The characters from The L Word.
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Main Cast
Jenny Schecter
- Author Avatar: Loosely based on one of the show's creators-who Ilene Chaiken got kicked off later. She also creates herself an enervate, Jessie, in the Show Within a Show, Lez Girls.
- Betty and Veronica: She is the Archie to Marina's Veronica and Tim's Betty in season 1, and to Claude's Veronica and Max's Betty near the end of season 4.
- Brutally Honest: With her friends, not her sexual or romantic partners.
- Chewing the Scenery: From season 3 onward. Part of the reason fans really started hating her.
- Coming-Out Story: Her arc in season 1.
- Dark and Troubled Past: She was always a bit off, but it doesn't get explained in detail until season 2. She was gang-raped by boys as a kid, and her parents chose to ignore it instead of helping her, allowing it to "fester into this psychosis" as she puts it. She makes the best of it later though-her autobiographical book about it puts her into the spotlight that allows her to write a serialized novel, Lez Girls, and make it into a movie.
- Depraved Bisexual: Cheats on Tim with Marina and on Max with Claude, sort of. Eventually subverted, after her failed relationship with Max.
- Driven to Suicide: Generation Q reveals that she actually died from suicide.
- Eerie Pale-Skinned Brunette: Pale, dark-haired, and melancholic. It's particularly noticeable in season 2, when her hair is short and spare, and her eye makeup is darker and more dramatic, emphasizing her waifish looks.
- Face–Heel Turn: A less dramatic variation in seasons 4-6. She doesn't betray anyone, per se, but she does become more impulsive and self-centered, leaning towards The Friend Nobody Likes.
- Fish out of Water: In LA in seasons 1 and 2. She gets over it.
- Freudian Excuse: Jenny herself believes her rape as a child made her into the "dysfunction liar" (her words) she becomes later, given her repressed trauma over it.
- The Gadfly: She loves bringing up inappropriate topics to shock the conservative and stuffy. Best displayed when Max tries to take her to a posh company dinner in season 3.Corporate Executive: My wife zones out when I talk shop too, Jenny.
The Mrs.: I do; I think about golfing, I think about my manicure, I think about my kids...
Jenny: I was just thinking about how when I was a kid, I used to masturbate like twenty times a day and I'm writing a story about it, but I don't know if it should be straight-up fiction or like, a New Yorker-style essay piece. I just don't know. - Important Haircut: Gets one in season 2, because Long Hair Is Feminine and she wants to show up on the Gaydar.
- Informed Judaism: She's established to be Jewish, though this doesn't come up that much or ever affect her character. It appears she's only culturally or ethnically Jewish, with Jenny not practicing Judaism that we see, though flashbacks from her past indicate her family may have been Orthodox. The most notable mention is the fact that her grandmother survived the Holocaust in Europe.
- Manipulative Bitch: Jenny starts becoming this in Season 5, starting by seducing the girlfriend of a reporter who'd trashed her memoir to prove she's not really so saintly as made out. To this end, she does things such as get an old dog to garner sympathy from the woman (a vet) as he needs euthanasia, and tricks the reporter off on a fake interview.
- No Bisexuals: It seems Jenny was perfectly happy with Tim - romantically and sexually, until Marina showed up.
- Rape as Backstory: It turns out that Jenny had been gang raped by older boys, which is most of what's learned about her past, since this affected her so much.
Bette Porter
- The Ace: Beautiful, smart, self-made wealthy, sophisticated, charismatic, athletic... Then her relationship with Tina ends and she loses it completely.
- All Gays are Promiscuous: She cheated in almost every relationship she had. She cheated on Alice with Tina, on Tina with Candace and on Jodi with Tina.
- All Lesbians Want Kids : Part of her Establishing Character Moment in the pilot.
- Amicable Exes:
- She eventually gets there with Tina, after things get really really ugly.
- She and Alice also count, as they had a fling before Bette met Tina.
- Berserk Button: How dare you bring up my stillborn baby, You Monster!.
