Family tree The characters in green have or had regular roles on the show. Dotted lines indicate a parental relationship through adoption, and dashed lines indicate either divorced, or widowed (or similarly separated), characters. {{tree chart| |RISTO|v|BEATRIZ| |DAVE|v|JANET| |STANLEY|v|MARILYN| RISTO=Evaristo Herrera"Risto" Rivas(1923–2008) {{tree chart| | |SHELLY|y|MIGUEL|~|REBECCA|y|JACK| |NICKY|-|EDIE| |WILLIAM|y|LAUREL| |ABE|y|CAROL| JACK=JackPearson(1944–1998) {{tree chart| | |ANDY| |AMBER| | | | |o|P|P|P|P|P|P|P|P|P|P|P|P|P|P|P|P|P|P|T|!| | | |!| |SHAUNA| ANDY=AndyRivas {{tree chart|GRANT|~|SOPHIE|-|KEVIN|y|MADISON|-|ELIJAH| |TOBY|y|KATE|-|PHILIP| |RANDALL|v|BETH| |!| GRANT=Grant {{tree chart| | | | | | | | |FRANNY| |NICK2| | | |JACK2|v|LUCY| |HAILEY| |TESS| |ANNIE| |DEJA| TESS=TessPearson(b. 2008)
Jack Pearson Jack Pearson (August 31, 1944 – January 26, 1998), Jack had a brother named Nick. Jack meets Rebecca
two days before Christmas in 1972, and takes her on a date to a carnival; a date that goes awry. Despite that, Rebecca kisses him. The next week they take a trip to Los Angeles and start sleeping together. Jack enlists in the
U.S. Army after his younger brother Nick is drafted. Jack and Nick experience a falling out during the
Vietnam War, and Nick is discharged for psychiatric reasons following a tragic accident. From then on, Jack no longer spoke to his brother, and for the rest of his life and for years after his death, Rebecca and the Pearson children believed Jack's lie that Nicky had died in the war. (After Jack takes Randall to
Washington, D.C., on a college tour to
Howard University, he takes Randall to the
Vietnam Veterans Memorial, and tells him how the war affected him; this may be the first time that Jack has shared about his Vietnam experiences to a member of the Pearson family—including Rebecca.) After serving in the war, and working as a manual laborer, Jack becomes a construction foreman. When he wants to buy the house for his family, he approaches his boss and gets a raise to $17,000 a year (equivalent to more than $49,000 in 2016), making him the highest paid foreman at the company. However, he later decides to start the business, though the Big Three are about to start college. Two of the triplets (the third triplet, Kyle, was stillborn) and Randall (who had been left at a fire station) are all born on Jack's 36th birthday. (Sometimes he vents his anger on a punching bag to avoid drinking after a tough day.) His sobriety and AA work continue for at least 6 months. and Kate keeps his ashes with her. On the night of the Super Bowl, Jack, Rebecca, Kate, and Randall go to bed for the night (Kevin is at a party with his girlfriend Sophie). • Jack's childhood and teen years are seen in flashbacks beginning in the first season, with
Darren Barnet portraying Jack in his teens, Joaquin Obradors portraying Jack at age 8, and Milo Cragnotti as Jack at age 4.
