List of Madam Secretary characters


Madam Secretary is an American political drama television series. It aired on CBS from 2014 to 2019 and stars Téa Leoni, Tim Daly, Bebe Neuwirth, Željko Ivanek, Erich Bergen, Patina Miller, Geoffrey Arend, Wallis Currie-Wood, Kathrine Herzer, Evan Roe, Keith Carradine, Sebastian Arcelus, Sara Ramirez, and Kevin Rahm.

Overview

Main characters

Elizabeth McCord

Elizabeth "Bess" Adams McCord is the United States Secretary of State and the central protagonist of Madam Secretary. She is portrayed by Téa Leoni.
Elizabeth was born and raised in Virginia, where she and her brother Will were orphaned in 1983 after their parents were killed in a car accident. She later attended Houghton Hall Boarding School and the University of Virginia studying mathematics, where one of her professors was future Chief Justice of the United States Frawley. Elizabeth first met Henry McCord while attending UVA, and the pair married in 1990. They have three children: Stephanie, Alison and Jason.
Elizabeth worked as a CIA analyst for 20 years, eventually reaching the position of Station Chief in Baghdad before resigning over an ethical dilemma and returning to the University of Virginia to teach political science.
Following the death of Secretary of State Vincent Marsh in a suspicious plane crash, Elizabeth is approached by President Conrad Dalton - her former mentor at the CIA- to serve in his cabinet as Secretary of State. Not a natural politician, Elizabeth frequently clashes with White House Chief of Staff Russell Jackson. Much of her first year as Secretary of State is spent investigating her predecessor's death.
Elizabeth speaks fluent French, German, Arabic, Persian, and "a year of high school Spanish".
In the sixth season, Elizabeth is elected President of the United States.

Henry McCord

Professor Henry McCord is the husband of United States Secretary of State Elizabeth McCord and the father of Stevie, Alison, and Jason McCord. He is a retired United States Marine Corps Captain, professor of theology and ethics, and later the First Gentleman of the United States. He is portrayed by Tim Daly.
Born and raised in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Henry is the son of Patrick McCord - a steel worker- and has three siblings: Maureen, Shane, and Erin. Henry is Catholic, and was an altar boy in his youth. Henry attended the University of Virginia on a scholarship, where he met his future wife, Elizabeth Adams, and was a member of the Naval Reserve Officer Training Corps. He was commissioned in the United States Marine Corps after graduation and served five years on active duty, during which he was assigned to the 3rd Marine Air Wing out of Marine Corps Air Station Miramar and flew F/A-18 Hornets during Operation Desert Storm. Henry mustered out of the Corps with the rank of Captain.
After leaving the Marines, Henry returned to academia, where he earned his Ph.D. in Philosophy and became a renowned religious scholar. He has published eight books and has worked as a professor at the University of Virginia, Georgetown University, and the National War College, where he serves as chairman of the Military Ethics Department.
Not long after his wife was appointed Secretary of State, Henry found himself back in government service, working for, among others, the National Security Agency, the Defense Intelligence Agency, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and the Central Intelligence Agency as both a consultant and an operative. At the end of the third season, Henry was named head of the CIA's Special Activities Division; he eventually resigned after failing to receive Congressional support for his operations in Afghanistan. Upon taking his leave, Henry and his team were awarded the National Intelligence Meritorious Unit Citation, having turned down the individual National Intelligence Distinguished Service Medal, as he believed he wasn't in service long enough to qualify for such an award.
In the fifth season, Henry is hired by President Dalton as his personal Ethics Advisor, which requires him to step down as Chairman of the National War College's Military Ethics Department.

Nadine Tolliver

Nadine Tolliver is the Chief of Staff to the United States Secretary of State Elizabeth McCord. She is portrayed by Bebe Neuwirth.
A graduate of Cornell University and Yale Law School, Nadine is a veteran politician who worked for Secretary of State Vincent Marsh since he was a Senator, during which the two of them carried on a six-year affair that ended with his death. Due to her relationship with Marsh, Nadine is hesitant to warm up to his replacement, but eventually relents as Elizabeth wins her over.
In the fourth season, Nadine retires from the State Department and moves to the San Francisco Bay Area to be closer to her son and his girlfriend, who are expecting their first child.

Russell Jackson

Russell Jackson is the White House Chief of Staff to President Conrad Dalton. He is portrayed by Željko Ivanek.
Early into Elizabeth's term as Secretary of State, Russell frequently clashed with her due to her unorthodox diplomatic style and lack of political experience. However, they eventually grew to trust each other, as they worked together to oust Dalton's National Security Advisor Craig Sterling and eventually Russell admitted that he'd like to see her succeed Dalton as president.
In "The Unnamed", it is revealed that Russell met Dalton just after the latter's unsuccessful run for Governor of California.
Russell retired after the end of President Dalton's term, but was rehired by President McCord after her acting Chief of Staff Mike B refused to take the job full-time. His political career has taken a toll on his long-standing marriage, which nearly ends in the sixth season.

