Acquaintances of Susan Mayer
Encyclopedia
Desperate Housewives is an American television series
developed by Marc Cherry
, and is broadcast on ABC (American Broadcasting Company
). The series focuses on the lives of several residents living on Wisteria Lane
in the fictional town of Fairview, Eagle State
. Teri Hatcher
stars as Susan Delfino, one of the four protagonists of the series. Many characters that have been introduced in the series play important roles in Susan's storylines. Most notably, James Denton
portrays Mike Delfino
, Susan's main love interest whom she marries twice in the series, and Andrea Bowen
and Mason Vale Cotton
appear as Susan's children, Julie Mayer and M.J. Delfino, respectively. The following is a list of Susan's relatives, love interests, and other characters that are relevant to her storylines.
plays Mike Delfino
, Susan's second husband and most prominent love interest in the series. In the pilot episode, Mike has just moved to Wisteria Lane with a secret agenda. Throughout the first season, Mike attempts to solve the mystery of his former girlfriend's disappearance while maintaining an on-and-off relationship with Susan. The couple marry in season three. Soon after, Susan gives birth to their son, Maynard James, nicknamed M.J. Susan and Mike divorce during the five-year time jump in between seasons four and five
; however, they rekindle their romance soon after and remarry in the season six premiere
.
, Karl Mayer is Susan's first husband and the father of Julie Mayer, as well as a successful lawyer of family law
. The couple divorced a year prior to the series as a result of Karl's affair with his secretary, Brandi. In the season one episode "Move On", Karl ends his relationship with Brandi and asks Susan for a second chance, but she declines because of her commitment to Mike. By the second season, Karl has been dating Susan's neighbor and frenemy
Edie Britt
(Nicollette Sheridan
) for several months and is now living with her. Throughout the season, Karl continues to pursue Susan and even sabotages her romances with Mike and Ron McCready (Jay Harrington
). When Susan needs a splenectomy
operation, Karl offers to remarry her so she can take advantage of his medical benefits. When Edie learns of their sham marriage
, she demands that Karl propose to her and throw her a lavish wedding; however, Karl leaves her soon after.
In the fourth season episode "Opening Doors
", Karl is newly married to a law professor named Marissa (Sunny Mabrey
) and expecting a child with her. In the fifth season, following a five-year time jump, Karl reveals that Marissa has left him and their son, Evan (Sawyer Church), because of the stresses of motherhood. Bree Hodge (Marcia Cross
), Susan's friend and neighbor, hires Karl as her divorce lawyer. When Bree's husband, Orson (Kyle MacLachlan
), blackmails her into staying in the marriage, Karl and Bree begin an affair. Their affair continues into season six
until Karl dies when a small airplane crashes onto Wisteria Lane. In his will, Karl leaves Susan his partial ownership of a local strip club.
According to Cherry, casting the role of Karl was difficult because he "wanted a guy that was nice looking and seemed like he would have been married to Teri, but was also someone you wouldn't like." The character was portrayed by another actor in a series of non-speaking flashbacks in the pilot episode, but the role was recast once the direction of the character changed.
Andrea Bowen
plays Julie Alexandra Mayer, Susan and Karl's daughter. Susan and Karl share custody of Julie, although she chose to live primarily with Susan. Julie is characterized as "bright and self-sufficient and extremely mature for her age." Julie often acts as the parental figure in her relationship with Susan, especially following Susan's divorce from Karl.
In the first season, Julie begins dating Zach Young (Cody Kasch
), the troubled son of Susan's deceased friend, Mary Alice
(Brenda Strong
). Julie harbors Zach in her room when he escapes from a mental institution for teenagers. Susan eventually discovers Zach hiding in her house and sends him back to his father, which Julie considers an act of betrayal. Eventually, Susan bans Zach from seeing Julie due to his increasingly disturbing behavior, but the two continue dating in secrecy. Soon after, Julie breaks up with Zach because of his sadistic mentality. In the second season, Julie recognizes that Zach has changed and rekindles their romance until Zach's father, Paul
(Mark Moses
), forbids Zach from speaking to Julie out of fear that Zach will discover Mike is his biological father.
In the second season Julie was the voice of worry for Susan's re-marriage to Karl, but agreed to it because she wanted Susan to have her surgery to remove her wandering spleen. As an act of kindness towards Zach and Mike, she invited Zach bowling with them, to try and help Mike and Zach bond. Their friendship was ruined when Paul Young forbid Zach to ever speak to them ever again. She also catches Susan in bed with her dad Karl, and she is forced to sleep in a small van with Susan when their house is burned down by Edie Britt, Karl buys them a new house, but Susan refuses.
In the third season, Julie befriends Edie's nephew, Austin McCann (Josh Henderson
), who has moved in with his aunt. After the two are held hostage in a grocery store, they begin dating. Julie loses her virginity to Austin in an attempt to keep him interested in the relationship; however, when Julie learns that Austin had been cheating on her with her close friend, Danielle Van de Kamp (Joy Lauren
), she breaks up with him. Eventually Julie agrees to give him a second chance, but when Danielle learns that she is pregnant with his child, her stepfather, Orson, instructs Austin to leave town. Throughout season four, Julie is suspicious of her childhood friend, Dylan Mayfair (Lyndsy Fonseca
), who has moved back to Wisteria Lane and has no recollection of her childhood. She also adjusts to having Mike as her stepfather. In the fourth season finale
, Julie is accepted to Princeton University
.
After the five-year time jump, Julie reappears in the fifth season episode "City on Fire
" and introduces Susan to her boyfriend, her thrice-divorced college professor, Lloyd (Steven Weber
). Susan is uncomfortable with Lloyd's intention on proposing to Julie, but Julie rejects his proposal, stating that she does not believe in the concept of marriage following her mother's string of bad luck. Julie returns to Wisteria Lane for the summer in season six to help her mother prepare for her and Mike's second wedding, during which time she forms a relationship with Danny Bolen (Beau Mirchoff
), who has moved in across the street with his parents. The relationship is short-lived and when Julie is strangled outside her house and becomes comatose, Danny is arrested. As the other characters work to reveal the identity of Julie's attacker, her affair with Danny's father, Nick (Jeffrey Nordling
) and a related pregnancy scare prior to the attack are exposed. Several months after waking up from her coma, Julie decides to visit her relatives on the East Coast until her attacker is caught. In the episode "Epiphany
", Julie's attacker is revealed to be Eddie Orlofsky, who mistook her for Susan and was planning on punishing Susan for rejecting him and marrying Mike. Julie is not seen again until the seventh season
episode "Where Do I Belong
" when she visits Susan in the hospital after she has her kidney removed.
Prior to being cast in the role, Bowen did not think she would get it, explaining, "they were looking for a 12-year-old brunette ... and I was a 13-year-old blonde." As a result, Bowen was asked to dye her hair for the role. Bowen was initially attracted to the series because of the amount of attention paid to the younger characters. She stated, "If you watch a lot of other television shows, the kids don't have that much [of a] part in it. On this show, the writers give us each our own individual storylines that have a lot of layers to them." For the show's third season, the character's storylines began revolving around rebellion and angst. Bowen commented: "She’s going to have, you know, primarily one love interest, and he’s a bit of a bad boy. We’re going to see if she has a positive effect on him, or if he has a negative effect on her. I’m definitely very excited about it ... because you kind of get to see a different side to her." At the beginning of the series' fourth season, Bowen commented on the possibility that her character would be leaving the show for college, stating that the writers had briefly alluded to the character's departure early in the season but removed it from the script. She continued: "Do I want my character to go off to college? No, I'm very happy where I am but I wouldn’t be too devastated if it happened because none of us feel too secure with their jobs being that people get killed left and right. I think we all live with the suspicion that we're going to be going." The Julie character was written off the series for the fifth season. Hatcher expressed disappointment in the decision, but Cherry promised that Bowen would return to the series. Bowen returned to the series for one episode during season five and rejoined the main cast as a series regular for the sixth season.
Bowen's performance throughout the course of the series has received mixed reviews. Entertainment Weekly
Annie Barrett identified Julie as a TV character she irrationally hates. She criticized the character as being one-note and inconsequential and opined that Bowen "started off the series in an awkward phase and then we realized the awkward phase was going to last her entire life." Following the announcement that Bowen would be rejoining the cast for the sixth season, Michael Slezak of Entertainment Weekly wrote that Bowen's performance is "so deeply unconvincing [that she risks] getting upstaged if there's so much as a house plant in a scene with [her]." He also criticized the performances of other young actresses on the series and raised the question, "how come Desperate Housewives has such a dreadful track record with younger actresses?"
portrays Maynard James "M.J." Delfino, Susan and Mike's son. He is born on Mother's Day
in the fourth season episode "Mother Said
", shortly before the five-year time jump. His first name honors Mike's maternal grandfather while his middle name comes from Mike's paternal grandfather. M.J. struggles in school, which prompts Susan and Mike to enroll him in private school. When Mike begins dating Susan's friend and neighbor, Katherine Mayfair
(Dana Delany
), M.J. resents their relationship; however, he grows fond of Katherine as her romance with Mike progresses. M.J. becomes the target of a murder scheme when Dave Williams (Neal McDonough
) attempts to get revenge on Susan for killing his wife and daughter in a car accident several years earlier. However, Dave spares M.J.'s life after experiencing overwhelming guilt.
