History Characters / DegrassiGraduatingClassOfSeason5

[[center: [- [[Characters/{{Degrassi}} Top Index]] | [[Characters/DegrassiJuniorHigh Junior High and High]] -] ]]
[[center: [- '''Season 5 Graduates''' | [[Characters/DegrassiGraduatingClassOfSeason7 Season 7 Graduates]] | [[Characters/DegrassiGraduatingClassOfSeason9 Season 9 Graduates]] | [[Characters/DegrassiGraduatingClassOfSeason11 Season 11 Graduates]] | [[Characters/DegrassiGraduatingClassOfSeason12 Season 12 Graduates]] | [[Characters/DegrassiGraduatingClassOfSeason14 Season 14 Graduates]] -] ]]
[[center: [- [[Characters/DegrassiGraduatingClassOfSeason16 Season 16 Graduates (Next Class 1)]] | [[Characters/DegrassiGrade11Class Grade 11 Class (Next Class 2)]] -] ]]
[[center: [- [[Characters/DegrassiOtherStudentsAndCollegeFriends Misc. Students]] | [[Characters/DegrassiProminentAdultsAndDegrassiFaculty Misc. Adults]] -] ]]

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Due to the fact this is a [[LongRunners long-running show]], this character list does contain unmarked spoilers for the entire series, so please tread lightly or not at all.

Jimmy Brooks and Gavin "Spinner" Mason graduated with the Class of Season 7. Jimmy lost a year due to rehab from the shooting and Spinner lost a year due to being expelled. Ashley Kerwin would have graduated with the Class of Season 7 after she spent a year in England, but she left school early to tour with Craig.

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[[foldercontrol]]

[[folder:Ashley Kerwin]]

[[quoteright:240:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/ashley_season4_001.jpg]]
'''Ashley Kerwin'''\\
[-Played by Melissa [=McIntyre=], Seasons 1-4 (regular), 5 (guest), 6-7 (recurring)-]

->''“You take everything so seriously...just lighten up.”''

Ashley tends to be very melodramatic and uptight compared to her peers, but she is also is a very creative person and a talented vocalist and musician. She was the most popular girl at Degrassi; she was class president, had her own GirlPosse and popular athletic boyfriend Jimmy. But even as the most popular girl, Ashley felt like she couldn't express herself openly and was becoming bored with her friends. She experimented with ecstasy at a sleepover and revealed her ''true'' feelings in regards to her friends and boyfriend while under the influence. After that incident, and at the beginning of high school, she is outcast by her friends and dumped by Jimmy. She changes her look dramatically to a {{goth}} style, symbolizing her outcast status and to fit in with her new friend, Ellie. She eventually ends up back into her friends' good graces after helping Paige deal with her rape, and later Ashley dates new kid Craig Manning. In season three, Ashley is cheated on by Craig to which she harbors great resentment until he apologized and they date again in season four before she leaves Canada and starts a media internship in London, with her unable to deal with his newly diagnosed mental illness. After returning in Canada for a bit, she leaves Degrassi once again in order to pursue a music career in London in season seven.
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* AFriendInNeed: Despite being adversarial with Paige throughout season 2, Ashley is the second person she tells that she was raped and Ashley puts aside her anger and helps her cope.
* AlphaBitch: Ashley was the most popular girl in school, and she was controlling when it came to the morning announcements and even the talent show, and she can be insulting to Terri for not having a boyfriend. That's all when she not insulting everyone while on ecstasy.
* AmbitionIsEvil: In season seven, after Craig's album comes out (and uses a song she wrote without crediting her), she starts to focus in on a music career but didn't want to be seen as a "sidekick" especially with both Craig and Jimmy's burgeoning careers. So when a producer offers to her Jimmy and Ashley's music, she deletes Jimmy's rap from the demo and submits just her vocals.
* TheArtifact: She, along with Toby were a lot more prominent during the first two seasons as they had a [[{{Expy}} parallel with Degrassi Junior High's Stephanie and Arthur]]. But as the show distanced itself further from the old series, their roles gradually faded and they were DemotedToExtra for the most part.
* BreakTheHaughty: Throughout season two, as her past snobbery comes back and bites her in ass, resulting in her losing all of her friends and social status.
* TheCastShowOff: Melissa [=McIntyre=]'s singing abilities are actually written into the plot, as several of Ashley's story arcs revolve around her vocal talent.
* CoolBigSis: She and her step-brother Toby have their typical sibling fights, but overall she is a caring big sister.
* DramaQueen: Called out on this in season three for her moody behavior. Paige even tells Ashley Craig didn't just cheat on her because of hormones, but due to her melodrama.
* FallenPrincess: After the fallout from the ecstasy, she loses her friends, and social status, going from SchoolIdol to low-level {{Goth}} girl.
* GarageBand: An accomplished musician in her own right, and Part of Hell Hath No Fury, and later played with Downtown Sasquatch for a bit. During seasons one and two, she was in a talent show band with Paige, Terri, and sometimes Hazel.
* {{Goth}}: After she starts hanging out with Ellie, she changes her look to all black and starts writing depressing poetry.
* HasTwoMommies: Her father is gay and married, leaving her with a gay stepfather though she lives with her mother.
* HumiliationConga: The season one episode ''Karma Chameleon'', in which she drops down the PopularityFoodChain, gets dumped by Jimmy (who calls her a slut) and Sean, and loses her friends, including best friend Terry.
* IntoxicationEnsues: Takes ecstasy in the first season finale, resulting in Ashley getting high, calling Paige a hag, and cheating on Jimmy. She became a social outcast over night.
* JerkassHasAPoint: Ashley's mad at her dad for abandoning her so he could run off with a man. You have to admit, she does have a point, shoving away all your parenting responsibilities to the mom and running out on them is not instantly justified just because he's gay.
* LovableAlphaBitch: Ashley is popular and is glad for her unchallenged status for StudentCouncilPresident. But she isn't outwardly mean (especially compared to Paige, at least back then) and can be friendly and caring.
* MustMakeAmends: After the ecstasy episode, she was set on getting her friends back and apologizing to Jimmy, but unfortunately after she decides to hang with Sean (despite Jimmy still having feelings for her), her friends learn of her plans and it blows up in her face.
* NotSoAboveItAll: She has a haughty, melodramatic attitude and is called out on it in season 3. She then performs in an Elvis suit in a contest.
* ObliviousGuiltSlinging: Right before Craig is about to break up with her to be with Manny like he promised, Ashley gave Craig a vintage guitar that was worth a lot of money as a Christmas gift. This made him feel bad and decide not to break up with her after all.
* OutOfFocus: A prominent character in the first three seasons, her role started to fade to just being [[SatelliteLoveInterest Craig's girlfriend]] and give Craig more drama. Then later she simply became a background character for Jimmy and Ellie's storylines.
* PutOnABus: Ashley spent all but the final episode of season five in England. She came back to finish up her senior year in season six, but apparently decided to stay in England again in season seven.
* ReformedButRejected: All the apologizing and drug counseling after her ecstasy trip still didn't gain her favors from her popular friends.
* SatelliteCharacter: In seasons four through seven, mainly to Craig, Ellie, and Jimmy which was a departure from the previous three seasons.
* SchoolIdol: Formerly, before her face from grace.
* SignificantWardrobeShift: She's had a wardrobe shift in almost every season she's been in; from a trendy preppy girl (season 1), to a goth style (season 2), to a indie rocker chick style (seasons 3-4) to a GirlinessUpgrade of tighter tops and jeans and jewerly (seasons 6-7).
* StepfordSmiler: She kept up appearances in order to be popular, but underneath the persona (and as revealed when she took ecstasy and blurted it out) she dislikes the pressure of being SchoolIdol and harbored resentment for her then-boyfriend Jimmy and GirlPosse. She saw a lot of herself in unpopular nerd Liberty.
* StudentCouncilPresident: [[VoteEarlyVoteOften She rigged her election]] to get the post, too.
* TheReasonYouSuckSpeech: She wrote a song about Craig "Mr. Nice Guy" with Hell Hath No Fury after he cheated on her.
* VitriolicBestBuds: With Paige, who was gunning for her AlphaBitch spot. Ashley was the second person Paige told about her rape and Ashley was instantly protective. Also with Spinner, at least until they got older. Spinner didn't like her very much when she was going out with Craig.
* WomanScorned: After Craig cheats on her and gets Manny pregnant. She announces the pregnancy in the middle of the Cafe and makes Craig the target of a TakeThat song. The band she was in even changed their name to Hell Have No Fury.
* YokoOhNo[[invoked]]: [[InvokedTrope Invoked]], as she was seen as this when Downtown Sasquatch was recording their demo and Craig brought Ashley along.

