Characters / Big Little Lies

Mothers

Jane

Jane Chapman

Played By: Shailene Woodley

Jane is a 24-year-old single mother who is struggling to make ends meet and has to deal with her son Ziggy being a pariah.

• Adaptational Angst Upgrade: In the book her rape is little more than an unpleasant memory. In the series it's shown to have had long-term effects on Jane's relationships with men.
• Alone Among the Couples: When she moves to the setting, she's the only unmarried mom.
• Ambiguously Bi: In the book, she admires women and men in equal measures for their aesthetic qualities, including both Madeline and Celeste.
• Beautiful All Along: Once she cuts her hair, she's considered a lot more attractive.
• Broken Bird: As a result of her rape.
• Drowning My Sorrows: Jane's reaction to losing her first boyfriend. This ultimately leads to her being raped, though this horrifying event is (correctly) not depicted as being her fault in any way.
• Glamorous Single Mother: Jane becomes this after a makeover.
• Good Girls Avoid Abortion: Subverted: Jane got pregnant out of rape and kept the baby, but only because she was told she would likely be infertile for entire life and it may be her only chance to have a child.
• Good Parents: She's a very good and affectionate mother to Ziggy.
• Hollywood Thin: In both the book and series, Jane is portrayed as a compulsive exerciser. In the book, this is made clear to be a side effect of an eating disorder she developed after being raped, which led to her losing a lot of weight. In the series, it isn't commented upon, nor is it treated as abnormal.
• Mama Bear: One of the more extreme examples alongside Renata, Jane punched Renata in the face when she insulted her parenting, and is very protective of Ziggy.
• She Cleans Up Nicely: Everyone says so at the Trivia Night.
• Rape as Backstory: She was raped by Perry, which resulted in her move to Monterey.
• Struggling Single Mother: She's much poorer in comparison to the upper-class Monterey moms as a single mother.
• Teen Pregnancy: Jane is only 24 but has a 5-year-old son.
• Weight Woe: Jane used to have a fuller figure she was self-conscious of. When Perry calls her ugly, fat, and worthless during a horrifying, non-consensual sexual encounter, Jane develops an unhealthy relationship with food, exercise, and her body image.
• You Don't Look Like You: In what may or may not be an uncomfortable overlap with Adaptational Attractiveness, no mention is made of Jane being overweight in the past or having an eating disorder as a result of her assault.

Celeste

Celeste Wright

Played By: Nicole Kidman

Celeste is married to the rich and successful Perry and is well-liked by all the other mothers. What they don't know is that she's a victim of domestic abuse.

• Career Versus Man: Played with. She wants to return to work but feels suffocated by Perry's insistence that she shouldn't.
• Destructive Romance: Celeste is in love with Perry, but aware of how toxic their relationship is and eventually comes to terms with the fact that she's a victim of Domestic Abuse.
• Even the Girls Want Her: Several female characters remark on her good looks.
• Hello, Attorney!: Celeste is a sharp lawyer and drop-dead gorgeous.
• Leitmotif: Played with and seemingly the only character in the series to have one. Whenever she's listening to music through earphones alone, it's "Anyone Who Knows What Love Is (Will Understand)" by Irma Thomas. The lyrics are very fitting to her predicament:
  You can blame me, try to shame me
  Still I'll care for you
  You can run around, even put me down
  Still I'll be there for you
  The world may think I'm foolish
  They can't see you like I can
  Oh, but anyone who knows what love is
  Will understand.
• Masochism Tango: Deconstructed. After Perry's death in Season 2 of the show, she still struggles with the feeling that she was attracted to him.
• Informed Attractiveness: Celeste is considered breathtakingly beautiful even by her female friends. Justified in the adaptation, where she's played by Nicole Kidman.
• So Beautiful, It's a Curse: In the book, she is described as the most beautiful of the women, and the series treats her as such, but it means she and Perry are a beautiful couple, and he's very abusive.
• Statuesque Stunner: As is standard for a character played by Nicole Kidman, Celeste is beautiful and very tall, easily towering over Madeline and even having a couple of inches on the tall Jane and Renata. She's only slightly below her husband who, it bears mentioning, is played by 6'4 Alexander Skarsgard.
• Stepford Smiler: Everybody thinks she and Perry have the perfect life, which she does nothing to discourage, but she's in pieces over his recurrent physical abuse.
• Struggling Single Mother: Once Perry dies.
• Wealthy Philanthropist: Celeste feels guilty for being so financially well-off and donates exorbitant amounts of her husband's money to charity.