, Sophie Bremmer-Fickman is Susan's mother. She is obsessed with youth, and she often tells others that she and Susan are sisters. She is characterized as "a drama queen who tends to exaggerate." Sophie became pregnant with Susan as a teenager and raised her alone. Throughout her childhood, Sophie told Susan that her father was a United States Merchant Marine who died in the Battle of Hanoi
during the Vietnam War
. Prior to the beginning of the series, Sophie has been married four times, including two marriages to the same man. She first appears in the first season episode "Children Will Listen". She decides to stay with Susan indefinitely after alleging that her boyfriend, Morty Fickman (Bob Newhart
), became violent during an argument. Her visit becomes an imposition for Susan, as Sophie continually flirts with strange men and tries to set up double dates for her and Susan. Eventually, Sophie and Morty reconcile and become engaged. In season two, Sophie and Morty marry. At their wedding reception, Sophie admits to Susan that her father did not die in the Vietnam War and is actually local businessman Addison Prudy (Paul Dooley
), with whom Sophie had an affair while working as his secretary. Sophie reappears in the seventh season episode "Assassins
", while Susan is in the hospital awaiting a kidney transplant. Susan feels betrayed when her Sophie does not volunteer to be her kidney donor; however, Susan soon discovers that Sophie has breast cancer and does not want Susan to know because she is trying to make up for years of being self-centered.
Warren was cast in the role because of her similarities to Hatcher, who commented, "It's almost scary how much we are the same person." Series creator Marc Cherry
, who had become a fan of Warren following her performances in Cinderella and Victor Victoria, deemed her "the Teri Hatcher of the '70s". James Denton recalled that "Lesley Ann looked at some episodes, came in and basically is Susan." Warren was initially turned off by the thought of portraying the mother to Hatcher's character, as there is only an 18 year age difference between the actors; however, she was comforted when Cherry assured her that Sophie "would be portrayed as girlish and flirtatious." Entertainment Weekly Ann Hodgman criticized Warren's four-episode storyline in the first season, opining: "Every time she's on screen ... the show devolves into generic sitcom and becomes an old Bewitched
episode where Endora drops in uninvited." Hodgman stated that guest actors "breach the security" of the "claustrophobic, sealed-in quality" of the series. Tanner Stransky
of Entertainment Weekly praised the return of Warren as Sophie in the seventh season and called her final scene in the episode "touching."
plays Morty Fickman, Sophie's boyfriend and fifth husband. In the first season, Sophie leaves Morty after he throws a book at her. When Susan attempts to help the couple reconcile, Morty says he has grown tired of Sophie's antics and wants to focus his attention on his growing pancake restaurant chain. Nevertheless, Morty proposes to Sophie soon after. In the second season, Morty and Sophie marry.
portrays Addison Prudy, Susan's biological father. He is a philanderer and has admitted to cheating on his wife several times. When Sophie was 18, she worked as Addison's secretary and the two had an affair, resulting in her pregnancy with Susan. Sophie raised Susan alone after receiving child support from Addison. She told Susan that her father was a Merchant Marine who died in the Battle of Hanoi in the Vietnam War. However, Susan eventually learns the truth. In the episode "That's Good, That's Bad", Susan applies to work at Addison's horse feed and supply store in an attempt to get acquainted with him. Upon revealing her identity, Addison suffers a heart attack. Addison is hesitant to embrace Susan's attempts to form a relationship, which are complicated when Addison's wife, Carol (Joyce Van Patten
), suspects Susan of being Addison's mistress. In "Coming Home", Addison tells Susan that he needs to repair his marriage but hopes to form a relationship with her in the future.
, Carol Prudy is Addison's wife, on whom he has cheated several times. When she sees Addison spending time with Susan, she suspects that the two are having an affair. She eventually learns that Susan is Addison's daughter when she confronts Susan at the supermarket.
portrays Nick Delfino, Mike's father. Nick appears in "Now I Know, Don't Be Scared
" when a pregnant Susan learns that he is alive and incarcerated, having previously been told by Mike that he was dead. Susan demands that they visit Nick in prison, where Nick reveals that he killed his boss. Susan accuses Nick of being evil, as he seems to show no remorse or guilt. When Susan visits Nick again, he says that he ignores his guilt over the murder but does feel bad that his conviction affected Mike's childhood so heavily.
, Adele Delfino is Mike's mother. She appears in the episode "Mother Said
" in order to spend Mother's Day
with Susan and Mike and help prepare for M.J.'s birth. Her traditional Southern values and ideals put her at odds with Susan's shortcomings, including her poor housekeeping and cooking skills. Adele decides to move in with the couple, to which Susan protests greatly.
, Tim Bremmer is Susan's cousin who appears in the episode "Sunday
" to help Susan with her taxes. During his visit, he and Katherine rekindle an affair they had while he visited once summer when he was 16, though Susan suspects that he is instead sleeping with Katherine's underage daughter, Dylan (Lyndsy Fonseca
). Entertainment Weekly Gretchen Hansen called the character and his storyline "creepy," though acknowledged that it "was good for one thing, filling in some Mayfair mystery blanks."
plays Marissa Mayer, Karl's second wife. She is a law professor and an author. She appears in the fourth season episode "Opening Doors
" when both she and Susan enroll in the same Lamaze
class. In the fifth season, Karl reveals that Marissa left him and their son, Evan, because she was overwhelmed by the stresses of motherhood.
" when Karl inadvertently enrolls Evan in Susan's art class at Oakridge Academy. As a result of his mother leaving him, Evan illustrates violent images in the class. In "Bargaining
", Karl attempts to secure Evan an invitation to M.J.'s birthday party after M.J. accuses Evan of being a bully.
plays Claire Bremmer, Susan's aunt and Sophie's sister. She appears in the episode "Where Do I Belong" when Susan awaits a kidney transplant. She informs Susan about Sophie's breast cancer but begs her not to mention it to Sophie, who is keeping her condition a secret in an attempt to stay out of the center of attention. Tanner Stransky of Entertainment Weekly enjoyed the casting of Harper but argued that the character's introduction was pointless: "And the casting of Valerie Harper as Susan’s aunt Claire was a smart move, too, although at first I couldn’t help but think: Why is Claire even here?"
portrays Deirdre Taylor, Mike's ex-girlfriend. Her death, which occurred before the series' timeline, plays an integral role in the first season mystery, which focuses on Mary Alice's suicide. Dierdre came from a wealthy family, but rejected it after becoming addicted to drugs as a young adult. During this time, she dated Mike, a drug dealer at the time. Their relationship ended after Mike was incarcerated for killing a corrupt police officer who attempted to rape Dierdre. Soon after, Dierdre gave birth to Mike's son without his knowledge. She later sold her son to Mary Alice, who worked as a nurse in a rehabilitation facility in Utah. Mary Alice and Paul fled town and raised Dierdre's child as their own. Years later, Dierdre tracked down the Young family and attempted to take Zach back, but Mary Alice killed her in an attempt to stop her. Mary Alice and Paul chopped up Dierdre's body and buried it underneath the cement of their swimming pool. Although Jenkins did not appear onscreen until the first season finale, which was filmed in April 2005, she was cast in the fall of 2004 because earlier episodes required photographs of the Dierdre character. Because no material had been written for the character at the time of casting, Jenkins did not have to audition for the role.
, Noah Taylor is Dierdre's father. In the first season, Noah finances Mike's mission to discover what happened to Dierdre. Throughout the first season, he often checks on Mike's progress, and briefly fires Mike when he feels his focus has been pulled. Noah simultaneously discovers that he has a cancerous tumor and only has one more year to live. In the second season, Noah is on bed rest.
) is the investigator of Mrs. Huber’s murder who strongly believed Mike was the culprit. He questions Susan twice about Mike and she becomes his alibi by saying they slept together the night Mrs. Huber was killed. He mentioned to her that people do stupid things when they're in love and that he'd know because he’s been married four times.