- Brainy Brunette: Very intellectual, well-read and sophisticated brunette.
- Deadpan Snarker: So much so.
- The Determinator: It doesn't always work out, but she always puts up a fight. Her reaction to the controversy over Provocations in the first season establishes her pretty well.
- Double Standard: Rape, Female on Female: After Tina catches her cheating with Candace, she initiates intercourse with Tina, who protests several times at first. This is never brought up again and never called out for being rape.
- The Fashionista: An interesting take on the trope. She isn't exactly girly, but she has a thing for expensive snappy power suits and sharp heels.Jodi: You're always so clean. I can't imagine you ever getting dirty.
- Granola Girl: In her Buddhist phase.
- Hippie Parents: She and Tina are this to Angelica.
- Hot Teacher: While teaching at the university, to Indiana Jones levels.
- Modesty Bedsheet: Alone of the main cast, Bette covers her breasts with a sheet post coitus, as a result of Jennifer Beals' apparent refusal to show hers (Bette's never seen topless in the show or Generation Q, the Sequel Series).
- Parental Abandonment: Bette's mother left while she was a girl, and her father dies from cancer in Season 2 (even prior they were estranged over her sexual orientation).
- Soapbox Sadie: She flirts with this trope every now and then, especially when it comes to freedom of speech. Do NOT challenge her convictions about art.
- "Well Done, Daughter!" Girl: Her father's opinions are very important to her. However, her being lesbian gets in the way a bit. Kit tries to help her understand that he's a bigot in his own right and striving for his perfect approval is a hopeless quest, but she never entirely stops.
- Why Would Anyone Take Him Back?: In-Universe. Tina lampshades it herself - why would she ever get together with Bette? But she does.
Tina Kennard
- All Lesbians Want Kids: Part of her Establishing Character Moment in the pilot. However, it's a bigger part of her character, especially in early seasons than Bette's.
- Amicable Exes: She eventually gets there with Bette, after things get really really ugly.
- Ethical Slut: For a short while after ending things with Bette. Must have gotten it from Helena...
- Has a Type: Tall, dark, bossy, snarky and handsome.
- Hippie Parents: She and Bette are this to Angelica.
- Holier Than Thou: She gives everyone shit about cheating, then she hooks up with Bette in all sorts of inappropriate occasions, including when Bette is with Jodi.
- I Want My Beloved to Be Happy: Helps Bette get Jodi back, when she still has feelings for Bette herself.
- No Bisexuals: Tina had only ever been with men before she hooked up with Bette. Several years later, she found herself craving male companionship again, but less than a year after that she drifted back to women. At one point, she clarifies her self-identification as a lesbian is mostly political.
- Soapbox Sadie: More so than Bette-but although she goes there often, she doesn't really play it straight either.
Alice Pieszecki
- Beware the Nice Ones: She gets personal fast in a fight.
- Cannot Keep a Secret: Comes with being a Gossipy Hen.
- The Cutie: She is very sweet and quirky.
- Deadpan Snarker: Bordering on Snark Knight at times.
- Intrepid Reporter: She's something of a politically minded gay Carrie Bradshaw.
- Plucky Girl: She eventually takes all things in a stride.
- Savvy Guy, Energetic Girl: An inverted trope, since it involves two women in a relationship. Alice is the energetic girl to Tasha's savvy girl.
- Tomboy and Girly Girl: With Tasha the Shell-Shocked Veteran.
- Token Minority: For most of the series, Alice is the sole bisexual, which gets her some flack from lesbians.
Shane McCutcheon
- Bifauxnen: Shane has very short, loose hair, wearing boyish clothes with a masculine attitude and husky tone of voice. When she worked as a prostitute, her clients were gay men (Shane didn't engage in anal sex or undress, so they wouldn't notice). Even in the present she's mistaken for male and seen as a hot young man by some gay guys while visiting a gay bar along with a friend (she has to correct them because they can't tell).
- The Casanova: Shane goes through many women during the series and only briefly is with a woman longer than casual sex.
