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Original Cast
Brandon Walsh
Brandon Walsh
Portrayed by: Jason Priestley
A Nice Guy who always tries to do the right and responsible thing. Endlessly popular with girls and feted by authority figures for applying himself academically. Can be very self-righteous and is rarely called out.
- '80s Hair: In the first couple seasons, although they were shot and set in the (early) '90s. The guy even sported a freaking mullet in The Pilot!
- The Ace: Successful, Book Smart, liked by everyone, and popular with girls.
- Author Avatar: For the seasons 3-5 showrunner, Charles Rosin.
- Back for the Finale: A variation. He left the series a few seasons prior, but in the last episode he sends a video of himself congratulating Donna and David on their wedding, while also complimenting Kelly in the process.
- Betty and Veronica: The Nice Guy Betty to Dylan's Troubled, but Cute Veronica for Kelly's Archie.
- Big Man on Campus: After his initial difficulties with Beverly Hills, he becomes just as popular as Kelly and Steve.
- Book Smart: He's a very good student, second only to Andrea.
- Character Filibuster: Brandon, on occasion, tends to make long rattling speeches on various topics.
- Character Shilling: Starting around Season 3, Brandon becomes this as every character can talk at length about how he can do no wrong and is so great. It's especially glaring with his parents, in comparison to how they treat his twin sister.
- Chick Magnet: To a ridiculous degree and lampshaded many times. According to his sister, no girl is immune to his charm since when he was 12.
- Foolish Sibling, Responsible Sibling: The responsible to Brenda's foolish. Flip-flopped. HE is the one who got drunk and almost drove as such and he's the one whose car got trashed after he left it outside a seedy nightclub (he was again impaired, though unwittingly; his drink had been spiked with Ecstasy)
- Four-Temperament Ensemble: Melancholic, though not depressive. (shares this with Kelly)
- Gentleman and a Scholar: A very smart student, but also friendly, socially active, and an all-around pleasant person.
- The Heart: The moral center of the show and the glue that holds the gang together.
- Heterosexual Life-Partners: He's best friends with both Steve and Dylan. During and after college, he even shares his house with Steve.
- Jealous Romantic Witness: Brandon reacts this way whenever Andrea dates someone in their high school years.
- New Transfer Student: At the beginning of Season 1, he just moved from Minnesota to Beverly Hills, and as such is a newly arrived student at West Beverly High.
- Nice Guy: Known for being a largely virtuous and morally good guy. In early seasons, at least.
- Noble Male, Roguish Male: The Noble to Dylan's Roguish.
- Only Sane Man: Downplayed. He is more level-headed and reasonable than most of his friends, but it's also baked into the premise as the story is about the grounded Walsh family dealing with the rich flighty Beverly Hills denizens.
- Put on a Bus: At the start of the season 9, Brandon leaves for Washington after accepting a job offer as a journalist there.
- Red Oni, Blue Oni: The mature and serious Blue Oni to Steve's Hot-Blooded Red Oni.
- Serial Romeo: With shades of The Casanova. He has many love interests throughout the series.
- Sensitive Guy and Manly Man:
- Sibling Seniority Squabble: The twins often bicker about who is the oldest, with Brandon always claiming he is by minutes.
- Took a Level in Jerkass: In the first few seasons, he was one of the nicest characters in the show. However, in later seasons, he became more cynical, judgmental and self-righteous, especially when he got back together with Kelly.
Brenda Walsh
Brenda Walsh
Portrayed by: Shannen Doherty
A smart and independent girl with a strong will and integrity, Brenda often finds herself clashing with the establishment while fighting injustices, much to the chagrin of her straight-laced brother. Brenda is loyal through and through, but isn't afforded the same devotion by her friends. She can be very stubborn.
- All Girls Want Bad Boys: She's instantly attracted to, and later in a long-term relationship with, Troubled, but Cute Dylan—even though she's a pretty straight Nice Girl and he has issues (a.o., a bad temper, parental issues and alcoholism).
- Betty and Veronica: The Betty to Kelly's Veronica for Dylan's Archie. She was Dylan's first (and stable for a while) girlfriend on the show, while Kelly and Dylan's relationship was more complicated.
- Book Smart: She's not as studious nor focused on grades as Brandon and Andrea, but does well in school all the same. The three of them graduate with honours.
- Brainy Brunette: It's mentioned that she gets good grades.
- Brutal Honesty: Brenda has an instinctive bullshit detector and a penchant for speaking her mind. When fed up with the lies around her, she tends to react like this.
- Daddy's Girl: Sometimes her father is protective of her, especially when it comes to relationships with guys.
- Dating What Daddy Hates: Her father hates her "first love" Dylan at first.
- Deuteragonist: In the first four seasons, she is the female lead character, but she gets slightly less focus than her brother.
- Et Tu, Brute?: During her senior year, Brenda discovers that Dylan betrayed her by fooling around with her supposed best friend Kelly. This causes a major shift for the character as Brenda slowly distances herself from 'the gang', none of whom seem sympathetic to what happened to her. She even ends up deciding to go to college back in Minneapolis in an effort to find true friendship away from California.