[[/folder]]

[[folder:Ellie Nash]]

[[quoteright:240:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/ellie_season4_005.jpg]]
'''Eleanor "Ellie" Nash'''\\
[-Played by Stacey Farber, Seasons 2 (recurring), 3-7 (regular), 8 (recurring)-]

->''"Guys suck, Ashley. They enjoy messing with our feelings - and then sticking us with the rent."''

Ellie is a sarcastic world-weary {{goth}} girl who turned heads at Degrassi with her alternative fashion and derisive attitude. She later becomes good friends with Ashley after Ashely gets outcasted from the popular crowd. Underneath the freaky fashion and snarky attitude, Ellie has deep wounds of depression and major trust issues. Her father is away in the Peace Corps and her mother is an neglectful alcoholic. With her father gone and her mother constantly in a drunken stupor who needs to be taken care off, Ellie starts cutting her arms to distract herself from her home life. She starts dating Sean until he leaves her behind so he could deal with his own issues. Ellie later learns to finally confide in people, from her frienemy Paige to forgiving her mother when she nearly burns the house down. During senior year and college, she had a tumultuous relationship with Craig Manning, to the point where she neglected her own relationship and was starting to drink to alleviate her stress. She had an interest in writing and journalism she was 15 and in season seven, she is made the editor of the The Core, Toronto University's college newspaper. In ''Degrassi Goes Hollywood'', her story arc finally comes full circle she wraps up her relationship with Craig and meets with her PTSD-stricken father.
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* TheAlcoholic: Briefly, due to Jessie cheating her on Caitlin Ryan and dealing with her mountain of stress with her relationship with Craig and her father coming home and dealing with PTSD.
* AlcoholicParent: Her mother, to be specific. She nearly burns down her house in a drunken stupor.
* TheBeard: She fell hard for Marco in season two, before realizing he was gay. She continued to be his beard until season 3 until she finally got tired of the charade. They're both now best friends.
* BrokenBird: She's gone through a ''lot'', not just with boyfriends but with her family situation which pretty much left her bitter and reluctant to trust.
* ButtMonkey: In addition to a crappy home life, it seems like ''nothing'' can really go Ellie's way, especially romantically. Her first crush Marco turns out to be gay. Sean leaves her to go to Wasega, leaving her with the rent. Jessie cheats on her ''with her mentor'' Caitlin Ryan. And her biggest crush Craig treats her like a side-chick. However she's a non-physical injury version of the IronButtmonkey, [[{{Determinator}} determined to work hard especially as a journalist]].
* DeadpanSnarker: Her primarily method of communication to people she dislikes, especially as a high schooler.
* DrivenToSuicide: In "Degrassi Goes Hollywood", she attempts to drown herself by walking into the Pacific Ocean while drunk, (she doesn't know how to swim), but is saved by Craig and Marco before she gets in too deep.
* EmoTeen: Unlike most {{Emo Teen}}s, she genuinely has reasons to be angsty, but otherwise the label fits like a glove, from her wardrobe to her personality.
* EstablishingCharacterMoment: In ''Karma Chameleon'', popular Paige tries to order Ellie (decked out in her {{goth}}[=/=]EmoTeen gear) out of her seat so Hazel can sit there and Ellie cooly stands up to her, not caring about her position on the PopularityFoodChain.
* FagHag: To Marco, at least after she stopped crushing on him and being his beard. Their relationship was so close, they actually hooked up in college due to their reluctance to be away from each other.
* FakeGuestStar: Had a few of her own storylines in season two, along with Marco, yet was still credited as a guest star. Became a series regular in season three.
* TheFirstCutIsTheDeepest: Due to being hurt by others, Ellie is reluctant to trust anyone let alone any LoveInterest.
* FreakyFashionMildMind: Her fashion is pretty out there in the first seasons she appeared in, but her personality is more laid back and cynical.
* GarageBand: She is part of Hell Hath No Fury and played drums in Downtown Sasquatch for a bit.
* {{Goth}}: Her fashion in high school had some basic Goth type styles, mixed in with the some of the more contemporary EmoTeen styles.
* IncompatibleOrientation: She crushed on Marco hard until she found out he was questioning his sexuality.
* IntoxicationEnsues: After she caught her idol, Caitlin Ryan making out with her ''boyfriend'', she drank a lot of wine and humiliated herself and Caitlin during an public interview. Then also dealing with Craig and her PTSD-stricken father during the ''Degrassi Goes Hollywood'' TV movie.
* KnightInSourArmor: Generally pessimistic about everything, but she's determined to stop her cutting and be a great journalist.
* LoveMartyr: Her relationship with both Craig and Jesse were filled with ups and downs and she was hurt, mainly because she kept internally making excuses for them.
* MasculineGirlFeminineBoy: She is the Masculine Girl to Marco's Feminine Boy.
* OneOfTheBoys: A drummer in an otherwise all-male garage band with a number of piercings. She does have a good female friend, but she is the only girl by season five who has strictly platonic relationship with a guy and she does maintain friendships with a couple of others.
* PairTheSpares: When Emma and Sean broke up, the both of them sought out new love interests - Emma with Chris and Sean with Ellie. The Sean/Ellie pairing was very popular because both had {{Dark And Troubled Past}}s, she was a BrokenBird and he was TroubledButCute. But of course, Emma and Sean had to get back together...
* PromotionToOpeningTitles: Stacey Farber made the main cast in season three.
* RomanticFalseLead: For Sean, seasons 3-4.
* TheRival: She is the rival of Manny for Craig's affection. Manny was mainly jealous of her spending time with Craig, not to mention insecure that Ellie had a lot more in common with him.
* SchoolNewspaperNewsHound: She takes journalism very seriously, not just during her stint at ''The Core'', but at Degrassi's school paper ''The Grapevine''.
* SelfHarm: She started cutting herself after her life became too much. She got better, thankfully.
* TheSnarkKnight: She was generally disdainful for everyone and herself before she met Caitlin Ryan and she started on her path to being a journalist.
* StepfordSnarker[=/=]SourOutsideSadInside: In seasons two through four, particularly. Her snarky comments and pessimistic personality was a front to cover her sadness and depression.
* TheMuse: To Jimmy, which led to him having a crush on her. Unfortunately, [[DoggedNiceGuy his feelings weren't returned.]]
* UnequalPairing: With Jessie, who was the editor of ''The Core'' when she attended Toronto University. He never took advantage of her, but he was her boss and it's indicated Jesse dated several freshman girls while at ''The Core.''
* UnresolvedSexualTension[=/=]WillTheyOrWontThey: With Craig for three long, ''long'' seasons. Craig played her feelings while dating Manny, and even with Manny out of the picture, there was his coke problem. Poor Ellie.
* VitriolicBestBuds: Towards Paige. In high school, they could barely stand each other and their contact was limited to mutual friends (Ashley and Marco). In college, they grow closer immensely, but the previous tension hasn't really gone away.
* ZenSurvivor: Came off this way in season two, and once Ashley gets ditched by her friends, Ellie decides to become Ashley's friend.