- Dark and Troubled Past: Shane's dark past is not focused on as much, but is still mentioned. In Seasons 1-2, we learn that she was once forced to work as a (pretending-to-be-male) prostitute, that she was essentially abandoned by her parents, has various drug addictions, etc. These events are strongly implied to be the reason she is such a loyal friend, but terrible with relationships/commitment - she feels the need to please others, is satisfied with very little for herself, but is afraid to commit to anyone or anything. The later seasons continue to add heartbreaking details - Shane is thrilled to simply have her own, tiny little room because she's apparently never had her own before. (In Season 6, Jenny, of course, promptly converts Shane's room into a study one day when Shane is out, assuming that since they're now sleeping together, she'll just move into Jenny's room with her!)
- Even the Girls Want Her: Shane has some sort of power to make all straight women Spaghetti Girls.
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- Heterosexual Life-Partners: With Alice. Despite her proclivity for fucking up relationships, she is an unswerving friend. Though obviously, the "heterosexual" part doesn't apply here.
- Indifferent Beauty: She knows how she affects women, but she is hardly vain. However, she does have nipple confidence!
- In the Blood: Her father is a serial womanizer, though he uses women and lies to them, and Shane mostly just Really Gets Around.
- Intimate Marks: Shane's got a tattoo at the base of her spine, as shown when she's topless a couple times.
- Messy Hair: Somewhat subverted, as it is a stylistic choice - a desirable one at that too. However, it does reflect her general IDGAF attitude.
- Parental Substitute: Shane is thrust into parenthood as her little brother Shay, whom she's just met, gets dumped in her care by his mother. However, she ends up loving this and says it's the best thing she's ever had in her life.
- The Pornomancer: Shane rarely has to do anything with seducing women. Just being around tends to attract them, even when the women were seemingly straight.
- Runaway Bride: Ditches Carmen at the altar, which she comes to regret.
- She Cleans Up Nicely: Shane actually looks very nice wearing a dress and with her hair down, though it was only for going to Carmen's cousin's quinceañera as this is really different from her normal style (she puts it on reluctantly to attend).
- The Stoic: Mostly. In her more Byronic moments you can see she is Not So Stoic.
- Tomboy and Girly Girl: The tomboy to Jenny and Alice's Girly Girl.
- Tomboyish Name: She has this as the resident bifauxnen lesbian tomboy of the cast.
- Tomboyish Voice: Shane, the most masculine of the main lesbians, has a low and husky voice.
Kit Porter
- The Alcoholic: She gets on and off the wagon throughout the series.
- The Atoner: She really want to make amends for her days before rehab, particularly to her family.
- Big Beautiful Woman: Of the Sassy Black Woman orientation. Papi approves.
- But I Can't Be Pregnant!: Kit, who's going through menopause, got pregnant by acccident anyway. She's incredulous and used multiple tests to be sure.
- Foolish Sibling, Responsible Sibling: The foolish to Bette's responsible one.
- Hair-Trigger Temper: You don't mess with Kit Porter. Ever.
- Incompatible Orientation: With Papi. To her credit, she does try, but Kit just wasn't made in that mold.
- Killed Offscreen: In Generation Q it turns out that she died from a heroin overdose at some point after the end of the original show.
Helena Peabody
- Brainy Brunette: A smart, posh brunette.
- Cultural Rebel: First when she moves to LA, later when she goes to jail, and from there to Haiti.
- The Fashionista: She loves designer footwear.
- I Am Very British: Helena is English and speaks with an upper class accent.
- Lipstick Lesbian: She's glamorous with long hair, stylish clothing (often pantsuits) and has impeccable manners most of the time.
- Money Fetish: For a while after her mother cuts her off.
- Ms. Fanservice: While pretty much all females fit this trope, no one does cleavage better then Helena.
- New Old Flame: With Dylan. Also a serious case of
Why Would Anyone Take Him Back?, seeing how terribly Dylan treated her.
- Old Money: Discussed, though it used more to characterize her relationship with her mother.
- Rich Bitch: Originally introduced as one, though it is subverted pretty early on.