- First Love: She was this to Dylan and he to her.
- Foolish Sibling, Responsible Sibling: The foolish to Brandon's responsible. To some extent, she was the more rebellious twin, especially later on.
- Friends Turned Rivals: With Kelly. They consider each other best friends after becoming more equal, but Kelly always harbours jealousy of Brenda and the life Brenda has. This culminates in Kelly and Dylan cheating on Brenda, and despite Brenda's forgiveness, things are never the same, especially as Kelly continues to envy Brenda even while dating Dylan.Brenda: Why don't you get a life of your own and stop trying to steal mine?
- Girl Next Door: In the first season, before her character begins to progress into being more rebellious and independent.
- Good Is Not Soft: As a Nice Girl she could be, she’s not afraid to speak her truth and talk some sense to some people.
- Naïve Newcomer: In the early episodes of the first season, when she just has moved from Minnesota to Beverly Hills and has yet to get adjusted to the local culture; but she adapts well once she befriends Kelly and the others.
- New Transfer Student: Along with her brother in the first season, since the show starts with their family moving to Beverly Hills.
- Nice Girl: Despite being rebellious, she's usually pretty friendly to anyone who doesn't cause her trouble. She also genuinely cares about her friends and family, is willing to help others when they need it, and always wants to do the right thing. (Although she does have her flaws, such as being a bit of a Green-Eyed Monster at times.)
- Put on a Bus: In season 5 she leaves, explained In Universe as her moving to London to pursue an acting career. There were real life reasons she left too.
- Raven Hair, Ivory Skin: Naturally brunette, her hair becomes even darker at one point in Season 4.
- Rebellious Spirit: Brenda quickly finds that society's pretty misogynist and that her independent streak will rarely be appreciated, so she sets about living by her own rules.Brenda: I came out here to prove some kind of a point: to prove that I can make it on my own; that I didn't need to be in L.A. where Brandon was or where all my friends were. I wanted to be different; well it turns out I am different. Not just from my friends back home but from you and everyone else. And that's just the way it is.
- Sibling Seniority Squabble: The twins often bicker about who is the oldest, with Brandon always claiming he is by minutes.
- The Unfavorite: Brandon can do no wrong in their parents' eyes (even when he does), and they are far more strict towards Brenda. To the point that when Jim tells Brandon that he wishes Brenda was as responsible and perfect as him, Brandon himself points out his own recent misbehavior.
Kelly Taylor
Kelly Marlene Taylor
Portrayed by: Jennie Garth
The most popular girl at school, Kelly suffers trust issues due to her parents' neglect. She tends to only look out for herself and gets insecure when she doesn't get attention from guys.
- Alcoholic Parent: Her mother, Jackie, is an alcoholic who goes on and off the wagon throughout the show.
- All Girls Want Bad Boys: With Dylan.
- Belligerent Sexual Tension: Steve and Kelly, despite being exes, have a lot of this as they bicker/flirt interchangeably in the high school seasons.
- Better as Friends: Though it's mentioned she has had sex with Steve once prior to the start of the show, she sees him as a friend throughout the series. In the early seasons, Steve apparently still hopes for a romantic relationship, but later they mutually see each other as friends.
- Betty and Veronica:
- The Veronica to Brenda's Betty for Dylan's Archie. Brenda was Dylan's first (and stable for a while) girlfriend on the show, while Kelly and Dylan's relationship was more complicated.
- Later the Archie to Nice Guy Brandon's Betty and Troubled, but Cute Dylan's Veronica.
- Broken Bird: She goes through a lot on the show, both physically and emotionally (amongst others: she gets scars and PTSD after surviving a fire (during which her boyfriend cheated on her, to boot); goes through a cocaine addiction; is shot; undergoes a few rape attempts, sexual molestation by her boss, plus an actual rape; etc. etc.)
- Character Development: Downplayed. Kelly went from a spoiled rich girl with Alpha Bitch tendencies masking a broken heart, to the cynic of the group who was mostly concerned with getting attention from guys and, occasionally, helping her friends.
- Convenient Miscarriage: Suffers one towards the conclusion of season 7. Incidentally, Jennie Garth was pregnant with her first child around the same time.
- Damsel in Distress: Raped, burned, placed in a cult, pregnant/miscarried, addicted to cocaine, shot, and so on. The girl needs a hug.
- Deadpan Snarker: She can be very snide, towards Steve or her other friends.
- Descent into Addiction: Suffered a cocaine addiction in season 6, though eventually kicked it.
- Disappeared Dad: Her father was a business man who left his ex-wife, Jackie, when Kelly was two years old.
- Dude Magnet: The only one who can compete with Brandon in terms of popularity with the opposite sex. She was loved by pretty much every male character, at different times: she had had a sexual relationship with Steve prior to the start of the show, and he still had feelings for her at the beginning of the show; David had a crush on her in the earlier seasons prior to them becoming step-siblings; and she had relationships with both Dylan and Brandon.
- Everyone Loves Blondes: Rich, beautiful, blonde Kelly is the most popular girl in high school.
