List of Ugly Betty characters

This article lists the characters featured in the American ABC comedy-drama series Ugly Betty.

Betty 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 out of trouble, jail, and even once saving his life when his girlfriend, Reneé, proved to be a sociopath. 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 against by most of her colleagues due to her lack of 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 were occasionally mean to her and enjoyed teasing her about 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, 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.

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 the magazine.

Ignacio Suarez, played by Tony Plana, is Betty's father. He spent 30 years in the United States as an illegal immigrant. He 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 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.

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. In 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 (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 when 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.