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Betty
Betty Suarez (played by America Ferrera) is a young Latina woman from Queens, New York with ambitions to run her own magazine. Her first job is at the prestigious fashion magazine MODE, where she serves as the executive assistant to Daniel Meade, the magazine's chief editor. Meade's father, the owner of several magazines including MODE, appointed his son to the editorial post, and hired Betty as his son's assistant because of her ungainly appearance. Daniel is known to be a womanizer, and Betty offers him no temptation. She keeps her job because of her attitude and skill. She wears braces, is slightly overweight and lacks the ability to dress fashionably.
Ignacio
Ignacio Suarez (played by Tony Plana) is the father of both Betty and her sister Hilda, and grandfather to Hilda's son Justin. Ignacio used to be a amateur boxer in Mexico and is known to be a excellent cook. Ignacio supports Betty in her job at MODE, even though both he and Hilda worry that she won't survive in the world of fashion. Betty, on the other hand, is more concerned about his well-being, because he has a heart condition and continually drinks caffeinated beverages. Also, while Betty attempts to get Ignacio an HMO provider, it appears that he tries to avoid them because of his illegal immigration status. He hides the truth about who he is, and uses the social security number and name of a person who, had he been alive, would be 117 years old.
Ignacio admitted that he came to the United States with Betty and Hilda's mother after he fell in love with her while she was married to a wealthy banker and Ignacio was working as their chef. The banker was physically abusive toward her and she started an affair with Ignacio. The banker discovered the affair and attacked them, prompting Ignacio to kill him in self defense.
Hilda
Hilda Suarez (played by Ana Ortiz) is Betty's older sister and the mother of Justin. Although she respects Betty's job choice, she thinks that Betty is being taken advantage of at her job at MODE and feels that it provides her with an unstable lifestyle. She is also determined to get Betty to consider another option: to join her in selling door-to-door products from Herbalux, a health supplement company based in Poland. Hilda is also very protective of Betty (even though Betty would like her to back off a bit) and at times vents her rage at anyone who threatens her family, most notably next door neighbor Gina Gambarro. Whenever she gets furious, she yells and curses. However, she tells her son Justin to put on his headphones when she makes inappropriate remarks. Hilda also feels that she's being left out of her family, with Justin looking up to Betty as more of a mother figure than she is while Ignacio tends to be more protected of Betty as if she was his favorite, thus making Hilda jealous at times even though she and Betty are as close as sisters can be.
Justin
Justin Suarez (played by Mark Indelicato) is the son of Hilda and is Betty's nephew. While his mother tries to convince his Aunt Betty to try a line of work other than the fashion industry, Justin supports Betty and convinces her to continue and pursue her dreams. Justin is quite fashion conscious and exhibits model-like behavior, such as commenting on his own body image and being food conscious. This behavior concerns Hilda, who would rather see Justin act more like a "normal" boy. His behavior has sparked speculation that he may be gay. Also to his mother's dismay, Justin tends to favor his Aunt Betty over her.
Santos
Santos (played by Kevin Alejandro) is the father of Justin and the former love interest of Hilda. He is not liked by either Ignacio or Justin, since his background involves gambling and getting in trouble with loan sharks. Santos is expected to make his presence felt during the Suarez's annual Thanksgiving dinner in the upcoming episode Four Thanksgivings and a Funeral.
Daniel
Daniel Meade (played by Eric Mabius) is the son of magazine publisher Bradford Meade. His father picked him to become editor-in-chief at MODE, the fashion magazine that Bradford founded, after Daniel's predecessor, the well-respected Fey Sommers, died mysteriously.
Sensing that Daniel will need help because of his inexperience in the fashion industry, Bradford decides to hire a personal assistant to guide him. However, due to his son's habit of womanizing, he knows that the assistant he chooses should be one that his son would never be attracted to - so he chooses Betty Suarez. Bradford figures that by having Betty as an assistant, he is confident that MODE will continue to thrive. Additionally, he knows that Daniel would never sleep with Betty because she has very little sex appeal.