Madeline

Madeline MacKenzie

Played By: Reese Witherspoon

Madeline is the plucky best friend of Celeste. She takes Jane under her wing after Jane helps her out on the first day of school. She's on her second marriage and has to deal with her teenage daughter Abigail preferring her step-mother over her real one. Frequently butts heads with Renata.

• Adaptation Expansion: In the TV series, she had an affair a year prior to the series..
• The Alcoholic: She likes to drink. A lot.
• Alliterative Name: Her middle name is even Martha.
• Anger Born of Worry: Madeline when she finds out her 14-year-old daughter might be prostituting herself.
• Because You Were Nice to Me: The reason she takes Ziggy's side during the bullying drama is because Jane was this to her.
• Cluster F-Bomb: The show makes her out to be the female Joe Pesci.
• The Confidant: Played with. She's the first person Jane tells about her rape, although Madeline later reveals this to Ed. In addition, it seems she's about to pick up on something from Celeste telling her that she and Perry are ultimately turned on by rage, telling her that it sounds "a little twisted" [[Domestic Abuse(and it is)]]... before proclaiming that it's "kind of hot" then getting interrupted by Renata.
• Drama Queen: Madeline is perpetually outraged and lives for drama.
• Happily Married: Jane finds herself wistful for the love Madeline and Ed so obviously share. However, this is subverted in the adaptation, where Madeline is unfaithful to Ed.
• Jealous Parent: Madeline's resentment of Bonnie is less about taking her ex-husband from her and more about her influence over Abigail.
• Large Ham: You can tell Reese Witherspoon was having a lot of fun basically channeling Bette Davis.
• Lovable Alpha Bitch: A lot of her attempts to stand up for Jane come across as a power play against Renata.
• My Greatest Failure: In the series it's all but stated that Madeline's insistence on Abigail going to college is because she regrets not going when she was younger.
• Obnoxious Entitled Housewife: A slightly more heroic version. Madeline sides with Jane out of feeling Renata's quest is unfair (which it is), and assuming that Jane is nice because she helped her out on the first day of school. However, Madeline too is extremely petty, pits the mom cliques against one another, and is constantly wading into arguments that have nothing to do with her. She is also furious about her daughter's plan to auction off money for her virginity because she "doesn't give a shit about the Third World."
• Plucky Girl / Plucky Comic Relief: Her storyline throughout Season 1 is a lot lighter and Maddy is much more tempted to brush off the trauma of Season 1 even in Season 2.
• Race Lift: The show gives her Native American ancestry. (The novel is set in Australia, but it never suggests that Madeline has a similar Aboriginal Australian history)
• Sitcom Arch-Nemesis: Despite the darkness of the plot, Madeline has this with Renata (which is why she takes Jane's side) and Mary-Louise.
• Soapbox Sadie: In the adaptation she is much more cause-driven and falls largely into this trope.
• Struggling Single Mother: Madeline was this to Abigail before meeting Ed, and Lampshades it frequently.

Renata

Renata Klein

Played By: Laura Dern

Renata is a career-driven mother who frequently butts heads with Madeline. When her daughter Amabella accuses Ziggy of hitting her, she turns on both Ziggy and Jane.

• Adaptation Expansion: In the book, she is more on the sidelines, but the TV's Renata is there when Bonnie kills Perry and helps them to cover it up, becoming a fully-fledged member of the group in Season 2.
• Adaptational Heroism: She's totally willing to help cover up Perry's death and she becomes a good friend to the other women. Even before Season 2, she's softer and more gentle.
• Alpha Bitch / Academic Alpha Bitch: Renata comes across as this, being able to juggle both motherhood and a corporate position.
• Anger Born of Worry: Renata's response to her daughter Amabella being bullied.
• The Bully: Towards Jane and Ziggy. She apologizes when she realizes her persecution was misdirected.
• Control Freak: Renata is essentially every negative stereotype of a Type A personality rolled into a single person, including the controlling aspects: she has a tendency to wildly overreact when surprised or when a situation goes out of her control. This is especially true as regards her relationship with her daughter.
• Hair-Trigger Temper: Renata constantly seems to be on the verge of a screaming fit.
• High-Powered Career Woman: Renata is a highly-respected executive who feels she can't be as present for her young daughter because of it.
• Jerk with a Heart of Gold: Renata is this ultimately, considering she's just looking out for her daughter, even with her full-time job.
• Large Ham: Laura Dern is having a lot of fun with Renata's screaming, flamboyant behaviour, and extreme dress sense.
• My God, What Have I Done?: Renata when she realizes that Ziggy never hurt her daughter.
• Rich Bitch: She is extremely wealthy, garishly dressed, prone to throwing tantrums and using her money to get what she wants, and responds to her daughter Amabella being physically abused at school by trying to stoke a "war" between those who support Ziggy (who has been falsely accused of the crime by Amabella) and those on her side, seeking to isolate anyone who doesn't agree with her.
• Suddenly Shouting: Her default position when she's angry.