Rebecca Pearson Rebecca Pearson née Malone (February 2, 1951 – 2033), portrayed by
Mandy Moore, is Jack's widow, later Miguel Rivas' second wife, and the mother of Kevin, Kate, and Randall. and has issues with Jack's alcoholism. In the mid-1990s, she has a chance to become a singer again by joining a band with her ex-boyfriend. Jack is upset after finding out about their history, which causes a rift between Rebecca and Jack. When the house catches fire and Jack suffers smoke inhalation, at the hospital, since Jack appears to be fine, Rebecca is making reservations for hotel rooms—unaware that Jack is coding and staff are rushing to him. After making reservations, Rebecca gets a candy bar for her and Jack. Rebecca turns around and the doctor explains the cause of Jack's cardiac arrest. In shock, Rebecca takes a bite of the candy bar, refusing to believe Jack is dead. She goes to his room to tell him what the doctor said, only to see him lifeless. She immediately shuts down upon seeing him dead. She then drives to Miguel's and tells him the news, then goes in to talk to Kate and Randall. Since she was out of Jack's room when he died, Rebecca gets the Pearsons to the funeral early, because she wants to be present when the urn with Jack's ashes are brought out. After Jack's funeral, Dr. K lets Rebecca know that she has always been strong. This encouragement gives her the strength to let Kevin and Randall know that neither of them need to be "the man of the house", since they are teenagers and should be dating, and tells Kate not to blame herself for Jack's death because Jack made his own decisions. She also gets the courage to drive across a bridge she has feared, while taking the "Big Three" to a
Bruce Springsteen concert that Jack had previously obtained tickets for the night of the funeral. Many years after, Rebecca and Miguel reconnect, and eventually they marry. When the series starts, Kevin is an actor in Los Angeles, starring as the lead on a long-running sitcom called
The Manny, a sitcom in the tradition of ''
Who's the Boss and The Nanny''. He abruptly quits that show on his 36th birthday, criticizing the script quality, the producer's reluctance to add nuance to the show, and the audience. Upon arriving in New York, he gets hired as the lead role, David, in
Back of an Egg, opposite a cynical actress named Olivia Maine (who thinks Kevin does not have the ability, but that he was hired because his being "The Manny" will sell tickets). Sloane takes over as the lead of the play when Olivia disappears and the play is at risk. Kevin decides to self-fund the performance, in order to save it. As a result of the injury, Kevin becomes addicted to pain medication and alcohol, and allows his relationship with Sophie to deteriorate by telling her that he saw a future with her as a nightmare, although he fails to specify that this was due to his alcoholism and drug addiction. Kevin reconciles with Randall by helping him fix up the apartment building William lived in, and the two share with each other how odd it feels that they could outlive their dad.
Kate Pearson Kate Emily Pearson, nicknamed "Bug" by her mother (born August 31, 1980), portrayed by
Chrissy Metz (current day), Hannah Zeile (age 15–17), and Mackenzie Hancsicsak (ages 8–10), is Jack and Rebecca's daughter, and Randall and Kevin's sister. Kate and Toby announce their pregnancy to Kevin, and plan to get married at city hall, but then consider a big wedding. Despite some struggle in their relationship after the miscarriage, Toby eventually comes through for Kate.
Randall Pearson in 2017
Randall Kenneth Pearson (born August 30, 1980), portrayed by
Sterling K. Brown (current day),
Niles Fitch (ages 15–17), and
Lonnie Chavis (ages 8–10), is Jack and Rebecca's (adopted) son, and Kevin and Kate's brother. On the day that Randall is born, he is dropped off in front of a firehouse by his biological father, William, and then taken to the hospital, where he is adopted by Jack and Rebecca. This allows them to honor both their stillborn son's memory and Randall, rather than essentially replacing one son with the other. At age nine, Randall's teacher tells Jack and Rebecca that Randall is a gifted child who is not being challenged enough at his current school. They decide to remove him from public school and send him to Hanes Academy. In season 2, Randall wants to adopt a baby (to honor his father's legacy), but decides (with Beth's input) to foster an older child who may otherwise be overlooked by people who would prefer a baby. They foster a 12-year old girl named Deja, whose mother Shauna is incarcerated. She shows signs of physical abuse, but Randall and Beth start to win her trust and get her to open up. After Randall quits his job, Beth takes a job so Randall can be a stay-at-home dad. This is best demonstrated in the way she speaks; she mainly speaks in a soft and tender voice, even when overcome with great anger she still endeavors to maintain a gentle, composed, and eloquent tone. This is likely a personality trait she acquired from her mother. Another trait that demonstrates these qualities is in how she deals with challenges and adversities in her life with prominent examples being in season 3, when both her and Randall are going through marital difficulties, when she had to deal with the grief of losing her father, or when she had lost her job of 12 years amongst many other examples; Beth chooses to never completely falter but rather confront her life's difficulties with dignity and grace and endeavors to maintain a calm and collected composure for as long as she possibly can. Even when confronted with her own negative emotions or consoling others in their times of sorrow, Beth always tries to maintain her elegance, the best example of this being during a dance recital when one of her students fell down, she walked across the stage, sat down in an elegant manner beside her student and gently encourages her to get up and dance. • Beth's childhood and teen years are included in flashbacks in the third season episode "Our Little Island Girl", with
Rachel Hilson portraying Beth as a teenager, and Akira Akbar portraying Beth in childhood.