At first, Daniel resents having Betty work for him, but he eventually reconsiders and realizes how valuable an asset Betty would be to the company. Due to the unusual combination of Betty's wealth of knowledge and ideas and Daniel's business savvy, the duo becomes the "darlings" of the fashion industry.
But Daniel's role as the editor-in-chief has also made him and Betty unlikely enemies of assistant editor Wilhelmina Slater, who wants Daniel's job. She is determined to make sure that Daniel and Betty never succeed in the world of fashion by any means necessary.
Daniel is also reminded by his father and Wilhelmina about his late brother Alex, who was the editor-in-chief of sister publication Hudson. Daniel hopes that by being in charge of MODE, he can prove to them that he can hold his own without living in the shadow of his late brother. He is also drawn into the mystery surrounding Fey Sommers via a series of phone calls warning him to "watch his back" when he is around his father.
Bradford
Bradford Meade (played by Alan Dale) is a famous publishing mogul whose company owns the magazine he helped launched, MODE. He is also the father of Daniel Meade, the womanizing editor-in-chief.
Bradford also was responsible for making major changes at the magazine, which began after the mysterious death of chief editor Fey Sommers, when he handed the day-to-day operations over to the inexperienced Daniel. He was also responsible for getting Betty Suarez hired as Daniel's personal assistant because he knows that Betty is the only woman in New York City that Daniel will never ever sleep with!
Bradford's descision to put Daniel in charge and to make Betty his assistant are reasons alone for assistant editor Wilhelmina Slater -- who wanted that editor-in-chief job -- to plot against them in an effort to manipulate Bradford into reconsidering her for the top job.
However, Bradford is also skeptical about how Fey died because when he went to the funeral he mentioned that the casket was not opened and has hired a private detective (Steve) to find out any information that could implicate him and whether she faked her death (he was the one who tampered with the steering wheel on Fey's car). It also turned out that at one point in their life that Bradford and Fey had an affair and has already managed to break into her apartment to retrieve a photo of the two together, of which Bradford would later burn to cover his tracks as a way to keep anyone from knowing, especially Daniel (who is expected to be a factor in this) and Bradford's estranged wife, who happens to be in a rehab clinic and may have been unaware of what Bradford has done behind her back.
Claire
Claire Meade (played by Judith Light) is Bradford Meade's estranged wife and Daniel's mother. She is currently spending time in a rehabilatation clinic that Daniel visits but is unaware of what Bradford is doing behind her back, even though she knew about the affair. Her reason for being there was explained in the episode The Lyin', the Watch and the Wardrobe, in which she told Daniel that her drinking was a result of the affair and that when she and Fey went to confront Bradford so he can choose her response was Fey ending up dead and her in rehab.
Wilhelmina
Wilhelmina Slater (played by Vanessa Williams) is a conceited, self absorbed diva and former fashion model who lives for two things: greed and Botox. She also serves on the board of editors at MODE magazine and will do whatever it takes to reach the top spot at any cost. But her biggest goal, that of becoming the magazine's chief editor, was thwarted when she was passed over in favor of Daniel Meade, the son of the magazine's owner.
It is that reason alone to give Wilhelmina a series of sabotage tatics to derail Daniel's job, but now has to work harder to take out the major thorn that has arrived at MODE in the form of Betty Suarez, who was hired as Daniel's assistant. She also has very loyal minions that work at MODE (and its competitors) doing her bidding behind the scenes, including those who are close friends with Daniel.
Wilmhelmina is also in league with a mysterious person whose face is partially wrapped up, suspected to be the presumed-dead Fey Sommers. The two are already plotting a sinister plan to take over Meade Publications, thus leading to indications that Wilhelmina may also be taking cues from her mysterious friend and might have used that accident to set up a power struggle at Meade Publications. But Wilhelmina may want to keep her friends close and her true enemies closer, since there are indications that her mystery friend may be double-crossing Wilhelmina without her knowing.
