exist, and that she just married Karl for health insurance. The second part was true. Their relationship goes smoothly until Karl makes a clog and tells Mike to come over, as a plan to break up Susan and Ron. After Ron finds out she was lying, he broke up with her and told Edie about their marriage.

• Ruth Ann Heisel: A nurse at the Sacred Heart Hospital who never passed her nurse exam. It was mentioned by Mary Alice through narrating that she dreamt of one day leaving her husband. It was never determined if she did or not. Ruth first appears in the Solis storyline on There Won't Be Trumpets when she finds Juanita tumbling down the stairs in the hospital. Ruth lies to Gabrielle by saying Juanita died in her coma but felt guilty about it. She disappears until There's Something About a War she tells Susan that her splenectomy will be Dr. Ron's first one operating. Her most recent appearance is There Is No Other Way when she finds out about Susan's marriage and tells Ron.

• Tim: Sophie Bremmer's boyfriend in episode 1-19 Live Alone and Like It. She brings him to Susan's house during the middle of the night which did not please Susan.

• Lamont: While Sophie was dating Tim, she brought his friend, Lamont, to Susan's house so she and Susan can go on a double-date. She only did this because Lamont desperately needed a girl. Susan is not interested in him at all and when he asks her to go out on a drive with him, she said, "Just give it up, you're not getting any!"

• Hector the Ice Cream Man: Sophie flirts with him after breaking up with Morty. He teaches dance lessons at the YMCA.

• Gus: Susan's new mailman whom she invites into her house to get a letter for Edie explaining her affair with Karl out of his mailbag. She invites him in for punch. After his third glass, he goes to the bathroom and Susan gets the letter out. Realizing Gus is taking long, Susan goes upstairs to find him on her bed. She throws him out after this.

• Bud Penrod: He told Susan that her house was probably intentionally burnt down.

• Susan's grandmother (deceased): Mary Alice mentions that Susan's grandmother died a few years ago.

• Susan's love interest: Susan will be getting a new love interest in season 3. They will go out to dinner together while his wife is in a coma. He will be played by Dougray Scott.

The Solis family

Eva Longoria as Gabrielle Solis, a former runway model turned housewife.

• Gabrielle "Gaby" Miranda Solis:
• Carlos Solis:
• Xiao-Mei:

Carlos and his mother, Juanita (Lupe Ontiveros)

• Juanita "Mama" Solis (deceased): the deceased nosy mother of Carlos, who was convinced that Gabrielle was cheating on him with another man, she had obtained photographic evidence of the affair moments before being accidentally run over by Andrew Van De Kamp. She remained in a coma for five months before awakening, only to fall to her death down a flight of stairs at the hospital. Before dying Juanita told a nurse of Gabrielle's infidelity; however, the nurse couldn't hear her because she was wearing headphones and listening to loud music.

• Father Crowley: Priest at the local Catholic church. Gabrielle is openly rude to him. He first appeared on Guilty when he prayed for Juanita, who was in a coma at the time. John told him about the affair, so Gabrielle wanted to straighten things out with him. Crowley tells her that if she doesn't repent, she will go to Hell. Gabrielle responds by saying, "Aren't you just a ball of fun?" His next appearance was There Won't Be Trumpets when he was at Juanita's funeral. He looked back when Carlos & Gabrielle were fighting. Gabrielle says to him, "Eyes front, Padre!" He appeared on Fear No More when Gabrielle confessed her pregnancy and her unawareness of who the father is. He tells her to be thankful since children are a blessing. Gabrielle scoffs and walks away. He appeared on There's Something About a War when Gabrielle asked him to transfer Sister Mary. His most recent appearance is Silly People when he informs Gabrielle that Xiao-Mei will be staying with them briefly.

Gabrielle and her arch nemesis Sister Mary Bernard (Melinda Page Hamilton) go to war.

• David Bradley: The sleazy Solis family lawyer who tries to convince Gabrielle that her marriage is a complete disaster and that she should divorce her husband. He is a known womanizer. He was shot at by a crazy client.