[[/folder]]

[[folder:Paige Michalchuck]]

[[quoteright:240:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/paige_season4_003.jpg]]
'''Paige Michalchuck'''\\
[-Played by Lauren Collins, Seasons 1-7 (regular), 8 (recurring), 16 (guest)-]

->''“You're still the same insecure girl that you've always been!”''

Paige is a sharp-tongued fashonista who was part of Ashley's GirlPosse. She is smart and funny but wouldn't hesitate stepping over others to get to her goals. As soon as Ashley's popularity fell, Paige quickly took the AlphaBitch spot by undermining her friendships and taking her GirlPosse. Soon after becoming queen bee, Paige is date raped at a party and traumatized until she finally tells Hazel and Ashley about the rape and even faces down her rapist. [[RapePortrayedAsRedemption After the incident, she starts tone down her meanness]] and she dates Spinner for two seasons. She faces off with her rapist a year later in a courtroom and unfortunately loses her case, which leads to a break-up with Spinner and an ill-advised fling with a student teacher. During her senior year, she begins a relationship with Alex Nunez, her first girl-on-girl relationship which makes her wonder about her sexuality until she decides not to label herself. After graduating Degrassi, she has a complete breakdown at Banting University which was the start of her downward slide which culminates in a break-up with Alex, a high-stress fashion job and an aimless assistant job in Los Angeles. It does lead to her briefly being cast in Jason Mewes's movie, but she loses the part after getting a big head. She eventually does the right thing by getting Manny cast in the movie.
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* AcquiredSituationalNarcissism: In ''Degrassi Goes Hollywood'' after she's picked to be in Jason Mewes's musical and she starts being a total {{jerkass}} to everyone including her best friend Marco. She was so desperate to keep her name in the spotlight that she planned an upskirt "business" shot at a red carpet premiere. She even loses Marco's friendship for awhile, but as revealed in the DegrassiNextClass episode ''#[=ThrowbackThursday=]'', they're friendly again.
* AlphaBitch: The show's most famous example. She wasn't even the first AlphaBitch (that would be Ashley) but her ascension to the top and behavior afterwards pretty much defined her role on the show.
** LovableAlphaBitch: She became this after she was raped, trusting her friends more and helping them out.
* BackstabbingTheAlphaBitch: What she does to Ashley after her ecstasy trip and tries to make amends.
* BreakTheHaughty: Several times throughout the show, the first major incident was the dealing with the trauma with being raped at age 14.
* BrokenBird: After she was raped at age 14. And then when Dean was acquitted of raping her, she really fell into this trope. She gets better, but it darkened her character from that point on.
* BiTheWay: Almost all of her relationships shown in the series are with men, but the one exception is Alex, who she ends up being very serious about. While Alex explicitly calls her a bisexual, Paige never gives herself a label, and when asked about it, she says that she isn't sure what she is yet.
* CatchPhrase: "New year, new look, new Paige" is her most iconic one.
* TheCheerleader: She is the head cheerleader of the Spirit Squad and definitely didn't mind throwing her weight around.
* ClosetKey: Paige is the first girl Alex falls in love with, and from there Alex realizes she is a lesbian.
* DeadpanSnarker: A lot harsher than deadpan, especially when it's directed towards a target.
* DrivesLikeCrazy: When she took a driving test with a hot driving instructor, she couldn't really concentrate, leading to her to fail and smush several innocent traffic cones.
* EvenEvilHasStandards: When Hazel hands Fareeza a "Fashion Police" ticket for wearing a hijab (complete with a "terrorist chic" remark). "When ''I'm'' offended, you know you really gone too far."
* EveryoneLovesBlondes: She was always one of the most popular students.
* EstablishingCharacterMoment: In season one, when she shows off her new look, complete with the BareYourMidriff "Hottie" embroidered shirt and sunglasses and queen bee attitude.
* FallenPrincess: Her AlphaBitch facade completely crumbled after she graduated high school and ended up flunking Banting and then later working for a fashion magazine as an assistant.
* TheFashionista: She was a trendsetter at Degrassi and spent time as a fashion magazine working as an assistant for an editor.
* FreakOut: When she starts attending Banting University (fictional Canadian UsefulNotes/IvyLeague-type school), she completely caves under the schoolwork and starts having regular panic attacks. And it leads to a bigger FreakOut when she sets fire to all of her homework and nearly burns down her dorm.
* GarageBand: The guitarist of Hell Hath No Fury.
* GratuitousFrench: She occasionally peppers her dialogue with some French.
* HiddenDepths: She may seem like a cruel and flighty queen bee, but she is very smart (enough to land into Banting) and resourceful.
* HotForTeacher: She and a teacher's aide start dating in season four, but it is very short-lived.
* IntoxicationEnsues: She smoked marijuana right before a surprise college prospect interview. The results are pretty much what you would expect them to be.
* IvyLeagueForEveryone: Gets into a fictional Canadian university that's supposed to be one of the best in the nation but drops out mid-semester because she can't handle the workload or academic pressure.
* JerkWithAHeartOfGold: She has her bitchy, manipulative moments but she generally tries to do the right thing, she is a good friend and can give really good advice.
* ManipulativeBitch: Successfully managed to make Spinner choose her over Terri during season one by getting her drunk.
* RapePortrayedAsRedemption: After she is raped and gets help for it, she becomes a lot nicer and friendlier. However, she stills keeps an AlphaBitch edge, so don't get ''too'' friendly with her.
* TheRival: To Manny, for a while due to Manny starting to unsurp Paige from her position. After an all-out CatFight towards the end of season four, they mostly get over it.
* TheStarscream: While being Ashley's best friend, she starts to undermine her AlphaBitch position and seizes it when Ashley becomes unpopular.
* StaringDownCthulhu: In one of her most famous scenes, where she stared down Dean, her rapist at a song writing contest and sang about how he took advantage of her.
* StepfordSmiler: After getting accepted into Banting and flunking all her classes, she tried desperately to maintain her reputation as the AlphaBitch SchoolIdol (and also implied, completely heterosexual) before it all came crashing down.
* SuddenlySexuality: There was no indication she was ever into women until Alex kissed her. And as far as we know, Alex is [[IfItsYouItsOkay the only girl she's loved.]] When the topic is addressed in one of her last episodes, she says that she isn't sure what she is yet.
* TomboyAndGirlyGirl: She is the Girly Girl to Alex's Tomboy.
* TraumaCongaLine: Let's see, she is raped at a party, [[KarmaHoudini her rapist gets away with the crime]], she completely flames out at college, and she has enough room to have a HIV/STD scare.
* UnwittingInstigatorOfDoom: In season 1, Paige gave Terri some liquor to loosen her up before the dance. She vomited all over Spinner. Had she dated Spinner, she would've been more confident and probably not thought [[{{yandere}} R]][[BastardBoyfriend i]][[CuteAndPsycho c]][[BerserkButton k]] was her only chance at love. If Rick hadn't put Terri in a coma, there would be no reason for people to bully him, and he wouldn't have reacted by bringing a gun to school. This was a meme on the forums for a while.
* VerbalTic: Try to find a sentence in her last few seasons where she doesn't say "hun."
* VitriolicBestBuds: With Ellie; they weren't ever very friendly, but Paige is the first to know about her cutting. From there, it's a friendly relationship with the occasional insult fest. Also with Ashley, with whom she opened up about her rape after Paige helped outcast her.
* YaoiFanGirl: Even before Marco came out, she liked to think about pairing him with Dylan.