) is a corrupt police officer
in charge of Mrs. Huber's murder case and an underling on the Deirdre Taylor murder case. He is actually a puppet and confidante of Noah Taylor. The eyes and ears of the notorious criminal underworld Taylor family inside the Fairview police. He first appears in "Impossible", where Noah pushes him to reveal Mike Delfino’s case file to Susan at her interrogation for Mrs. Huber's murder. They are successful, she takes the bait, and they break up. This was arranged solely to eliminate a "time distortion" in order to find Deirdre more quickly. He appears once more in episode 19, "Live Alone and Like It". Noah bribes Sullivan to get Deirdre’s case file to Mike and to get Mike off Mrs. Huber's murder case. The two meet in an underground parking garage where the two exchange the case file. Sullivan has a bitter attitude towards Mike and makes a comment about how it is wrong for him to get off with a short prison sentence of 5 and a half years since he was a “cop-killer”. Mike strikes back attacking him for being hypocritical since Sullivan was participating in it, and getting himself off the Huber murder case. Sullivan repays his backlash with a gun and two fists to the face, giving Mike a black eye. Sullivan makes a comment, "this file was misplaced, understand, if even a whisper of this gets traced back to me, there will be one less cop-killer on the street." Sullivan slams down the file and walks off. Mike gets it and drives home, seeing Paul Young on a purchase list for the toy chest setting him to his target. In season two, he tries to discover who is Noah's grandson.
) is a surgeon at Sacred Heart Hospital, Ron became Susan’s love interest midway through the second season, despite a somewhat clumsy beginning to their relationship. A difference in age between the two has been shown as a possible issue. (In reality, Jay Harrington
, the actor portraying the character, is just under seven years younger than Teri Hatcher
.) They date anyway.
When he begins to perform Susan’s splenectomy
, he tells her that he loves her. Susan, under the influence of anesthesia responds by saying “Aww, that’s so sweet. I love Mike.” At that moment, Nurse Heisel tells him that she is married to Karl. Susan tells Ron she was probably hallucinating about a guy that didn’t exist, and that she married Karl for health insurance. The second part was true. Their relationship goes smoothly until Karl makes a clog and tells Mike to come over, as a plan to break up Susan and Ron. After Ron finds out she was lying, he broke up with her and told Edie about their marriage.
He was also mentioned in 12th episode of the fifth season when Susan locked herself with Edie
in the basement. Edie made a calendar of Susan's lovelife. When Edie's sure she's done, she reminds herself that she may forget about one of Susan's lovers and asks Susan if she dated someone after she stole Karl from her. Susan confirms that she dated Ron at the time. When she's done, Edie reveals that Susan was single only for 41 days.
) is a British man who became depressed after his wife, Jane, was put into a coma after a horseback riding accident. He met Susan when she cared for Mike, who was comatose too. After a few dates, they spent a few days in one of his houses on the mountains. One thing leading to another, they slept together but soon after learned that Mike had woken up. Susan broke up with Ian, but Mike, manipulated by Edie, no longer returned her feelings and she reconciled with Ian. However, they were both still in love with other people and their relationship got more complicated.
When Mike was imprisoned for Monique Polier's murder, Ian agreed to help get him out if Susan promised not to see him again. Despite Ian's wishes, Susan saw Mike again but they reunited when she said that she loved him for the first time. After finding out that his wife's health was declining and might not live until he returns, he asks Susan to be there when she dies. Later in the season, Ian proposes to Susan at the opening of the Scavo Pizzeria. She accepts and they are happily applauded by the surrounding crowd. In the next episode
, Mike discovers that the only reason that Ian actually proposed to Susan so quickly is that he saw the engagement ring that Mike bought for Susan. However, they come to an agreement that if Ian won the poker game that they were playing at the time of this tension, Mike would leave him and Susan alone. Luckily for Ian, he won the poker game. However, it became clear that Mike still feels strongly about Susan. In episode 17
, Ian immediately worries that Susan will damage his reputation with his parents. Following various incidents including Susan setting Ian's mother on fire, he and his parents try to make Susan sign a prenuptial agreement and although she agreed, she has lost faith in Ian. After Susan caught Ian's father wearing her underwear, she made him help her not to sign the agreement.
Later, Ian proposes that he and Susan relocate to London and she agrees but later changes her mind, realizing that Ian is simply trying to get her away from Mike. After this heated argument, she walks over to Mike's for consolation, and they share an intimate kiss. This renews Mike's belief in the possibility of winning her back, so he constantly forces his way into her and Ian's lives, even confessing to what occurred at the poker game. After learning this, Susan sends them both away and cancels her wedding to Ian. Ian and Mike continued to pursue Susan but are shot down with each attempt. Eventually, Susan announced that she would marry Ian. While celebrating, Susan decided to check her messages and listened to a message from Mike which made her realize that she was still in love with both Ian and her former boyfriend, but loving Mike just a little more. Ian called off the wedding and returned to England.
) is Susan's on/off boyfriend in the fifth season. He is a painter and gets along well with Mike and M.J.. At first, Jackson and Susan did not want a serious relationship and Susan keeps it a secret, but as the season progresses, he wanted her to introduce him as her boyfriend to her friends. However, Susan does not want to go public but eventually introduces him as her boyfriend. They eventually agree to return to the original state of the relationship. Jackson suffers minor injuries during the fire in Warren Schilling's club, started by Dave Williams. When Jackson moves away during season 5, he invites Susan to come with him. She agrees but later changes her mind so she can be alone for the first time in her life. Eventually, Jackson returns and proposes marriage because otherwise he believes he will be deported
to Canada
. Dave, who suspects Jackson is a potential witness to his arson, tips off immigration when he finds out that Jackson is there illegally. When Susan and Jackson are about to leave for City Hall to be married, immigration takes him into custody. He is later questioned by the police about the fire, and what he knows about Dave. His current whereabouts are unknown but he told Susan that his deportation papers were being processed.
) is the Principal at the school where Susan worked, and M.J. Delfino and Juanita Solis attend.He fired Susan in the season 7 for her 'after school job'
) is Susan's landlady, after moving out of their home. She tempts and eventually hires Susan into working for her company, where women do housework in their lingerie. She later fires Susan for driving away a customer.
Television in the United States
Television is one of the major mass media of the United States. Ninety-nine percent of American households have at least one television and the majority of households have more than one...
developed by Marc Cherry
Marc Cherry
Marc Cherry is an American writer and producer, best known for creating the show Desperate Housewives.-Early life and career:...
, and is broadcast on ABC (American Broadcasting Company
American Broadcasting Company
The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...
). The series focuses on the lives of several residents living on Wisteria Lane
Wisteria Lane
Wisteria Lane is the fictional name of a street which the characters of the American drama television series Desperate Housewives live. Desperate Housewives storylines primarily centre around the residents of the street. Wisteria Lane is located inside Universal Studios Hollywood, and is actually...
in the fictional town of Fairview, Eagle State
Fairview (Desperate Housewives)
Fairview is the fictional setting for the American television comedy-drama series, Desperate Housewives.-Location:The state in which Fairview resides is ambiguous, however more than likely it is suburban Mississippi...
. Teri Hatcher
Teri Hatcher
Teri Lynn Hatcher is an American actress, writer, and presenter. She is known for her television roles as Susan Mayer on the ABC comedy-drama series Desperate Housewives, and Lois Lane on the ABC comedy-drama series Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman...
stars as Susan Delfino, one of the four protagonists of the series. Many characters that have been introduced in the series play important roles in Susan's storylines. Most notably, James Denton
James Denton
James "Jamie" Thomas Denton, Jr. is an American film and television actor, best known for playing Mike Delfino in the television series Desperate Housewives.-Early life:...
portrays Mike Delfino
Mike Delfino
Michael "Mike" Delfino is the name of a fictional character on the ABC television series Desperate Housewives. The character is played by actor James Denton.- Season 1 :...
, Susan's main love interest whom she marries twice in the series, and Andrea Bowen
Andrea Bowen
Andrea Lauren Bowen is an American actress who is best known for playing Julie Mayer on Desperate Housewives . She has won two SAG Awards.-Biography:...
and Mason Vale Cotton
Mason Vale Cotton (actor)
Mason Vale Cotton is a young American actor. He portrays Maynard "M.J." Delfino on the television series Desperate Housewives.Cotton was born in San Diego, California...
appear as Susan's children, Julie Mayer and M.J. Delfino, respectively. The following is a list of Susan's relatives, love interests, and other characters that are relevant to her storylines.
Mike Delfino
James DentonJames Denton
James "Jamie" Thomas Denton, Jr. is an American film and television actor, best known for playing Mike Delfino in the television series Desperate Housewives.-Early life:...
plays Mike Delfino
Mike Delfino
Michael "Mike" Delfino is the name of a fictional character on the ABC television series Desperate Housewives. The character is played by actor James Denton.- Season 1 :...