• Yao Lin: Gabrielle and Carlos' Chinese housekeeper, who was constantly on Gabrielle's case due to having to keep lying to Carlos from revealing her affair and not doing a very good job when it came to housekeeping. She was eventually fired in Love is in the Air when Gabrielle came to the final straw with Yao Lin. She has not appeared since then.

• Lucia Miranda: Gabrielle's mother. She offered to be their surrogate when Gabrielle realizes she can't get pregnant due to injuries sustained from the fall down the stairs. The plan did not hatch however when Carlos came to know her accustory character. Like Susan's mother, she has been married at least four times.

• Diego Solis (probably deceased): Mentioned by Juanita Solis; Diego once beat Carlos up and Juanita "made sure" he never hurt him again. Carlos was told he ran off with a waitress in El Paso, but Gabrielle knows the truth.

• Gabrielle's grandmother Lily (status unknown): In the pilot episode, Gabrielle mentioned she had a grandmother who said that an erect penis doesn't have conscience. Gabrielle named her adopted daughter after her, before she was taken away from her.

• Alejandro: Gabrielle's step-father who sexually-assaulted Gabrielle when she was 15, something Lucia believed to be Gabrielle's fault. He also appeared in a flashback on Suspicious Minds.

• Hector Ramos: A former ex-con who claimed he was sent by Carlos to watch over Gabrielle, in truth he was sent to help Gabrielle deal with the pain regarding her miscarried child.

• Ralph (deceased): One of Gabrielle's gardeners. Found a naked picture of Gabrielle on the internet. Was run over, while cleaning up a highway.

• Luis: One of Gabrielle's gardeners. Had his finger accidentally chopped off when the other gardener was watching Gabrielle naked.

• Libby Collins: A pole-dancer in a strip club who offers to give her baby to Carlos & Gabrielle, but changed her mind when she found out they were Mexican. However, she changed her mind yet again after they bribe her with gifts (in reality she didn't care that they were Mexican but had pretended to in order to receive a bribe). In the end, she changed her mind once again and took the baby back.

• Frank Helm: Libby's boyfriend. He now raises Lily with Libby.

• Dale Helm: Frank's brother and Lily's biological father.

• Baby Lily: The baby Gabrielle and Carlos adopted for a short while in season 2, from stripper Libby. The baby was taken away when her birth parents changed their mind about the adoption. This left Gabrielle heartbroken.

• Eugene Beale: A shady lawyer the Solises hire to find them a baby they could buy.

• Carlos' brother (status unknown): Carlos' mother mentions that Carlos has at least 2 brothers.

• Carlos' brother: Carlos' mother mentions that Carlos has at least 2 brothers.

• Linda the Maserati Saleswoman: When Gabrielle threw up in a car at a dealership and tells Linda she's been feeling odd lately, Linda automatically suspects her of being pregnant.

• Juanita's grandfather: Juanita played poker with her grandfather who said it was more fun to play for money rather than chips.

• Scott: Gabrielle's boyfriend before she married Carlos. She gave naked pictures of herself to him as a Christmas gift which eventually ended up on the internet. When she found this out, she asked Carlos to rough him up. Carlos said "no" because he was starting to get his rage issues under control. When he sees how upset Gabrielle is, he goes inside and tells him to take them off without hurting him. When Scott says that he was gonna take them off anyway because she wasn't pretty enough, Carlos threw him threw a window.

• Mr. Tanaka: Carlos's boss who tries to grab Gabrielle's butt whenever he's around her. He fled the country after the government found out that the company was manufacturing goods made from slave labor.

• Aunt Maria: On episode 1-3, Pretty Little Picture, when Gabrielle is talking to Lucia on the phone, Aunt Maria is mentioned.

The Britt family

• Edie Britt:

• Edie's son: The son of Edie Britt by her second husband. He has only been mentioned (so far) in the pilot.

• Edie's mother: She did time in jail for shoplifting. Edie grew up living with her.

• Edie's brother (deceased): Mentioned briefly in "You'll Never Get Away From Me". Died of a drug overdose years prior.