[[/folder]]

[[folder:Spinner Mason]]

[[quoteright:240:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/spinner_04.jpg]]
'''Gavin "Spinner" Mason'''\\
[-Played by Shane Kippel, Seasons 1-9 (regular), 14 and 16 (guest)-]

->''“...I have my job, my loft, my band, Jane so staying [in Toronto] was just...me.”''

Spinner was one of Degrassi's most popular students, along with his best friend Jimmy Brooks. He was also the school bully but as the years went by, his bully reputation went away and he became a lot sweeter, if not more intelligent. In season two, he helps Paige confront her rapist and from there they start dating until in season four in which he gets dumped due to acting progressively meaner to Paige. As a result, he, along with Jay bullied Rick Murray to extreme. Rick then brought a gun to school and shot Jimmy, under a pretense fueled by Spinner that it was ''Jimmy'' who was behind an embarrassing prank. When the truth came out, Spinner was immediately outcast and was held back a year after being expelled for his role in the bullying and Jimmy disowned him as a friend. During season five after he got held back, it took a long time for Spinner to find his way back in his former friend's good graces which even included him almost thinking to convert to Christianity. Spinner is also a testicular cancer survivor and after he graduated (and was rejected from police college), he stayed around in the Degrassi neighborhood helping the new class of Degrassi students and worked at [[LocalHangout The Dot.]] In season nine, he marries Emma Nelson after a drunk accidental marriage. No, really.
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* TheAtoner: After indirectly causing the shooter to direct his attentions towards Jimmy, he works very hard to gain the trust of his friends back, especially Jimmy. Not to mention trying to forgive himself for what happened.
* AccidentalMarriage: In season nine, he accidentally marries Emma after both of them get drunk. The marriage later turns real.
* AttentionDeficitOohShiny: Spinner suffers from attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), and this condition led to his nickname.
* BigBrotherInstinct: Towards his sister Kendra.
* BigBrotherMentor: After he graduates, he stays around Degrassi and Toronto and becomes a mentor to the younger students of the school.
* BookDumb: He's not very good with schoolwork and even gets held back in English class. He doesn't seem very bright, but he is smart enough to help run a business and give good advice to younger students.
* BreakoutCharacter: He was a secondary character for the most part in the earlier seasons. After the shooting, he became more of a dynamic character and became an indistinguishable part of the cast.
* BreakTheHaughty: He started bullying Rick mercilessly and was a {{jerkass}} to Paige in season four. Then after the shooting and the truth of his involvement getting out, he loses all his friends, gets expelled, and hits complete rock bottom.
* TheBusCameBack: After leaving the show in season 9, he makes an appearance in season ''14'', interviewing Eli for a summer job position at The Dot. Yeah, he still works there. And again in DegrassiNextClass, where it's revealed he's ''still'' married to Emma.
* TheBully: His primarily role in season one. He was also a bully towards Rick.
* TheChewToy: Sometimes, for comic relief in the first three seasons.
* ChickMagnet: He dates not only Paige, but later Manny, Darcy, Jane, and ends up married to Emma.
* ConvertingForLove: He doesn't quite become a Christian, but he takes up a vow of abstinence until marriage, mainly due to Darcy.
* DerailingLoveInterests: Towards Paige due to their relationship being strained after the rape trial, and Paige crashing his brand new car into Dean's car and getting Spinner arrested. He becomes a jerkass and even starts to become interested in Manny which leads to Paige dumping him.
* DisappearedDad: A {{retcon}}, his father died of cancer apparently before the events of Series/{{Degrassi}}, however in an earlier episodes, he mentions him.
* TheDitz: He is intelligent in his own way, but has his airheaded moments and isn't very well-read.
* GarageBand: Drummer for Downtown Sasquatch and later he played for Studz and Janie and the Studs.
* HeWhoFightsMonsters: In reference to Rick: "I'm just like him! Violent!"
* HeelFaceRevolvingDoor: Starting in season four, ending (on the "face" side) at the end of season five.
* HeelFaithTurn: He meets Darcy who introduces him to Christianity, in which he uses to become a better person and forgive himself.
* HeldBackInSchool: Missed the rest of his junior year in season four due to his expulsion and had to repeat.
* HeterosexualLifePartners: With both Jimmy and Jay, his closet friends.
* HotBlooded: One of the most impulsive, passionate characters.
* IWantToBeARealMan: In season seven Spinner starts acting more aggressive and combative, mainly because his cancer treatment includes having a testectomy.
* JerkWithAHeartOfGold: As the Degrassi bully, he tormented the grade six/sevens, but he is protective of his sister [[MoralityPet Kendra]], and will do the right thing, even if it takes him awhile. As the series progress, the "jerk" part dropped and he becomes TheHeart.
* KavorkaMan: And how. He manages to either date or be admired by Paige, Terri, Manny, Darcy and finally Emma, in spite of him being (initially) the fat, smelly, crude bully with acne and poor grades.
* LastMinuteHookUp: Gets hitched with Emma at the end of Season nine.
* LateToThePunchline: He's a bit slow on the uptake when it comes to someone making a joke about him, an insult, and pretty much during general conversation.
* {{Malaproper}}: He often mispronounces words.
* MyGodWhatHaveIDone: After the shooting and realizing that he inadvertently sent Rick after Jimmy, crippling him for life.
* MySisterIsOffLimits: He was very protective of Kendra, and definitely made sure Toby treated her right.
* NoGoodDeedGoesUnpunished: His decision to "do the right thing" and confess to Jimmy about his role in the prank leads him losing his friends and getting expelled.
* OnlyKnownByTheirNickname: Very few people actually call him Gavin, he is Spinner to his friends and just about everyone else. The teachers at school call him by his first name.
* PerpetualPoverty: He's never in a situation where we see the effects of being poor, but it's made clear that compared to his friends, he isn't very well off.
* RagingStiffie: In a famous scene in season two's ''Weird Science'' where he pops a boner in front of the entire class.
* ReformedButRejected: He comes clean to Jimmy about his role in the shooting and Jimmy disowned him as a friend. He does the right thing and confesses to the shooting and gets expelled. It took him the entirety of season five to make things right with all his friends.
* SensitiveGuyAndManlyMan: He is the Manly Man to Marco's Sensitive Guy.
* StraightManAndWiseGuy: The wise guy to Jimmy's straight man.
* SympatheticAdulterer: He flat out cheats on Darcy by having sex with Paige, but Darcy forgives him easily and he isn't portrayed very badly. Which makes it even more baffling that he's less than forgiving when Darcy takes sexy photos for someone online and when Jane cheats on him.
* TookALevelInJerkass: During season four, after Paige's rape trial he couldn't deal with Paige's personality change after losing the case. After Paige breaks up with him, he takes it out on Rick.
* TookALevelInKindness: In season one, he was the bully and in season two, he grew nicer. Then in season four, that was squandered but he gets nicer from that point.
* TheTopicOfCancer: Spinner is diagnosed with testicular cancer in season seven, which causes him much grief and heartache especially after his father died from cancer.
* TragicMistake: His decision to listen to Jay to frame Jimmy for the paint and feathers prank sets him up for the road of ruin for the rest of the season and most of season five.
* TraumaCongaLine: Quite a ''lot'' of bad stuff happens to him throughout the series. His father died of cancer, he causes his best friend to get shot, loses all his friends, he gets expelled for his participation in the shooting, gets diagnosed with cancer ''himself'', and that happens ''within the span of four seasons.''
* UnderstandingBoyfriend: Was there for Paige when she confronted her rapist and supported her throughout the trial. The relationship did become strained by it. Also he was patient with both Darcy and Jane until they both cheated on him (in different ways).
* VitriolicBestBuds: With Jimmy, at least in the early seasons. Later, they become TrueCompanions. Also with Ashley in the later seasons as he mainly gets over his animosity of her.