, Susan's second husband and most prominent love interest in the series. In the pilot episode, Mike has just moved to Wisteria Lane with a secret agenda. Throughout the first season, Mike attempts to solve the mystery of his former girlfriend's disappearance while maintaining an on-and-off relationship with Susan. The couple marry in season three. Soon after, Susan gives birth to their son, Maynard James, nicknamed M.J. Susan and Mike divorce during the five-year time jump in between seasons four and five
Desperate Housewives (season 5)
The fifth season of Desperate Housewives, an American television series created by Marc Cherry, began airing on ABC on September 28, 2008 and concluded on May 17, 2009...
; however, they rekindle their romance soon after and remarry in the season six premiere
Nice is Different Than Good
"Nice Is Different Than Good" is the sixth season premiere episode of the American comedy-drama series Desperate Housewives, and the 112th overall episode of the series. It originally aired in the United States on September 27, 2009, on ABC...
.
Karl Mayer
Portrayed by Richard BurgiRichard Burgi
Richard William Burgi is an American film and television actor. He's best known for the roles of Det. Jim Ellinson on The Sentinel and as Karl Mayer on Desperate Housewives.-Personal life:...
, Karl Mayer is Susan's first husband and the father of Julie Mayer, as well as a successful lawyer of family law
Family law
Family law is an area of the law that deals with family-related issues and domestic relations including:*the nature of marriage, civil unions, and domestic partnerships;...
. The couple divorced a year prior to the series as a result of Karl's affair with his secretary, Brandi. In the season one episode "Move On", Karl ends his relationship with Brandi and asks Susan for a second chance, but she declines because of her commitment to Mike. By the second season, Karl has been dating Susan's neighbor and frenemy
Frenemy
"Frenemy" is a portmanteau of "friend" and "enemy" that can refer to either an enemy disguised as a friend or to a partner who is simultaneously a competitor and rival. The term is used to describe personal, geopolitical, and commercial relationships both among individuals and groups or institutions...
Edie Britt
Edie Britt
Edie Britt Williams is a fictional character created by television producer and screenwriter Marc Cherry for the ABC television series Desperate Housewives...
(Nicollette Sheridan
Nicollette Sheridan
Nicollette Sheridan is an English film and television actress. She is best known for her roles as Edie Britt on Desperate Housewives and as Paige Matheson on Knots Landing.-Early life:...
) for several months and is now living with her. Throughout the season, Karl continues to pursue Susan and even sabotages her romances with Mike and Ron McCready (Jay Harrington
Jay Harrington
Jay H. Harrington III is an American actor. His most recent role was the title character in the ABC sitcom Better Off Ted.- Personal life :...
). When Susan needs a splenectomy
Splenectomy
A splenectomy is a surgical procedure that partially or completely removes the spleen.-Indications:The spleen, similar in structure to a large lymph node, acts as a blood filter. Current knowledge of its purpose includes the removal of old red blood cells and platelets, and the detection and fight...
operation, Karl offers to remarry her so she can take advantage of his medical benefits. When Edie learns of their sham marriage
Sham marriage
A sham marriage or fake marriage is a marriage of convenience entered into with the intent of deceiving public officials or society about its purpose. Arranging or entering into such a marriage to deceive public officials is itself a separate violation of the law of some countries...
, she demands that Karl propose to her and throw her a lavish wedding; however, Karl leaves her soon after.
In the fourth season episode "Opening Doors
Opening Doors
"Opening Doors" is the 84th episode of the ABC television series, Desperate Housewives. It is the fourteenth episode of the show's fourth season and aired on May 4, 2008 in the United States....
", Karl is newly married to a law professor named Marissa (Sunny Mabrey
Sunny Mabrey
Sunny Mabrey is an American model and actress who appeared in music videos, such as "Nookie" from Limp Bizkit, before debuting in movies. She appeared in The New Guy, XXX: State of the Union, and was the lead actress in Species III...
) and expecting a child with her. In the fifth season, following a five-year time jump, Karl reveals that Marissa has left him and their son, Evan (Sawyer Church), because of the stresses of motherhood. Bree Hodge (Marcia Cross
Marcia Cross
Marcia Anne Cross is an American actress. She is known for her television roles as Bree Van de Kamp on the ABC comedy-drama series Desperate Housewives, and as Dr...
), Susan's friend and neighbor, hires Karl as her divorce lawyer. When Bree's husband, Orson (Kyle MacLachlan
Kyle MacLachlan
Kyle Merritt MacLachlan is an American actor. MacLachlan is best known for his roles in cult films Blue Velvet as Jeffrey Beaumont, Showgirls as Zack Carey, as Paul Atreides in Dune, and Ray Manzarek in the Oliver Stone film The Doors...
), blackmails her into staying in the marriage, Karl and Bree begin an affair. Their affair continues into season six
Desperate Housewives (season 6)
The sixth season of Desperate Housewives, a television series created by Marc Cherry, began airing on September 27, 2009 and concluded on May 16, 2010.The season consisted of 23 episodes. The deceased Mary Alice Young continues to narrate the events in the lives of her friends and Wisteria Lane...
until Karl dies when a small airplane crashes onto Wisteria Lane. In his will, Karl leaves Susan his partial ownership of a local strip club.
According to Cherry, casting the role of Karl was difficult because he "wanted a guy that was nice looking and seemed like he would have been married to Teri, but was also someone you wouldn't like." The character was portrayed by another actor in a series of non-speaking flashbacks in the pilot episode, but the role was recast once the direction of the character changed.
Julie Mayer
Andrea Bowen
Andrea Lauren Bowen is an American actress who is best known for playing Julie Mayer on Desperate Housewives . She has won two SAG Awards.-Biography:...
plays Julie Alexandra Mayer, Susan and Karl's daughter. Susan and Karl share custody of Julie, although she chose to live primarily with Susan. Julie is characterized as "bright and self-sufficient and extremely mature for her age." Julie often acts as the parental figure in her relationship with Susan, especially following Susan's divorce from Karl.
In the first season, Julie begins dating Zach Young (Cody Kasch
Cody Kasch
-Early life:Kasch was born of Scottish heritage in Santa Monica, California and raised in Ojai, California on a working ranch until he was nearly fourteen, when he moved to Camarillo, California.-Movie career:...
), the troubled son of Susan's deceased friend, Mary Alice
Mary Alice Young
Mary Alice Young is a fictional character on the ABC television series Desperate Housewives. The character is played by actress Brenda Strong and narrates the series from beyond the grave; the character's suicide in the pilot episode served as the catalyst of the series...
(Brenda Strong
Brenda Strong
Brenda Lee Strong is an American actress and yoga instructor, known for her roles as as Capt. Deladier in the 1997 hit movie Starship Troopers and Mary Alice Young on the television show Desperate Housewives....
). Julie harbors Zach in her room when he escapes from a mental institution for teenagers. Susan eventually discovers Zach hiding in her house and sends him back to his father, which Julie considers an act of betrayal. Eventually, Susan bans Zach from seeing Julie due to his increasingly disturbing behavior, but the two continue dating in secrecy. Soon after, Julie breaks up with Zach because of his sadistic mentality. In the second season, Julie recognizes that Zach has changed and rekindles their romance until Zach's father, Paul
Paul Young (Desperate Housewives)
Paul Young is a fictional character on ABC television series Desperate Housewives. The character is played by actor Mark Moses. He is the widower of Mary Alice Young, the show's narrator, as well as the widower of Beth Young....
(Mark Moses
Mark Moses
Mark W. Moses is an American actor, known for his roles of Paul Young on Desperate Housewives and Herman "Duck" Phillips on the AMC series Mad Men.-Life and career:...
), forbids Zach from speaking to Julie out of fear that Zach will discover Mike is his biological father.
In the second season Julie was the voice of worry for Susan's re-marriage to Karl, but agreed to it because she wanted Susan to have her surgery to remove her wandering spleen. As an act of kindness towards Zach and Mike, she invited Zach bowling with them, to try and help Mike and Zach bond. Their friendship was ruined when Paul Young forbid Zach to ever speak to them ever again. She also catches Susan in bed with her dad Karl, and she is forced to sleep in a small van with Susan when their house is burned down by Edie Britt, Karl buys them a new house, but Susan refuses.
In the third season, Julie befriends Edie's nephew, Austin McCann (Josh Henderson
Josh Henderson
Joshua Baret "Josh" Henderson is an American actor and singer. He rose to fame as one of the male members of Scene 23, a pop singing group that were selected as the winners of The WB's singing competition Popstars 2. After the group disbanded, he began focusing on an acting career...
), who has moved in with his aunt. After the two are held hostage in a grocery store, they begin dating. Julie loses her virginity to Austin in an attempt to keep him interested in the relationship; however, when Julie learns that Austin had been cheating on her with her close friend, Danielle Van de Kamp (Joy Lauren
Joy Lauren
Joy Lauren is an American actress who is best known for playing Danielle Van de Kamp, on the hit ABC Comedy-drama Desperate Housewives....