• Edie's first husband (status unknown): A man who was terrible in bed. This is how Edie learned to bluff.

• Mr. Rockwell: Edie's second husband whom they had their first child together.

• Oliver Weston: Edie's private detective, who's hired to find out who's Karl's "other woman."

• Edie's father: Edie mentions that when she was growing up her father was not around.

• Haviar: Edie's boyfriend with a lot of tatoos who was arrested by the police.

• Austin: Edie's buff 18-year-old nephew who comes to visit in season 3.

• Edie's sibling: If Edie has a nephew, she has a sibling.

The Young/Forrest family

Brenda Strong as Mary Alice Young, the deceased narrator

• Paul Young / Todd Forrest (incarcerated):

• Zachary "Zach" Young / Dana:

• Jerry Shaw: A private investigator and hitman of Fairview. Mr. Shaw first appears in Who's That Woman? where Paul hires him to find out who sent Mary Alice the blackmail note. He appears again in the episode Anything You Can Do after Paul finds out that Edie used the same type stationary that the blackmail note was written on. Jerry Shaw tracks down Edie at the same Saddle Ranch Bar Deirdre was last seen before she proceeded to the Young residence only to find a watery grave. Edie traveled there with Susan who both teamed up to spy on Kendra and Mike. He confronts Edie, masquerading as a partner in real estate and makes a smooth deal with her. In episode 8, Guilty, Mr. Shaw confronts Edie at an abandoned site in the middle of a rural highway. He finds out that the paper came from Martha Huber just before he was about to shoot her. Shaw then proceeds to tell Paul that Mrs. Huber was the writer of the note. Paul decides to take it upon himself to kill Mary Alice's blackmailer. Jerry Shaw disappears until episode 20, Fear No More when Susan hires Mr. Shaw himself, of all PIs, to investigate the Young Family after Zach set fire to her kitchen. His last appearance being in episode 21, Sunday in the Park with George where he delivers falsified information regarding the Young Family. Susan finally asks him to run a complete background check on Mike Delfino. Susan finds out that Mike had killed a cop, and sees Noah and Kendra in a photo, recognizing Kendra instantly setting her straight to getting back with Mike.

• Mary Alice's aunt Angela: Paul claims Angela (Mary Alice) was named after her aunt Angela. It is unknown whether or not this is true.

• Dr. Sicher: Psychiatrist at Silvercrest Juvenile Rehabilitation Center. He becomes upset with Paul when he demands that they treat Zach without psychotherapy. When Zach escapes, they have a big spat about Zach's treatment.

The Delfino and Taylor families

James (Jamie) Denton plays Mike Delfino, the hunky plumber

• Mike Delfino (incapacitated / possibly deceased):
• Dana Taylor-Delfino:
• Noah Taylor (deceased):

• Deirdre Taylor (deceased): Mike Delfino's ex-fiancé who was on heroin; Zach's biological mother; the woman Mary Alice stabbed to death, chopped up, and stuffed inside a toy chest. Deirdre appears in the final episode of the first season, One Wonderful Day. The Taylor family and Mike Delfino are believed to be tied to the Italian mafia with Noah as a godfather. Mike was his number one man and the fiancé of his daughter. The basis is primarily on Mike's Italian last name, and the dark nature of the Taylor family, If true Deirdre's depression and drug use could have stemmed from their complicated family.

• Kendra Taylor: The older sister of Deirdre Taylor, the oldest daughter of Noah Taylor, and the aunt of Zach. Kendra first appeared in episode 7 Anything You Can Do, where she came to check up on Mike's investigation and the progress of his work, making Susan and Edie think she was an ex-girlfriend in the act. Susan expected to come into conflict with Kendra over Mike, but it never happened. Edie would have been rooting for Susan, as she thought it would be easier to steal Mike from her than from the glamorous Kendra. After settling in at Mike's place, Kendra made it very clear that she cared for Noah's inheritance money, and only herself when she told Mike to stop looking for her own sister. Mike seems to have a grudge against Kendra based on his continuous nasty attitude toward her displayed on episodes 7 and 21. It is believed that Kendra was always jealous of Deirdre, that she was always second to her and living in her shadow. Rumors now suggest that Kendra might have known about Deirdre's pregnancy and that Kendra might have had something to do with pushing Deirdre into running away from home. The truth about the Taylor family conflict has not been fully revealed yet. Kendra also told Susan the truth about Mike's past when Noah tried to use Mike's criminal record to break him and Susan up and thus remove a distraction to Mike's investigating job.