[[/folder]]

[[folder:Jimmy Brooks]]

[[quoteright:240:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/jimmy_01.jpg]]
'''Jimmy Brooks'''\\
[-Played by Aubrey "Music/{{Drake}}" Graham, Seasons 1-7 (regular), 8 (guest)-]

->''“How do you know what I mean? Are you in a chair? Huh? Do you wake up every morning thinking you can walk and then remembering you can never ever walk again?!”''

Jimmy was one of Degrassi's most popular students and he was a great basketball player. As one of the most popular kids at Degrassi, he was admired for his good looks and athletic skills, but he also had a mean streak a mile wide, as Sean Cameron could attest to. He had a bright future in pro basketball, until he was shot in the back during a school shooting and was paralyzed from the waist down. He spent much of the time afterward re-adjusting to his new life as a disabled person, whilst lamenting over the loss of his athletic dreams and never walking again. He is best friends with Spinner, and even forgave him for essentially putting him in the chair though it did take a while for Jimmy to stop being resentful. He meets and falls in love with a disabled girl named Trina and he proposes to her in season eight.
----
* AllLoveIsUnrequited: He crushed on Ellie throughout season five, but his feelings were not returned as Ellie was busy crushing on Craig.
* {{Angst}}: A lot of justified angst after being paralyzed from waist down, especially with his dreams of playing basketball are gone.
* BigBrotherMentor: In later seasons after his CharacterDevelopment. Mostly towards Spinner, but also a few younger Degrassi kids.
* BigManOnCampus: During the early seasons, he was the star athlete and one of the popular kids.
* CareerEndingInjury: The shooting effectively ruined his basketball career.
* TheCastShowoff: With his rapping skills, as showcased in season seven.
* CelebrityParadox: Played by actor/rapper Drake, who apparently also exists in the Degrassi universe independently of the character he portrays.
* ChekhovsGun: In Season 7's penultimate episode "If This Is It," Jimmy shows Spinner his new gloves at the beginning of the episode. At the end of the episode, he uses these gloves to pull the fire alarm (and absorb the purple ink that he knew would pour out of it, thus avoiding getting caught) in order to buy Spinner some extra days to study for his physics final exam.
* ComedicUnderwearExposure: During the episode ''Girls Wanna Have Fun'', during the '80s dance. He was dressed as Music/MichaelJackson and showing off his dance moves before splitting his pants.
* DesperatelyLookingForAPurposeInLife: After he was paralyzed, he thought he wanted to continue with basketball, but the passion was gone and he was left lost and wondering what to do until Ellie clued him into his artistic side.
* DisabledSnarker: He wasn't a DeadpanSnarker at all until he was shot. Now almost every line he says comes with a grumpy remark.
* DreamCrushingHandicap: It was tough for him leaving his basketball dreams behind. But he found a new interest in art, thanks to Ellie.
* GarageBand: Guitarist of Downtown Sasquatch, along with Craig, Marco, and Spinner.
* HeldBackInSchool: Didn't have enough credits to graduate in season five due to rehabilitation and had to repeat a year.
* HeterosexualLifePartners: He and Spinner have been best friends since they were young children and both went through withdrawal when they weren't speaking to one another, though Jimmy hid it better.
* HiddenDepths: Starting in season three, Jimmy started showing a large level of open mindedness for a High School Student, eventually become one of the wisest students in the show. He is also a great artist as he figured out after losing his basketball dreams.
* IntoxicationEnsues: After taking one of Spinner's ADD pills in order to get an edge for the basketball team and not be cut. He was hyperactive throughout the game and showboating and even almost broke Sean's ankle, and it led to him being cut.
* JerkJock: Mainly in seasons one and two, with his treatment of Sean as well as Ashley after she and him break up. After he is shot, he becomes a JerkWithAHeartOfGold, and finally TookALevelInKindness and became a NiceGuy[=/=]LovableJock.
* TheLoinsSleepTonight: He has trouble getting an erection due to his paralysis, and couldn't have sex with Ashley.
* LonelyRichKid: His parents are wealthy and apparently don't have enough time to spend with him, even on his ''birthday''. His parents aren't seen until season four and even then, it's clear he and his father are distant.
* OnlySaneMan: Towards the end of his tenure on the show, he was the most rational Degrassi student, and with the least amount of angst despite his situation.
* PositiveDiscrimination: Arguably the most level-headed person in his circle of friends, as the [[TwoferTokenMinority only black student and the only paraplegic]].
* PrecisionFStrike: "Don't talk to me, you ''slut''."
* RagingStiffie: Post-paralysis he has great difficulty getting one, which is a problem because he's ready to lose his virginity to his girlfriend. He accidentally pops one during physio, though.
* TheRival: Jimmy had a highly antagonistic relationship with Sean Cameron, not helped by Ashley having an interest in him. This fell by the wayside as the show went on.
* SignificantSketchbook: In the episode ''I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For'', Ellie sees some art that Jimmy's been working on and notices pictures of the shooting. Ellie compliments Jimmy's drawings at lunch, saying she has discovered a different and disturbing side of him. Jimmy reveals that he took up drawing recently to pass the time. In class, Jimmy gets an email from Ellie talking about a Horror Comics of the 1950's convention. After they go he tells her that he draws what he imagines when he closes his eyes, as he can say everything that he needs to say with a pen and paper.
* SchoolIdol: At the top of the class, as the most well known Degrassi student, not just as a former athlete but a survivor.
* StraightManAndWiseGuy: The straight man to Spinner's wise guy.
* VitriolicBestBuds: With Spinner, at least with the first two seasons before they grow to be TrueCompanions.
* WellDoneSonGuy: Jimmy and his dad never had the closest relationship, but this was amplified after he was disabled when his dad still tried to push him into wheelchair basketball, and later a little bit of FollowInMyFootsteps as he resists his father wanting him to join his law firm and also his reluctance to let Jimmy do stem cell therapy. It was to the point where he essentially blackmails him into letting him do the stem cell treatment.

[[/folder]]

[[folder:Craig Manning]]

[[quoteright:247:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/craig2_2956.jpg]]
'''Craig Manning'''\\
[-Played by Creator/JakeEpstein, Seasons 2-5 (regular), 6-8 (recurring), 15-16 (guest)-]

->''"Me... in an infinite universe... on an insignificant planet... one of six billion inhabitants, big deal. I mean honestly, if I were to say that if I were to disappear, who'd care? What would it matter? Uh... a subatomic blip in the temporal fabric of creation. So there you have it, Craig Manning."''

