List of The Hunger Games characters

The following is a list of characters in The Hunger Games novels, a series of young adult science fiction novels by Suzanne Collins whose original trilogy was later adapted into a series of feature films.

This section includes characters who have appeared in the film series.

Katniss Everdeen, also known as "the girl on fire," is the main protagonist of The Hunger Games. She is 16 years old at the beginning of the first book and is quiet, independent, and fierce. She has long dark hair (usually tied up in a braid), olive skin, and gray eyes, which are given as a characteristic of residents of the coal mining region of District 12 known as "the Seam." She was named for an aquatic plant with edible underwater tubers by her father, who jokingly said that “If you can find yourself, you'll never be hungry.” She lives with her mother and younger sister, Primrose (nicknamed "Prim"). Her father's death in a mining accident several years ago left her mother deeply depressed, forcing Katniss to become the parental figure and to use the hunting skills taught by her father to feed the family. Her favorite color is green, (as she told Peeta when he offered friendship to her) because of her familiarity with the forest. When Prim is reaped as a tribute who must fight twenty-three other tributes to the death in the 74th Hunger Games, Katniss volunteers to replace her. Katniss survives the game along with fellow tribute Peeta Mellark, who is in love with her. In the 74th Hunger Games, Katniss kills several tributes such as Glimmer, whom she indirectly kills with the tracker jacker nest; a District Four girl [book only], whom she indirectly kills with the tracker jacker nest; Marvel, whom she kills with an arrow after he kills Rue, and Cato, whom she kills as he is being eaten by the muttations to put him out of his misery. To survive, Katniss "pretends" she loves Peeta. When the Gamemakers renege on a promise to let two surviving tributes from the same district live, she defies and embarrasses the government by threatening a double suicide with Peeta, personally antagonizing Panem's leader, President Coriolanus Snow.

In the second installment Catching Fire, she is forced to fight in the next year's Hunger Games, an especially brutal edition known as the Quarter Quell which occurs every 25 years. The twist in that year's Quarter Quell was that previous victors of The Hunger Games would be reaped instead of the usual male and female 12–18-year-olds. In the games, Katniss allies herself with Peeta Mellark, Finnick Odair, Wiress, Beetee Latier, Johanna Mason, and Mags. While in the games, Katniss begins to realize her feelings for Peeta. While in the arena, she kills Gloss after he kills her ally Wiress. At the end of the book, she destroys the force field containing the Games arena and is rescued along with a few surviving tributes by members of an underground rebellion organised by the supposedly destroyed District 13 and Plutarch Heavensbee. In the third installment, she is caught in a love triangle with Gale (her childhood friend) and Peeta. She becomes the Mockingjay, an inspirational symbol of a second civil war against the Capitol. Despite her intentionally limited role as a propagandist, she is drawn into combat by her obsession to kill Snow. As the war progresses, she comes to realize the rebel leader, President Alma Coin, is no less ruthless and power-driven than Snow. Katniss learns that Coin considers her expendable; Coin staged a supposed Capitol atrocity which kills Prim, and after the war, calls for a final Hunger Games using the children of the Capitol war criminals. When finally given the chance to execute Snow, Katniss kills Coin instead. She is deemed not mentally responsible and returns to District 12, suffering trauma and suicidal depression. Peeta's return draws her out of the depression, and she finally realizes she loves him. Fifteen years after they marry, she decides to have children, giving birth to a girl and a boy.

Peeta Mellark is a male tribute from District 12 in both the 74th and 75th Hunger Games. He is the same age as Katniss, with fair skin, blond hair, and blue eyes, characteristic of the town residents of District 12, whose middle-class merchants are slightly more well-to-do than those of the Seam. Peeta is the baker's son and lives with two older brothers, a quiet father, and a strict disciplinarian mother. Growing up in the bakery helped Peeta to become "broad-shouldered and strong," which Katniss immediately theorized would force other tributes not to write him off in the arena. Peeta's favorite color is orange. His skills include physical strength, personal charm and charisma, public speaking, baking, and painting. He is also known for his kindness and generosity. He is highly intelligent and is always thoughtful, balancing Katniss's impulsiveness. He is described as handsome and even beautiful, with features as minuscule as his eyelashes capturing Katniss's attention. Peeta has been in love with Katniss ever since he first saw her during elementary school and declares his love for her during the pre-Games interview. Katniss believes this is a ploy to gain the support of sponsors to help them survive the Games. When they were young, Peeta saves Katniss and her family from starving to death by giving her bread, which he had accidentally burnt, and his mother had beaten him for. Since then, he is known as the "boy with the bread" to Katniss. During the first game, he carefully formulates a strategy to protect Katniss, part of which involves confessing his love for Katniss on TV in order to make her look desirable enough to have sponsors. Also, he decides to team up with the Careers and misleads them about Katniss. However, when the careers find this out, Peeta fights with them to save Katniss and is severely wounded.

In the Quarter Quell, he volunteers to replace Haymitch Abernathy as the male tribute from District 12, so that he can protect Katniss in the arena. The only time Katniss can sleep without nightmares relating back to the Games is when she is being held in Peeta's arms.

Peeta is captured by the Capitol at the end of the Quarter Quell and submitted to 'hijacking', a process of torture and brainwashing which gives him a fear of Katniss and effectively turns him into an assassination weapon against her. During the civil war, he is rescued and eventually rehabilitated by the rebels. After the Capitol is defeated, he returns to District 12 with Katniss and marries her. Twenty years after the war, they have two children.

Gale Hawthorne is a Seam resident boy who is two years older than Katniss and shares her hunting skill, dark hair, olive skin, and gray eyes. Through hunting, they have become best friends. Lean-muscled and handsome, Gale has caught the attention of several girls in District 12. Gale lives with his mother Hazelle and his three younger siblings (Rory, Vick, and Posy) after his father's death in the same mining accident that killed Katniss's father. Being from the Seam, Gale shares a slight resemblance to Katniss. This allows the people of the Seam to cover for his close relationship with Katniss by saying they are cousins to hide the fact that the "star-crossed lovers" storyline with Peeta was staged, as it is presumed her closeness with someone as good looking as Gale would draw suspicion. Though their portrayal as cousins effectively satisfies the press from the Capitol, it makes both Katniss and Gale very uncomfortable on several occasions.