• Detective Sullivan: a corrupt police officer in charge of the Martha Huber murder case and an underling on the Deirdre Taylor murder case. He is actually a puppet and confidante of Noah Taylor. The eyes and ears of the notorious criminal underworld Taylor family inside the Fairview police. He first appears in Impossible where Noah pushes him to reveal Mike Delfino's case file to Susan at her interrogation for the Martha Huber murder. They are successful, she takes the bait, and they break up. This was arranged solely to eliminate a "time distortion" in order to find Deirdre more quickly. He appears once more in episode 19, Live Alone and Like It. Noah bribes Sullivan to get Deirdre's case file to Mike and to get Mike off the Martha Huber murder case. The two meet in an underground parking garage where the two exchange the case file. Sullivan has a bitter attitude towards Mike. Sullivan makes a comment about how it is wrong for him to get off with a short prison time for 5 and a half years since he was a "cop-killer". Mike strikes back attacking him for being hypocritical since Sullivan was participating in it, and getting himself off the Huber murder case. Sullivan repays his backlash with a gun and two fists to the face, giving Mike a black eye. Sullivan makes a comment, "if I found out something happened to this file other than "getting misplaced", there will be one less cop-killer on the street." Sullivan slams down the case file and walks off. Mike gets it and drives home, seeing Paul Young on a purchase list for the Toy Chest setting him to his target. Shortly after Sunday in the Park with George aired, rumors floated around the Desperate Housewives online community that Sullivan could be the corrupt cop Mike "killed" in 1987, that he survived, got facial reconstruction surgery, and changed his identity. This theory was born due to the fact of Sullivan's strong grudge against Mike, his obsession with the Taylor family, and his dedication to Deirdre Taylor's case. Perhaps a more plausible theory is that he was a friend or partner of the cop that Mike killed.

• Mrs. Delfino (deceased): Mike's wife. She died a year before the story began. It was never determined how she died, but Mike tells Susan that one of the last things she said to him before she died was to take good care of her dog. She was the woman who Mike dumped Deirdre for.

• Bongo: Mike's late wife's dog. Before his wife died, she asked him to take good care of Bongo. He choked on Susan's earring after licking BBQ sauce off her ear. His most recent appearance is episode 2-8, The Sun Won't Set when he senses Caleb Applewhite about to make another break-in. His reaction caused Mike to investigate his strange behavior. He tackled Caleb and got him arrested thanks to Bongo's senses.

• Mike's grandmother: Mike says to Karl that his grandmother's 90th birthday is soon. It is unknown if his grandmother is really alive or if Mike is making that story up.

The Applewhite family

• Betty Applewhite:

Alfre Woodard as the new neighbor, Betty.

Mehcad Brooks as Matthew Applewhite, Betty's deceased son, who murdered his girlfriend

• Matthew Applewhite (deceased): Matthew is Betty's 19 year old son, and struggles under her over-protectiveness. He seemed to have taken a liking to Danielle Van De Kamp, and asked her out after he and Betty searched for an escaped Caleb. They dated regularly afterward. He was locked up in the Applewhite basement for provoking Caleb to attack Danielle in order to get him out of the way. Danielle was in on the plan and helped Matthew attempt to get his brother killed by his mother. While locked up, Danielle Van De Kamp helped him escape after knocking down his mother. His mother eventually found out he was the actual killer of Melanie Foster. After holding Bree Van De Kamp hostage, he is shot by a police sniper and subsequently dies.