Bonnie

Bonnie Carlson

Played By: Zoë Kravitz

Bonnie is the much-younger wife of Madeline's first husband, Nathan.

• Bourgeois Bohemian: Despite being fairly well-off, she lives a very New Age bohemian lifestyle (reflected in her decor, her fashion, her preference for organic and homegrown food, her hobbies, and her causes).
• Beware the Nice Ones: Bonnie reacts violently when she sees Perry's treatment of his wife.
• Chekhov's Gunman: Although she starts off fairly external to the drama in season 1, it turns out that she is the murderer. But because she was protecting Celeste from Perry, the other women lie to protect her.
• Dark and Troubled Past: In the book, her father was abusive. Seeing Perry hurt Celeste triggered those memories and caused her to react defensively. In the series, it's her mother who was abusive, though she resents her father for being passive and not protecting her.
• Foil: Is Madeline's complete opposite. While Madeline is materialistic and cares more about first-world dramas, Bonnie is a New Age-type who cares about humanitarian causes. What's more, Bonnie's relationship with Madeline's ex-husband and their daughter Abigail is much stronger than it is with Madeline.
• Good Stepmother: To Nathan and Madeline's daughter Abigail, who genuinely looks up to her and sees her as a source of advice and support (to Madeline's dismay).
• Granola Girl: Ultimate example.
• Likes Older Men: She's in her twenties and married to forty-something Nathan. Bonnie later reveals that she started having casual sex from the age of 13, in all likelihood being taken advantage of by adult men. She eventually puts two and two together and comes to the conclusion that this trait was just her lashing out at her mother.
• Ms. Fanservice: To Madeline's dismay, she is "younger and sexier". In the series the other women comment that the town's husbands tend to check her out because of the way she dresses and moves.
• Hippie Parents: To her daughter, but also to her stepdaughter Abigail.
• The Pollyanna: Although finally, in Season 2, gets averted as she's the only struggling most with Perry's murder.
• Pushover Parents: Downplayed. She's much more softly-spoken and accepting towards Abigail, even when she has some horrible ideas. However, she does make sure that Madeline and Nathan (who are most definitely not this) are informed.
• Race Lift: Described as fair-skinned in the book, she's portrayed in the series by Zoë Kravitz.
• Soapbox Sadie: Although, in the series, she has swapped this role with Madeline.

Harper

Harper Stimson

Played By: Kelen Coleman

Harper is Renata's kiss-up friend.

• The Bully: Even more-so than Renata. She starts a petition to have Ziggy suspended. Her lawyer husband is even worse, threatening legal action against anyone who looks at him funny.
• Hate Sink: Harper uses Ziggy's false accusation of hurting Amabella as a reason to alienate Jane, who has done nothing to her. Harper then tries pushing Jane's buttons in an attempt to make her snap and vilify the poor woman and her son even further. What's more, her character doesn't have a Freudian Excuse like the other antagonists. She's just bitchy for the sake of it.
• Jerkass: A particularly bitchy mother. She is hostile to newcomer Jane.
• Out of Focus: Harper is barely seen in Season 2 after having had a small but significant role in the book, and she's also much less present in Season 1 of the adaptation.

Fathers

Perry

Perry Wright

Played By: Alexander Skarsgård

Perry is Celeste's husband. He's rich and successful, but has a violent streak and frequently hits her when no-one's looking. Despite this, he genuinely tries to be a better husband.

