Abby Cadabby
- Leslie Carrara-Rudolph (2006-present)
A fairy who moved to Sesame Street during season 37. She's a 3-year-old fairy in training, who attends the Flying Fairy School.(as of Season 40.)
- All-Loving Hero: Abby sees the best in Oscar, and genuinely doesn't believe that he's that grouchy. That's gotta count for something.
- All Myths Are True: Abby's mom, Maggie Cadabby, is Cinderella's fairy godmother.
- The Apprentice: Hence "Abby's Flying Fairy School."
- Breakout Character: While only appearing in three episodes of Season 37, she became more prominent as the show went on and proved to be a great addition to the cast. She later gained her own solo segments, appears alongside Elmo in nearly all his guest appearances, and even got her own television special.
- Call-Back: She lives Around the Corner, which is a section of the set which was expanded and retracted.
- Catchphrase: "That's so magical!"
- Character Tics: Flies up into the air when excited.
- Cheerful Child: She always has a smile on her face.
- Cool Big Sis: Season 47 introduced Rudy, Abby's stepbrother from her mother's remarriage. The two get along great, and tries to emulate her magic.
- Fairy Tale Motifs: She is a textbook example of a fairy. Well... okay, aside from being a little fuzzy.
- Girlish Pigtails: Has two pigtails.
- Girly Girl with a Tomboy Streak: In "Dress-Up Club", she wants to dress up like a superhero and a pirate. Hilarity Ensues (It Makes Sense in Context).
- Iconic Sequel Character: She was introduced in season 37 (in which she only appeared in three episodes), but she's went on to become one of the most famous Muppets in the franchise, next to Elmo- another sequel character- Big Bird, and Cookie Monster.
- Inept Mage: Possibly due to her young age, she frequently blunders her spells, often turning things into pumpkins. Her stepbrother, Rudy, is even worse, and hilarity ensues whenever he gets a hold of his sister's wand.
- Irony: Abby's mother is the fairy godmother from the Cinderella fairy tale, one of the most infamous depictions of a wicked stepfamily in literature. Abby herself is part of a blended family - her birth parents are divorced, and her mother remarried Freddy Monster, introducing her younger stepbrother Rudy to the show's recurring cast.
- Innocent Blue Eyes: One of the few Muppets to actually have irises.
- Least Rhymable Word: Pumpkin. She always rhymes it with nonsense words in spells to do with pumpkins.
- Precision F-Strike: That one time she performed "Satisfied", which includes the line "What the hell is the catch?".
- Punny Name: It's a play on the stereotypical "magic word" Abracadabra.
- Mundane Object Amazement: Often thinks normal objects like crayons and tricycles are magic.
- Mundane Utility: In addition to transforming one thing into something completely different or conjuring things out of thin air, her wand also makes a handy backscratcher.
- Non-Standard Character Design: She, along with other fairy characters in the show, is one of the few Muppet characters designed with irises. To quote the Muppet Wiki:"Abby's design is an intentional departure from the typical Muppet look because she's not originally from Sesame Street. The implication is that the fairies in her old neighborhood look like her."
- Pink Means Feminine: Her fur is bubblegum pink.
- Rhymes on a Dime: Abby does rhymes whenever casting spells.
- Shoe Phone: The secondary use for her wand is to substitute for a cell phone.
- Signature Laugh: A cute little giggle.
- Toilet Training Plot: One book focuses on her learning to use the toilet.
- Tomboy and Girly Girl: Girly Girl to Zoe's Tomboy, even though the jewelry-wearing, ballet-loving Zoe is very much a Tomboy with a Girly Streak.
- True Blue Femininity : Her dress. Also her eyes.
- Welcome Episode: Her debut.
- Wide-Eyed Idealist: Many small children see their world as a place of tremendous beauty and endless possibilities. Abby is no different.
- You Gotta Have Blue Hair : And freckles. Both are pink.
- You Keep Using That Word: Sorry, Abby. "Princess" is not a career title. note Also, "magical" does not mean "exciting" or "fascinating".
- Youthful Freckles: Is a toddler with freckles.
Alice Snuffleupagus
Snuffy's two-year-old sister.- Annoying Younger Sibling: Downplayed. Sometimes gets in Snuffy's way, but isn't a complete brat.
- Baby Talk: Has trouble speaking correctly due to her young age.
- Character Tics: Stares at the wall when sad.
- Hair-Trigger Temper: Is easily angered due to going through a phase two-year-old Snuffleupaguses go through called the "Snuffle Two's".
- The Klutz: Sometimes breaks things and/or knocks them over.
- Non Sequitur: Sometimes likes to say, "Banana!" randomly.
Baby Bear
- David Rudman (1990-present)
The smallest of the Three Bears. (Later, the second-smallest of the Four Bears.) He is best friends with Telly Monster.
- Alliterative Name: Baby Bear.
- Annoying Younger Sibling: Although he has a great relationship with Curly, and is usually patient with her, she annoys him every now and then.
- Bread, Eggs, Breaded Eggs: "He's a hero, he's a guy... Hero Guy!"
- Demoted to Extra: Once a part of almost every episode from 1993 to 2015, he has been making less and less appearances since.
- Elmuh Fudd Syndwome: Pronounces his "r"s as "w"s.
- Embarrassment Plot: One episode focused on him being embarrassed because he owns a baby doll and thinks that dolls are for girls.