- Fair-Weather Friend: Kelly doesn't really do things unless they serve/entertain her. For instance, she leaves Brenda behind at a beach party despite being Brenda's ride because the party was a bust. At the Spring Dance, she forgets Steve's birthday even though he confided in her about recently finding out he was adopted, and doesn't want to be seen around her alleged best friend, Brenda, because she wants to be Spring Princess and they are wearing the same dress. Even in college, when David cheats on Donna, Kelly tries to defend him instead of standing by Donna and as a result doesn't speak to Donna for an entire summer.
- Friends Turned Rivals: With Brenda. They consider each other best friends after becoming more equal, but Kelly always harbours jealousy of Brenda and the life Brenda has. This culminates in Kelly and Dylan cheating on Brenda, and despite Brenda's forgiveness, things are never the same, especially as Kelly continues to envy Brenda even while dating Dylan.Kelly: It's like, every time something good happens to you, part of me feels like, I'm getting left behind
- Good Bad Girl: Sleeping with pretty much everyone (but David), but still (generally) sympathetic.
- Hidden Depths: She is more than the typical spoiled rich girl she appears at first (especially in the first season).
- Hollywood Healing: Kelly suffered second-degree burns in a fire at Steve's rave in season 5, though seemed not to have many scars to show for it.
- Hypocrite: Kelly slut shames Valerie for her actions, while herself back in high school was a school slut as her reputation.
- Irony: In the first season she tries to hit on both Dylan and Brandon (in two different episodes) but was rejected by both. In later seasons, both guys are in love with her and fighting over her, leading the indecisive Kelly to Take a Third Option and reject both of their proposals.
- Lovable Alpha Bitch: Initially portrayed as a popular, stuck up snob but over the years she grows into a much more likable person.
- Mistaken for Gay: Brandon thinks Kelly dumped both him and Dylan to pursue Allison, the girl she nearly perished with at Steve's rave, and cracks jokes about Kelly liking women while drunk. David and Clare also misconstrue the situation after they walked in on Kelly and Allison having a candlelit dinner simply because Allison is gay and are the ones who imply a romance to Brandon. In reality, Kelly wanted to see how the person she almost died with was holding up.
- Near-Death Experience:
- Kelly nearly burned to death at the fire at Steve's rave, in the fifth season.
- She is shot and left for (almost) dead by a mugger later, and is in a coma for a while afterwards.
- Plastic Bitch: In her first episode, she is mentioned to have had a nose job over the summer and does have many of the Alpha Bitch stereotypes associated with this trope. However, she does undergo Character Development over the course of the series, evolving beyond the stereotype.
- Rape as Drama: Was raped in an alley in the penultimate episode of season 9. She later shot the rapist to death when he attempted to assault her again.
- Really Gets Around: One of the most infamous examples from this show, due to her promiscuous lifestyle.
- Second Love: She was this to Dylan.
- Sex with the Ex: At Donna's party in Season 1, Steve and Kelly get tipsy and end up having sex.
- Sugar-and-Ice Personality: Justified. Kelly grew up parenting her alcoholic mother and dealing with her father being absent/constantly disappointing her. She has trouble letting people in, but can be a good friend when she develops a relation with someone, as seen in her friendship with ex-boyfriend, Steve, or with her ostensible opposite, Andrea. All the same she remains distrusting of people throughout the series.
- Trauma Conga Line: She probably had the worst luck of all the characters.
Steve Sanders
Steven "Steve" Sanders née Brown
Portrayed by: Ian Ziering
A rich wannabe BMOC, Steve suffers from low self-esteem, leaving him always on the attack and coming off as a jerk. This gets better as he gains real friends, but he often takes short-cuts that land him in trouble. He's very energetic and a jokester.
- Alliterative Name: Steve Sanders
- Belligerent Sexual Tension: Steve and Kelly, despite being exes, have a lot of this as they bicker/flirt interchangeably in the high school seasons.
- Better as Friends: From Kelly's perspective, though he doesn't agree.
- Big Man on Campus: He has money, popularity, and a cool car.
- Boisterous Bruiser: He's brash, loud and muscular.
- Book Dumb: Not very academically focused, unlike his friend Brandon.
- Butt-Monkey: Sometimes, but it's usually Played for Laughs
- Casanova Wannabe: Played with, he can be quite the ladies man but not nearly as much as he thinks, since Brandon gets more girls than him.
- Dumb Blonde: He has blonde hair but he's more shallow and Book Dumb than stupid.
- False Rape Accusation: Laura claims Steve raped her. It's not clear if she genuinely felt violated because he both blew her off afterwards and turned out to have been cheating on his girlfriend with her or if she was just trying to get back at him for both of these transgressions, but either way, Kelly gets her to admit that she never told him "no".
- Happily Adopted: The rich, adopted son of two famous TV stars. Though technically, Rush Sanders turned out to be his biological dad, anyway.
- Heterosexual Life-Partners: He's probably Brandon's closest friend.
- Hopeless Suitor: When he was pining over Kelly in early seasons.
- Hot-Blooded: Can be very impulsive.
- Jerk with a Heart of Gold: Immature, brash, and cocky but also a loyal friend for everyone.
- Lovable Jock: A muscular, athletic, fun-loving student.
