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Jess's Relatives
Joan
Joan Day
Played By: Jamie Lee Curtis
Jess's fun-loving mother.
- Genki Girl: Even Jess thinks her mom is too perky.
- Like Mother, Like Daughter: She has a happy and bubbly personality like her daughter Jess.
- Savvy Guy, Energetic Girl: Joan is loud and fun-loving while her ex-husband Bob is more serious. Although they assert that they will never get back together, they do enjoy hooking up.
- Sex with the Ex: She doesn't mind hooking up with Jess's dad even long after their divorce.
- Stacy's Mom: Jess orders Nick to distract her during the Thanksgiving Episode; Nick winds up a little too into his friend's mom.
Bob
Bob Day
Played By: Rob Reiner
Jess's father.
- Accidental Misnaming: He calls Winston "Wilson" because of a memory lapse and Nick "Rick" because he doesn't like him.
- Like Parent, Like Spouse: He admits he has many similarities with Nick. Later in the series it's revealed that one of the reasons he doesn't like Nick dating his daughter is because he reminds him of himself.
- May–December Romance: He was married to Ashley, one of his daughter's classmates.
- Savvy Guy, Energetic Girl: His ex-wife Joan is loud and fun-loving while Bob is more serious. Although they assert that they will never get back together, they do enjoy hooking up.
- Sex with the Ex: He doesn't mind hooking up with Jess's mom even long after their divorce.
Abby
Abby Day
Played By: Linda Cardellini
Jess's wild sister.
- Foolish Sibling, Responsible Sibling: She's a Hard-Drinking Party Girl and Jess feels the need to try to "fix" her.
- The Gadfly: She shatters Winston's confidence just because she can.
- Hard-Drinking Party Girl: To the point that she doesn't seem to do much else.
- Put on a Bus: After the "Sister" trilogy of episodes, she moves away to live with her mother.
- Remember the New Guy?: No mention of her was made up until she appears in the series. Jess talks to her mother and Cece about how wild she is and the trouble she's gotten into.
Nick's Relatives
Walt
Walt Miller
Played By: Dennis Farina
Nick's father.
- Character Death: The episode "Chicago" is about his funeral.
- Chubby Mama, Skinny Papa: Skinny Papa to Bonnie's Chubby Mama.
- Con Man: He tries to get Jess to invest in buying a race horse and trying to sell it for studding.
- Parental Neglect: He was never a supporting parent to Nick. He even told him that he loved Winston more than him.
- Parental Substitute: He's seen this way by Winston, who never met his real father.
- Posthumous Character: He is occasionally mentioned after his death, particularly in the episode "Virgins" where he appears in some flashbacks.
Bonnie
Bonnie Miller
Played By: Margo Martindale
Nick's mother.
- Chubby Mama, Skinny Papa: Chubby Mama to Walt's Skinny Papa.
- Defrosting Ice Queen: She doesn't like Jess at first, but eventually warms up to her.
- One-Shot Character: Only appears in the episode "Chicago".
Jamie
Jamie Miller
Played By: Nick Kroll
Nick's younger brother.
- Annoying Younger Sibling: To Nick, who has to deal with his brother's irresponsibility.
- The Ditz: He's not very bright.
- Foolish Sibling, Responsible Sibling: Foolish to Nick's Responsible. Jamie got the napkins for his father's funeral. Nick did everything else. You know it's bad when Nick is the responsible one.
- One-Shot Character: Only appears in the episode "Chicago".
Schmidt's Relatives
Louise
Louise Schmidt
Played By: Nora Dunn
Schmidt's mother.
- Jewish Mother: A Jewish woman who is strict and overbearing when it comes to her son.
- Lipstick Lesbian: She's a feminine lesbian who eventually marries another woman.
Gavin
Gavin Schmidt
Played By: Peter Gallagher
Schmidt's father.
- Age-Gap Romance: His two onscreen love interests, Jess (very briefly) and Ann Kim, are about his son's age.
- Casting Gag: Max Greenfield (Schmidt) had previously played Peter Gallagher's younger self on The O.C.. Here Gallagher plays Greenfield's father's character.
- Disappeared Dad: Was an absent father for most of Schmidt's life.
- Jerk with a Heart of Gold: Not very reliable, but realizes his mistakes and genuinuely tries to be a better father.
- Parental Abandonment: He left his family when Schmidt was very young. He only reconnects with his son many years later.
- Really Gets Around: It's revealed that he dated six women at once. He even has a fling with Jess.
Winston's Relatives
Charmaine
Charmaine
Played By: Anna Maria Horsford
Winston's mother.
- My Beloved Smother: She's overprotective of her son, and doesn't like Schmidt hitting on her daughter.
- Parental Obliviousness: Until season 6, she thinks that Winston still works in radio because he never told her that he has become a police officer.
- Sassy Black Woman: She's described as a "tough lady" and has the attitude.
Alisha
Alisha Bishop
Played By: Keenyah Hill
Winston's sister.
- Lust Object: She's seen this way by Schmidt, much to her mother's dismay.
- One-Shot Character: Only appears in the episode "Katie".
- Statuesque Stunner: A very tall basketball player and Schmidt finds her attractive.
Cece's Relatives
Priyanka
Priyanka Parekh
Played By: Anna George
Cece's mother.
- Alliterative Name: Priyanka Parekh.
- Defrosting Ice Queen: In her first appearance, she doesn't give Cece her blessing to marry Schmidt. But in the season finale, she attends their wedding because she realizes how much Schmidt loves her daughter.
- Obnoxious In-Laws: Initially very cold and dismissive of Schmidt.
- The Stoic: A very serious and composed woman.
Others
Ruth
Ruth Parekh-Schmidt
Played By: Danielle and Rhiannon Rockoff
Schmidt and Cece's daughter in season 7.
- Adorably Precocious Child: A precocious and confident little girl, evidenced by her interactions with the adults.
- The Cutie: She's an adorable kid who provides cute/childlike comic relief.
- Daddy's Girl: To Schmidt. Played for Laughs when Nick tells her that, before her birth, he was Schmidt's baby girl and Schmidt used to dress him too.
- Like Parent, Like Child: With both her parents. Like her mom, she's sassy and has a Vitriolic Best Buds relationship with Nick, but she also has some of her dad's eccentricities.
- Mouthy Kid: Especially towards Nick, like telling him "You’re a diarrhea head!"
Furguson
Furguson Michael Jordan Bishop
Winston's cat.
- Cool Cat: When Winston and Schmidt try to get Furguson an audition, the casting directors find him original and funny, even if he's not talented like the other cats.
- The Ghost: In many episodes, he's mentioned but not seen.
- Interspecies Friendship: Winston considers him his "best friend".
- Killed Offscreen: He dies one year before the Time Skip in season 7.
- Out of Focus: For most of season 4, he's rarely mentioned (especially compared to his prominence in season 3) and only appears in the finale. Averted in season 5 and 6, where he's mentioned in nearly every episode and appears more often.
- Ridiculously Cute Critter: An odd but adorable cat.
- Spell My Name With An S: Most people assume his name is Ferguson, but it's actually spelled "Furguson", as confirmed in "Where the Road Goes".