), she breaks up with him. Eventually Julie agrees to give him a second chance, but when Danielle learns that she is pregnant with his child, her stepfather, Orson, instructs Austin to leave town. Throughout season four, Julie is suspicious of her childhood friend, Dylan Mayfair (Lyndsy Fonseca
Lyndsy Fonseca
Lyndsy Marie Fonseca is an American actress known for playing Colleen Carlton on the CBS daytime soap opera The Young and The Restless, Dylan Mayfair on the ABC series Desperate Housewives, and Ted Mosby's daughter on How I Met Your Mother. She also played Katie Deauxma in the 2010 superhero film...
), who has moved back to Wisteria Lane and has no recollection of her childhood. She also adjusts to having Mike as her stepfather. In the fourth season finale
Free (Desperate Housewives)
"Free" is the 87th episode of the ABC television series Desperate Housewives. It is the seventeenth episode of the show's fourth season, and the second half of the two-hour season finale. It is also the last episode to take place in "present time" following the five year jump at the end of this...
, Julie is accepted to Princeton University
Princeton University
Princeton University is a private research university located in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. The school is one of the eight universities of the Ivy League, and is one of the nine Colonial Colleges founded before the American Revolution....
.
After the five-year time jump, Julie reappears in the fifth season episode "City on Fire
City on Fire (Desperate Housewives)
"City on Fire" is the 95th episode of the ABC television series, Desperate Housewives. It is the eighth episode of the show's fifth season and aired on November 16, 2008.-Plot:...
" and introduces Susan to her boyfriend, her thrice-divorced college professor, Lloyd (Steven Weber
Steven Weber (actor)
Steven Robert Weber is an American actor. He is best known for his role in the television show Wings which aired throughout the 1990s on NBC.-Early life:...
). Susan is uncomfortable with Lloyd's intention on proposing to Julie, but Julie rejects his proposal, stating that she does not believe in the concept of marriage following her mother's string of bad luck. Julie returns to Wisteria Lane for the summer in season six to help her mother prepare for her and Mike's second wedding, during which time she forms a relationship with Danny Bolen (Beau Mirchoff
Beau Mirchoff
William Beau Mirchoff is an American actor, best known for starring as Danny Bolen on the sixth season of ABC's Desperate Housewives . He also appeared in films such as Scary Movie 4 and The Grudge 3...
), who has moved in across the street with his parents. The relationship is short-lived and when Julie is strangled outside her house and becomes comatose, Danny is arrested. As the other characters work to reveal the identity of Julie's attacker, her affair with Danny's father, Nick (Jeffrey Nordling
Jeffrey Nordling
Jeffrey Richard Nordling is an American actor. He is known for his roles as Jake Manning in Once and Again, Larry Moss in 24, and Nick Bolen in Desperate Housewives; and in the following films: And the Band Played On, Flight 93, Pirates of Silicon Valley, and the film D3: The Mighty Ducks.-Early...
) and a related pregnancy scare prior to the attack are exposed. Several months after waking up from her coma, Julie decides to visit her relatives on the East Coast until her attacker is caught. In the episode "Epiphany
Epiphany (Desperate Housewives)
"Epiphany" is the 131st episode of the ABC television series Desperate Housewives. It is the twentieth episode of the show's sixth season and was aired on April 25, 2010.-Plot:The Fairview strangler is revealed as Danny's friend, Eddie...
", Julie's attacker is revealed to be Eddie Orlofsky, who mistook her for Susan and was planning on punishing Susan for rejecting him and marrying Mike. Julie is not seen again until the seventh season
Desperate Housewives (season 7)
The seventh season of Desperate Housewives, a television series created by Marc Cherry, began airing on September 26, 2010 and concluded on May 15, 2011. The deceased Mary Alice Young continues to narrate the events in the lives of her friends and Wisteria Lane residents, Susan Delfino, Lynette...
episode "Where Do I Belong
Where Do I Belong
"Where Do I Belong" is the 146th episode of the ABC television series Desperate Housewives. It is the twelfth episode of the show's seventh season and was broadcast on January 9, 2011.-Plot:...
" when she visits Susan in the hospital after she has her kidney removed.
Prior to being cast in the role, Bowen did not think she would get it, explaining, "they were looking for a 12-year-old brunette ... and I was a 13-year-old blonde." As a result, Bowen was asked to dye her hair for the role. Bowen was initially attracted to the series because of the amount of attention paid to the younger characters. She stated, "If you watch a lot of other television shows, the kids don't have that much [of a] part in it. On this show, the writers give us each our own individual storylines that have a lot of layers to them." For the show's third season, the character's storylines began revolving around rebellion and angst. Bowen commented: "She’s going to have, you know, primarily one love interest, and he’s a bit of a bad boy. We’re going to see if she has a positive effect on him, or if he has a negative effect on her. I’m definitely very excited about it ... because you kind of get to see a different side to her." At the beginning of the series' fourth season, Bowen commented on the possibility that her character would be leaving the show for college, stating that the writers had briefly alluded to the character's departure early in the season but removed it from the script. She continued: "Do I want my character to go off to college? No, I'm very happy where I am but I wouldn’t be too devastated if it happened because none of us feel too secure with their jobs being that people get killed left and right. I think we all live with the suspicion that we're going to be going." The Julie character was written off the series for the fifth season. Hatcher expressed disappointment in the decision, but Cherry promised that Bowen would return to the series. Bowen returned to the series for one episode during season five and rejoined the main cast as a series regular for the sixth season.
Bowen's performance throughout the course of the series has received mixed reviews. Entertainment Weekly
Entertainment Weekly
Entertainment Weekly is an American magazine, published by the Time division of Time Warner, that covers film, television, music, broadway theatre, books and popular culture...
Annie Barrett identified Julie as a TV character she irrationally hates. She criticized the character as being one-note and inconsequential and opined that Bowen "started off the series in an awkward phase and then we realized the awkward phase was going to last her entire life." Following the announcement that Bowen would be rejoining the cast for the sixth season, Michael Slezak of Entertainment Weekly wrote that Bowen's performance is "so deeply unconvincing [that she risks] getting upstaged if there's so much as a house plant in a scene with [her]." He also criticized the performances of other young actresses on the series and raised the question, "how come Desperate Housewives has such a dreadful track record with younger actresses?"
M.J. Delfino
Mason Vale CottonMason Vale Cotton (actor)
Mason Vale Cotton is a young American actor. He portrays Maynard "M.J." Delfino on the television series Desperate Housewives.Cotton was born in San Diego, California...
portrays Maynard James "M.J." Delfino, Susan and Mike's son. He is born on Mother's Day
Mother's Day
Mother's Day is a celebration honoring mothers and celebrating motherhood, maternal bonds, and the influence of mothers in society. It is celebrated on various days in many parts of the world, yet most commonly in March, April, or May...
in the fourth season episode "Mother Said
Mother Said
"Mother Said" is the 85th episode of the ABC television series, Desperate Housewives. It is the fifteenth episode of the show's fourth season and aired on May 11, 2008. It aired on Mother's Day and is the series' first Mother's Day themed episode.-Plot:...
", shortly before the five-year time jump. His first name honors Mike's maternal grandfather while his middle name comes from Mike's paternal grandfather. M.J. struggles in school, which prompts Susan and Mike to enroll him in private school. When Mike begins dating Susan's friend and neighbor, Katherine Mayfair
Katherine Mayfair
Katherine Mayfair is a fictional character created by television producer and screenwriter Marc Cherry for the ABC television series Desperate Housewives...
(Dana Delany
Dana Delany
Dana Welles Delany is an American film, stage, and television actress, producer, host and health activist.After various roles in the early career, Delany garnered her first leading role in 1987 in the short-lived NBC sitcom Sweet Surrender and achieved wider fame in 1988–1991 as Colleen McMurphy...
), M.J. resents their relationship; however, he grows fond of Katherine as her romance with Mike progresses. M.J. becomes the target of a murder scheme when Dave Williams (Neal McDonough
Neal McDonough
Neal P. McDonough is an American film, television and voice actor.-Career:In 1991, McDonough won the Best Actor Dramalogue for "Away Alone". McDonough has made many television and film appearances since then, including Band of Brothers, Boomtown, Star Trek: First Contact, Minority Report and The...
) attempts to get revenge on Susan for killing his wife and daughter in a car accident several years earlier. However, Dave spares M.J.'s life after experiencing overwhelming guilt.