- Opposites Attract: He married Janet, who was intelligent, resourceful, and organized. Their marriage can be akin to an overexcited dog marrying a stoic cat.
- Really Gets Around: Less so compared to other character (and averted in early seasons) but he can still qualify. Considering he's been with Kelly, Clare, Valerie, and several other girls, and kissed Andrea. He also later married Janet.
- Red Oni, Blue Oni: The Hot-Blooded Red to Brandon's serious and mature Blue.
- Sensitive Guy and Manly Man: The cocky, muscular Manly Man to Brandon's thoughtful, bookish Sensitive Guy.
- Sex with the Ex: At Donna's party in Season 1, Steve and Kelly get tipsy and end up having sex.
- Small Name, Big Ego: He tends to overestimate himself many times.
Andrea Zuckerman
Andrea Zuckerman
Portrayed by: Gabrielle Carteris
Andrea is very intense and studious as she aims to get into a good school, not born with a silver spoon as most of her classmates. She's socially awkward, but loosens up a bit as she makes friends in high school. Can be self-righteous and sometimes willing to go too far for her work.
- Book Smart: The most academically competent character on the show, and Valedictorian of her year. When Brandon and Clare compete with her to get on Jeopardy!'s college tournament, she wins very easily.
- Brainy Brunette: Has brown hair and is very book-smart.
- Control Freak: Andrea mostly runs on logic, fretting over small details and the outcome of things beyond her control. Brandon is one of the only people who can assuage her fears and they provide a nice balance for each other.
- Holier Than Thou: Like Brandon, she has her self-righteous moments.
- Jealous Romantic Witness: Andrea has this whenever Brandon dates someone while they are in high school.
- Go-Getter Girl: While coming from a poor background, she's extremely ambitious and driven to succeed academically.
- Good Girls Avoid Abortion: Despite explicitly saying to Kelly "I can't have a baby", citing how young and unprepared she is, and outright planning to have one, she ultimately changes her mind and decides to continue the pregnancy.
- Jewish and Nerdy: A Jewish girl who is also very studious.
- Naked People Are Funny: She once has a nightmare about forgetting to put on her clothes and going to school naked, without noticing until dream!Brandon points it out.
- No Social Skills: Downplayed. She focuses so much on her studies that she neglects any social activities at school and barely knows how to act around her peers. This changes when she befriends Brandon and later Brenda, eventually becoming part of a group of friends.
- Put on a Bus: To Yale, after season 5. She only makes rare appearances after that.
- Single Woman Seeks Good Man: Her crush on Nice Guy Brandon.
- The Smart Girl: Complete with glasses. Andrea is smart and driven, illegally attending West Beverly for a shot at the best schools and a secure future. She runs the Blaze school newspaper as the editor from her sophomore year and does exceptionally well at school. Counter to her achievements, she doesn't socialise much and is socially awkward with her peers.
- Teen Pregnancy: Downplayed. Andrea became pregnant as a freshman in college, making her roughly 18 or 19 at the time (also slightly less believable considering Gabrielle Carteris was many years removed from her character). However, this was written as the actor was pregnant and asked for the pregnancy to be added to the character.
- Will They or Won't They?: With Brandon, throughout the high school years. They dance around becoming a couple but Andrea backs out a few times and rejects Brandon. Despite this, they're both jealous of each others partners. They end up as platonic in college when Andrea gets married in their freshman year.
Dylan McKay
Dylan Michael McKay
Portrayed by: Luke Perry
A lonely rich guy, Dylan is the idol of the teen social scene but mostly eschews people. He opens up after forming a strong friendship with Brandon and, especially, falling in love with Brenda. Later, Dylan becomes more cynical and starts only looking out for himself and caring about the money he used to loathe.
- The Alcoholic: In season 5, Dylan's problems with alcohol and drugs come back after the events of the season 4 finale.
- Badass Biker: He rides a Cool motorcycle.
- Badass Bookworm: He's very well-read, cultured and still a badass.
- Betty and Veronica:
- The Archie for Brenda's Betty (his first stable girlfriend) and Kelly's Veronica (the sexy Lovable Alpha Bitch of the group).
- Later the "bad boy" Veronica to Brandon's Nice Guy Betty for Kelly's Archie.
- Breakout Character: He doesn't even appear in the pilot and ends up being one of the most popular and iconic characters of the series, involved in a love triangle with two of the female protagonists.
- The Bus Came Back: He comes back to Beverly Hills in season 9 and 10.
- The Charmer: Part of Dylan's charismatic bad boy appeal.
- Chick Magnet: Not as much as Brandon, but he's definitely good at attracting many women. It has also been said that he was target of affection for most girls in high school.
- Deadpan Snarker: Has no problem showing his snarky side and telling people what he thinks about them.
- Death Wail: Dylan screams in agony upon watching his long lost father "died" in a car bombingnote . And later he screams in agony again when found out his new wife, Toni, got shot dead by mistake by a hitman (on her own father's order) when said attempted murder was meant for him..
- Freudian Excuse: Con artist dad, New Age hippie mom. Both usually absent from his life.
- Heterosexual Life-Partners: Has this relationship with Brandon for most of the series.