In the third episode we learn that Wilhelmina is also the daughter of a United States Senator, who may not be impressed with Wilhelmina's goal, leading to indications that she wants to prove to her family that she can succeed. She also has a strong-willed daughter, Nico, who is away at boarding school. She was introduced in the episode The Lyin', the Watch and the Wardrobe.
Nico
Nico Slater (played by Jowharah Jones) is Wilhelmina Slater's rebellious but strong-willed daughter. She has spent time in a boarding school but has returned to make matters worse for her mother in the hopes of getting her attention, which may explain the friction between the two. She is also a supporter of PETA, which infuriates the fur-loving Wilhelmina. Nico's attitude is also a spitting image of that of her mother, who admitted that when she was Nico's age she too also had a rebellious streak, even though Nico thinks its just a ploy to convince her that Wilhelmina really cares about her and sees it as a joke.
Christina
Christina (played by Ashley Jensen), who emigrated to the United States from Scotland and is one of 10 children, is a seamstress who works at MODE magazine and calls her office "The Closet" because of the leftover fashion designs she has in her space, of which she uses to whip up new outfits from time to time. Her knowledge of what goes on at her workplace inside and out comes in handy as she becomes fast friends and forms an alliance with new fellow co-worker Betty Suarez. And like Betty, she too has dreams, in which she aspires to be the next fashion designer.
Christina also has a love-hate rivalry with Marc (whom she constantly bickers with) and Amanda, while Wilhelmina mistakenly called her "Carlotta" and thinks thats she is Irish (She has called her a "Drunken Irish Woman" in one episode) because she can't understand what Christina tells her thanks to Christina's Scottish accent, which Wilhelmina believes includes some cursing words towards her.
The "Uglies"
The "Uglies," referred to by Marc as "The bizzaro version of Sex and the City," are a group of women who work at MODE but are less attractive than their coworkers.
Betty and Christina are part of this quartet, which also includes:
Zelda (played by Cicily Daniels), a African-American in her 30s and the most gossipy of the group.
Nancy (played by Kristen Schaal in the pilot; replaced by Corinne Dekker in the second episode), another plain-jane who watches what she eats (she is a vegan) and thinks that she looks better than the "beautiful" people who work at MODE.
Sofia Reyes
Sofia Reyes (played by Salma Hayek) is a beautiful best-selling author who appears in the lobby of the MODE magazine offices, where she will help launch a new magazine that being published by Meade Publications. Instantly attracted to her, Daniel finds himself trying to pursue her but she is aware of his womanizing ways even though the friction between the two has started to show signs of heating up in more ways than one.
Amanda
Amanda (played by Becki Newton) is the attractive receptionist at MODE magazine and is in allegiance with both Wilhelmina Slater and her assistant Marc when it comes to taking down the two major thorns in Wilhelmina's side: Betty Suarez and her boss Daniel Meade (whom she is attracted to). Amanda's true goal is to take out Betty, by any and all means, so she can get her job and hopefully be the one who Daniel picks.
However, Daniel sees Amanda as another one-night stand--he has slept with her but forgot about what happened the following day--and Amanda is none too happy about his womanizing ways, making it more frustrating for her to win him. In the end, it resulted in her finally giving up on going after Daniel after criticizing him on his lustful habits. Amanda also has a tendency to overeat whenever she feels threatened as a way to control her fears and insecurities. She is the daughter of an investment banker and has hinted in one episode that he is an embezzler while telling Marc what she was planning to do that evening when she left work to go home.
Marc
Marc (played by Michael Urie) is the openly gay personal assistant of Wilhelmina Slater, the fashion editor at MODE magazine. He is very loyal to Wilhelmina and so far he will do whatever it will take to help his boss succeed in her goal to become the magazine's editor by conspiring with both his boss and magazine receptionist Amanda to sabotage the two people responsible for costing Wilhelmina the top job, and in particular, ruin the 'beauty' of the magazine's workplace: Daniel Meade and Betty Suarez, respectively.