• Abusive Parents: Not directly, but his violence towards Celeste clearly has a great effect on Josh and Max.
  • Season two reveals he was a victim as well as his mother physically and emotionally abused him and blamed him for his brother's death.
• Affably Evil: Perry's a horrifically violent man, but he's also a devoted father who lives for his two boys and genuinely hates himself for beating his wife, whom he does love. However, this is never depicted as justifying his monstrous actions.
• Asshole Victim: He's the one killed on Trivia Night, by Bonnie.
• Broken Ace: He's a handsome, successful, immensely charming and all-around great guy as well as a violent, self-loathing and severely troubled abuser.
• Connected All Along: To Jane. He's her rapist and the father of Ziggy.
• Death by Falling Over: Bonnie pushes him down a flight of steps when he's attacking Celeste on Trivia Night.
• Domestic Abuse: He's a physically and emotionally abusive husband.
• Face of an Angel, Mind of a Demon: Everybody (including Celeste) agrees in-universe that Perry is unbelievably handsome, but he's also an unrepentant domestic abuser and rapist.
• Fatal Flaw: His repulsive attitude towards women and his violence.
• Freudian Excuse: In season two we find out his mother emotionally and physically abused him. This is a case of Truth in Television, as abusers are often abuse victims in real life and Celeste states this as well.
• Hair-Trigger Temper: Perry will attack Celeste as soon as no-one's looking.
• Hypocrite: Demands Celeste keep their sons away from Ziggy in case he's violent — and tries to choke her when she refuses.
• Jumping Off the Slippery Slope: Perry is absolutely loathsome for his abuse of Celeste, but he did seem to have some kinder features, so the revelation that he violently raped Jane has shades of this.
• A Lighter Shade of Black: Season two makes him this compared to his mother Mary-Louise, albeit only partially. As horrible as Perry is, he does seem aware of his behavior and it's destructive effects while Mary-Louise is in complete denial about her own abuse and Perry is shown as a loving father while Mary-Louise was a physically and emotionally abusive parent.
• Mama's Boy: If his mother's behaviour is anything to go by.
• My God, What Have I Done?: Perry's reaction every time he attacks Celeste, a common theme for abusers.
• Papa Wolf: Deconstructed, as he initially appears to be a loving but flawed father, but eventually shows that he is willing to harm his children in the course of his horrific violence toward his wife.
• Please, Don't Leave Me: Though deep down, he knows this would be best.
• Rape Is a Special Kind of Evil: He was the one who assaulted Jane and is Ziggy's biological father.
• Stay in the Kitchen: He's completely against Celeste returning back to her job despite the fact that she loves it.
• Tragic Villain: While Perry's actions are inexcusable, he is fully aware of how destructive his behavior is and hates himself for it even as he keeps falling into the same patterns. He was also a victim of abuse himself.
• Troubled Abuser: He's a violently abusive man but it's shown that he knows how horrible his behavior is and he detests himself for it. He also suffered under the hands of a violent abuser himself in his mother.
• Villain with Good Publicity: A domestic abuser and rapist who is nevertheless considered to be practically perfect by every other member of the school.

Nathan

Nathan Carlson

Played By: James Tupper

Madeline's ex-husband and Abigail's father.

• Bumbling Dad: Doesn't have the best track record when it comes to parenting.
• Hippie Parents: Is this with Bonnie.
• Manchild: Seems to have outgrown the worst of this, but apparently he was an irresponsible father the first time around.
• Parental Abandonment: Didn't show much interest in Abigail's upbringing, which leads to an uncomfortable situation later on.
• Pushover Parents: To Abigail, much to Madeline's chagrin.
• Red Herring: Ed often brings up that Madeline talks about him a lot and wonders if she still has feelings for him. It turns out his real concern should have been her assistant, who she had an affair with.

Ed

Ed MacKenzie

Played By: Adam Scott

Madeline's second husband and Chloe's father.

• Beware the Nice Ones: He threatens to kick Nathan's ass at one point.
• Deadpan Snarker: As is standard for a character played by Adam Scott.
• Foil: Much more responsible than Nathan.
• Only Sane Man: He's one of the characters to have his head on straight and not to be ruled by petty jealousy or immaturity.

Children

Ziggy

Ziggy Chapman

Played By: Iain Armitage

Ziggy is Jane's son. He's accused of hitting Amabella, though whether or not he really did is unknown, since no-one actually witnessed the incident.

• Adorably Precocious Child: He has a very warm, mature relationship with his mom Jane, but he's still a child and this is shown by his misconceptions about how to keep Amabella safe.
• Child by Rape: The product of a nonconsensual encounter between Jane and his father.
• Children Are Innocent: No matter what the truth is, Jane and her friends consider Ziggy innocent. And he is.
• Hero with Bad Publicity: He is only trying to help Amabella by taking the blame as he's very sweet and kind.
• Innocent Inaccurate: It's not clear if it comes from Chloe originally, but he believes that Perry "salted" Jane. He assaulted her.
• Misunderstood Loner with a Heart of Gold: He never hit Amabella, but agreed to take the blame because he could see how scared she was of the real culprit - Max.