• Virgil Applewhite: A man who Matthew claimed to be dead. During a therapy session (which Betty went to in order to get a prescription drug), Betty told her therapist about having been in an abusive relationship with her husband which had a tragic end after the (fictional) death of their son. However her story of being in an abusive marriage is likely to be untrue seeing as how Betty only wanted prescription drugs and most likely made up specatacular lies in order to get them. She is later seen crushing the prescription she had received into her locked up son's dinner.

• Caleb Applewhite: Betty's other son held in the Applewhite basement for punishment, he suffers from an autism spectrum disorder, on the low-functioning end of the spectrum. He was held in the basement due to his unpredictable nature, he broke free and sneaked into the Solis household where he ate their ice cream. While in the Solis' house, he scared Gabrielle and caused her to lose her baby, when she tripped while trying to run down the stairs in high heels and a tight dress. Eventually, he was found — and seen by all of Wisteria Lane being carted off in a police car. But Betty and Matthew went to the psych ward where he was being held and helped him escape.

• Curtis "Curt" Monroe (deceased): A private detective from Chicago who lost his licence a couple of years ago. He was hired by someone in the Foster family (of which deseased teenager Melanie Foster was a member; Caleb is the only one who really knows what happened to her) to look for Caleb, since he is suspected of being Melanie's murderer. After finding Caleb, Monroe accidentally shot himself while in the Applewhite basement. Betty and Matthew hide the body in Monroe's own car, intending to dump the car far away from Wisteria Lane; however, they are unable to drive the car because Betty accidentally shut the keys in the trunk with the body. His body was discovered when Susan crashed into his car.

• Melanie Foster (deceased): Matthew's girlfriend when they lived in Chicago. Their relationship was quite dramatic -- they broke up and got together constantly. One day, Caleb tried to start a relationship with her, but Melanie laughed at him. As a result, Caleb supposedly killed her; when Betty and Matthew found this out, they fled to Wisteria Lane and imprisoned him in the basement to protect him from the law. Possibly related to Annabel Foster, since they share the same last name and both come from Chicago. It was later revealed that Matthew Applewhite was the one who killed Melanie. Caleb believed himself responsible because he had knocked her unconscious during a scuffle brought on by his confused attempt to woo her. Matthew found her after she recovered, and he killed her for trying to turn his family over to the police.

• Betty's mother Betty mentions that she is leaving Fairview to take care of her ill mother. This is likely a lie.

The Rowland family

Jesse Metcalfe as the Solis' ex-gardener.

• Jonathan "John" Rowland: Gabrielle and Carlos's former high school gardener, he was having an affair with Gabrielle until Juanita discovered their secret. John was then convinced that the connection between Gabrielle and him meant a lot more than just sex. He proposed to her, but Gabrielle, who was threatened with legal proceedings of statutory rape by his parents, talked him out of it. John also had a relationship with Danielle Van De Kamp, until Bree asked John to be brutally honest with Danielle. However after Carlos abused Gabrielle, Gabrielle came running right back into his arms. Carlos found out that John was the one having the affair with Gabrielle at the end of season one, Carlos promised John that he "would kill him".

• Helen Rowland: The mother of John Rowland and wife of Bob. Helen first appears in Episode 9 when she finds out that a woman of Wisteria Lane is having an affair with her son, John. She suspects it is Susan after seeing them together, and slaps her and rips her dress up at Gabrielle's fashion show. Susan knows Gabrielle is the true person who slept with John which ruptures their friendship throughout the episode. Gabrielle eventually confesses to Helen, shortly afterwards the police show up, but they came for Carlos, not Gabrielle. Susan holds Gabrielle in her arms, consoling her as Gabrielle wept over what she has lost. Helen appears again in the future to make Gabrielle send John to college and stop his gardening business. Gabrielle tries to stop him but John only proposes to her with his grandmother's engagement ring. Gabrielle refuses and convinces John to not be with her. John rebels anyway and keeps going at his gardening business. When Gabrielle fails to help, Helen still threatens to reveal her secret. Helen gets her revenge on the Solis' because she works at the adoption agency where Carlos and Gabrielle try to adopt a baby, but are unsuccessful.

• Bob Rowland: The father of John Rowland and husband of Helen. Little is known about him, other than the fact that he seems sexually interested in Gabrielle, and helps Helen control John.