- Jerk with a Heart of Gold: He may be tough and anti-social, but he really cares for his friends.
- Lonely Rich Kid: He's a brooding loner and his parents are never around.
- Noble Male, Roguish Male: Roguish to Brandon’s Noble.
- No Celebrities Were Harmed: He resembles a young James Dean.
- Parental Abandonment: His family grew divided during Dylan's childhood; his parents separated, and Dylan developed strained relationships with both of them.
- Put on a Bus: In season 6, after the death of his wife Toni. The Bus Came Back, though.
- Second Episode Introduction: He doesn't appear in the pilot.
- Sensitive Guy and Manly Man: The Troubled, but Cute Manly Man to Brandon's Sensitive Guy.
- Tall, Dark, and Snarky: He has a snarky side.
- Tall, Dark, and Handsome: Dark-haired, attractive, charming and taller than Brandon.
- Trauma Conga Line: A short list of the things he goes through include fighting drug addiction, witnessing his father getting blown up, losing his fortune and his half-sister to con artists, developing depression, nearly dying in a car accident, becoming a widower the day of his wedding...
- Troubled, but Cute: One of the original and most famous examples. He's portrayed as a aloof, brooding, tough, super-cool bad boy with abandonment issues, and very popular with girls (both in-universe and out).
- Widowed at the Wedding: Downplayed. Dylan and Toni are married without any problems, but Toni is shot and killed by a hitman hired by her father, who intended to kill Dylan instead; this caused Dylan to leave Los Angeles.
David Silver
David Silver
Portrayed by: Brian Austin Green
A rich kid who is ambitious in getting what he wants no matter the cost. Despite making friends with the popular kids, David rarely looks out for anyone but himself. Has an on-again, off-again romance with Donna.
- Advertised Extra: Despite being always credited as a main character, in Season 1 he was just a Plucky Comic Relief who was mostly seen around Scott and rarely interacted with the other, older teen characters, if not for being an insignificant Abhorrent Admirer to Kelly. He gets better in season 2.
- Ascended Extra: He was a relatively minor character in season 1, but from season 2 onward he becomes part of the group and Donna's boyfriend.
- Beta Couple: With Donna in early seasons. They also have the longest-lasting relationship on the show.
- Chick Magnet: In later seasons he becomes popular with girls.
- Divergent Character Evolution: In season 1 he and Scott were both the unpopular Those Two Guys. Starting in season 2, David becomes part of the popular group and main cast while Scott remains unpopular, is Demoted to Extra, and eventually killed off.
- The Friend Nobody Likes: Initially. In season 1 the others weren't too fond of him (especially Kelly) and he was hardly considered a friend. He gradually grows out of this in season 2, especially after he starts dating Donna.
- He Cleans Up Nicely: He goes from dorky and awkward to a handsome Chick Magnet over the years.
- Hopeless Suitor: To Kelly in season 1. He has a crush on her but she can't stand him. Ironically he and Kelly become step siblings later on.
- In with the In Crowd: Starting in season 2 to the point he stops hanging out with his other unpopular friend Scott (his best friend in season 1).
- Informed Judaism: David is mentioned to be Jewish a couple of times, but this is not really a big plot point.
- Jewish and Nerdy: He was definitely geeky in the beginning, though his Jewish background is downplayed, being brought up only a couple of times.
- Missing Mom: His mother was mostly absent from his life.
- My Greatest Failure: He was this to his best friend, Scott.
- Nice Jewish Boy: He's quite easygoing.
- Tagalong Kid: Initially he was seen as an annoying younger kid by the popular crowd.
- Those Two Guys: With Scott in season 1. Usually appearing together (though David gets more screentime), even in the opening credits. Both were just comic relief minor characters and not part of the main group.
Donna Martin
Donna Marie Martin
Portrayed by: Tori Spelling
A very sheltered rich kid who is doted on by her father, Donna follows Kelly's lead in everything. Has an on-again, off-again romance with David.
- Beta Couple: With David in early seasons. They also have the longest-lasting relationship on the show.
- Beware the Nice Ones: Mostly in the later seasons.
- Book Dumb: She found out that she had a learning disability.
- Break the Cutie: Starting in season 5, with her abusive boyfriend Ray.
- Butt-Monkey: Occasionally in early seasons, she gets stuck in awkward and embarrassing situations and it's Played for Laughs.
- Character Development: She started as Kelly's shallow, ditzy sidekick but later the character's depth was more explored. Namely, she goes from being a girl who feels she couldn't be successful due to her learning disability to having the self-confidence to run several successful business ventures by the end of the series.
- Daddy's Girl: Donna is much closer to her father than her mother.
- The Ditz: She is extremely ditzy and naive.
- Domestic Abuse: She was repeatedly abused by her boyfriend Ray Pruitt.
- Dumb Blonde: Not the sharpest tool in the shed, though she's occasionally seen with red hair in later seasons.
- The Fashionista: After college, where she studied fashion design, she opened a boutique with Kelly Taylor.
- Hair of Gold, Heart of Gold: Compared to Kelly, Donna has blonde hair, she’s also kind and nicest girl of the show until she dye her hair red.