- Exactly What It Says on the Tin:
- His imaginary superhero, Hero Guy.
- Baby Bear himself was an example at first, then became a subversion when his younger sister was born.
- Fractured Fairy Tale: Invoked, in order to get Goldlocks her own bowl of porridge.
- Informed Judaism: The Elmo's World holiday special showed him celebrating Hanukkah and teaching Telly how to play dreidel.
- Sure, Let's Go with That: He unwittingly names his sister when he meets her.
- Trademark Favorite Food: Porridge.
- A True Story in My Universe: He's the bear from the Goldilocks story.
- The Unfavorite: Discussed Trope. Baby Bear feels this way, at first.
Barkley
- Toby Towson (1977-1978)
Brian Muehl (1978-1984)
Fred Garver (1984-1993)
Bruce Connelly (1993-present)
This large, playful Muppet dog is Linda's pet, who understands American Sign Language. When he debuted in Season 9, he was known as Woof Woof. In Season 10, he became Barkley after one episode dealt with changing his name by popular vote. By the start of the new millennium, Barkley hasn't appeared as often, but has been seen a couple times in recent years.
- Big Friendly Dog: A big, playful dog.
- Blinding Bangs
- Dog Walks You: When he runs while somebody is walking him, that somebody often gets pulled along.
- Hidden Eyes: His eyes are covered by his hair.
- Sick Episode: Catches a cold in one episode. It goes away, but then he turns invisible.
Benny
A grumpy rabbit.- Berserk Button: Doesn't like being called "bunny" or being touched.
- Half-Dressed Cartoon Animal: Wears a coat but no pants.
- Hates Being Touched: He doesn't like people touching him. He even wrote a song called "Don't Touch Me".
- Heel–Face Revolving Door: In the series' 25th anniversary special, "Sesame Street All-Star 25th Birthday: Stars and Street Forever!", Benny was the only citizen of Sesame Street who supported Ronald Grump's plan to turn the neighborhood into the Grump Tower, as he wanted to work as the tower's doorman. However, when Grump revealed that he was planning to build a robotic doorman for the project, Benny quickly joined the rest of Sesame Street to stop Grump's plan.
Bert
- Frank Oz (1969-2006)
Eric Jacobson (1997-present)
Long-suffering roommate and Blue Oni to Ernie's Red Oni. Bert would generally prefer to be left alone with a book than put up with his friend's shenanigans. He also really likes pigeons and oatmeal.
- Aside Glance: Similar to Oliver Hardy, he'll often do one of these in exasperation.
- Berserk Button: Do not lose his bottle caps or paper clips.
- Bookworm: Likes to read, and likes to have quiet when he reads.
- The Bore: According to Oz, he originally considered Bert a very boring character... then made his dullness his definitive character trait.
- Butt-Monkey: Put on the receiving end of Ernie's mischief a lot.
- Characterization Marches On: He openly insulted Ernie in a few early episodes, such as calling him a "ding-a-ling" or a "meatball".
- Character Tics: When frustrated, he either facepalms, keels over or bangs his head against a desk.
- Collector of the Strange: His paperclip collection. His bottlecap collection also qualifies.
- Comically Serious: Is rather serious and sometimes has a hard time understanding jokes, which leads to some comedic moments.
- Does Not Like Spam: Once shouted out that he hates ice-cream sodas.
- Incredibly Lame Fun: Bert loves all sorts of "boring" pastimes such as watching pigeons and collecting paperclips and bottlecaps. He even likes to read books like Boring Stories.
- Lampshade Hanging: Count on Bert to point out just how crazy Ernie is being.
- Large Ham: He may think he's the Only Sane Man but can be quite dramatic sometimes. It helps that Frank Oz performs him.
- Mundane Made Awesome: "LA LA LA, LINOLEUM!" and other mundane lyrics were sung by him during a song about the letter L.
- Naked People Are Funny: At the beginning of The Adventures of Elmo in Grouchland, he is seen wearing nothing but a shower cap and a towel, preparing to take a shower. Ernie asks if he thinks he should put clothes on, and he runs off screaming.
- Neat Freak: He likes the apartment tidy and often complains about Ernie making messes.
- Not So Above It All: Sometimes joins in Ernie's songs/games, and some of his insults are a bit wacky (such as "meatball").
- Oh, No... Not Again!: Often has this reaction when Ernie starts doing something silly.
- Pastimes Prove Personality: He enjoys oatmeal, pigeons, and bottlecap & paperclip collecting.
- Say My Name: "ERNIEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!"
- Sick Episode: One skit has him with a cold, but Ernie does not know who has the cold.
- Signature Laugh: A staccato, nasal "eheheheheheh!"
-
Signature Song: Doing (Coo-Coo) the Pigeon....
- Tempting Fate: On several occasions, Bert ends up on the receiving end of Ernie's craziness simply by pointing it out.
- Throw the Dog a Bone: On odd occasions Bert will actually get through a skit without being the butt of a joke or will even manage to outdo Ernie in one of his annoying hobbies.
- Trademark Favorite Food: Very much likes oatmeal.
- Uptight Loves Wild: He clearly loves Ernie because of his free-spirited nature, not despite it and because Bert's life would be boring without him.
- Vague Age: Acts like an adult, but takes naps.
