Main • Paul Hennessy, portrayed by
John Ritter (2002–2003), is a former sportswriter who works from home as a lifestyle columnist. He is a protective father whose nature often embarrasses his children and leads them to accuse him of hypocrisy. Following Ritter's death, Paul dies
offscreen early in the second season, having suddenly collapsed in a grocery store while buying milk. • Cate S. Hennessy (née Egan), portrayed by
Katey Sagal, is the wife, mother, nurse, and easily the most sane and composed person in the family. She takes a nursing job at the kids' school so that she can work standard hours and spend more time with the kids. Cate starts dating her kids' high-school principal, Ed Gibb (portrayed by
Adam Arkin), towards the end of Season 3. During her teens, she was just as popular, scheming, and rebellious as Bridget, and as such, she is usually the first to notice when Bridget is up to something. Her middle name is Stinky because her father had promised his best friend that he would name one of his children after him after having accidentally stabbed him with a bayonet while they were drunk in
Korea; to hide this, she claims that the "S" stands for Stacy. • Bridget Erin "Beach" Hennessy, portrayed by
Kaley Cuoco, is the beautiful, ditzy oldest child. She is depicted as a
stereotypical blonde, a popular bombshell who is preoccupied with her looks, teenage boys, and little else. However, she sometimes displays intelligence or profundity in a poignant manner. Her favorite book is
J. D. Salinger's
The Catcher in the Rye. After her father dies, she begins to steadily mature. Bridget immediately feels guilty about Paul's death because the last words that she had ever spoken to him were "I hate you" after arguing with him on the morning of his death. In Season 2, Bridget is revealed to have been conceived on a beach. • Kerry "Care Bear" Hennessy, portrayed by
Amy Davidson, is the disgruntled middle child. She is often seen as
unattractive when compared to her beautiful older sister. Bridget accuses her of stealing her boyfriend Kyle, though her own actions had driven Kyle away. Kerry is typically negative and sarcastic, often making snide remarks about others. She is also a passionate activist who cares about
animal rights. She loses her
virginity to Bruno (her boyfriend in Europe) later in the third season. She is often annoyed at her sister and is easily upset, yet frequently the two girls team up against their parents' authority or at the expense of their brother. Kerry is also very artistic and keeps a sketchbook. She is the smart child, but often shows naiveté. After she starts dating Bridget's popular ex-boyfriend Kyle, her own popularity increases, and she begins to act a bit more like her older sister. • Rory Joseph Hennessy, portrayed by
Martin Spanjers, is Cate and Paul's son and their youngest child. He often takes pleasure in
tattling on his sisters. Usually he waits until his sisters have already committed an infraction, then tells his father, who explodes. Rory is his father's favorite child. He becomes involved in money-making schemes with C.J. He is commonly seen playing in the living room and mentions wanting a monkey; he had once acquired a monkey by trading some of his father's baseball cards, and later traded the monkey for a guitar. He also delights in showing his friends the private aspects of his sister Bridget's life, mentioning once that his friends looted Bridget's underwear drawer. Rory is hit hard by Paul's death and punches a hole in his wall out of anger, cutting his hand. He explains the injury as a burn from having removed a hot casserole from the oven. After he enters high school, Rory matures, leaving C.J. to be the main
wisecracker of the family. • Jim Egan, portrayed by
James Garner (2003–2005), is Cate's father. Jim served in the
Korean War and is proud of his service (he becomes angry whenever the war is called a "police action"). He is very protective of the family. He often sneaks away to smoke tobacco. He is divorced, having formerly resided in Florida before moving into Cate's basement, and often tries to beat C.J. with his cane. He takes pride in C.J.'s success as a teacher. • C.J. Barnes, portrayed by
David Spade (2004–2005), is Cate's nephew. He was once in the army and claims to have studied aerial photography during the
Gulf War, and to have received a
Purple Heart in combat, which is in contrast to his generally childish attitude. He is a teacher who often pursues women, though unsuccessfully. When C.J. first arrives, the family is initially surprised. He reveals that he was ashamed that he did not live up to Paul's expectations and avoided them because of that. He lives with his grandfather, Jim, in the basement (having previously lived in a van, which Jim had burned). He once dated Mrs. Krupp, Kerry and Bridget's math teacher, but cheated on her with his ex-girlfriend Cheryl. He reveals that his first initial stands for Corey. C.J. previously smoked
marijuana heavily (and in fact used to smoke with Kyle's older brother), but he claims to not have touched it in two years (he originally claims it was five years, though he relents after Jim expresses disbelief).