- Heterosexual Life-Partners: With Kelly. They are best friends throughout the show.
- The Ingenue: In contrast to the other characters, she's sweet, innocent, and a virgin.
- Hidden Depths: She may seem a silly character, but she is actually very insecure. She also has a learning disability that makes it hard for her to concentrate in school.
- Innocent Beta Bitch: While she is part of The Beautiful Elite along with her more famous friend Kelly, she's not stuck-up like her. She even starts dating an unpopular student who was considered a loser by Kelly. Kelly herself later evolves into a Lovable Alpha Bitch, but Donna is always nicer.
- Nice Girl: The nicest of the girls and probably the most innocent in the entire group.
- Plucky Comic Relief: In early seasons, she's not much involved in the drama and is just there to be The Ditz of the group, sometimes to Butt-Monkey levels.
- Upper-Class Twit: Extremely rich but sheltered and not very bright.
Scott Scanlon
Scott Scanlon
Portrayed by: Douglas Emerson
A sweet, innocent and down-to-earth freshman, especially in contrast to his ambitious ladder-climbing childhood best friend, David. Initially a main character, but doesn't get much of a storyline and is written off the series in Season 2.- A Death in the Limelight: In "The Next 50 Years" he ends up accidentally killing himself.
- Advertised Extra: In season 1 he is credited as a main character and even appears in one of the covers instead of Dylan (simply because Scott was in the pilot and Dylan wasn't). However he was just a Plucky Comic Relief who served as David's sidekick, never did anything remotely relevant to the plot, and almost never interacted with the main group.
- Alliterative Name: Scott Scanlon
- All of the Other Reindeer: He doesn't seem to have other friends other than David.
- Back for the Dead: He's seemingly Put on a Bus after season 1 (he's removed from the opening credits). After he comes back from Oklahoma, he gets a couple of A Day in the Limelight episodes, before dying in the middle of season 2.
- Forgotten Fallen Friend: When David becomes part of the cool crowd, he starts spending less time with his best friend Scott. He is mentioned a couple of times after his death, but otherwise absent.
- Satellite Character: He is David's friend and not much else.
- Those Two Guys: With David in season 1. Usually appearing together (though David gets more screentime), even in the opening credits. Both were just comic relief minor characters and not part of the main group.
- Too Dumb to Live: He accidentally shoots himself while fooling around with a loaded gun at his own party, and dies.
- Took a Level in Dumbass: In season 1 he's often the voice of reason for David and sometimes realizes when David is making a fool of himself. In season 2 he acts as the more foolish, immature of the duo, which eventually leads to the trope above.
Jim and Cindy Walsh
James "Jim" Walsh and Cindy Walsh née Beevis
Portrayed by: James Eckhouse and Carol Potter
Cindy is a grounded, supporting and loving parent to her children, and so is Jim, albeit strict and sometimes too hard on his kids. They do tend to be harder on Brenda, who is more independent, and favour Brandon, who follows their lead.
- Demoted to Extra: Their role on the show diminished as their children went off to college, and they were basically there to react to whatever they did. Eventually, both were Put on a Bus (or plane) to Hong Kong at the end of season.
- Good Parents: Both are caring parents to Brandon and Brenda.
- Happily Married: As a couple, they are stable, although not without their issues (both tempted to have extra-marital affairs in season one).
- Minnesota Nice: The Walsh family in Season 1, shown to be much more polite and down-to-earth than the Beverly Hills natives.
- Parental Favoritism: Unintentionally, but they seem to favor Brandon over Brenda, as they are way quicker to criticize her. In college, there is even a scene where Jim basically says that Brandon is so different from Brenda and not messed-up like her.
- Put on a Bus: After season 5.
Nat Bussichio
Nathaniel "Nat" Bussichio
Portrayed by: Joe E. Tata
The benevolent owner of perpetual safe haven Peach Pit and a surrogate father figure to the kids.- Advertised Extra: Credited as a main character from season 6 onward. He has his occasional A Day in the Limelight but in most episodes he's just the owner of the Peach Pit diner who is on friendly terms with the main characters.
- Commuting on a Bus: Nat popped in and out for the show's final season, even though he had very little to do as a main character.
- Fake Guest Star: From his introduction, Nat appeared in most of the episodes, though doesn't get promoted until season 6.
- High-School Sweethearts: He marries his former high school girlfriend, Joan, after being separated for about 30 years.
- Hollywood Heart Attack: He survives one about halfway through the show.
- Nice Guy: He's a good friend or even father figure to everyone in the main cast.
- Team Dad: Especially after Jim and Cindy leave the show. He even walks Donna down the aisle.
Later Cast (by appearance)
Jesse Vasquez
Jesse Vasquez
Portrayed by: Mark Damon Espinoza
A 25-year-old law student whom Andrea finds herself drawn to and they eventually start dating. He is introduced in Season 4.- Advertised Extra: Credited as a main character in season 5 but he's simply a Satellite Love Interest to Andrea. He has some storylines (helping Brandon to defend his presidency in one episode) but relatively minor compared to the other characters.