Toby Damon in 2019
Tobias Damon, portrayed by
Chris Sullivan, is Kate's first husband. Toby was born in
Palm Springs, California. William left the band, with the intention of returning, to care for his dying mother. However, after meeting Randall's mother and becoming a drug addict, he never returned. William always wanted to have a relationship with his child,
Miguel Rivas in 2012
Miguel Rivas, portrayed by
Jon Huertas, was Jack's best friend and is Rebecca's second husband. Miguel was originally married to Shelly, before they divorced: in the years since then, Miguel's relationship with his own children has critically deteriorated. While it originally seems that his marriage to Rebecca happened shortly after Jack's death, in season 2 it is clarified that the two did not get together until at least ten years after Jack's death. When Kevin gets sober, he tries making amends to Sophie; she just wants to remember Kevin when they were younger. She is named after the Tessana ceiling fan Randall was going to purchase when hearing about Beth going into labor. Tess is shown in the future as an adult (portrayed by Iantha Richardson), working as a social worker, with an older Randall meeting her for dinner like they have done while Tess was younger. Beth believes Zoe to be a "maneater" who goes through men routinely, and warns Kevin to stay away from her: however, Zoe gets enamoured with Kevin after hearing his wedding toast to Kate and Toby and they begin dating. She assists Kevin on his quest to learn about Jack's time in the Vietnam War, helping him track down Jack's former squadmates and even flying to Vietnam with him, and they start to fall in love. Zoe eventually reveals to Kevin her history of sexual abuse from her father, and explains her perceived "man-eating" behaviour stems from an inability to commit to a relationship out of issues regarding personal space, but admits that being with Kevin is good for her, and the two reaffirm their love and move in together. They eventually break up after Kevin's desire to be a parent clashes with Zoe's desire for independence: although Kevin wants a life with Zoe, even without children, Zoe ends their relationship after she realizes Kevin's affinity for fatherhood upon seeing him comfort and assuage a confused Tess. • Zoe's childhood and teen years are included in flashbacks in the third season episode "Our Little Island Girl", with Brianna Reed portraying Zoe as a teenager, and Dakota Baccelli portraying Zoe in childhood.
Deja Pearson Deja Pearson, portrayed by
Lyric Ross, is a foster child and later Randall and Beth's adopted daughter. She was also promoted to series regular in season three. She became their foster child while her mother Shauna was incarcerated. Deja is eventually formally adopted by the Pearsons when Shauna starts to consider herself irresponsible and unfit: she struggles with resentment against them, but eventually comes around. She soon displays a propensity for intelligence similar to Randall's, and effectively acts as his voice of conscience. After the family moves, Deja meets Malik, a teenage father, and the two start to fall in love, remaining a couple for several seasons. When Malik gets into Harvard, Deja takes an overnight trip to visit him, lying to her parents about her whereabouts, and the two become more intimate. They eventually come up with a plan to be together, but Randall intervenes and talks to Malik about doing what's best for Deja, reminding him that if it's true love they'll find their way back to each other later (when they're older and the time is right) so Malik subsequently breaks up with her; flashforwards near the end of the series reveal that Malik and Deja eventually get back together as adults and medical students, with Deja pregnant with their first child, a boy they decide to name William. • Deja's childhood is included in flashbacks in the second season episode "This Big, Amazing, Beautiful Life" and the third season episode "Nine Bucks", with Makenzie Lee-Foster portraying Deja at ages 5 and 6.
Malik Hodges Malik Hodges, portrayed by
Asante Blackk, is a teenage father living with his parents in Philadelphia. He meets Deja at an End-of-Summer Barbecue and the two begin to develop feelings for each other.
Madison Simons Madison Simons, portrayed by Caitlin Thompson, is a member of Toby and Kate's support group. Kate at first had little patience for Madison, who did not appear to have the issues the rest of the group has. In a season two episode, after Kate criticized Madison in group, she accidentally bumped into Madison's vehicle; Kate ended up telling her she was pregnant, so Madison was the first to hear about Kate's pregnancy. portrayed by
Chris Geere, is Kate's new boss at the school for blind children. In a flashforward, he's revealed to be Kate's second husband. ==Recurring characters==