Amabella

Amabella Klein

Played By: Ivy George

Amabella is Renata's daughter. She's attacked on her first day at school and blames Ziggy for it, but it's unknown if it was really him.

• My Beloved Smother: Renata comes across this way towards her, although she has good intentions.
• Prone to Tears: She's upset in nearly all of her appearances.

Max and Josh

Max and Josh Wright

Played By: Nicholas Crovetti (Max)

Played By: Cameron Crovetti (Josh)

The twin sons of Celeste and Perry.

• Always Identical Twins: They are.
• Beware the Nice Ones: Both boys are generally sweet-natured and loving but it's shown they've inherited their father's violent temper, Max more so.
• Big Brother Instinct: After finding out that Ziggy is their brother, they take it remarkably well and become fiercely protective of him.
• Bully Hunter: In season two Ziggy gets picked on by another student who calls him homophobic slurs, and they get into a fight when defending him.
• Cain and Abel: They seem to be getting this way in Season 2, becoming increasingly aggressive to each other and constantly fighting. Justified in that they've clearly been badly troubled by their father's abuse of their mother and his abuse.
• Easily Forgiven: Renata never brings up how Max was the one who hurt her daughter, and even lets them hangout together, albeit under close adult supervision and in a larger group.
• Evil Twin: Max, at least from Ziggy's perspective
• Freudian Excuse: Growing up around Perry's abuse of Celeste has left both very troubled and similarly inclined towards such outbursts, especially Max.
• In the Blood: They are both violent like their father, although Max is much more so and dangerous.
• Kids Are Cruel: Max is revealed to be the one who hit Amabella
• Like Father, Like Son: Perry's sons emulate their father's violent tendencies
• Morality Pet: Apparently to Perry, but it turns out that his violence had a terrible affect on both of them.
• Same Character, But Different: Max is the Evil Twin in Season 1, and abuses Amabella and Josh, but between Season 1 and 2, he hasn't just Taken A Level In Kindness, but his violence is never mentioned again, and Renata and Celeste let him be around Amabella with no issues.
• Troubled Abuser: Max has his father's violent streak but it's partially borne from seeing Perry's abuse of Celeste and he regrets it when he goes too far.

Abigail

Abigail Carlson

Played By: Kathryn Newton

Madeline's 14-year-old daughter. She clearly prefers Bonnie to Madeline, which has caused a lot of friction between them.

• Don't Tell Mama: Abigail's plan to auction off her virginity is played very discreetly, but Madeline finds out anyway.
• Granola Girl: Abigail tries to be this, much to her mother's chagrin.
• The Ingenue: Abigail genuinely wants to change things but she's extremely naive and sheltered to how this actually goes.
• Like Father, Unlike Son: Turned out completely different to Madeline.
• Meaningful Name: Abigail means “my father’s joy” and she’s much closer to her dad’s side of the family (particularly Bonnie, her stepmother) than to her mom’s side.
• Rape Is a Special Kind of Evil: Abigail feels pretty strongly about this, to the point where she'd auction off her virginity for charity
• Soapbox Sadie: Especially with regards to sexual abuse and trafficking, which is why she decides to auction off her virginity.
• Strawman Has a Point: In the series, when Madeline tells her to consider which college she should go to when she graduates, Abigail scoffs at the idea. She then lists all the drawbacks to a college education, such as student debt and lack of job opportunities for graduates.
• Wacky Parent, Serious Child: Isn't fair-weather like her father or shallow like Madeline, but not in the way Madeline was hoping for.
• Wide-Eyed Idealist: Apparently sees no problems with her wild attempts to change the system.

Chloe

Chloe MacKenzie

Played By: Darby Camp

Madeline's youngest daughter.

• Deadpan Snarker: Has a comeback for everything.
• Little Miss Snarker: Especially to Madeline.
• Loose Lips: She tells them both that Ziggy is Max and Josh's brother and vice versa.

Skye

Skye Carlson

Played By: Chloe Coleman

Bonnie and Nathan's only child, and half-sister to Abigail

• Out of Focus: Of all the children, she's the one that gets the least screentime.