Big Bird
- Caroll Spinney (1969-2018)
Daniel Seagren (understudy in a handful of episodes dating to 1970)
Matt Vogel (1997-present)
An inexplicably large, yellow bird, perpetually stuck at age 6. Mr. Snuffleupagus is his best friend. He lives in a nest near the apartments.
International adaptations of the show feature alternate equivalents of the character, who are apparently Big Bird's cousins, including Pino from Sesamstraat and Abelardo from Plaza Sésamo.
- Amnesia Episode: In one episode, he got "memory flu", which was essentially amnesia.
- Break Out Character: Is the star of the first official Sesame Street movie Follow That Bird, starred in specials where he travels to China and Japan and is the star of other merchandise items such as storybooks, cassette tapes or records. Possibly the first breakout character before Elmo.
- Cassandra Truth: The adults constantly disbelieved Snuffleupagus was real at first. See The Reveal under ''Mr. Snuffleupagus"
- Characterization Marches On: He was initially a fully grown idiot with a hick-like Simpleton Voice to match, rather than the innocent 6-year-old child he eventually became.
- Crying Critters: Despite being a bird, he has cried on several occasions.
- The Cutie: Even in the context of Sesame Street his innocence and sweetness stand out.
- A Dog Named "Dog": A big bird named Big Bird.
- Extreme Doormat: Well, maybe not "extreme", but he has a hard time standing up for himself - he once let Humphrey and Ingrid talk him into giving Radar to Natasha, and he would have lost his nest to Minnie Myna if Chris hadn't helped him.
- Gentle Giant: He's a Big Bird with a good heart.
- Hidden Depths: During the famous episode centered on the death of Mr. Hooper, Big Bird draws various caricatures of the adults - of a quality that you may not normally see from a typical 6-year-old.
- Caroll Spinney is a cartoonist and painter in his down time, overlapping with
The Cast Showoff.
- Caroll Spinney is a cartoonist and painter in his down time, overlapping with
- Injured Limb Episode: In one episode, he sprains his wing and needs to have it in a sling.
- Meaningful Echo:Gordon: Why are you walking that way?
Big Bird: "Just because."
...
(Big Bird learns of Mr. Hooper's death)
Big Bird: "Why does it have to be this way?"
(Beat)
Gordon: "Big Bird, it has to be this way because."
Big Bird: "Just because?"
Gordon: "Just because." - Meaningful Name: Well duh!
- Named by the Adaptation: In some versions of Sesame Street made in other countries than the U.S. that do not have their own version of Big Bird, (as described above) he does have a name. E.g., in the Brazillian version he's called Garibaldo.
- Nice Guy: He stands out at being very sweet and caring, always trying to help others.
- Playing Sick: In the book "Nobody Cares About Me", he fakes illness to get attention.
- Polka-Dot Disease: In one episode, he breaks out in green dots, a disease called "birdy pox" which is normal for giant birds his age.
- Sick Episode:
- In one episode, he and Zoe both had colds.
- In the book "Nobody Cares About Me", he actually gets sick after pretending to be sick.
- In one episode, he gets Birdy Pox.
- In one episode, he gets a pneumonia-like disease and has to go to hospital.
- In another episode, he gets "memory flu", which is basically just amnesia without brain damage.
- Start My Own: Because Oscar wouldn't let him join the Grouchketeers.
- Trademark Favorite Food: Birdseed, which he eats (or in the case of birdseed milkshakes, drinks) in seemingly infinite variations.
- Vocal Evolution: Big Bird started off as a fully-grown Village Idiot with a deep, hick-like voice. Over time, however, he became a young child of 5 (or 6, depending on when you were watching the show) with a higher-pitched voice. Because the show reuses its old recordings of songs in later episodes, it can be very jarring to hear Big Bird sing the "Alphabet Song" in his "hick" voice in an episode from c.1975 or later.
Blue Bird
- Rick Lyon
He is a comic book superhero character created by Big Bird.
- One-Shot Character: He only appeared in 2 sketches.
Brad
- Richard Hunt
He is Bert's Nephew. He appeared in the sketch where Bert is giving his nephew a bath. But Ernie told Bert that he cannot go into the bathtub with bath toys. He fills up the toys into the tub until gets furious and scolded to Ernie that he cannot give Brad a bath with too much toys.
- That Makes Me Feel Angry: Well, Bert got angry with Ernie about putting too many toys in the tub.
Bruno
- Carroll Spinney
A Garbage man who carries Oscar the Grouch's trashcan.
- Chuck Cunningham Syndrome: He was retired when the foam interior of the puppet ended up disintegrating after years of storage, and it would have been too expensive to rebuild.
- Suddenly Voiced: All though Bruno is usually a silent character, He did speak a few times (like in the end of Follow that Bird, He replied to Oscar "Sure, Boss!"). He even sang with The Trashmen with the song, "Put it in the trashcan".
Colambo
- Joseph Mazarrio
He is a black a sheep detective who solves the crime of the Fairy Tale / Mother Goose stories.
- No Celebrities Were Harmed: He is based on Inspector Columbo.
Curly Bear
Baby Bear's toddler sister.- Accessory-Wearing Cartoon Animal: Wears a diaper and a pink bow.
- Annoying Younger Sibling: Downplayed. While she sometimes annoys Baby Bear, she doesn't do it all the time and they generally get along fine.
- Baby See, Baby Do: When Baby Bear mentions that his parents are going out to dinner, she shouts, "Dinner!".
- Baby Talk: Can't speak 100% properly yet.