He constantly mocks Betty (he has captured her screwups on cellphone and then proclaims "Screensaver moment!" after downloading it, and even dressed up as her for Halloween in which he almost got a raise from Wilhelmina, who then quickly changed her mind after saying that she can barely stand seeing the "real" one), as long as he doesn't endure Betty's wrath since she has threatened him with a Queens-style beating. But when Betty's nephew, Justin, came to her workplace Marc seemed to like Justin, even giving him advice on dealing with bullies. In another episode Marc and Amanda were willing to work with Betty in an attempt to keep their jobs, even at the cost of lying to Wilhelmina.
Walter
Walter (played by Kevin Sussman) plays Betty's boyfriend. He works at a Circuit City type electronics store and is a whiz at fixing equipment.
At first both Betty and Walter were a couple, and had been during their high school years...until he dumped Betty for Gina Gambarro, who would use him just to get a discount on a TV that Betty later breaks. After that scenario Betty decided not to take Walter back, even though Walter will do whatever it takes to make things right again. Walter also suspects that Betty's boss Daniel is trying to steal Betty away from him, and is expected to have competition from a new guy that Betty has a crush on, Henry.
Henry
Henry (played by Christopher Gorham) is an accountant who catches Betty's eye. He was introduced in The Lyin', the Witch and the Wardrobe, where he also has competition from Betty's ex, Walter, who can't stomach the idea of Betty seeing other guys. The sight of Henry being around Betty is expected to put her in a romantic dilimena, for it appears that she still has feelings for Henry even as she tries to work things out with Walter.
Gina
Gina Gambarro (played by Ava Gaudet) is a single woman of Italian descent who lives next door to the Suarez family. She has a reputation for stealing guys from other women and then use them to get what she wants, only to dump them later. She also spent some time in juvenile detention as a teen and will use her petty-crime type reputation to her advantage.
Gina also has a beef with the Suarez sisters. Betty blames Gina for causing her break-up with Walter. She would later learn that Gina just used him to get a TV set that Betty would later break (resulting in Gina stealing the "book" for MODE to try to force Betty to give her $4,000 to cover the cost). Hilda simply doesn't like Gina and would like nothing more than to fight her if she messes with Hilda's family. Her prescence, and her rivaly with Betty and Hilda will be felt in future episodes.
Fey Sommers
Fey Sommers was the previous and much-revered editor-in-chief of MODE magazine. Then she died in a bizarre accident, in which her car was burned in a mysterious hit-and-run. However, her death raises more questions than answers: When Bradford Meade went to her funeral he said that the casket was closed, while suspicions cast over Wilhelmina Slater, whose secret visits to a partially bandaged woman indicates that she could be alive or was responsible for the demise of Sommers. The true motives of this person may soon be revealed as we're about to learn that she can manipulate anyone that is loyal to her. She is also paying a close attention to each and every move Betty makes, leading to indications that Betty might be used as a pawn in her takeover plans. Signs do indicate that the mysterious woman is Fey or someone involved after sending a music box with the words "To Fey" to Daniel.
The actress who plays the mysterious woman and Fey are two different people. The mysterious woman (played by Elizabeth Penn Payne) mentioned that it was time that Fey (played in TV clips by Christine Jones) came out of seclusion, either meaning more evidence will show up about Fey, or that Fey herself will reveal that she is alive. The motive seems to be working as her appearance has begun to haunt Bradford. When he was visiting her gravesite a person that fit the description of Fey showed up and he chased after it, but hours later his private detective, Steve, was talking to Bradford and reasured him that the camera caught no footage of Fey Sommers and thinking he may be going crazy. It is a possibility that Steve could be working with Fey to confuse Bradford and make him believe he may be going crazy.
Steve
Steve (played by Stelio Savante) is a private detective hired by Bradford Meade to dig up any information about Fey Sommers, including anything that would implicate Bradford in her "death." Steve secretly meets with Bradford at a park bench and is given a briefing on what to look for. However, Steve might also be working with someone else on the side without Bradford knowing, giving an indication that the mystery woman is one step ahead of Bradford.
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