- Tall, Dark, and Handsome: A Statuesque Stunner with long, dark hair.
- Treadmill Trauma: Falls off one when she gets a text from Alice about Shane and Jenny dating.
Moira/Max Sweeney
- The Bus Came Back: Returned in Season 3 of Generation Q and was revealed to be happily married with a big family.
- But I Can't Be Pregnant!: He gets pregnant with Tom the interpreter's baby, and didn't think this could be possible after taking so many male hormones.
- Coming-Out Story: Originally identifying as a female Lesbian, he eventually identifies as a bisexual man.
- Dogged Nice Guy: To Brooke, who had a fit when she found out he was trans.
- Fish out of Water: In glitzy West Hollywood, as he's from a small town in the Midwest. He never entirely gets over the contrast.
- The Friend Nobody Likes: Of the just-not-that-close variety. Except for Shane and Jenny (who is rarely nice to him), no one seems to really like him. Not even Alice, who works with him.
- Hair-Trigger Temper: Max develops one after he starts taking testosterone, having outbursts over minor things and dismaying Jenny, his girlfriend, who says she doesn't recognize him. It turns out this is due to his dose being much too high. This changes back to how he was once it's adjusted.
- Incompatible Orientation: With Jenny. An interesting example, as in the beginning of the relationship they were two compatible female lesbians. After Max comes out of the closet as male and undergoes changes, Jenny is no longer interested, and they become Just Friends.Max: I know I've been kind of a jerk since I've been on the testosterone, but I'm getting better. I don't see what the problem is.
Jenny: The problem is, Max, you identify as a straight man, and you want me to be your straight girlfriend, and I identify as a lesbian who likes to fuck girls. - Mister Seahorse: Max gets pregnant while transitioning to male (and looks quite masculine due to the hormones he's been taking).
- Nice Guy: Too nice for his own good, probably. Aside from briefly turning into a jerk due to his testosterone dose being too high, Max is extremely nice to everybody, even transphobic family and colleagues, reacting at most with quiet sadness.
- Only Sane Man: He has his fair share of drama, but compared to the soapy, wild lives of the rest, he's pretty down-to-earth.
- The Quiet One: Especially when compared with his very talkative surroundings.
- Took a Level in Jerkass: Briefly in season 3, due to the hormones he'd been taking. He gets better after finding out that the dose he was on was way too much.
- Trans Tribulations: Max faces pushback even from friends over transitioning, difficulty paying for top surgery, getting testosterone too high which severely affects his mood, and worst of all frequent transphobia even from his family (who don't want him to even attend his mom's funeral).
Tasha Williams
- Butch Lesbian: Tasha is a soft butch, and definitely a tomboy. She starts out as a tough, tacturn soldier suffering from PTSD who wears tanktops often or sleeveless shirts in civilian garb, with long hair but having it pulled back in a bun mostly.
- Closet Gay: Tasha is partly closeted due to being in the military, when Don't Ask Don't Tell was still in place. She's cautious about PDA with her girlfriend, and when found out gets warned by her CO not to let it ever happen again or he'll report her. Later she's prosecuted by the Army for homosexual conduct (which she's guilty of), but the prosecutor is herself a closeted lesbian afraid Tasha's lover Alice will out her so she allows Tasha a way off to stay in the Army. Tasha though refuses to take it and admits she does love Alice on the stand, coming out in the courtroom.
- Gay Conservative: Tasha's an Iraq War veteran who clashes with Alice while they're dating, since the latter opposes the war. She expresses support of the war effort and the US rebuilding Iraqi society. Both agree to disagree though, and their relationship overcomes this (they later break up, but not over politics).
- Has a Type: Tasha says she's into girly girls, thus why Popi didn't work out with her (who's a tomboy).
- Hidden Depths: At first Tasha just seems largely taciturn and doesn't emote much. She then consoles Leonard, Phyllis's husband, in a very sensitive way, surprising her friends.
- Military Brat: She used to be one. Her father was in the military too.