Blake Moran

Blake Moran is the personal assistant to United States Secretary of State Elizabeth McCord. He is portrayed by Erich Bergen.
In the fifth season, Blake is fired as Secretary McCord's personal assistant—per an agreement between the two that he would seek career advancement within a year—and then rehired as her assistant policy advisor.
In the sixth season, Blake has become the Personal Secretary to President McCord.

Daisy Grant

Daisy Grant is the press coordinator for United States Secretary of State Elizabeth McCord. She is portrayed by Patina Miller.
During the first season, Daisy dates fellow State Department staffer Matt Mahoney. In the third season, she dates "Kevin" from Budget and Planning, who turns out to be an undercover operative for the CIA investigating the State Department. He is killed in a weapons-trafficking conspiracy, and Daisy subsequently finds herself pregnant with his child. In the fourth season, Daisy gives birth to a daughter, Joanna Grant.
In the sixth season, Daisy has become President McCord's White House Press Secretary.

Matt Mahoney

Matthew Asad "Matt" Mahoney is the speechwriter for United States Secretary of State Elizabeth McCord. He is portrayed by Geoffrey Arend.
Born to an Irish-American Catholic father and a Pakistani-American Muslim mother in Illinois, Matt describes himself as agnostic, but is routinely profiled as a Muslim.

Stephanie McCord

Stephanie "Stevie" McCord is Henry and Elizabeth's oldest child. She is portrayed by Wallis Currie-Wood.
Stevie briefly attended Lovell University. Upon dropping out, she moved back with her parents and two younger siblings. After working for some time, she resumed her studies at Georgetown University. At one point, she applied to Harvard Law school but didn't follow through.
In the third season, Stevie begins serving as an intern to Russell Jackson; when Jackson suffers a heart attack, Stevie saves his life by performing CPR on him.
The show explores Stevie's challenges with her romantic partners, Arthur Gilroy, her 39-year-old boss while working at Microloan; her childhood friend Harrison Dalton, who was newly out of rehab and still struggling with addiction; Jareth Glover, a British astrophysicist to whom she was engaged for over a year before calling it off; and Alexander Mehranov, who turns out to be Henry's CIA asset/analyst Dmitri Petrov; she eventually reconciles with Dmitri and they marry in the sixth-season finale.

Alison McCord

Alison McCord is Henry and Elizabeth's middle child. She and Stevie do not get along well, though as the series progresses the sisters form a closer relationship. She is portrayed by Kathrine Herzer.

Jason McCord

Jason McCord is Henry and Elizabeth's youngest child and only son. He is an outspoken leftist and anarchist who often gets himself into trouble for his political views and short temper. He is portrayed by Evan Roe.

Conrad Dalton

Conrad Joseph Dalton is the President of the United States. He is portrayed by Keith Carradine.
A Marine Corps veteran, Conrad serves as a 2nd Lieutenant in the Vietnam War, where he earns a Bronze Star and a Purple Heart. Before entering politics, Conrad is the Director of the Central Intelligence Agency, where he serves as the mentor and boss of then-CIA Analyst Elizabeth McCord. After the death of Secretary of State Vincent Marsh, President Dalton appoints Elizabeth to succeed Marsh.
In 2008, Conrad runs an unsuccessful campaign to become Governor of California; after the loss, he meets his future White House Chief of Staff Russell Jackson.
In the third season, Conrad fails to receive his party's nomination for a second term as president, losing to Pennsylvania governor Sam Evans, after revamping the United States' entire foreign policy for military base locations. Nevertheless, Dalton remains popular enough with certain parts of the population that Elizabeth convinces him to run as an independent. After a hard campaign, Dalton narrowly wins the swing state of Ohio, deadlocking the Electoral College and staging a contingent election in the House of Representatives. He eventually wins the election after defusing a military confrontation between Iran and Israel, and negotiating a framework for peace between the two countries.
In "Sound and Fury", Conrad takes a medical leave of absence under Section 3 of the 25th Amendment, leaving Vice President Teresa Hurst serving as acting president. He returned to the Presidency after two months.
Between the fifth and sixth seasons, Conrad completed his term in office and has been succeeded as president by Elizabeth.
Conrad is married to Lydia Dalton, with whom he has a son, Harrison, who struggles with drug addiction. He also has a brother, John Dalton.