- Crying Critters: She cries a lot, even though she's a bear.
- Does Not Like Spam: She's the only one in her family not to like porridge.
- Funny Animal: Is an anthropomorphic bear.
- Meaningful Name: Was named due to the fact that the fur on her head is curly.
- Sibling Rivalry: Downplayed. Her and Baby Bear sometimes argue, but generally get on fine.
- Third-Person Person: Sometimes uses her name instead of "I", although she sometimes does say "I".
- Toilet Training Plot: Starts to become potty-trained in "Elmo's Potty Time".
- You No Take Candle: Sometimes she speaks in poor grammar due to her young age.
Davey and Joey Monkey
- David Rudman (Davey Monkey)
Joseph Mazarrio (Joey Monkey)
- Catchphrase: Well, They love "BANANAS!"
- Trademark Favorite Food: "BANANAS!"
Ernie
"Kshshshshshshshsh!"
- Jim Henson (1969-1990)
Steve Whitmire (1993-2014)
Billy Barkhurst (2014-2017)
Peter Linz (2017-present)
An enthusiastic, extroverted prankster who's Bert's roommate and Red to Bert's Blue. He enjoys taking baths with his rubber duckie.
- Baths Are Fun: He loves taking baths, which was established in the very first Sesame Street episode (when he did the "I call my bathtub Rosie" joke), and reiterated with numerous bathtub sketches and songs (including the Breakaway Pop Hit "Rubber Duckie").
- Cloud Cuckoo Lander: Frequently does weird things like talking to a rubber duck or waking up the whole neighborhood with loud off-key opera just so he can know what time it is at night.
- Consulting Mister Puppet: Ernie often talks to his trademark rubber duckie about his problems.
- Couldn't Find a Pen: Bert asks him to make a shopping list, and the only thing Ernie can find to write with is chocolate pudding. Ernie then makes a list of all the writing implements that he couldn't find. Ernie tacks chocolate pudding onto the end of the list, since he needed to use all the pudding in the apartment to write it out.Bert: "He's improving. Last time he used spaghetti sauce."
- Crazy-Prepared: In this skit
. - The Gadfly: He loves to prank, trick and tease Bert. Much of his random weird behavior is just done to mess with his friend, because it's funny when Bert gets frustrated.
- Hidden Depths: He lays down an amazing saxophone solo during "Put Down the Duckie."
- He's also a really good painter... even if he does re-imagine Bert as a beatnik.
- I Can't Hear You: "I can't hear you, Bert. I have a banana in my ear."
- Jerk with a Heart of Gold: Well, yeah — you wouldn't think so, but Ernie is a far bigger jerk than Bert. Watching the Bert & Ernie skits, it's sometimes surprising to see just how badly Ernie treats his best friend, often for no good reason at all. He plays tricks on him, makes a fool out of him, steals his snacks or cruelly tempts Bert with snacks before eating them himself, and in general causing him no end of frustration, humiliation and heartache. He also once woke up the whole neighborhood by singing off-key opera just so he could know what time it was at night (and according to one of the shouting neighbors, this isn't the first time he did something like that). When Ernie still comes across as the most likeable and friendly of the two, it's because, well, he is a genuinely sunny and affable person who just wants to have fun and share a laugh with people. He's never malicious, just a little insensitive.
- The Prankster: Usually pranks Bert.
- Pungeon Master: This was an especially pronounced trait of his in the first season.
- A good example would be his very first appearance, when he tells Bert he calls the bathtub "Rosie", and when Bert asks why he replies, "Because every time I take a bath, I leave a ring around Rosie."
- Security Blanket: His rubber ducky.
- Sick Episode: He got sick in the book "Nobody Cares About Me".
- Signature Laugh: "Kshshshshshshshsh!"
- Signature Song: Rubber Ducky, You're the one! You make bathtime lots of fun...
- Something Only They Would Say: The game "Journey to Ernie" runs on this trope.
- Straight Man: Even though he's normally just the opposite, he's sometimes used as this when paired with characters other than Bert, such as Cookie Monster or the Count.
- Vague Age: While he and Bert live alone, he seems naive like a child. His attitude towards naps changes too, sometimes taking them and sometimes not.
Flo Bear
- Richard Hunt (1986-1992)
David Rudman (1992-1993)
- No Celebrities Were Harmed: She is based on the French writer Gustave Flaubert.
Goldilocks
The girl from "Goldilocks and the Three Bears". She and Baby Bear are friends, but Baby Bear finds her annoying.- Jerk with a Heart of Gold: She eats Baby Bear's porridge and breaks his things, but she's not really bad.
- Meaningful Name: She was named after her blonde hair.
- Moving Experience: When she moved across the street in one episode, Baby Bear thought she'd be moving far away.
- Vitriolic Best Buds: With Baby Bear. They're friends, sort of, but he is annoyed when she eats his porridge and breaks his stuff.
Grandmama Bear
Baby Bear and Curly Bear's grandma.- Cool Old Lady: Apart from that time she treated Baby Bear like a real baby, she's very popular with her grandchildren.
- Funny Animal: Is an anthropomorphic bear.
- Sick Episode: Catches a cold in one episode.
Granny Bird
- Carroll Spinney
- Cool Old Lady: A kindly old bird.
Grouches
A group of crusty, monster-like creatures indigenous to Grouchland.- Bad is Good and Good is Bad: This is their culture.