- Odd Friendship: With Papi. Papi is a Spicy Latina who Really Gets Around, whereas Tasha is a quiet, stern Token Wholesome.
- Only Sane Woman: In a sea of melodramatic self-righteous straw liberals, Tasha just makes her point.
- Opposites Attract: She's quiet, conservative and reserved. Her girlfriend Alice is loud, liberal and outgoing.
- Red Oni, Blue Oni: Tasha is blue (quiet, reserved, cool) in contrast to Papi's red (who's a passionate Spicy Latina and Really Gets Around).
- Savvy Guy, Energetic Girl: An unusual take on the trope, as it revolves around two women. Tasha is the savvy to Alice's energetic girl.
- Shell-Shocked Veteran: A former military officer who was stationed in Iraq, and still sometimes gets bad flashbacks from battle.
- Token Wholesome: In a show that has at least two sex scenes per episode, Tasha is surprisingly tame. She's in a committed relationship with Alice when they date, and has only one sex scene, which is the lowest of all the lesbians.
- Tomboy and Girly Girl: Tasha is a tomboy soldier who dated Alice, who's a more girly civilian.
- Trauma Button: Tasha has a lot of PTSD triggers, even really simple things setting them off. Initially as well she won't talk about them, leaving Alice confused.
- When She Smiles: Her demeanor is usually very calm and even strict, but when she laughs...
Former Main Characters
Dana Fairbanks
- All Gays are Promiscuous: She cheats on Tonya with Alice.
- Author Avatar: Loosely based on one of the show's creators.
- Coming-Out Story: Complete with The Beard, conservative parents and some Gayngst.
- Covert Pervert: Alice and Tonya seem to bring it out in her.
- Dogged Nice Girl: To Lara.
- Endearingly Dorky: She lacks confidence, being quirky and downright dorky at times, especially when it's time to hit on someone. People seem to find it attractive.
- Just Friends: With Jenny. They lacked all kinds of chemistry.
- Lesbian Jock: Dana is a professional tennis player who publicly comes out as a lesbian.
- Lethal Diagnosis: Breast cancer.
- Passionate Sports Girl: She is a professional tennis player and very into her sport.
Tim Haspel
Main character in season 1. Tim is Jenny's boyfriend at the start of the series.
- Amicable Exes: He attempts to be this to Jenny during his short reappearance in season 3, but when they're unable to reconcile their differences when they meet again.
- Betty and Veronica: He is the Betty to Marina's Veronica, being seen as the "safe and stable" option.
- Disposable Fiancé: He and Jenny did get married, but it barely lasted a week.
- Emasculated Cuckold: Jenny keeps sleeping with Marina behind his back for most of season 1 and he's portrayed as being very humiliated by it when he finds out, especially since it was an Open Secret to everyone else and refuses to take Jenny back.
- Good Luck Charm: Tim is very superstitious, and brings a stopwatch with him to work every day.
- Nice Guy: Eventually subverted, though he did have a right to be mad. He took it a bit far.
- Put on a Bus: After his divorce from Jenny, he leaves for Ohio in the first episode of season 2 and only has a few guest appearances in later seasons.
- Took a Level in Jerkass: At first he's portrayed as a fairly generic if Nice Guy who was understandably upset about Jenny cheating on him, but later appearances have him show up to express some homophobic and transphobic views.
Marina Ferrer
Played By: Karina Lombard
Main character in season 1. Owner of the Planet and Jenny's Love Interest.
- The Bartender: Of her own lesbian bar, The Planet.
- Betty and Veronica: The Veronica to Tim's Betty and Jenny's Archie, being the "dangerous seductress" who disrupts Jenny's stable life.
- Closet Key: Marina seducing Jenny is what gets the latter to find out she's into women.
- Driven to Suicide: After she has a nervous breakdown, she attempts to commit suicide via pills. She survives, but is Put on a Bus by going back to her family in Italy due to it.
- Femme Fatale: She's portrayed as a sexually aggressive woman who seduces Jenny even though she knows Jenny is with Tim. Her promo even labels her as "The Hunter".