Sophie Bremmer-Fickman
Portrayed by Lesley Ann WarrenLesley Ann Warren
Lesley Ann Warren is an American actress and singer. She has been nominated once for an Academy Award and Emmy Awards and five times for Golden Globe, winning one....
, Sophie Bremmer-Fickman is Susan's mother. She is obsessed with youth, and she often tells others that she and Susan are sisters. She is characterized as "a drama queen who tends to exaggerate." Sophie became pregnant with Susan as a teenager and raised her alone. Throughout her childhood, Sophie told Susan that her father was a United States Merchant Marine who died in the Battle of Hanoi
Hanoi
Hanoi , is the capital of Vietnam and the country's second largest city. Its population in 2009 was estimated at 2.6 million for urban districts, 6.5 million for the metropolitan jurisdiction. From 1010 until 1802, it was the most important political centre of Vietnam...
during the Vietnam War
Vietnam War
The Vietnam War was a Cold War-era military conflict that occurred in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. This war followed the First Indochina War and was fought between North Vietnam, supported by its communist allies, and the government of...
. Prior to the beginning of the series, Sophie has been married four times, including two marriages to the same man. She first appears in the first season episode "Children Will Listen". She decides to stay with Susan indefinitely after alleging that her boyfriend, Morty Fickman (Bob Newhart
Bob Newhart
George Robert Newhart , known professionally as Bob Newhart, is an American stand-up comedian and actor. Noted for his deadpan and slightly stammering delivery, Newhart came to prominence in the 1960s when his album of comedic monologues The Button-Down Mind of Bob Newhart was a worldwide...
), became violent during an argument. Her visit becomes an imposition for Susan, as Sophie continually flirts with strange men and tries to set up double dates for her and Susan. Eventually, Sophie and Morty reconcile and become engaged. In season two, Sophie and Morty marry. At their wedding reception, Sophie admits to Susan that her father did not die in the Vietnam War and is actually local businessman Addison Prudy (Paul Dooley
Paul Dooley
-Personal life:Dooley was born Paul Dooley Brown in Parkersburg, West Virginia, the son of Ruth Irene , a homemaker, and Peter James Brown, a factory worker. Dooley was a cartoonist as a youth and drew a strip for a local paper in Parkersburg. He joined the Navy before discovering acting while at...
), with whom Sophie had an affair while working as his secretary. Sophie reappears in the seventh season episode "Assassins
Assassins (Desperate Housewives)
"Assassins" is the 145th episode of the ABC television series Desperate Housewives. It is the eleventh episode of the show's seventh season and was broadcast on January 2, 2011.-Plot:...
", while Susan is in the hospital awaiting a kidney transplant. Susan feels betrayed when her Sophie does not volunteer to be her kidney donor; however, Susan soon discovers that Sophie has breast cancer and does not want Susan to know because she is trying to make up for years of being self-centered.
Warren was cast in the role because of her similarities to Hatcher, who commented, "It's almost scary how much we are the same person." Series creator Marc Cherry
Marc Cherry
Marc Cherry is an American writer and producer, best known for creating the show Desperate Housewives.-Early life and career:...
, who had become a fan of Warren following her performances in Cinderella and Victor Victoria, deemed her "the Teri Hatcher of the '70s". James Denton recalled that "Lesley Ann looked at some episodes, came in and basically is Susan." Warren was initially turned off by the thought of portraying the mother to Hatcher's character, as there is only an 18 year age difference between the actors; however, she was comforted when Cherry assured her that Sophie "would be portrayed as girlish and flirtatious." Entertainment Weekly Ann Hodgman criticized Warren's four-episode storyline in the first season, opining: "Every time she's on screen ... the show devolves into generic sitcom and becomes an old Bewitched
Bewitched
Bewitched is an American situation comedy originally broadcast for eight seasons on ABC from 1964 to 1972, starring Elizabeth Montgomery, Dick York and Dick Sargent , Agnes Moorehead, and David White. The show is about a witch who marries a mortal and tries to lead the life of a typical suburban...
episode where Endora drops in uninvited." Hodgman stated that guest actors "breach the security" of the "claustrophobic, sealed-in quality" of the series. Tanner Stransky
Tanner Stransky
Tanner Stransky is a journalist and television critic for Entertainment Weekly. In 2005, he moved to New York City and took a job as an editorial assistant at Direct TV. He later received an offer from the New York Post to write about weddings and relationships...
of Entertainment Weekly praised the return of Warren as Sophie in the seventh season and called her final scene in the episode "touching."
Morty Fickman
Bob NewhartBob Newhart
George Robert Newhart , known professionally as Bob Newhart, is an American stand-up comedian and actor. Noted for his deadpan and slightly stammering delivery, Newhart came to prominence in the 1960s when his album of comedic monologues The Button-Down Mind of Bob Newhart was a worldwide...
plays Morty Fickman, Sophie's boyfriend and fifth husband. In the first season, Sophie leaves Morty after he throws a book at her. When Susan attempts to help the couple reconcile, Morty says he has grown tired of Sophie's antics and wants to focus his attention on his growing pancake restaurant chain. Nevertheless, Morty proposes to Sophie soon after. In the second season, Morty and Sophie marry.
Addison Prudy
Paul DooleyPaul Dooley
-Personal life:Dooley was born Paul Dooley Brown in Parkersburg, West Virginia, the son of Ruth Irene , a homemaker, and Peter James Brown, a factory worker. Dooley was a cartoonist as a youth and drew a strip for a local paper in Parkersburg. He joined the Navy before discovering acting while at...
portrays Addison Prudy, Susan's biological father. He is a philanderer and has admitted to cheating on his wife several times. When Sophie was 18, she worked as Addison's secretary and the two had an affair, resulting in her pregnancy with Susan. Sophie raised Susan alone after receiving child support from Addison. She told Susan that her father was a Merchant Marine who died in the Battle of Hanoi in the Vietnam War. However, Susan eventually learns the truth. In the episode "That's Good, That's Bad", Susan applies to work at Addison's horse feed and supply store in an attempt to get acquainted with him. Upon revealing her identity, Addison suffers a heart attack. Addison is hesitant to embrace Susan's attempts to form a relationship, which are complicated when Addison's wife, Carol (Joyce Van Patten
Joyce Van Patten
Joyce Benignia Van Patten is an American stage, film and television actress.-Personal life:Van Patten was born in New York City, the daughter of Josephine Rose , an Italian American magazine advertising executive, and Richard Byron Van Patten, a Dutch American interior decorator.She is the younger...
), suspects Susan of being Addison's mistress. In "Coming Home", Addison tells Susan that he needs to repair his marriage but hopes to form a relationship with her in the future.
Carol Prudy
Played by Joyce Van PattenJoyce Van Patten
Joyce Benignia Van Patten is an American stage, film and television actress.-Personal life:Van Patten was born in New York City, the daughter of Josephine Rose , an Italian American magazine advertising executive, and Richard Byron Van Patten, a Dutch American interior decorator.She is the younger...
, Carol Prudy is Addison's wife, on whom he has cheated several times. When she sees Addison spending time with Susan, she suspects that the two are having an affair. She eventually learns that Susan is Addison's daughter when she confronts Susan at the supermarket.
Nick Delfino
Robert ForsterRobert Forster
Robert Forster is an American actor, best known for his roles as John Cassellis in Haskell Wexler's Medium Cool, and as Max Cherry in Quentin Tarantino's Jackie Brown, the latter of which gained him an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor.- Early life :Forster was born Robert Wallace...
portrays Nick Delfino, Mike's father. Nick appears in "Now I Know, Don't Be Scared
Now I Know, Don't Be Scared
“Now I Know, Don’t Be Scared” is the 76th episode of the ABC television series, Desperate Housewives. It is the sixth episode of the show’s fourth season and aired on November 4, 2007 in the United States.-Plot:...
" when a pregnant Susan learns that he is alive and incarcerated, having previously been told by Mike that he was dead. Susan demands that they visit Nick in prison, where Nick reveals that he killed his boss. Susan accuses Nick of being evil, as he seems to show no remorse or guilt. When Susan visits Nick again, he says that he ignores his guilt over the murder but does feel bad that his conviction affected Mike's childhood so heavily.
Adele Delfino
Played by Celia WestonCelia Weston
Celia Weston is an American actress of stage, film and television, and a character actress. Professionally, she may be best known for her role as Jolene Hunnicutt on Alice.-Life and career:...
, Adele Delfino is Mike's mother. She appears in the episode "Mother Said
Mother Said
"Mother Said" is the 85th episode of the ABC television series, Desperate Housewives. It is the fifteenth episode of the show's fourth season and aired on May 11, 2008. It aired on Mother's Day and is the series' first Mother's Day themed episode.-Plot:...