Craig Manning is a dreamy, introspective kid who has had a difficult life. Despite his hardships, he is still an affable young man, with a passion for creative arts and has a weakness for girls. His parents divorced when he was younger, and then his mother later died. His father physically abused him due to his grief and high pressure job. Craig found solace in hanging out with his half-sister Angela and her father, Joey Jeremiah. After running away from home due to his father, Craig finally tells [[Series/DegrassiJuniorHigh Joey Jeremiah]] about the abuse and he went to live with him and Angela. His father was killed in a car accident soon after, leading to him to legally be adopted by Joey. In season three, he cheated on his then-girlfriend Ashley and got Manny Santos pregnant and afterwards she aborts the baby despite him wanting to be a dad. In season four, he gets back with Ashley, but he also is diagnosed with bipolar disorder and dealt with the treatment as well as the stigma as both his father and Ashely found it difficult to manage. In season five, he gets back with ''Manny'', but is also interested in Ellie at the same time. Craig has had more romantic drama than possibly any other character on the show past or present, much of it due to his lack of commitment. In season five, he leaves Toronto to pursue a music career and then later gets a coke addiction. However, in season eight he's gone through rehab, and he is clean with a new girlfriend, and living his life in Los Angeles.
----
* AbusiveParents: His father was physically abusive to him ever since his mother died.
* BiggusDickus: JT goes a huge eyeful of this in the locker room, which is the reason he thought Craig was such a ladies' man.
* BreakoutCharacter: The minute he showed up in the second season he had Emma and Manny falling for him, became best friends with all the guys, and was adopted by one of the original Degrassi characters, which was an excuse to have Joey in the show more by adding more Craig centered episodes. Most of season two, three, and four put extra focus on him as the main protagonist figure of his grade.
* TheCastShowoff: Jake Epstein's musical talents completely take over the character in season three and Craig later becomes a signed musician in his own right.
* CelibateHero: He tries to be one in season five. It works for about five minutes.
* ChickMagnet: He dated Ashley, had sex with Manny, dated Ashley ''again'' after she dumped him, then dated Manny ''again'' after [[PutOnABus Ashley went to England]], then went ''back'' to Ashley, and nearly ended up with ''Ellie''. And that's not counting all girls drooling all over themselves for him. When he comes back in season 16 in ''[=#ThrowbackThursday=]'', he becomes a DudeMagnet as Tristan is in awe watching him play his guitar.
* GarageBand: Lead singer and guitarist of Downtown Sasquatch.
* HappilyAdopted: He is brought into the Jeremiah family, after he tells Joey that his father beats on him.
* IntoxicationEnsues: His cocaine binges led to this, leading to a humorous scene at dinner with his friends. Then the trope turned dramatic as he got a nosebleed in front of a crowd during a performance.
* MasterOfTheMixedMessage: With Ellie for ''two whole seasons,'' and he was a {{jerkass}} about it. He was dating Manny at the time and not fully committing to her and treating her like a SatelliteLoveInterest while keeping Ellie within arm's length to avoid starting anything serious to her.
* ManipulativeBastard: More prominently during his second love triangle, dating Manny but still keeping Ellie interested to avoid a more serious relationship.
* MissingMom: His mother died of a unspecified sickness sometime a couple of years after she had Angela.
* MoodSwinger: He is diagnosed with bipolar disorder after he has a FreakOut at Ashley's father's wedding.
* NoMedicationForMe: Craig gets tired of being treated with kid gloves after his bipolar disorder diagnosis, and stop taking his meds which leads to a big lie and him being lost and manic on the streets of Toronto.
* NiceGuy: Well, other than his well-documented issues with girls he's a very nice and easygoing guy with tons of artistic talent.
* PutOnABus: Left midway through season five and spent the rest of the season recording music TheBusCameBack during the season finale though. He was CommutingOnABus from that point after until season seven.
* SchoolIdol: One of the more popular Degrassi kids, along with Jimmy, Paige, and Hazel.
* TragicHero: His thoughtlessness is the undoing of every relationship he has ever been in.
* TraumaCongaLine: More so than any character from the older seasons; with parental abuse, parental death, romantic drama, and mental illness. They even threw in a drug problem on top of that.
* TroubledButCute: He's had a rough life, which probably ''adds'' to his overall desirabilty to the girls of Degrassi.
* UnluckyEverydude: Other than the rough backstory and love life, Craig is TheEveryman of the earlier seasons; how much of a woobie or jerkass he is up for debate.
* WellDoneSonGuy: Even with the terrible abuse, he still loved his father and just wanted his respect and adoration.
* WhatHappenedToTheMouse: In season 2, we're introduced to Craig as this guy who's obsessed with photography and is nearly always behind his camera. In season 3, the audience is introduced to Craig's musical side, and we see him use his camera only in the first half of the season. Beginning in season 4, Craig is solely a musical guy, and his knack for photography is never mentioned again. This is interesting, considering photography is what helped him cope with his child abuse.
** Craig is seen taking pictures in both seasons 3 and 4 but it's clear that by this point in the series, Craig's main passion had become music. This trait disappears entirely in season 5.

* YourCheatingHeart: The most prominent example, as his cheating on Ashley with Manny jump started a great [[ShipToShipCombat ship war]] through the fandom. Then later he emotionally cheats on Manny with Ellie.

[[/folder]]

[[folder:Marco Del Rossi]]

[[quoteright:240:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/marco_03.jpg]]
'''Marco Del Rossi'''\\
[-Played by Adamo Ruggiero, Seasons 2 (recurring), 3-7 (regular), 8 (recurring), 9 and 16 (guest)-]

->''“Pa, it's taken me seventeen years to say it...I'm gay. I'm totally gay!”''

Marco is introduced in season 2 as the cute new kid with hot dance moves. Despite getting a lot of attention from the female student body, Marco was questioning his sexuality. In his time at Degrassi, he came to terms with being gay, got gay bashed, told his parents (his mom was accepting, his father not so much at first), became StudentCouncilPresident, and even got a boyfriend, Paige's brother Dylan. After he graduated and Dylan left the country to play hockey, he went through the motions of dealing with a long distance relationship (and later breakup) and dealing with being alone. Marco can be very neurotic and clingy, but he is still a dependable and caring friend and a leader. As of season nine, he is training to be a teacher and even started out his training at Degrassi.
----
* AFriendInNeed: He is a very loyal friend, and he is the first to forgive Spinner for the shooting.
* BigManOnCampus: In season five, after he won StudentCouncilPresident. Despite his openly gay status, he is admired by everyone, outside of [[HeteronormativeCrusader Linus from the Friendship Club.]]
* CampGay: Not as extreme as some examples, but it's still there. Marco loves pop music, fashion, UsefulNotes/{{Bollywood}}, looking nice and musicals.
* ComingOutStory: Series/DegrassiTheNextGeneration's first coming out story, which spanned five seasons from him realizing he's gay to him coming out to his father.
* DesperatelyLookingForAPurposeInLife: After he and Dylan break up in season 6, Marco is left to deal with being single and alone and it leads to him not only getting busted in a gambling sting but contemplating ''prostitution'' in order to maintain a rich lifestyle.
* FakeGuestStar: Had a few of his own storylines in season two, along with Ellie, yet was still credited as a guest star. Became a series regular in season three.
* GarageBand: He is the bassist of Downtown Sasquatch.
* {{Gayngst}}: Throughout his ComingOutStory, from being gay bashed, dealing with parents, to nearly being outed to the school. Luckily, he comes to terms with his sexuality.
* GentlemanAndAScholar: He's one of the smartest students as well as nice, popular and well-adjusted.
* {{Hipster}}: He's open minded and goes for cool, alternative, girls like Ellie Nash.
* HotBlooded: As per the typical Italian stereotype. He is a passionate guy, from fighting over gay blood donor bans to telling off a homophobe.
* LongDistanceRelationship: with Dylan in season six, which eventually didn't last.
* MagicalQueer: From season three onwards he became the one person who always offers advice and support, even to characters he never spoke to prior.
* MasculineGirlFeminineBoy: He is the Feminine Boy to Ellie's Masculine Girl.
* NiceGuy: One of the nicest guys at Degrassi, and the friendliest.
* OddFriendship: Strikes up a friendship with tough, tomboy Alex in season four, who incidentally is also gay.
* OnlySaneMan: Even getting through his {{gayngst}}, he was the one his friends went to for advice.
* OperationJealousy: He used poor Tim as a way to get back at Dylan for cheating on him. He stops after he realizes he still does have feelings for him.
* PerformanceArtist: When Marco and Ellie have to film a commercial for their product advertisement he plans a bright, Bollywood-inspired version. She's the director and he's the actor. She rags on his version, calling it "flaming."
* PrettyBoy: Notably lampshaded by many characters and he takes care of his looks.
* PromotionToOpeningTitles: Adamo Ruggiero made the main cast in season three.
* RaisedCatholic: Doesn't come up often, but he wears a crucifix and attends church.
* SensitiveGuyAndManlyMan: The Sensitive Guy to Spinner and Dylan's Manly Man.
* TheSmartGuy: He graduates as the valedictorian of the Class of Season 5.
* StudentCouncilPresident: Elected for StudentCouncilPresident in season four after a tough race with Alex.
* ThrowTheDogABone: In season 5, he is the first one out of all their friends to befriend Spinner again, after almost a year of giving him the cold shoulder.
* WhyCouldntYouBeDifferent: With Ellie early on in season two, when she really wanted him to be straight due to her crush.
** With his dad when he finds out about his homosexuality. His mother finds out first and is accepting, but knew his father wouldn't be, so she didn't want him to come out to him.
* {{Uke}}: With Dylan as he was the shorter, more temperamental and "innocent" one of the relationship.