Grandparents

Mary-Louise

Mary-Louise Wright

Played By: Meryl Streep

Perry's mother, who comes to Monterey to "help" Celeste in Season 2 after Perry's death, and refuses to admit that anything might be wrong.

• Abusive Parents: She was physically and emotionally abusive to Perry, blaming him for his brother's death that was really her fault. It's no wonder he ended up the way he did.
• Alpha Bitch: She's what happens when the alpha bitch never learns to be a good person after she grows up.
• Arch-Enemy: To the main women, as they covered up Perry's death.
• Believing Their Own Lies: Mary-Louise has a remarkable talent for self-deception, convincing herself that Perry was completely innocent and the real victim in the marriage and that she was never anything but a loving mother.
• Doesn't Know Their Own Child: Is completely oblivious to the idea that Perry was anything other than perfect. Likely because acknowledging what he was really like would mean accepting she was a horrible parent.
• Doting Grandparent: Tries to make herself one to Max and Josh. How much of this is a manipulation tactic and how much is genuine affection is up for debate.
• Even Evil Has Standards: When she can no longer deny Perry's true nature and is faced with video evidence of his horrific abuse, she is genuinely appalled and apologetic.
• Evil Old Folks: The first grandmother introduced in the show and very cruel and threatening.
• Hypocrite: It seems to run in the family.
  • She justifies suing Celeste for custody of the twins because she thinks that she'd raise them better. We later find out that she abused her son, and Celeste promptly notes that abusers are often abuse victims themselves.
  • One of the things that seemingly push her towards the custody battle is the fact that Celeste gets into a minor car accident. Perry had a brother who died in a car accident that happened when she was at the wheel.
  • She belittles Madeline and says that she doesn't like little people. While wearing stilettos.
  • She repeatedly accuses Celeste and Jane of lying about how Perry hurt them, but she lies about her past as an abusive mother.
• Female Misogynist: If her refusal to believe that Celeste was abused or that Jane was raped, and her use of Slut-Shaming is any indication, combined with her belief that Perry was a perfect human being.
• Greater-Scope Villain: For the whole series as her physical and emotional abuse of Perry turned him into the abuser we see in the first season.
• Hate Sink: Meryl Streep does a stellar job at making the audience truly detest this manipulative, slimy, mean-spirited bitch. One of the most satisfying moments of Season Two is when Celeste just smacks her.
• I Reject Your Reality: Mary-Louise has a near total inability to accept anything she doesn't want to hear, wheter that her son was a violent abuser and rapist or that she herself was a horribly abusive parent.
• Knight Templar Parent / Mama Bear: A very dark example. She genuinely adored Perry, who was a monstrous abuser.
• Laser-Guided Karma: Her efforts to take custody of Celeste's children include having her lawyer asking deeply intrusive questions and shaming her for things that have nothing to do with her ability to parent. This gives Celeste the opportunity to ask Marie-Louise intrusive questions, force her to watch irrefutable proof that her son was an abuser, and convince a judge that her physical abuse of him as a child helped make him into the monster he became.
• Never My Fault: She blamed Perry for his brother's death when it was really due to her own mistake and became physically and emotionally abusive as a result. This plays into her insistence that Perry couldn't have been abusive as admitting that would also mean admitting to her own horrible behavior.
• Obliviously Evil: Mary-Louise honestly doesn't think she was a bad mother or abusive, simply firm but loving.
• Outliving One's Offspring: Both of her sons died before her, Raymond as a child and Perry as an adult.
• Politically Incorrect Villain: She hates all the women, is extremely dismissive towards Celeste, and she hates Madeline because she "distrusts little people". She means short people, but still.
• Right for the Wrong Reasons: She's right that there is more to Perry's death, but her complete ignorance to his violence makes her this.
• Sitcom Arch-Nemesis: Though she is a regular Arch-Enemy to the rest of the main cast, she takes a special dislike to Madeline because she doesn't trust "little people".
• Slut-Shaming: Part of her line of attack against Celeste is to decry her in court for sleeping with multiple men after Perry's death. She also refuses to believe that Jane was raped, saying that she must have sent Perry mixed signals, and implies that Jane slept with so many men that she can't be sure Perry's the father of her child.
• Wild Card: Constantly. What she's going to do is a total mystery to anyone, such as when she screams at the dinner table in her first appearance.
• Wounded Gazelle Gambit: Meets any retaliation with a vulnerable old lady act.