- Big Ol' Unibrow: As mentioned under Oscar's entry, it's a species trait.
- Bizarro Universe: Grouch society mirrors human society (right down to similar celebrities — Dan Rather-Not and Donald Grump, for example), but they prefer unhappiness and filth to happiness and cleanliness.
- Blue and Orange Morality: As explained above, they dislike (often downright condemn) nice and pleasant things, and like things that most other people would find unpleasant. Although a bit odd, it sounds simple enough, right? Well, this also means that they like feeling miserable, and yet the nice things they hate make them miserable, which they like and... yeah. Try not to think about it too hard.
- Filthy Fun: Their version of bathing is getting more dirty.
- Grumpy Bear: A species of them.
- Hates Baths: Most grouches hate getting clean.
- My Species Doth Protest Too Much: You occasionally find one that is neat or positive, though never both.
- The Pig-Pen: The majority of them are slobby.
- Planet of Hats: Nearly all of them are negative and messy. There may be a few who are positive or neat, but never one who's both.
Grungetta
Oscar's girlfriend.
- Hair-Trigger Temper: She gets angry easily due to being a Grouch.
Harvey P. Dull
A Muppet who frequently visits the Furchester Hotel, but does not like it.- Butt-Monkey: He thinks the hotel has bad service, but actually, he's just the unluckiest guest.
- Unfortunate Names: His surname is Dull.
Honkers & Dingers
- Various
- Gag Nose: Honkers squeeze theirs in order to honk.
- The Unintelligible: They only speak in honking and dinging.
- Shout-Out: The Honkers are essentially an entire species of Harpo Marxes.
- Signature Song: Well, Their official song is Honk Around the Clock.
- The Speechless: Although they do not speak, Their performers will vary depending on what puppeteer is available.
Hoots the Owl
- Kevin Clash (1985-2009)
An old bluesman and sax player.
- Comically Missing the Point: He tells Cookie Monster that cookies are a sometimes food... but doesn't care about Cookie Monster eating stuff that's not food.
- Destined Bystander: He (or, at least, the puppet that would later come to be him) first appeared in a single scene in Sesame Street Presents: Follow That Bird.
- Half-Dressed Cartoon Animal: Wears a shirt and no pants.
- A Lizard Named "Liz": Is named "Hoots" and he's an owl.
- The Owl-Knowing One: Not all-knowing, but he's wise enough to know you can't play the sax with a rubber duck in your hand, and that carrots are healthier than cookies.
Humpty Dumpty
- Frank Oz (1976)
Jerry Nelson (1992)
An egg from the famous nursery rhyme. He was interviewed Kermit on Sesame Street news. He later appeared on episode 3076 and had so many falls.
- No Celebrities Were Harmed: Well, he is based on the famous nursery rhyme: Humpty Dumpty sat on the wall, Humpty Dumpty had a great fall....
Irvine
Oscar's niece.
- Baby Talk: Can't speak in full sentences yet.
- Bratty Half-Pint: Is just as cranky as her uncle.
- Sick Episode: Gets the "grouch flu" in one episode.
- Vague Age: Described as a baby but can say quite a few words and walk quite well, however, she's clearly very young.
Isabelle
A small creature from the Furchester Hotel.- Punny Name: She got the name because she "is a bell".
Jackman Wolf
- Jerry Nelson
The VJ wolf who hosts The Sesame Street Rock and Roll Request Show.
- No Celebrities Were Harmed: He is based the late radio announcer Wolfman Jack.
Julia
- Stacey Gordon (2017-present)
A little girl who has autism, an alternate neurology which some folk consider a disorder. Introduced in 2017 in the wake of increased diagnoses (1 in 68 children) of autism and autism-spectrum disorder conditions.
- Adorkable: Even in the Sesame Street universe, Julia's mannerisms, playfulness, limited dialogue, and overall cuteness truly stand out.
- Big Brother Worship: She always cheers for her big brother at his soccer games and loves to play with him.
- Breakout Character: Introduced as the world's first autistic Muppet, she has become an instant hit with audiences and is in almost as much merchandise as the other characters.
- Broken Record: Has a bit of echolalia when talking with other characters, but also repeats some of what she, herself, says.
- Catchphrase: "Play, play, play!"
- Character Tic: Flapping her arms in excitement.
- Cloudcuckoolander: Described by Abby as doing things "in a Julia sort of way."
- The Cloud Cuckoolander Was Right: When Julia and some of the other characters go on a shape hunt, Julia repeatedly identifies shapes her team is looking for, apparently incorrectly, only for the rest of her team to discover that the shape is incorporated within the larger shaped object. For example, she says "circle," pointing to a stopsign. Her team points out that it's actually an octagon, only to eventually figure out that Julia is referring to the little circles cut out of the stopsign pole, while everyone else is focusing on the yellow tubes outlining them.
- The Cutie: Try not to go "Awwww" when seeing Julia.
- Girls Love Stuffed Animals: Her toy rabbit is her comfort object.
- Graceful Ladies Like Purple: She is a cute, quirky girly-girl, who's signature outfit includes a violet jumper dress.
- Hollywood Autism: Sesame Street stops in its tracks to point out how atypical Julia is, and she's portrayed as having stereotypical mannerisms.
- Inspirationally Disadvantaged: As storylines progress about Julia, her characteristics are played up. In her first appearance, for instance, she is participating in a game when she begins jumping up and down. Instead of rejecting Julia, the other characters and Muppets decide that jumping up and down is a lot more fun.