[[/folder]]

[[folder:Jay Hogart]]

[[quoteright:240:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/jay_01.jpg]]
'''Jason "Jay" Hogart'''\\
[-Played by Mike Lobel, Seasons 3-4 (recurring), 5-7 (regular), 8-9 (recurring)-]

->''“This guy, he's nasty. He tastes like fire, rubs people the wrong way. This guy here; sweet, refreshing. But when these two get together...bad news.”''

A bad boy at Degrassi. Unlike his best friend Sean, he lives up to his reputation and during the show's run, he engages in many illegal activities, drug use, and "corrupts" several Degrassi characters from Spinner, to Emma, to Darcy. Beneath the criminal exterior, Jay is a nice, sensitive and smart guy. He is also very resourceful and a good mechanic. In season 7, he starts seeing Manny Santos and in TheMovie, they finally become a couple.
----
* AllGirlsWantBadBoys: One of the Degrassi bad kids, yet was able to get a lot of girls to date him, and also perform sexual favors to him.
* AntiVillain: For season three and four, he's the closest ''Degrassi'' gets to a serious villain, but like all the main characters, he's not completely terrible and has his PetTheDog moments.
* {{Badbutt}}: He and his gang are introduced as supposed thugs, but they just mainly steal, start schoolyard fights and drink.
* TheBully: He bullied Dylan (or at least, tried to) and bullied Rick so severely he brought a gun to school.
* TheCorrupter: Before his HeelFaceTurn, he was a serious bad influence on a number of characters, from getting girls to perform oral sex to getting guys to steal things.
* DawsonCasting: Mike Lobel was originally four years older than Jay and the difference in age increased when the show started splitting the seasons by semester.
* {{Delinquent}}: He and his friends are the first "bad kids" group, and they pretty much fall into this trope with their behavior and attitude.
* {{Expy}} : Of Nick, one of the bullies in ''Series/DegrassiHigh.''
* FakeGuestStar: Introduced in season three where he became friends with main character Sean. Later plays a huge role in season four and finally makes the main cast in season five.
* GangOfBullies: Part of one with Alex, Towerz, and Amy.
* GoodAngelBadAngel: The Bad Angel, of course. This was more pronounced when he became friends with Spinner and Spinner was torn between his friend and his Christian girlfriend Darcy.
* GreaseMonkey: Is a skilled mechanic and likes working on cars.
* HeelFaceTurn: A particularly lazy one. To piss off her parents, Manny decided to bring him to her birthday party as her bad boy escort only for him, rather out of nowhere, decide that GoodFeelsGood and change for the better by acting more mature and less combative.
* HeterosexualLifePartners: With Spinner and Sean, especially with Spinner. Their relationship bordered on HoYay when Darcy came between them.
* HiddenDepths: He may seem like a dumb bully who uses women but he is a great mechanic, and a overall sensitive guy.
* IconicOutfit: The trademark backwards baseball cap.
* {{Jerkass}}: When we first meet him, he was pretty mean to anyone not in his clique. He becomes JerkWithAHeartofGold later on as he interacts with more characters particularly Sean and Manny.
* KarmaHoudini: More often than not. One of the few times he was punished for his behavior had him (only temporarily) expelled.
* ManipulativeBastard: If there was one person that fit this bill, it was him. He was able to convince otherwise non-threatening children into doing rather illegal and/or immoral activities, from stealing drugs from the pharmacy they worked at to engaging in street racing in a residential neighborhood.
* PromotionToOpeningTitles: Mike Lobel makes the main cast in season five.
* ParentalAbandonment: His mother died when he was little, and he does not speak with her father after he made a scene at his father and step-mother's wedding.
* ReallyGetsAround: Every girl that he's been with gets a prize, is what he tells Emma as he gives her a bracelet.
* TheStoner: He likes to toke up every now and then, especially with Alex.
* ToxicFriendInfluence: To Alex, whom he went out with and then later Spinner.
* TricksterArchetype: Mike Lobel compared Jay to a spider. Jay more has the "tricks himself" aspects of a trickster, though.

[[/folder]]

[[folder:Alex Nunez]]

[[quoteright:240:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/alex_season5_002.jpg]]
'''Alexandra "Alex" Nunez'''\\
[-Played by Deanna Casaluce, Seasons 3-4 (recurring), 5-6 (regular), 7 (recurring)-]

->''“Jay, I'm not bi, I'm not confused. I'm a lesbian. An actual lesbian. Who just broke up with her first girlfriend and it sucks.”''