" in order to spend Mother's Day
Mother's Day
Mother's Day is a celebration honoring mothers and celebrating motherhood, maternal bonds, and the influence of mothers in society. It is celebrated on various days in many parts of the world, yet most commonly in March, April, or May...
with Susan and Mike and help prepare for M.J.'s birth. Her traditional Southern values and ideals put her at odds with Susan's shortcomings, including her poor housekeeping and cooking skills. Adele decides to move in with the couple, to which Susan protests greatly.
Tim Bremmer
Portrayed by Chris CarmackChris Carmack
James Christopher "Chris" Carmack is an American actor and former fashion model.-Early life:Carmack was born in Washington, D.C., and grew up in Derwood, Maryland. He has two siblings, a brother and sister. As a young boy, he enjoyed participating in all types of sports: baseball, basketball,...
, Tim Bremmer is Susan's cousin who appears in the episode "Sunday
Sunday (Desperate Housewives)
“Sunday” is the 81st episode of the ABC television series, Desperate Housewives. It is the eleventh episode of the show’s fourth season and aired on April 13, 2008. This was the first episode written after the 2007-08 Writers' Strike...
" to help Susan with her taxes. During his visit, he and Katherine rekindle an affair they had while he visited once summer when he was 16, though Susan suspects that he is instead sleeping with Katherine's underage daughter, Dylan (Lyndsy Fonseca
Lyndsy Fonseca
Lyndsy Marie Fonseca is an American actress known for playing Colleen Carlton on the CBS daytime soap opera The Young and The Restless, Dylan Mayfair on the ABC series Desperate Housewives, and Ted Mosby's daughter on How I Met Your Mother. She also played Katie Deauxma in the 2010 superhero film...
). Entertainment Weekly Gretchen Hansen called the character and his storyline "creepy," though acknowledged that it "was good for one thing, filling in some Mayfair mystery blanks."
Marissa Mayer
Sunny MabreySunny Mabrey
Sunny Mabrey is an American model and actress who appeared in music videos, such as "Nookie" from Limp Bizkit, before debuting in movies. She appeared in The New Guy, XXX: State of the Union, and was the lead actress in Species III...
plays Marissa Mayer, Karl's second wife. She is a law professor and an author. She appears in the fourth season episode "Opening Doors
Opening Doors
"Opening Doors" is the 84th episode of the ABC television series, Desperate Housewives. It is the fourteenth episode of the show's fourth season and aired on May 4, 2008 in the United States....
" when both she and Susan enroll in the same Lamaze
Lamaze
The Lamaze Technique, often referred to as Lamaze, is a prepared childbirth technique developed in the 1940s by French obstetrician Dr. Fernand Lamaze as an alternative to the use of medical intervention during childbirth...
class. In the fifth season, Karl reveals that Marissa left him and their son, Evan, because she was overwhelmed by the stresses of motherhood.
Evan Mayer
Portrayed by Sawyer Church, Evan is Karl and Marissa's son. He is first introduced in the fifth season episode "A Spark. To Pierce the Dark.A Spark. To Pierce the Dark.
"A Spark. To Pierce the Dark." is the 105th episode of the ABC television series Desperate Housewives. It is the eighteenth episode of the show's fifth season and aired on March 22, 2009.-Plot:...
" when Karl inadvertently enrolls Evan in Susan's art class at Oakridge Academy. As a result of his mother leaving him, Evan illustrates violent images in the class. In "Bargaining
Bargaining (Desperate Housewives)
"Bargaining" is the 108th episode of the ABC television series Desperate Housewives. It is the twenty-first episode of the show's fifth season and aired on May 3, 2009.-Plot:...
", Karl attempts to secure Evan an invitation to M.J.'s birthday party after M.J. accuses Evan of being a bully.
Claire Bremmer
Valerie HarperValerie Harper
Valerie Harper is an American actress, known for her role as Rhoda Morgenstern on the 1970s television show The Mary Tyler Moore Show, and for her starring roles on the sitcoms Rhoda and Valerie.-Early life and career:Harper was born at the Good Samaritan Hospital in Suffern, Rockland County,...
plays Claire Bremmer, Susan's aunt and Sophie's sister. She appears in the episode "Where Do I Belong" when Susan awaits a kidney transplant. She informs Susan about Sophie's breast cancer but begs her not to mention it to Sophie, who is keeping her condition a secret in an attempt to stay out of the center of attention. Tanner Stransky of Entertainment Weekly enjoyed the casting of Harper but argued that the character's introduction was pointless: "And the casting of Valerie Harper as Susan’s aunt Claire was a smart move, too, although at first I couldn’t help but think: Why is Claire even here?"
Deirdre Taylor
Jolie JenkinsJolie Jenkins
Jolie Jenkins is an American actress who has had acting roles in movies and television. She played FBI Agent Leyla Harrison in The X-Files, Diana in Shasta McNasty and the character "Deirdre" in Desperate Housewives...
portrays Deirdre Taylor, Mike's ex-girlfriend. Her death, which occurred before the series' timeline, plays an integral role in the first season mystery, which focuses on Mary Alice's suicide. Dierdre came from a wealthy family, but rejected it after becoming addicted to drugs as a young adult. During this time, she dated Mike, a drug dealer at the time. Their relationship ended after Mike was incarcerated for killing a corrupt police officer who attempted to rape Dierdre. Soon after, Dierdre gave birth to Mike's son without his knowledge. She later sold her son to Mary Alice, who worked as a nurse in a rehabilitation facility in Utah. Mary Alice and Paul fled town and raised Dierdre's child as their own. Years later, Dierdre tracked down the Young family and attempted to take Zach back, but Mary Alice killed her in an attempt to stop her. Mary Alice and Paul chopped up Dierdre's body and buried it underneath the cement of their swimming pool. Although Jenkins did not appear onscreen until the first season finale, which was filmed in April 2005, she was cast in the fall of 2004 because earlier episodes required photographs of the Dierdre character. Because no material had been written for the character at the time of casting, Jenkins did not have to audition for the role.
Noah Taylor
Played by Bob GuntonBob Gunton
Robert Patrick "Bob" Gunton, Jr. is an American actor. He is known for playing strict, authoritarian characters, with his best known roles as Warden Samuel Norton in the 1994 prison film The Shawshank Redemption, Chief George Earle in 1993's Demolition Man, and President Juan Peron in the original...
, Noah Taylor is Dierdre's father. In the first season, Noah finances Mike's mission to discover what happened to Dierdre. Throughout the first season, he often checks on Mike's progress, and briefly fires Mike when he feels his focus has been pulled. Noah simultaneously discovers that he has a cancerous tumor and only has one more year to live. In the second season, Noah is on bed rest.
Kendra Taylor
Kendra Taylor (Heather Stephens) is the older sister of Deirdre Taylor, and older daughter of Noah Taylor. Kendra first appeared in the episode "Anything You Can Do", where she came to check on Mike’s investigation and the progress of his work, making Susan and Edie think she was an ex-girlfriend. Susan expected to come into conflict with Kendra over Mike, but it never happened. Edie would have been rooting for Susan, as she thought it would be easier to steal Mike from her than from the glamorous Kendra. After settling in at Mike’s place, Kendra made it very clear that she was fed up with talking and thinking about her sister's disappearance when she told Mike to stop looking for Deirdre. However, she (against her father's wishes), told Susan the truth about Deirdre's drug use and Mike's arrest.Detective Copeland
Detective Copeland (Conor O'FarrellConor O'Farrell
Conor O'Farrell is an American actor mainly appearing on television.-Acting career:O'Farrell's most prominent roles are as Darren Leopold on daytime soap opera Port Charles, Phil Albano on the short lived science fiction series Dark Skies and as Jeffrey McKeen on the crime drama CSI: Crime Scene...
) is the investigator of Mrs. Huber’s murder who strongly believed Mike was the culprit. He questions Susan twice about Mike and she becomes his alibi by saying they slept together the night Mrs. Huber was killed. He mentioned to her that people do stupid things when they're in love and that he'd know because he’s been married four times.
Detective Sullivan
Detective Sullivan (Nick ChinlundNick Chinlund
Zareh Nicholas "Nick" Chinlund is an American actor.-Early life:Chinlund was born in New York City. He attended the Friends Seminary in Lower Manhattan, later moving to Albany, NY in order to participate in Albany High School's varsity basketball program...