- Non-Standard Character Design: The show's puppets typically only have one articulated arm, but she has both due to the above-mentioned Character Tic.
- The Quiet One: Doesn't talk much, as pointed by Elmo.Elmo: Yeah, Julia doesn't say a lot.
- Security Blanket: Her raggedy toy rabbit, which is torn in several places and perhaps looks like it should have been thrown out years ago. But it is her comfort object.
- Significant Green-Eyed Redhead: She has red hair and green eyes. She's also one the few Muppet characters on the show to have a distinct iris color.
- Vocal Dissonance: She's four years old, but she sounds like a grown woman.
Kermit the Frog
Kermit the Frog
- Jim Henson (1955-1990 [the character predates Sesame Street])
Steve Whitmire (1990-2009)note
The Muppet Show's easily flustered host; here Kermit usually plays a roving news reporter in a trench coat. He also often attempts to give lectures to the audience that are inevitably ruined by another character. Jim Henson's definitive role; Kermit and Ernie aren't that different, acoustically speaking. This is especially apparent in Bert and Ernie's Muppet Show guest appearance, where Ernie appears and speaks immediately after Kermit introduces the pair. See also his entry on Characters.The Muppet Show.
- Beware the Nice Ones: Kermit is usually friendly and even-tempered, but when he's pushed too far he can get very angry indeed.
- Butt-Monkey: Frequently the victim of Grover's bumbling and Cookie Monster's hedonism, among other misfortunes, almost to the point of being The Chew Toy.
- Catchphrase: "Heigh-ho, Kermit theee Frog here at Sesame Street News..."
- Phrase Catcher: Grover's "HEYYYYY, FROGGY BAYBEEEEE!" backslap-greeting.
- Call-Back: He makes a surprise appearance in "Elmo's World: Frogs", where he is shown lounging in his apartment.
- Commuting on a Bus: He was a regular in season 1, but concern over his appearances in commercially-oriented non-Sesame medianote led him to get dropped in season 2. But beginning in season 3, Kermit came back in more of a Fake Guest Star role, showing up sometimes for song sequences and sketches (often with Grover and Cookie Monster). Alas, the frog seldom appears these days, due mainly to Disney owning the rights to the character.
- Continuity Nod: While preparing to interview Old MacDonald, Kermit tells one of the farmer's pigs, "You know, you remind me of somebody..." (a reference to The Muppet Show's Miss Piggy).
- "I Am" Song: "Bein' Green" and "This Frog".
- If You Can Read This: An actual cameraman is named on the slate in the Oklahoma! sketch.
- Intrepid Reporter: During the "Sesame Street News Flash" segments.
- Is This Thing Still On?: A running gag in the news segments.
- Loud Gulp: The idea of a frog eating a fly makes him nauseous.
- Somewhere, a Herpetologist Is Crying: This is Zigzagged in one scene, in which Bob lists frog facts, and Kermit insists that frogs act more like people, with human diets and apartment buildings.
- Straight Man: To the crazier Muppets.
Leo Birdelli
Peformer: Jerry Nelson
He is a bird salesman who was attempting to trade the drawing of Mr. Hooper by Big Bird for more Birdseeds. But Big Bird refuses to to do so. Because the drawing was a tribute to his death.
- Traveling Salesman: Well, he is.
Little Bird
- Fran Brill
She lives on a tree in front of 123 Sesame Street, and was a little friend of Big Bird.
- A Dog Named "Dog": A bird with "bird" in its last name.
Mama and Papa Bear
The parents of Baby Bear and Curly Bear.- Accessory-Wearing Cartoon Animal: Papa Bear wears a hat and tie.
- Funny Animal: They're both anthro bears.
- Good Parents: They try to do what's best for both their cubs.
- Trademark Favorite Food: They like porridge as much as their son does.
Martians/Yip-Yips
- Various
- Amusing Alien: Often seen doing funny things trying to figure out how Earth things work.
- Fish out of Water: In their first few years they were very unfamiliar with Earth, to the point where they spent most of their time attempting to communicate with inanimate objects.
- Incredibly Lame Fun: They dance to radio static.
- Innocent Aliens: They're just confused tourists.
- Intangible Man: They often enter scenes by phasing through walls.
- Special Person, Normal Name: The primary two are named "Joe" and "Bob." Although in the game show sketch Bring that Thing, Guy Smiley addressed them as "Stevie" and "Jonathan" Martians.
- Starfish Aliens: Flying aliens with tentacles and huge mouths.
Meryl Sheep
- Camille Bonora (1987-1990)
A sheep who also happens to be an accomplished actress, she heads the Meryl Sheep School of Acting, and counts Susan Sarandon among her students.
- Distaff Counterpart: Created as a female equivalent to Placido Flamingo, likewise being an animal parodying a famous performer.
- No Celebrities Were Harmed: Obviously based on Meryl Streep.
- Non-Specifically Foreign: She has a vaguely Eastern European accent, based on Meryl Streep's role in Sophie's Choice.
- Verbal Tic: "Ja, ja..."
Mrs Grouch
Oscar's mother, and also the mother of his sister Bunny and brother Ernest.- Doting Parent: Loves her children in a weird grouchy way.
The Oinker Sisters
- Various
- A Lizard Named "Liz": Their last name is "Oinker", which is because they are pigs and pigs say "oink".