• John's sister: In Ah, But Underneath, John mentions he has a little sister. Helen coaches her soccer practice every Friday.

• Helen's grandmother (status unknown): John used her ring to propose to Gabrielle.

• Joan: John's new lover after breaking up with Gabrielle. She was mentioned only on episode 2-3, You'll Never Get Away from Me, so it is unknown whether or not they are still together.

The Williams Family

Roger Bart as George Williams, the Van De Kamp pharmacist who is obsessed with Bree.

• George Williams (deceased):

• Francine Williams: The mother of George Williams, she possibly pressured Bree into marrying George when she accidentally brought out Champagne before she had made a decision.

• Sid Williams: George's Uncle who teased him that he'd never thought he'd get married.

• Rosaline Williams: George's Aunt.

• Leila Mitzman: George's ex-fiancée, she warned Bree that George was crazy.

• Ginger: Employee at George's pharmacy. In order to keep Rex from being suspicious that Bree is committing adultery, he pretends that Ginger is his girlfriend and that their relationship is getting serious.

• George's grandfather (status unknown): He gave George a gun which George gave to Bree as a gift when they were dating.

The Hodge Family

Kyle MacLachlan as Orson Hodge, Susan's mysterious new dentist friend

• Orson Hodge: A practising dentist who made his first appearance in episode 19 of season 2. Susan had conveniently hopped over to him along the same row of seats in the cinema and made a pretence in front of Mike Delfino (who was present with a date) that he was her date. In the finale of season 2 Mike Delfino casually let slip that he found him familiar, thereafter putting him on alert. Consequently he ran over Mike Delfino at a downtown district; the intention of which and his many actions would form a subplot of season 3. He also befriended Bree van de Kamp at the mental hospital which Bree checked herself in. In the final moment of the finale, it appeared that Orson might be romantically involved with Bree.

• Amanda: A woman who Orson sees "3 to 4 times a week" at the same mental hospital which Bree Van de Kamp checked in. She was mentioned as a "friend" to Bree.

The Tilman/Huber family

• Martha Tilman Huber (deceased): a nosy and unpopular neighbor who sent Mary Alice Young the blackmail note that led to her suicide, which was discovered by the housewives when cleaning out Mary Alice's closet. She was the one who first discovered Mary Alice's body and called the ambulance. She was killed by Paul Young in the first season. Martha has a sister, Felicia Tilman, who coincidentally knew Mary Alice way back in Utah when they were working together.
• Felicia Tilman / "Mrs. Huber":

Christine Estabrook as Martha Huber, the deceased nosy neighbor of Wisteria Lane.

• Millicent Tilman: (Only seen in the DVD extended version of Who's That Woman?) Martha and Felicia's mother, a very ill woman believed to be on her deathbed. While visiting her mother, Martha asks her to die so that she can collect her inheritance. When Martha visits her mother again, she raises a pillow in the air looking as if she is going to smother her with it. However, Martha is just adjusting her so she can sit up. Martha then wipes her tears and the two hug. Millicent is mentioned by Mrs. Huber during a conversation with Lynette on Ah, But Underneath. Apparently, Martha was misbehaving in the car when she was a kid, so Millicent took her out of the car and left her there. She came back immediately, though.

Harriet Sansom Harris as Felicia Tilman, who arrives to search for her sister's murderer.

• Mr. Huber (deceased): Martha's husband. He proposed to her on Torch Lake. After he died and left a poor will, Martha was desperate for money--so desperate that she was willing to blackmail Mary Alice and Susan.
• Detective Copeland: the investigator of Mrs. Huber's murder who strongly believed Mike was the culprit. He questions Susan 2 times about Mike and she becomes his alibi by saying they slept together the night Mrs. Huber was killed. He mentioned to her that people do stupid things when they're in love and that he'd know because he's been married 4 times.

The Gibbons family

• Maisy Gibbons:

• Harold Gibbons: Maisy Gibbons' husband. Not much is known about him other than he lost his job and nobody helped their family out with their financial problems during this turmoil. This built Maisy's strong grudge against many of the "moms" of Fairview, and the desire to form an inner circle of her closest friends in order to form a power clique.