- Promoted to Love Interest: Started out as a caterer at the Walsh parents' wedding anniversary, soon became Andrea's boyfriend-turned-husband.
- Satellite Love Interest: He was simply Andrea's husband, and had little interactions with anyone else outside her.
- Token Minority: Jesse is the only Hispanic main character on the show, though only for a season.
Clare Arnold
Clare Arnold
Portrayed by: Kathleen Robertson
An intelligent, wild child party girl who speaks five languages and is the daughter of the chancellor at CU. She attends CU with the gang, has a longterm romance with Steve and lives at the beach house with Kelly and Donna. She is introduced in Season 4.
- Belligerent Sexual Tension: With Brandon. Despite rejecting her advances, Brandon reciprocates Clare's crush and it leads to a lot of tension between them and they bicker/banter a lot. Later, this is how Clare's relationship with Steve begins.
- Book Smart: She's just as smart and academically focused as Brandon and Andrea.
- Brains and Bondage: When Clare tries to seduce Brandon, she comes over to his house and chains herself to his bed with handcuffs while wearing lingerie. Later, she dates David and an interruption leaves David stuck overnight chained to his bed alone.
- Brainy Brunette: Clare is both intelligent and studious, graduating high school with honours and skipping her freshman year at CU, starting instead as a sophomore. She also speaks five languages.
- Character Development: At first she was wild-child bad girl, but she eventually matured and became an intricate part of the gang.
- Good Bad Girl: Becomes more sympathetic after a while.
- Iconic Sequel Character: She's introduced in season 4. Several characters are added to the main cast in later seasons, but she and Valerie are probably the most memorable.
- Put on a Bus: Leaves the show after season 7.
- Rebellious Princess: The wild rebellious daughter of a wealthy diplomatic and CU chancellor.
- Stalker with a Crush: To Brandon, initially, but all her attempts to seduce him were unsuccessful.
- Teen Genius: Clare entered California University as a college sophomore, despite having graduated from high school only a couple of months earlier
Valerie Malone
Valerie Malone
Portrayed by: Tiffani Thiessen
Valerie is a childhood friend of Brenda and Brandon and comes to live with the Walshes in 1994. She appears sweet and kind, but hides a devious side fostered by an abusive childhood. Everyone eventually catches on to Val's lies, but she remains close with Brandon, with whom she is most herself. She forms a longstanding rivalry with Kelly and has a romance with David. Introduced in Season 5.
- Bitch in Sheep's Clothing: Spends her first episode acting like an Expy of Kelly Kapowski. But at the episode's conclusion, she calls her friend in New York and ensuing conversation, reveals that she has nothing but contempt for everyone.
- Broken Bird: She is emotionally troubled due to Dark and Troubled Past and horrible family situation.
- Contrasting Replacement Character: A new girl introduced in the Walsh family after Brenda's departure. Unlike Girl Next Door Brenda, she's a promiscuous and manipulative Femme Fatale.
- False Rape Accusation: Zigzagged. Valerie accuses Noah of having drugged and raped her. Everyone, knowing the Manipulative Bastard she is, thinks she is lying about this, especially when she files a civil suit for a large sum of money against him. Turns out she was drugged with roofies, and she truly thought Noah had raped her, but that in fact she had been Roofied not by Noah but by someone else. She wins the civil suit, but upon finding out Noah is innocent, she gives him back the money.
- Femme Fatale: As seductive as she is manipulative.
- Freudian Excuse: Being the victim of Parental Incest.
- The Friend Nobody Likes: Justified since she sleeps around and causes a lot of trouble for everyone. Kelly particularly hates her.
- Iconic Sequel Character: She has been the most notable "bad girl" of the show for many years, but she is never mentioned before season 5.
- Manipulative Bitch: A master of manipulation. She's revealed to be one since her first appearance.
- Parental Incest: she was sexually assaulted by her father multiple times, which led to Valerie killing him, which is the reason Val moved to L.A. in the first place.
- Really Gets Around: All characters qualify to an extent, but Valerie more than everyone else.
- The Reveal: Several retcons are employed for this, but it turns out Valerie shot and killed her dad.
- Remember the New Guy?: We were supposed to always know she was the daughter of friends of Brendon & Brenda's parents.
- The Tease: Acts like this around all the male characters.
- Token Evil Teammate: A sly, cynical, slutty, bad girl who also doubles as The Friend Nobody Likes.
- The Vamp: A shameless one, though she's not completely evil and some episodes reveal her Hidden Depths.
Ray Pruit
Ray Pruit
Portrayed by: Jamie Walters
- The Bus Came Back: Twice. Ray returned late in Season 6 when the video company Donna and David were working for assigned them to do his video; Donna was terrified of him, but soon met his new fiancé and learned he was in therapy to deal with his anger issues, and they parted on friendly terms. Ray also made another appearance in Season 7, called in by the gang when David had a breakdown in Las Vegas, and was critical of them for not stepping in and helping him during his downward spiral.
- Domestic Abuse: He pushed Donna against a wall, and down the stairs. Ray later attempted to assault Donna at the beach house, only to get his ass kicked by Donna's then-boyfriend Joe.