- Love at First Sight: She and Jenny have an instant connection while talking about literature, complete with sensual Held Gaze.Alice: Well, I'm just gonna leave you two alone to get married.
- Put on a Bus: At the beginning of season 2, she is sent to her family in Italy after a failed attempt at suicide.
- Sex Goddess: Jenny claims Marina was the best sex she ever had in her life.Jenny: No, no, no, you guys, you guys, I'm serious. This is probably the best sex that anybody can have on the fucking planet Earth.
- Statuesque Stunner: She is way taller than Jenny.
Carmen de la Pica Morales
Main character in season 2 and 3. Love Interest for both Jenny and Shane.
- Club Kid: She works as a DJ.
- Intimate Marks: Carmen has tattoos around her waist just over her buttocks and groin, as shown in many intimate scenes.
- Looking for Love in All the Wrong Places: What are you doing marrying Shane??
- Put on a Bus: After being left at the altar by Shane. Ouch.
- You Can Leave Your Hat On: She performs a brief but memorable striptease for Shane in season 2.
Eva "Papi" Torres
Main character in season 4. A legendary womanizer who befriends the group.
- All Gays are Promiscuous: She's an amped-up Shane. She's been with over a thousand women.
- The Casanova: Papi is renowned as a legendary lesbian seducer, and seduces Alice within minutes after meeting her.
- Dashing Hispanic: Interestingly inverted. She is a charming womanizer with a Spanish accent but she's a woman.
- Ethical Slut: She might be extremely promiscuous, but she's open about it and doesn't want to hurt the women she hooks up with. She even has a "rule of conduct" when it comes to dating, such as not sleeping with the roommates of her lovers. Despite her sassy attitude, she's ultimately a kind person and loyal friend.
- Even the Girls Want Her: Straight girls. More of an Informed Attribute. Unfortunately for her, this did not include Kit.
- A Friend in Need: Tasha lampshades this often. Papi is a very loyal friend.
- Gratuitous Spanish: Constantly speaks in Spanish, to illustrate her being a Spicy Latina.
- Incompatible Orientation: With Kit. Papi is really into her, but Kit is just too straight.
- Latin Lover: She's a Spicy Latina legendary womanizer.
- Lesbian Jock: Papi is very athletic and her favorite place to meet girls is at the basketball games she's playing in.
- The Nicknamer: She sometimes calls people the Spanish variant of their name. Alice becomes Alisia and so forth.
- Not Staying for Breakfast: Papi is a Love 'Em And Leave 'Em type. It's even part of her "rules".Papi: Rule #1 - Papi doesn't do breakfast.
- Odd Friendship: With Tasha. Papi is a Spicy Latina who Really Gets Around, whereas Tasha is a quiet, stern Token Wholesome.
- Only Known by Their Nickname: She's only known as "Papi" for the majority of her screentime, with her real name being revealed as Eva Torres much later.
- Really Gets Around: A thousand hookups. That's just a lot of work...Papi: I just do my thing. I live my life and my life has girls in it.
- Sex Goddess: She's legendary for her sexual prowess. She claims to be really good at "making [women] feel good" and that she can make a woman orgasm with just a kiss. She proves it when she sleeps with Alice, bringing her to multiple loud orgasms throughout the night.Alice: [collapsing on her back breathless and exhausted] Oh wow! How do you say 'I'm done' in Spanish?
Papi: [smugly] You're not done.
[cut to morning as Papi's limo is still shaking and Alice moans can be faintly heard] - Shrouded in Myth: Initially. Alice finds her on The Chart, a social networking site for lesbians that maps sexual relationships. Papi has over 1000 hits. It takes Alice a couple episodes to find her, given that she goes to Latin clubs asking for "papi"-not a name, just "daddy" in Spanish.
- Spicy Latina: Even more so than Carmen. Papi is a sexy Latina with a hot temper and a sassy attitude.
- Unknown Rival: She tries to get a friendly rivalry with Shane, but Shane's just too disinterested to care.