• Maisy's daughter: Seen during both "Come Back to Me" and "The Ladies Who Lunch". A name nor age are never given.

• Maisy's son: A family photo in Maisy's house has a little boy, who is presumably her son.

The McCluskey family

Kathryn Joosten as the critical Karen McCluskey.

• Karen McCluskey's son (deceased): The son of Karen McCluskey, who died as a child. As a result, Karen feels close to Lynette's sons who are trouble-makers as he had been.

The Ferrara Family

• Ed Ferrara: The "big boss" of Parcher & Murphy. He first appeared on Next when he hired Lynette because he liked her. He fires the majority people at the company on That's Good, That's Bad due to a sexual harassment lawsuit against them. He hires Tom on There's Something About a War. In the following episode, Silly People, he and Tom place bets that Tom could do certain tricks, one of them being eating a donut out of the toilet. Tom became known as "Toilet Boy". Lynette tries to stop all of these games, so Ed tells her if she could eat a package of raw meat, they'll stop. Lynette succeeds and Ed and Tom have had a business-like relationship since. But after having marital problems with his wife Fran, he asks Lynette to send instant messages to her to help him with his sex life. When Fran figures out it wasn't Ed, she tells him to fire the person who wrote the IMs or she'll leave him. He tells her it was Tom, and fires Tom instead.

• Fran Ferrara: Ed's wife who spends a little too much time with her daughter, Mindy. Lynette tries to convince her to have her participate in the new day care center since they only need one more kid to open it up. Fran refuses, but when she has a fight with Ed, Lynette takes Mindy away and tells them that she deserves relaxed parents. Fran then agrees to put her in the day care center. Gets instant messages from Ed to help their sex life, and then comes close to divorcing him after finding out it was one of his employees. Ed tells her he will fire the person who did it, it was Lynette but he does not want to lose her, so he fires Tom instead.

• Mindy Ferrara: Ed & Fran's daughter who is now in the Parcher & Murphy day care.

Other neighbors

Betty Murphy as Mrs. Alberta Fromme, Wisteria Lane's cat-lady.

• Alberta Fromme: Alberta Fromme is a single woman who also lives on Wisteria Lane. It is unknown whether Fromme has been married, divorced or widowed. Alberta owns a cat, Mr. Whiskers who always needs to be watched when she goes out of town. Therefore she must rely on her neighbor friends to take responsibility. When Susan watches Mr. Whiskers, Alberta's house is broken into by Mike however the cat was unharmed. Like Ida Greenberg, Alberta continues to be a recurring character who is mostly seen during neighborhood gatherings and when one of the housewives needs something or vice versa.

Pat Crawford Brown as Ida Greenberg, the neighborhood drunk

• Tish Atherton: Tish Atherton lives on Wisteria Lane. She likes to gossip, especially about Maisy Gibbons, she likes dinner parties at Bree Van De Kamp's house and she enjoys dropping her child off at playdates, while she is at the salon.

• Maxine Bennett: Once a month the 'creme de la creme' of the Fairview society would attend a semi-formal lunch at her house. Until one day she got arrested for enslaving a young Chinese woman, Xiao-Mei.

• Dennis Stevens: Friends with the Scavos. Makes fun of his wife behind her back. He also told Lynette that they were in counseling and a lot more personal information. Lynette tells him to stop and that the counseling isn't working out. As a result, he leaves his wife and possibly got a divorce.

• Alisa Stevens: A deaf woman who befriends the Scavos. She and Tom click immediately when she tells Tom she's in advertising, too. Her husband always made fun of her behind her back. When Lynette tells Dennis that the counseling isn't working, he leaves Alisa. He tells her that Lynette told him to leave her when she really told him that the counseling wasn't working. Alisa lashes out at Lynette because of this and calls off their friendship.

• Lily Stevens: Daughter of Dennis & Alisa. Alisa used her for sign language when she ended her friendship with Lynette.

• Matt Stevens: Son of Dennis & Alisa. Plays with the Scavo twins.