- Fake Guest Star: In the fifth season, he appears in most of the episodes from his first appearance in episode 5.
- Freudian Excuse: His mother was an alcoholic, whilst his father was an abuser who later ran out on the family.
- Manipulative Bastard: Ray's charm often led Donna back to him, despite his abusive behavior.
- Put on a Bus: Left town after his trial against Joe Bradley was dismissed.
- Street Performer: Downplayed. Ray is a musician who usually plays for small audiences.
Carly Reynolds
Carly Reynolds
Portrayed by: Hilary Swank
- Country Mouse: Carly's originally from Montana.
- Glamorous Single Mother: Comparatively. Carly's not bad-looking and she hangs out with the likes of Steve and his friends.
- Put on a Bus: After only sixteen episodes, no less. Carly goes back to Montana with her son to take care of her ailing father.
Noah Hunter
Noah Hunter
Portrayed by: Vincent Young
- The Alcoholic: After his assets were confiscated by the IRS, Noah descended into a drunken depression that led to reckless driving charges and other acts which almost cost him Donna's love, before he cleaned himself up and focused on running the PPAD.
- Cool Boat: Where he lives.
- Dark and Troubled Past: A former alcoholic, he drove drunk one time and ended in a car wreck that killed his girlfriend. He only escaped jail time due to his wealthy father's connections, but feels horrible about it.
- Expy: Of Dylan. A strange example, considering both were on the show at the same time.
- Rich Boredom: He is wealthy, though he lives modestly (on a boat) and isn't particularly enamored with material possessions.
- Troubled, but Cute: Having a dark past, he tends to attract many girls, including Donna and Valerie.
Janet Sosna
Janet Sosna
Portrayed by: Lindsay Price
- Asian and Nerdy: Janet is one of the most intelligent and down-to-earth characters on the show, and is of Japanese ancestry (the actress, Lindsay Price, is half-Korean in Real Life).
- Belligerent Sexual Tension: With Steve, whom she later married.
- Control Freak: When things don't go her way, Janet tends to freak out and can prove to be controlling.
- Dating What Daddy Hates: Her parents wanted her to marry someone who was of Japanese descent, and were vehemently against her relationship with Steve, even cutting her off because of it. They later come around at the birth of Janet and Steve's daughter Madeline.
- Happily Married: To Steve.
- Imperiled in Pregnancy: Janet and her daughter Madeline initially suffered complications after the birth, though both pulled through.
- Opposites Attract: Janet's often conservative lifestyle compared to Steve's lackadaisical personality, a match akin to a cat and a dog.
- Promoted to Love Interest: Starting in season 9.
Matt Durning
Matt Durning
Portrayed by: Daniel Cosgrove
- Crusading Lawyer: He was always there when the gang needed him for legal reasons, such as Noah's drunk driving charges, Valerie's self-defense plea, and David's bogus statutory rape charge.
- The Generic Guy: When compared to the other guys, Matt seems bland. It seems the one time he did have a personality was when was drugged without his knowledge at a campfire retreat and slept with Amy.
- Oops! I Forgot I Was Married: He was married to a woman named Lauren, who was institutionalized for schizophrenia.
- The Rival: To Dylan, as both were in love with Kelly.
Gina Kincaid
Gina Kincaid
Portrayed by: Vanessa Marcil
- Abusive Parents: Her mother was very resentful of her sister's lifestyle and wasn't particularly caring towards Gina. Whereas her father turned out to be Dr. Martin, so he wasn't in the picture when she was growing up.
- All Girls Want Bad Boys: Her most notable relationship was with Dylan, our Byronic local bad boy. However, she did date David for some time.
- Disappeared Dad: Gina's father didn't seem to be in the picture. However, shortly before his death, Dr. Martin was revealed to be Gina's biological father, a product of an affair he had with his wife's sister in the '70s.
- The Friend Nobody Likes: Averted in season 9, where everyone seems to like her. But played straight in season 10 when everyone turned against Gina only after she told Kelly about her rape in the news.
- Jerkass: She has a bit of a bad attitude, and gets on everyone's nerves pretty quickly.
- Jerk with a Heart of Gold: Gina wasn't completely terrible as a person.
- Kick the Dog: At the receiving end by her own aunt, who told her to her face that Dr. Martin's death was somehow her fault.
- Luke, I Am Your Father: Dr. Martin is her biological father, thus making Donna both her cousin and half-sister.
- Manipulative Bitch: She once helped her mother scam her aunt for money, out of spite. She seems to be very manipulative when she wants to be.
- Put on a Bus: Towards the end of the series, Gina leaves L.A. after her father's funeral, and intends to continue her career elsewhere.
- Remember the New Guy?: Introduced as Donna's cousin, though was never mentioned in the eight seasons before her introduction.
- Suspiciously Similar Substitute: Gina and Valerie are very similar. Like Valerie, Gina appears to be a wholesome girl who turns out to be a Bitch in Sheep's Clothing, and quickly becomes a Manipulative Bitch who Really Gets Around, who is the (previously unmentioned) relative of a main character, and has a bitter rivalry with Kelly. The icing on the cake? Gina arrives the very next episode after Val left L.A.
