List of GLOW characters
GLOW is an American television series created by Liz Flahive and Carly Mensch, based on the women's wrestling promotion Gorgeous Ladies of Wrestling. The following is a list of characters from the series.
Cast
Main characters
Ruth Wilder
Ruth Wilder is an actress struggling to land a role on film or television. Originally from Omaha, Nebraska, Ruth's love of acting began in her hometown, and she honed her skills at the Blue Barn Theatre. Having studied the works of August Strindberg, Ruth relies heavily on method acting.Her Protestant grandfather died of hypertension when Ruth was 10. This affected her profoundly as she dressed up as Anne of Green Gables for a year afterward. One day, she is given an invitation for an audition, which turns out to be for the fledgling women's wrestling promotion Gorgeous Ladies of Wrestling. Ruth initially has personality conflicts with director Sam Sylvia due to her tendency to overact in the ring. Aside from her acting style, Sam often questions her looks, unsure whether or not he finds her attractive. Making matters worse is her affair with Mark Eagan, the husband of her best friend, Debbie. Because of this, she is known by the other women as a homewrecker. Her attempts at creating a quasi-villainous wrestling persona include characters called the Homewrecker, Mint Julep, "a bitchy southern debutante type," The Aunty Christ, an "evil person" who "gives out raisins to kids on Halloween," and after her research at motel proprietor Gregory's family bris, Gittel the Orthodox Warrior. She finally creates the in-ring persona of Zoya the Destroya, a Soviet heel based on the real GLOW wrestler Colonel Ninotchka. Ruth joins Sam on venue scouting to a Mayan-themed theater after Bash fails to arrive. They bond and she gives him relationship advice about ending his relationship with Rhonda. Discovering she is pregnant the day of Sheila's roller rink birthday celebration, Ruth calls Sam for a lift to Planned Parenthood the next morning. When Bash's mother Birdie cuts off his funds, the girls attend her fundraiser under the guise of WAD: Wrestlers Against Drugs. Each girl shares a fake recovery story and Ruth uses her moment to apologize to Debbie. Her story compels Birdie to provide a venue for the show. With Sam absent for the pilot, Ruth picks up his directing role. As Zoya the Destroya, Ruth takes the win after her match. From the audience, Debbie challenges her as Liberty Belle and is named the winner; only to have Welfare Queen steal the crown from Liberty Belle. Ruth asks Debbie to go out for a celebratory drink after the show however, Debbie turns her down.
In Season 2, Ruth directs the show's opening sequence without Sam's approval, resulting in tensions between the both of them. While Ruth settles her differences with Sam, she falls victim to a drunk and cocaine-induced Debbie, who breaks her ankle during their match. The injury sidelines her for eight weeks, resulting in a heated argument between her and Debbie over past issues with each other. After the duo reconcile with each other, Ruth continues to provide story ideas for the show and also portrays a non-wrestling character Olga, the good twin sister of Zoya, in numerous skits. Ruth continues to interact with Justine and Sam outside of the ring even encouraging Justine to attend her school dance with Rosalie and Sam as chaperone. While slow dancing with Sam, Ruth pulls away from an attempted kiss and arrives at Russell's apartment to take him up on his previous dating offer. She tells Sam the news about her sleeping with his cameraman Russell when he brings up the previous night's dance. Sam has Ruth direct alongside him in the booth. He rewards her by having her win the GLOW Crown in the show's final episode.
In Season 3, Ruth feels extremely guilty for cutting a heel promo when the Space Shuttle Challenger explodes on live television, prompting her to have the rest of the Ladies observe a moment of silence backstage before their first show in Las Vegas. Sam refuses to let Ruth work on her day off and they instead have the "perfect day"; gambling, eating steak and meeting in the hot tub. Sam tells Ruth he's trying to respect their boundaries but she is making it impossible and admits he is in love with her. This brings her relationship with Russell in doubt, as she has feelings for Sam after rejecting him previously. During a camping trip, Ruth confesses to Debbie she is both "scared" and "excited" by Sam's profession of love. Debbie tells her to go after what she wants. When Sam and his daughter Justine successfully sell Justine's screenplay to a film studio, Sam invites Ruth to audition for the film. Ruth confesses her love to Sam after the audition, they kiss and leave the bar to go back to Sam's house. Wanting to be honest, he tells her the truth about the casting. She is emotionally devastated when he tells her that Justine has decided to cast someone else for the role. Ruth refuses to follow Sam home. Back at the hotel, the ladies put on a production of A Christmas Carol in the ring and exchange gifts. As they each depart for home, Debbie tells Ruth about Bash purchasing a television station and her being the president, and asking Ruth to direct a new GLOW show. Ruth declines, saying she does not want what Debbie wants, as she heads for her plane ride home to Omaha.