Alex is a girl who hurts a lot inside. One of the outcasts at Degrassi, she has a very tough exterior and attitude. But inside, she is very caring, vulnerable and soft. Her mother has bad luck with love and gets abused, and she has spent time living in a women's shelter with her mom due to their poverty. Paige Michalchuk is her first true love and the first person to break down her walls and she finally admitted to herself that she was a lesbian. Due to this relationship, she begins to believe in herself more and starts taking her life more seriously. Unfortunately, in season seven she and Paige had a cataclysmic breakup [[LongBusTrip and she took a bus to Ajax for a new start.]]
----
* TheBully: Along with her friends, and she was a bully particularly towards Emma and Rick. She deeply regrets bullying Rick, however.
* ButchLesbian: Not so much in appearance, but with her clothing in the earlier seasons.
* ComingOutStory: After she meets Paige and spends more time with her at work, she starts to realize her own homosexuality and comes to terms with it in the same school year.
* DeadpanSnarker: Has her moments.
* {{Delinquent}}: A ''former'' delinquent, as after the school shooting and become vice StudentCouncilPresident, she starts to change her ways.
* DerailingLoveInterests: During season seven. The actress was leaving the show, and they broke her and Paige up in the most painful way possible to completely destroy any chance of a reunion. Namely, she went back to her old lazy unfocused ways after spending a season pulling herself up.
* {{Determinator}}: Paige was a good influence on her; after they dated she started getting serious about school and going to college. And when money was tight and she and her mother were on the verge of being homeless, she took up stripping to make money.
* DisappearedDad: There's no information revealed about her biological dad, and only has her mother's boyfriend Chad to deal with.
* {{Expy}} : As part of the GangOfBullies , she is an expy of Tabi from ''Series/DegrassiHigh''.
* FakeGuestStar: Introduced in season three, played a major role in season four, and finally makes the cast in season five.
* GangOfBullies: Along with Jay, Towerz, and Amy.
* KarmaHoudini: It's easy to forget, but Alex was also in on the plan to pour the paint on Rick, and was actually the one to set it up and the one who physically pulled the rope. Yet somehow, she got off scot free, becoming friends with Jimmy and his group while Spinner got exiled. However, it could be argued that, unlike Jay and Spinner, she did not take part in convincing Rick that Jimmy helped pull the prank, which ended up getting him shot. She also felt remorse for her actions beforehand.
* TheLadette: She drinks and smokes with her guy friends, and could probably hold her own in a fight with them.
* LongBusTrip: To Ajax in season seven, after and she and Paige break up.
* OddFriendship: Becomes friends with Ellie, Paige, and Marco in season four. As a result, she becomes one of the popular kids.
* OneNameOnly: Until season five, where she gains the last name of Nunez.
* ParentalBetrayal: She has to start stripping in order to afford rent and college, and her mother uses the money to bail out her loser boyfriend instead.
* PerpetualPoverty: She is poor, and it's portrayed quite accurately. She's lived in women's shelters and was threatened with eviction on top of a huge credit card bill. She even had to take up stripping to pay for it.
* PinkMeansFeminine : In Season 6, she goes shopping with Paige and buys a pink jacket. Paige points out how pretty she is in pink.
* PromotionToOpeningTitles: Deanna Casaluce makes to the main cast in season five.
* SuddenlySexuality: Her homosexuality isn't revealed until season five, but she wasn't really a main character until then. She was dating Jay, however, until his serial cheating is revealed in Season 4, making him TheBeard.
* SpicyLatina: Hot blooded, temperamental and tough as nails, until you get to know her.
* TomboyAndGirlyGirl: She is the Tomboy to Paige's Girly Girl.
* TomboyishName: Alex, which is short for Alexandra.
* TookALevelInKindness: She was already softening during season 4, but after the shooting and dating Paige she became a nicer person.
* {{Tsundere}}: She is a type A, she is very rough around the edges and somewhat rude. Only Paige can bring out here dere side.

[[/folder]]

[[folder:Hazel Aden]]

[[quoteright:240:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/hazel_season4_003.jpg]]
'''Hazel Aden'''\\
[-Played by Andrea Lewis, Seasons 1-2 (recurring), 3-5 (regular)-]

->''"Paige can't make me do anything!"''

Hazel is Paige's best female friend and was part of her GirlPosse. She had one significant episode in season two regarding racism and anti-Muslim sentiment. Other than that, she is Paige's shadow, a fact that is [[LampshadeHanging pointed out]] a few times by other characters. She also dated Jimmy Brooks for three seasons before they broke up in season 5.
----
* AFriendInNeed: She was the first person Paige told about her rape and she tried to convince her to go to the police. Later, she convinces Terri to dump Rick after he hits her.
* AccidentalPervert: The reason why she was in detention in the season 3 episode ''Take On Me'' was because in computer class, she saw an ad for porn and was curious and clicked.
* BetaBitch: To Paige in the earlier seasons, though she rarely reached Pagie's level of meanness, Fareeza notwithstanding.
* BlackBestFriend: Paige's black best friend and that's one of her main character traits she was known for.
* TheCheerleader: She was on the Spirit Squad along with Paige.
* DemotedToExtra: Ended up taking a back seat in season five until finally being written out after graduating. What was strange was she was actually had a PromotionToOpeningTitles.
* FakeGuestStar: She didn't make the main cast until season three, despite being in the first two and starring in one episode.
* GarageBand: Keyboardist of Hell Hath No Fury.
* GirlPosse: Part of Paige's posse with Terri.
* HollywoodToneDeaf: She cannot sing at all. [[IronyAsSheIsCast Ironically,]] [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=diIfIP2Tc28 Andrea Lewis can sing very well.]]
* MistakenForTerrorist: As a child, she was harassed and called a terrorist, leading to her denial of her Muslim roots.
* NiceGirl: After season two, where she becomes a lot nicer even when Paige is being an alpha bitch towards Manny.
* PassFail: She pretended to be Jamaican for International Day then reveal her Muslim background.
* PromotionToOpeningTitles: Andrea Lewis makes the main cast in season three.
* SatelliteCharacter: Much of her characterization revolves around Paige, which several characters actually {{lampshade}}.
* WhatTheHellHero: Gives this to Paige at the season four prom due to her complaining about her broken leg and taking the special bus (despite the recently disabled Jimmy right behind her) and her plans to take Manny down.
* YouAreWhatYouHate: Subverted. She doesn't really hate Muslims, but pretends to so that nobody will know she's a Muslim.
->''Fans who want to know more about Hazel's religion, please check the Useful Notes page for [[UsefulNotes/{{Islam}} Islam.]]''

[[/folder]]

[[folder:Terri [=McGreggor=]]]

[[quoteright:240:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/terri2_527.jpg]]
'''Theresa 'Terri' [=McGreggor=]'''\\
[-Played by Christina Schmidt, Seasons 1-3 (regular)-]

->''“Most girls on the planet look like this, so get used to it!...I made 500 bucks today as a plus size model today...what did you make, ice cream boy?”''

Terri is an insecure, overweight girl. Both Ashley and Paige's strong personalities completely dominated hers to the point to where she really could not stand up to them. In season two, she aligns herself with Paige due to Ashley falling out of favor with the popular crowd. In season three, she dates Rick Murray who in turn, abuses her and puts her in a coma and later she transfers from Degrassi in order to get away from Rick.
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* BackstabbingTheAlphaBitch: She went over to Paige's side after Ashley's fall from grace.
* BigBeautifulWoman: She's good looking enough to be hired as a plus-size model, and Spinner and Rick had crushes on her. Too bad she doesn't believe it herself.
* BreakTheCutie: Her storyline with Rick.
* DeathByFallingOver: Not death, but Rick pushes her over and she hits her head on a concrete block and ends up in a coma in one of the more [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zj3s421vAHw narm-ier Degrassi scenes.]]
* DomesticAbuse: She was hit and controlled by Rick in their relationship and actually ends up in a coma due to him pushing her onto a cement block.
* FatBestFriend: To Ashley, Paige and Hazel, and she's a type B with her shy personality.
* FatGirl: The only overweight girl so far on the show to make the main cast.
* GarageBand: Part of the initial band Paige, Hazel, and Paige had, Paige Michalchuck and the Sex Kittens, or PMS for short.
* GirlPosse: Part of Paige's Girl Posse, except she never really took part in any AlphaBitch behavior.
* LongBusTrip: She never returned to Degrassi after season three.
* MissingMom: Terri's mother died when she was younger.
* PsychicPowers: Averted. She experimented with tarot cards, palm reading, and contacting spirits, but it was all fun and games and never had actual powers.
* ShrinkingViolet: She is painfully shy and insecure about her looks and weight, especially compared to Ashley and Paige.
* WeightWoe: She is uncomfortable with her weight, even after she becomes a plus-sized model.
* WhatTheHellHero: When Ashley's shocked and angered by her father coming out as gay, Terri tries to convince her to make up with him. When Ashley lashes out by saying that Terri wouldn't know what she was going through, Terri angrily retorts that her own mother is dead, and that Ashley should make peace with her father while she still has him around.
* WrittenInAbsence: In the DVD extras for season four, it's mentioned she still had a bit of brain damage and left to go to an all-girls school once she found out Rick would return to Degrassi.

[[/folder]]

* TheCastShowOff: Melissa McIntyre's singing abilities are actually written into the plot, as several of Ashley's story arcs revolve around her vocal talent.