• Jordana Geist: Lynette's friend who has kids with ADD. She is able to work her incredibly busy life by taking their ADD medication. She tells Lynette her little secret and Lynette starts doing the same thing. When she runs out of pills, she asks Jordana for more, but Jordana says no because her sister is coming to visit and she needs all the energy she can get. Lynette gets mad and storms away. Jordana's never been heard from since.

• Alexis: Bree Van de Kamp's rich friend and former boss of Lynette's nanny, Claire. Claire tells Lynette how strict and picky she is. Lynette steals Claire from her.

• Tammy Brennan: Mother of the Scavo twins' friend, Topher, who starts a head lice outbreak at school. Tammy, in order to keep up her reputation, tells everyone it was Preston and Porter. Lynette finds out from the school nurse that Topher was the one who started it. Lynette confronts Tammy, who feels guilty and tells everyone the truth.

• Leonard Harper: Leonard Harper is a friend of the Scavo family who Lynette enlists to help set up play dates with her children so she can relax on weekends. After, a homemade video tape which features Leonard and his wife about to engage in sexual intercourse is nearly seen by their children, Lynette immediately thinks about cancelling playdates with the family. However, because she seeks relief from her children, she decides to go through with more playdates. Eventually, Lynette and a reluctant Tom decide to pay them a visit in which they say they are a little shocked a tape like that made it out of the house, but say they were generally okay with it. That was until they find out that the couple has not been doing this as an amateur project but has instead been using a professional studio set up in their house to film their "movies" for years. They go further and ask if Lynette and Tom want to appear in a pornographic movie that they will film, upon leaving, Lynette and Tom decide it is best to cancel the playdates.

• Norma Harper: The wife of Leonard, she is seen in the home made porn movie in which she exposes her breasts to her husband.

• P.J. & Jimmy Harper: The sons of Leonard and Norma, they are the ones who bring over the homemade pornographic video.

• Mr. & Mrs. Edwin Mullin: The previous owners of the Applewhites' home. It was mentioned by Susan that they had a lot of pets. They also had a problem with teenagers spreading toilet paper across their yard. They also had a spare key to Mrs. McCluskey's house. They also trusted Bree by giving her a key to their home. They left Wisteria Lane because of all the action happening there: murder, suicide, blackmail, violence, and arson. It was never determined where they went.

• Tiffany Axelrod: Little girl whom the Scavo twins painted blue.

• Ashley Bukowski: Little homeschooled girl who catches Gabrielle and John getting it on. Gabrielle straightens things out with her by giving her expensive gifts.

• Karen and Gordon Stouffer: Karen Stouffer was portrayed by Oprah Winfrey in a five minute one-off segment for her talk show (which was included as a bonus on the first season DVD release.) The segment was completely removed from the plot of the show, and no events that took place in it had any bearing on what occurred in the actual program. Karen and her husband Gordon move to Wisteria Lane from the big city. They are immediately greeted by Bree, Susan, Edie, Lynette and Gabrielle. Karen later decides to bake an apple brown betty and takes her measuring cup door to door to try and borrow a cup of sugar. In so doing she witnesses Bree push down George, Gabrielle French kissing John, Susan laying naked in her bushes, Lynette screaming at her children and Edie whorishly washing her car. Shocked at these antics she changes clothes and decides to go for a walk to shake off what she witnessed. On her walk she sees Paul Young dragging the corpse of Martha Huber. She returns home and insists that they leave the neighborhood. When they pack up their van and start the engine she finds a note on the dash that reads, "I know what you did, it makes me sick, I'm going to tell." Karen says, "Someone knows what we have buried under the jacuzzi!" and the two speedily drive away. Most of the footage is cut from scenes that had already aired in other episodes of the show, but edited to insert Karen/Oprah in the plot. For instance, originally Gabrielle and John's kiss was witnessed by a little girl. The note on the dash is the same note Mary Alice received. Many other elements of this "mini-story" are taken from other unrelated plot elements, like the measuring cup or something being buried under a jacuzzi (or pool.)

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