Recurring • Kyle, portrayed by
Billy Aaron Brown, is Bridget's – and later Kerry's – boyfriend. He is often seen spending time with Rory when not with either Kerry or Bridget. His father, Tommy, used to work with Paul. • Ed Gibb, portrayed by
Adam Arkin, is the principal of the local high school. He and Cate knew each other in high school, and even dated. Their accounts of their first romantic encounter are different, each professing to have had more self-control. Despite this, they have some very intimate moments. • Nick Sharpe, portrayed by
Patrick Warburton, is Paul’s editor at the newspaper. He takes Paul’s place at the sportswriters' poker game and he and Paul frequently commiserate about having teenage daughters. • Coach Scott, portrayed by
Dan Cortese, is a high-school coach on whom Bridget had a
crush. He likes Cate, and Cate initially likes him, but then discovers Bridget's crush, which causes her to deny Scott's romantic advances towards her. • Jenna Sharpe, portrayed by
Nikki Danielle Moore (2003–2005), is the daughter of Paul's boss Nick, and one of Bridget's rivals, who later becomes her friend. She has a younger sister, Rachael (Nicole Mansour), who is a friend of Kerry. • Missy Kleinfeld, portrayed by
Daniella Monet (2003–2004), is Rory's love interest in Season 2. She has a sister, Sissy (Elena Lyons), who likes C.J. • Jeremy, portrayed by
Jonathan Taylor Thomas (2004), is Bridget's tutor and eventual boyfriend. He is considered a
nerd at school, and because of this, Bridget at first denies her interest in him. • Anthony W., portrayed by
Cole Williams (2002–2003), is a student in Bridget's class. He is a white boy who speaks like a black
rapper, often resulting in confusion. In "Cool Parent", he is shown to play
lacrosse. • Maggie Barnes (née Egan), portrayed by
Cybill Shepherd, is Cate's sister and C.J.'s mother. Maggie shares the same sensitive, moody nature as Kerry. However, it appears (from a conversation between Ed Gibb and Cate) that Cate was the smarter one, as well as being more popular. • Fred Doyle, portrayed by
John Ratzenberger, is a persistent and overly friendly neighbor of the Hennessys, and husband of Mary Ellen (portrayed originally by
Shelley Long and then by
Cindy Williams). He is the father of Donald "Donny" Doyle, who has dated Bridget for some time. Fred is the head of the
neighborhood watch, and his family is religious. • Mrs. Krupp, portrayed by
Suzy Nakamura, is a math teacher at the school. • Damian, portrayed by
Paul Wesley, is Bridget's ex-boyfriend who appears in two episodes. • Lacey/Lacy, portrayed by Kala Savage (2003–2004), is Bridget's friend who appears in three episodes. • Laura Egan, portrayed by
Suzanne Pleshette, is Cate and Maggie's mother. • Tommy, portrayed by
Larry Miller, a co-worker of Paul, and Kyle's dad.
Guest appearances •
Pamela Anderson •
Terry Bradshaw •
Nick Carter •
Dan Cortese •
Mo Gaffney •
Beth Grant •
Josh Henderson •
Matt Lanter •
Thad Luckinbill •
Tatum O'Neal •
Ed O'Neill •
Jason Priestly •
Shawn Pyfrom •
Nicole Richie •
Connie Sawyer •
Connie Stevens •
Raquel Welch == Production ==