Debbie Eagan
Debbie Eagan is a former actress and Ruth's best friend. She is best known for her role as Laura Morgan in the soap opera Paradise Cove until she was fired due to her pregnancy. Her friendship with Ruth is severely strained when she discovers that Ruth had an affair with her husband Mark during and after her pregnancy, sparking a cat fight during practice that inspires Sam to cast Debbie as GLOW's leading lady. While trying to convince her to join GLOW, Sam theorizes that despite her popularity in Paradise Cove, she was being held back by the show's writers and her character was put in a coma for a whole season as punishment for improvising too many lines before she was eventually replaced by another actress. Originally oblivious to the professional wrestling business, Debbie's mindset changes when she watches a local wrestling show and sees its similarities to soap opera before having a one-night-stand with male wrestler Steel Horse. She later on realizes that wrestling is a liberating experience, as her body is not constrained by Mark or her son Randy in the ring. Debbie's in-ring persona is Liberty Belle, a patriotic Southern belle based on the real GLOW wrestlers Americana and The Southern Belles: Scarlet and Tara.In Season 2, Debbie divorces Mark after realizing he never took her acting career seriously. When the ladies are given new contracts by K-DTV, Debbie and Mark have her contract amended to make her a producer of the show. Her new position puts a strain on her already fragile friendship with Ruth, especially when she prevents Ruth from going out on a date with cameraman Russell Barroso by making her work overtime to finish editing the show's material. After Debbie discovers that Mark is seeing someone, she finds cocaine stashed in a pack of Sam's cigarettes and snorts it, causing her to become aggressive during the main event and break Ruth's ankle. They reconcile shortly after an intense argument at the hospital.
In Season 3, once GLOW moves to the Fan-Tan Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas in 1986, Debbie spends her free time having sex with the hotel's bellboys and parking valets. She also develops friction with Bash as co-producer throughout the show's run. When GLOW is given a contract extension through the end of the year, Debbie has Randy brought to the hotel instead of having to regularly travel back and forth to visit him. She forms a relationship with middle-aged tycoon J. J. "Tex" McCready, but shortly after their six-month anniversary, she realizes that he has been only using her as a tool for his business dinners. After GLOW performs its Christmas show, Debbie has Bash secretly outbid Tex on the purchase of Orange County TV station KXN. She tries to convince Ruth to become GLOW's new director when the promotion returns to TV in 1987, but Ruth turns down the offer.
Cherry Bang
Cherry Bang is a former stuntwoman who becomes GLOW's head trainer. She previously worked in Sam's exploitation films in the 1970s and had a threesome with him and her husband. Prior to GLOW, Cherry had not worked with Sam since 1978 and she had been out of work since 1979, as the blaxploitation subgenre went on a decline toward the 1980s. She also suffered a miscarriage two years before joining GLOW. Cherry's in-ring persona is Junkchain, a female rapper.In Season 2, Cherry quits GLOW for a starring role in K-DTV's new female detective series Chambers and Gold, but she struggles with remembering her lines and emoting in front of the camera. This results in director Rick Hollander cutting her lines and forcing her to change her hair. It is also inferred that the white director and hair/make up team do not know what to do with her Black hair. After analyzing footage of the pilot episode, Sam deduces that Cherry's background in stunt work never prepared her for acting, and at Cherry's request to help her save face in exiting the production before being fired, he talks K-DTV producer Glen Klitnick to release her from the show so she can return to GLOW. After losing her Junkchain gimmick to Yolanda Rivas in her return match, Cherry reinvents herself as Black Magic, a voodoo practitioner loosely based on the real GLOW wrestler Big Bad Mama.
In Season 3, Cherry develops doubts about raising a family after a Vegas showgirl dance trainer named Diane tells her why she left the showgirl business. This results in a heated argument with Keith, who walks out on her and returns to L.A. She racks up $5,000 in casino debt and ends up mud wrestling with Carmen in order to make the difference. For the Christmas show, Carmen reveals she is Cherry's Secret Santa and arranges to have Keith show up as Santa Claus during the show. He has looked into adoption while in L.A. and the two happily reunite.