) is a corrupt police officer
Police officer
A police officer is a warranted employee of a police force...
in charge of Mrs. Huber's murder case and an underling on the Deirdre Taylor murder case. He is actually a puppet and confidante of Noah Taylor. The eyes and ears of the notorious criminal underworld Taylor family inside the Fairview police. He first appears in "Impossible", where Noah pushes him to reveal Mike Delfino’s case file to Susan at her interrogation for Mrs. Huber's murder. They are successful, she takes the bait, and they break up. This was arranged solely to eliminate a "time distortion" in order to find Deirdre more quickly. He appears once more in episode 19, "Live Alone and Like It". Noah bribes Sullivan to get Deirdre’s case file to Mike and to get Mike off Mrs. Huber's murder case. The two meet in an underground parking garage where the two exchange the case file. Sullivan has a bitter attitude towards Mike and makes a comment about how it is wrong for him to get off with a short prison sentence of 5 and a half years since he was a “cop-killer”. Mike strikes back attacking him for being hypocritical since Sullivan was participating in it, and getting himself off the Huber murder case. Sullivan repays his backlash with a gun and two fists to the face, giving Mike a black eye. Sullivan makes a comment, "this file was misplaced, understand, if even a whisper of this gets traced back to me, there will be one less cop-killer on the street." Sullivan slams down the file and walks off. Mike gets it and drives home, seeing Paul Young on a purchase list for the toy chest setting him to his target. In season two, he tries to discover who is Noah's grandson.
Ron McCready
Dr. Ron McCready (Jay HarringtonJay Harrington
Jay H. Harrington III is an American actor. His most recent role was the title character in the ABC sitcom Better Off Ted.- Personal life :...
) is a surgeon at Sacred Heart Hospital, Ron became Susan’s love interest midway through the second season, despite a somewhat clumsy beginning to their relationship. A difference in age between the two has been shown as a possible issue. (In reality, Jay Harrington
Jay Harrington
Jay H. Harrington III is an American actor. His most recent role was the title character in the ABC sitcom Better Off Ted.- Personal life :...
, the actor portraying the character, is just under seven years younger than Teri Hatcher
Teri Hatcher
Teri Lynn Hatcher is an American actress, writer, and presenter. She is known for her television roles as Susan Mayer on the ABC comedy-drama series Desperate Housewives, and Lois Lane on the ABC comedy-drama series Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman...
.) They date anyway.
When he begins to perform Susan’s splenectomy
Splenectomy
A splenectomy is a surgical procedure that partially or completely removes the spleen.-Indications:The spleen, similar in structure to a large lymph node, acts as a blood filter. Current knowledge of its purpose includes the removal of old red blood cells and platelets, and the detection and fight...
, he tells her that he loves her. Susan, under the influence of anesthesia responds by saying “Aww, that’s so sweet. I love Mike.” At that moment, Nurse Heisel tells him that she is married to Karl. Susan tells Ron she was probably hallucinating about a guy that didn’t exist, and that she married Karl for health insurance. The second part was true. Their relationship goes smoothly until Karl makes a clog and tells Mike to come over, as a plan to break up Susan and Ron. After Ron finds out she was lying, he broke up with her and told Edie about their marriage.
He was also mentioned in 12th episode of the fifth season when Susan locked herself with Edie
Edie Britt
Edie Britt Williams is a fictional character created by television producer and screenwriter Marc Cherry for the ABC television series Desperate Housewives...
in the basement. Edie made a calendar of Susan's lovelife. When Edie's sure she's done, she reminds herself that she may forget about one of Susan's lovers and asks Susan if she dated someone after she stole Karl from her. Susan confirms that she dated Ron at the time. When she's done, Edie reveals that Susan was single only for 41 days.
Ian Hainsworth
Ian Hainsworth (Dougray ScottDougray Scott
-Early life:The son of Elma, a nurse, and Alan Scott, an actor and salesperson, Stephen Dougray Scott was born in Glenrothes, Fife and attended Auchmuty High School...
) is a British man who became depressed after his wife, Jane, was put into a coma after a horseback riding accident. He met Susan when she cared for Mike, who was comatose too. After a few dates, they spent a few days in one of his houses on the mountains. One thing leading to another, they slept together but soon after learned that Mike had woken up. Susan broke up with Ian, but Mike, manipulated by Edie, no longer returned her feelings and she reconciled with Ian. However, they were both still in love with other people and their relationship got more complicated.
When Mike was imprisoned for Monique Polier's murder, Ian agreed to help get him out if Susan promised not to see him again. Despite Ian's wishes, Susan saw Mike again but they reunited when she said that she loved him for the first time. After finding out that his wife's health was declining and might not live until he returns, he asks Susan to be there when she dies. Later in the season, Ian proposes to Susan at the opening of the Scavo Pizzeria. She accepts and they are happily applauded by the surrounding crowd. In the next episode
My Husband, the Pig
“My Husband, the Pig” is the 63rd episode of the ABC television series, Desperate Housewives. It was also the sixteenth episode of the show’s third season. It was written by Brian A. Alexander and directed by Larry Shaw...
, Mike discovers that the only reason that Ian actually proposed to Susan so quickly is that he saw the engagement ring that Mike bought for Susan. However, they come to an agreement that if Ian won the poker game that they were playing at the time of this tension, Mike would leave him and Susan alone. Luckily for Ian, he won the poker game. However, it became clear that Mike still feels strongly about Susan. In episode 17
Dress Big
"Dress Big" is the 64th episode of the ABC television series, Desperate Housewives. It is also the seventeenth episode of the show's third season. The episode was written by Kevin Etten and Susan Nirah Jaffee and directed by Matthew Diamond...
, Ian immediately worries that Susan will damage his reputation with his parents. Following various incidents including Susan setting Ian's mother on fire, he and his parents try to make Susan sign a prenuptial agreement and although she agreed, she has lost faith in Ian. After Susan caught Ian's father wearing her underwear, she made him help her not to sign the agreement.
Later, Ian proposes that he and Susan relocate to London and she agrees but later changes her mind, realizing that Ian is simply trying to get her away from Mike. After this heated argument, she walks over to Mike's for consolation, and they share an intimate kiss. This renews Mike's belief in the possibility of winning her back, so he constantly forces his way into her and Ian's lives, even confessing to what occurred at the poker game. After learning this, Susan sends them both away and cancels her wedding to Ian. Ian and Mike continued to pursue Susan but are shot down with each attempt. Eventually, Susan announced that she would marry Ian. While celebrating, Susan decided to check her messages and listened to a message from Mike which made her realize that she was still in love with both Ian and her former boyfriend, but loving Mike just a little more. Ian called off the wedding and returned to England.
Jane Hainsworth
Jane Hainsworth (Cecily Gambrell) was Ian's wife, who is in a coma after falling off a horse. She is in the coma ward where Ian meets Susan. She later dies without regaining consciousness. Despite being romantically involved with her husband, Susan visits and helps care for Jane at the hospital.Jackson Braddock
Jackson Braddock (Gale HaroldGale Harold
Gale Morgan Harold III is an American actor widely known for his roles on Queer as Folk, Desperate Housewives and Hellcats.-Early life:...
) is Susan's on/off boyfriend in the fifth season. He is a painter and gets along well with Mike and M.J.. At first, Jackson and Susan did not want a serious relationship and Susan keeps it a secret, but as the season progresses, he wanted her to introduce him as her boyfriend to her friends. However, Susan does not want to go public but eventually introduces him as her boyfriend. They eventually agree to return to the original state of the relationship. Jackson suffers minor injuries during the fire in Warren Schilling's club, started by Dave Williams. When Jackson moves away during season 5, he invites Susan to come with him. She agrees but later changes her mind so she can be alone for the first time in her life. Eventually, Jackson returns and proposes marriage because otherwise he believes he will be deported
Deportation
Deportation means the expulsion of a person or group of people from a place or country. Today it often refers to the expulsion of foreign nationals whereas the expulsion of nationals is called banishment, exile, or penal transportation...
to Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
. Dave, who suspects Jackson is a potential witness to his arson, tips off immigration when he finds out that Jackson is there illegally. When Susan and Jackson are about to leave for City Hall to be married, immigration takes him into custody. He is later questioned by the police about the fire, and what he knows about Dave. His current whereabouts are unknown but he told Susan that his deportation papers were being processed.
Principal Hobson
Principal Hobson (John RubinsteinJohn Rubinstein
John Arthur Rubinstein is an American film, Broadway, and television actor, a composer of film and theatre music, and a director in theatre and television.-Early life:...
) is the Principal at the school where Susan worked, and M.J. Delfino and Juanita Solis attend.He fired Susan in the season 7 for her 'after school job'
Maxine Rosen
Maxine Rosen (Lainie KazanLainie Kazan
Lainie Kazan is an American actress and singer.-Personal life:Kazan was born Lanie Levine in Brooklyn, New York City, the daughter of a Russian Ashkenazi Jewish father who worked as a bookie and a Turkish Sephardic Jewish mother, Carole, whom Kazan has described as "neurotic, fragile and...
) is Susan's landlady, after moving out of their home. She tempts and eventually hires Susan into working for her company, where women do housework in their lingerie. She later fires Susan for driving away a customer.