Elizabeth

Elizabeth Howard

Played By: Crystal Fox

Bonnie's mother.

• Magical Negro: Played with. She has repeated visions of drowning and something bad happening to Bonnie.
• Scary Black Woman: As Bonnie's violent alcoholic mother.

Other Characters

Dr Amanda Reisman

Played by: Robin Weigert

Celeste and Perry's therapist, who Celeste visits to help them to cope with Perry's escalating violence.

• Adaptation Expansion: Her Season 1 appearances follow exactly the arc of her book counterpart, but she sticks around in Season 2 to help Celeste process her grief.
• The Confidant: She guards Celeste's secret that she's planning to leave Perry but, even when Celeste can't tell her about Perry's murder, she still protects her other secrets about the nuances of she and Perry's abusive marriage.
• Reasonable Authority Figure: A major Hope Spot of Season 1 is that she is the only person who can see through Perry's facade, even including Celeste. She immediately pins him for a domestic abuser.
• Secret-Keeper: About many things in Celeste and Perry's marriage, but particularly that Celeste is planning to leave Perry.
• The Shrink: The "awesome" version. She's both very competent and she goes above and beyond to encourage Celeste to leave before Perry kills her.

Tom

Played By: Joseph Cross

Tom is the owner of the seaside cafe that all the mothers frequent.

• Chuck Cunningham Syndrome: Season 2 acts as if he never even existed. Given Jane's issues with physical intimacy flaring up, it's likely this harmed their relationship.
• Mistaken for Gay: Tom is assumed to be gay, but to Jane's delight is not
• Nice Guy: Most definitely the sweetest character in the whole story.
• No Last Name Given: Neither by the book or the series.

Miss Barnes

Played By: Virginia Kull

The kindergarten teacher.

• Idiot Ball: Asking Amabella to point out her attacker on a school playground is just asking for trouble, especially given how scared Amabella is of the culprit.
• Nice Job Breaking It, Hero: After Miss Barnes asks Amabella to point out her attacker in full view of the children and their parents, the parents then comment on how big a mistake this was.
• Reasonable Authority Figure: Didn't actually witness who hit Amabella and refuses to treat Ziggy like he did it.
• Satellite Character: Exists because the plot requires it. Her actual character isn't given any focus, though she's among a small handful of people who are nice to Jane and Ziggy.

Det. Adrienne Quinlan

Played By: Merrin Dungey

The detective assigned to the murder case.

• Inspector Javert: Despite not being a conventional villain, her presence causes a lot of tension for the five protagonists, due to all of them being complicit in the murder.

Dr. Amanda Reisman

Played By: Robin Weigert

Marriage therapist to the Wright couple and later on to the MacKenzie couple.

• The Shrink: The awesome kind for Celeste, since she helps her gradually stand up for herself. For Madeline she's ineffective, mainly due to Madeline resisting any advice that might put the blame on herself.
• There Are No Therapists: Subverted in the series, with her being a Canon Immigrant.

Joseph Bachmann

Played By: Santiago Cabrera

A theater director that Madeline has an affair with.

• Canon Foreigner: Was created for the series to give Madeline a stronger character arc.

Tori Bachmann

Played By: Sarah Sokolovic

Joseph's wife.

• Big-Breast Pride: She gets her breasts enhanced in Season 2 and deliberately wears low necklines so she can brag about them.

Corey Brockfield

Played By: Douglas Smith

Jane's new love interest in Season 2.

• Suspiciously Similar Substitute: A Nice Guy love interest for Jane, replacing Tom from the first season.

Katie Richmond

Played By: Poorna Jagannathan

Celeste's lawyer.

• Good Lawyers, Good Clients: Doesn't resort to baiting and provides Celeste with emotional support as she's forced to answer for some of her less than admirable moments, seeing that Celeste is a good mother who is just under a lot of pressure.

Ira Farber

Played By: Denis O'Hare

Mary-Louise's lawyer.

• Amoral Attorney: Assists Mary-Louise in trying to win custody of the Wright twins, using any dirt they can on Celeste while downplaying any similar incidents in Mary-Louise's past.
• Hate Sink: Trying to make a single mother who suffered physical abuse from her husband and emotional abuse from her mother-in-law out to be a bad person doesn't speak highly of his standards.
• Slut-Shaming: Pretty much every question he asks of Celeste has to do with her sex life and he tries to use it as "proof" she's a deadbeat.

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