- Special Person, Normal Name: One of the Oinker Sisters is named "Suie Oinker".
Oscar the Grouch
"I Love Trash!"
- Caroll Spinney (1969-2018)Eric Jacobson (2015-present)
- Adaptational Heroism: Oscar takes up this role in The Adventures of Elmo in Grouchland when he volunteers to go with Telly, Gordon, Big Bird, Maria, and Cookie Monster to venture to Grouchland and get Elmo's stolen blanket back from Huxley.
- Anti-Role Model: One purpose of the character is to poke fun at irritable people. Which isn't to say that his irritation isn't justified sometimes.
- Big Eater
- Big Ol' Unibrow: Huge eyebrows are a species trait.
- Bizarre Taste in Food: He hates foods most would consider nice or healthy, but loves noxious combinations of food that are technically still edible... just really gross. Like sardine ice-cream. Again, it's a species trait.
- Deadpan Snarker: Often shows shades of this trope.
- Early Installment Weirdness: He was orange for a year. (Apparently he still would be, if he ever bathed.)
- Everyone Has Standards: Oscar may be a hoarder of most stuff and hates everything cheery, but Huxley being selfish, ruining his beautiful Grouchland, as well as keeping everything thing he sees (including Elmo's blanket) and never giving them back is where Oscar draws the line.
- Grumpy Bear: He's a Grouch. It's a species trait.
- Hoist by His Own Petard: Every now and then, some of the mean-spirited pranks and schemes he pulls tend to backfire, where he may end up being the victim himself. Often happens when he's frustrated when targeting a rather slow-witted character with his pranks.
- Jerkass: Cranky, rude, and mean. Although as much is allowable on a preschool show. The Muppet Wiki puts it best:Oscar's mission in life is to be as miserable and grouchy as possible, and pass that feeling on to everyone else. When a visitor knocks on his trash can — invariably interrupting him from a nap or an important task — Oscar greets them with a snarl. He complains that he wants to be left alone, although when he's left entirely to himself, he's dissatisfied — there isn't anybody around to irritate or complain to.
- Jerk with a Heart of Gold: The true depths of his jerk nature are often called into question and he can get comically defensive when his reputation as a "true Grouch" is threatened.
- Kick the Dog: Sometimes takes his rudeness a little too far, as when he upset Big Bird by teasing him with How Can Santa Deliver All Those Toys? questions in Christmas Eve on Sesame Street.
- Large Ham: He's as snarky as he is a large ham.
- Nice Job Fixing It, Villain!: There does appear to be an occasional running gag where his intended mean-spirited ways backfire, unwittingly causing pleasant and helpful results for other characters. Much to his dismay, of course.
- The Nicknamer: As far as Oscar is concerned, Bob and Maria are Bright Eyes and Skinny, respectively, and Big Bird is Turkey.
- The Pigpen: Always seen in a trash can, so yeah.
- The Prankster: Sometimes he plays jokes on other characters.
- Sick Episode:
- At the end of one episode, he contracts Grouch Flu from Grundgetta.
- In one episode, he gets "Kind-itis", which makes him kind and rhymey.
- Slave to PR: One has to wonder if he'd be so concerned about being a "real Grouch" - or if he'd be so self-conscious anytime he says, does, or thinks something even remotely pleasant - if it weren't for Grouch society constantly stressing how Grouches are supposed to act.
- Something Itis: In one episode, he gets a disease called "kind-itis".
- Too Important to Walk: He's rarely seen walking. When he needs to be transported somewhere, a garbageman named Bruno carries his can. (He does in Christmas Eve on Sesame Street a few times.)
- Troll: He can definitely come off as this at times, especially when Telly is involved.
- Vitriolic Best Buds: Easily with any of the nice Sesame Street residents that like being sweet and chummy with him, especially Elmo, Telly, and Maria.
- What the Hell, Hero?: He gets this reaction from Leela and Elmo for seeing the Mine-itis outbreak as a cause for celebration.
- The adults give him another one in "Christmas Eve on Sesame Street" for putting a bunch of doubts in Big Bird's head about the existence of Santa Claus, which leads to Big Bird disappearing to find out for sure.
- With Friends Like These...: Used to be this sort of "friend" to poor Telly.
- Although, they seem to have fallen into a more traditional Type 1 Vitriolic Best Buds as of late.
- Your Approval Fills Me with Shame: Often inverted. As you may expect, he does not appreciate being praised by the other characters for doing something less-than-grouchy.
Ovejita
Murray's lamb sidekick, who speaks only in Spanish.—-- Accessory-Wearing Cartoon Animal: Wears a bow in her wool.
- Amazing Technicolor Wildlife: Is a purple sheep.
- Talking Animal: Is pretty much a normal lamb, but she speaks Spanish.
Ralphie
Baby Bear's talented parrot.- The Ace: Can play fetch, identify shapes, speak English, Spanish and Hamster, and even make fruit salad.
- Polly Wants a Microphone: He once said a whole sentence in Spanish, complementing Maria's blouse.
- Speaks Fluent Animal: Apparently, he speaks fluent Hamster.
Mr. Snuffleupagus
Front end:
Jerry Nelson (1971 - 1978)
Michael Earl Davis (1978 - 1980)
Martin P. Robinson (1980 - present)
Michael Earl Davis (1978 - 1980)
Martin P. Robinson (1980 - present)
Back end:
Richard Hunt (1971-1975)
Peter Friedman (1976-1978)
Brian Muehl (1979)
Frank Kane (1979)
Bryant Young (1979-present)
A slow-talking, elephantlike creature and Big Bird's best friend. He originally wasn't thought to be real, but was revealed in a Season 17 episode.
- Abandoned Catchphrase: Mr. Snuffleupagus used to always say "Oh, dear" in a worried voice. Big Bird even lampshaded it once; when Snuffy went missing in one episode and BB called the police (an Anything Muppet) to take a report, part of his description was that he said "Oh dear" a lot.
- Characterization Marches On: He started out with a rather odd and perpetually sad personality as well as speaking with a rather creepy, echoing, sad voice. It wasn't until when Marty Robinson took over the character that, though still sad occasionally, his personality became more cheerful and his voice had a wider range of emotions.
- Early Installment Weirdness: Snuffle used to have wide yellow eyes with green sclera and was understandably changed to a different lazy eyed design as the debut appearance was... unsettling, to say the least.
- The Eeyore: Used to be one of his defining character traits, but he steadily grew out of it as time went on.
- In-Series Nickname: "Snuffy." He calls Big Bird "Bird."
- Leitmotif: Has a theme tune sometimes.
- "Metaphor" Is My Middle Name: When he helps rebuild Big Bird's by blow-drying the mud that holds it together with his snuffle, he claims that his middle name is "Help" and his full name is "Aloysius Help Snuffleupagus".
- Missed Him by That Much: In his early appearances, he'd wander off before anyone other than Big Bird could spot him, leading to speculation that he was BB's Imaginary Friend.
- Not-So-Imaginary Friend: For Big Bird. Everyone assumes that Snuffy is imaginary and even Big Bird thinks this at one point, but they are convinced otherwise later on.
- Only Known by Their Nickname: His real name is Aloysius Snuffleupagus. Even though almost everyone on the series refers to him by his nickname, his mother usually refers to him by his real name.
- Precocious Crush: Pre-dating the Elmo and Gina plot (see above), he had a crush on Maria for a while.
- Real After All: He is revealed to the adult cast 13 years after his debut, in order to encourage kids to be more honest with their parents. It was an emotional experience for the characters and actors.
- Satellite Character: Expectedly only talked to Big Bird due to being his Not-So-Imaginary Friend at first. After being proven Real After All, he began interacting heavily with other characters and having family members introduced.
- Shrinking Violet: The reason that none of the adults ever saw him was because of his shyness. He seems to outgrown this after being revealed.
Placido Flamingo
- Performer: Richard Hunt
- No Celebrities Were Harmed: He is based on Placido Domingo.
- Put on a Bus: He was dropped after Richard Hunt's death in 1992, but continued to appear in recycled segments until 1998. He made a cameo in a 2009 episode, on the front cover of a book bearing Hunt's name.
Preston Rabbit
- Jim Martin
- It Was a Gift: Well, he likes to deliver things to other characters. He once tried to give Elmo a sign that reads ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ. Elmo ended up singing the famous song originally sung by Big Bird. At that point, Big Bird and the kids told them that it's not a word, It's the alphabet.
SAM the Robot
- Jerry Nelson (occasionally Caroll Spinney)
- Broken Record: S.A.M. will tell anyone who is around him that Machines Are Perfect... except he'd always get stuck so he'd say "Machines are perfec-are perfec-are perfec-are perfec..." until someone hits him.
- Do-Anything Robot: Efficiently, on the other hand.....
- Fun with Acronyms: His name stands for Super Automatic Machine.
- Percussive Maintenance: In his debut appearance, he arrives on Sesame Street (he meant to go to Mulberry Street), asserting repeatedly that "machines never make mistakes; machines are perfect — are perfect — are perfect." The humans have to thump him hard to make him stop repeating the phrase, for which he thanks them.
- Put on a Bus: Mysteriously stopped appearing after the seventh season, although he returned for the tenth
- Tin-Can Robot: S.A.M. looks like giant tin can. This being Sesame Street, of course, he still has googly eyes and a bowtie.
- Vanity License Plate: He has one on his back that says "ABC-123".
Sammy the Snake
- Jim Henson
- One-Shot Character: He never appeared outside the song.
Shelly the Turtle
- Martin P. Robinson
He is a friendly but a slow moving turtle.
- Punny Name
- Signature Song: He sings I Get There.
Slimey
- Filthy Fun: Likes to play in mud due to being a worm.
- Hidden Depths: Is a cute little talking worm, who's also been to space.
- Space Episode: His trip to the moon took up several episodes.
Sloppy
Slimey's baby sister.- Meaningful Name: Was named because she was born in the Sloppy Jalopy.
The Squirelles
- Various
- No Celebrities Were Harmed: They are based on The Shirelles.
- Talking Animal: Are mostly normal squirrels but they can talk.
Watson the Dog
- Steve Whitmire
- Animal Talk: He can only bark.
Wolfgang the Seal
- Kevin Clash (1988-2013)
- Animal Talk: He can only bark.
- Trademark Favorite Food: Loves to eat fish.
Miscellaneous Muppets
Sesame Street features a vast array of other Muppets ranging from animals, letters, and numbers to bathtubs and Singing Food.- Let's Meet the Meat: Singing Food will cheerfully discuss how nutritious it is.
