List of Pretty Little Liars characters
Pretty Little Liars is an American teen drama television series created by I. Marlene King for Freeform. It is based on Sara Shepard's novel series of the same name. Some of the characters appeared in the spin-off shows Pretty Dirty Secrets, Ravenswood, Pretty Little Liars: The Perfectionists and Pretty Little Liars. Below is a list consisting of the many characters who have appeared throughout the original series' seven-season run.
Overview - main series
The following table contains an overall look on the main, recurring and guest characters. The guest characters, marked in blue, have appeared in one or two episodes per season they are denoted. The recurring characters, marked in red, have appeared in three or more episodes in the season they are denoted. The main characters, marked in green, are those whose portrayer has had received ensemble cast billing in at least one episode in the season they are denoted.;Notes
Main characters
The following list features characters that are considered fundamental to the series' storylines, consisting of the central group deemed as "the Liars" and the main antagonist "A."Spencer Hastings
Considered the "de facto leader" of the group, Spencer Hastings, portrayed by Troian Bellisario, is intelligent, extremely ambitious, and strives for perfection in everything she does in an attempt to live up to the high expectations of her parents. Spencer's biggest rival is her older sister, Melissa, and the two are constantly fighting over something. Their relationship is often strained by the fact that Spencer has a habit of crushing on Melissa's boyfriends. In the first season, she begins a relationship with fellow student and strained Rosewood student Toby Cavanaugh. Throughout the series, Spencer is revealed to be the biological daughter of Mary Drake and the sister of Charlotte Drake.Aria Montgomery
Considered the "alternative" one of the group, Aria Montgomery, portrayed by Lucy Hale, is more outgoing in fashion and what she sees as acceptable behavior. She moves back to Rosewood with her family after living in Iceland for a year. Before Alison's death, she and Alison discovered that Aria's father was having an affair with one of his former students, Meredith, who became his coworker at Hollis College. Alison encourages Aria to tell her mother the truth, but instead, Aria reluctantly agrees to keep her father's secret. On top of that, she finds herself involved with her high school English teacher, Ezra Fitz, after making out with him in a pub bathroom and discovering he was her English teacher on the first day of school.Hanna Marin
Pretty and fierce, Hanna Marin, portrayed by Ashley Benson, is the diva and "it girl" of the group, having taken Alison's place as the most popular girl at Rosewood High. Prior to Alison's death, Hanna suffered from bulimia, which Alison frequently teased her over. Since her parents divorced, Hanna permanently lives with her mother. She feels betrayed by her father, who has remarried, and she does not get along well with his new wife and daughter. When Hanna's mother falls upon financial hardship, she steals thousands of dollars from the bank she worked at, which Hanna is forced to keep a secret.Emily Fields
The "jock" of the group, Emily Fields, portrayed by Shay Mitchell, is a highly competitive swimmer, considered the star of Rosewood's swimming team. She is shown as a sweet and shy girl. For a short time, Emily lives with Hanna, after her mother moves to Texas to live with Emily's father, who is stationed in Fort Hood. She begins to question her sexuality because of her feelings for Alison, but later accepts the fact that she is a lesbian and starts to date girls. She eventually begins a relationship with Sara Harvey, until she discovers that she is an ally of the antagonist.Alison DiLaurentis
The former "queen bee" of her clique, Alison DiLaurentis, portrayed by Sasha Pieterse, used to be the most popular girl in school before her disappearance and alleged death. Although she cared for her friends, she enjoyed using their deepest secrets against them to keep them in line. Charming and manipulative, Alison was skilled at finding ways to blackmail everyone, and many people hated her. She knew everybody's secrets, but since she's been gone her friends are beginning to realize how little they really knew about her. She is revealed to be alive and on the run from "A."Mona Vanderwaal
A former "unpopular" girl at Rosewood, Mona Vanderwaal, portrayed by Janel Parrish, longed to be accepted into Alison's group and was continuously mocked by her. After Alison's disappearance, Mona befriended Hanna and they underwent an "extreme makeover" together; as a result, they both became popular students. When "A" appears, Mona becomes jealous of Hanna rekindling her friendships with the other Liars. She dislikes Caleb and makes attempts to break Hanna and Caleb up, though to no avail. She becomes romantically involved with Noel, much to Hanna's disapproval, but is later dumped by him for Jenna. When "A" begins sending Mona threatening notes, she grows closer to the Liars. In the second-season finale, she is in fact revealed to actually be "A" when she and Spencer travel to the Lost Woods Resort to uncover "A"'s lair. She is committed to a mental institution, Radley, after being diagnosed with borderline personality disorder."A"
The main antagonist, "A" is stalking and torturing the Liars in relentless and creative ways and also threatens their friends and family. In the second-season finale, it is revealed that Mona is "A". She is also the one who stalked Alison before her disappearance. However, when she is sent to Radley sanitarium, she is visited by CeCe Drake, who offers her a partnership and takes over the team of "A"s, known as the A-Team. The team consists of Mona, Toby, Spencer, Sara, Lucas, Melissa, Wilden, Jenna, Noel, and Wren. Five years later, Alex Drake takes over and becomes Uber A, known as "A.D.", and forms the A.D. Team, consisting of Jenna, Sydney, Aria, Wren, Mona, and Mary.Acquaintances of Aria Montgomery
The following characters are all family members and acquaintances of Aria Montgomery, one of the protagonists of the series.Family
- Byron Montgomery is Aria's father and a history professor at Hollis College. He asked Aria to keep his affair with a student, Meredith, a secret after Aria witnessed them kissing. Regretting the affair and wanting them to be a family again, Byron moves the family to Iceland for a year as a sabbatical. The relationship between Byron and Ella becomes strained after A sends her a letter revealing Byron's affair. After spending some time apart, Ella and Byron slowly begin to rebuild their relationship. When Mike becomes depressed, Byron reveals that his brother Scott, who committed suicide, also suffered from mental illness; Byron feels guilty for not doing anything to help his brother. Byron finds out that Ezra is involved in a relationship with Aria after they tell him and Ella and is furious about it. In an effort to get Ezra away from Aria, Byron recommends him for a job in New Orleans. He also plots to send Aria to an all girls boarding school in Vermont. When Aria threatens to reveal his affair to his boss, he backs off from her but gets Ezra fired from Hollis. In season 3, Byron and Ella have divorced and Ella has moved out of the house. Byron starts seeing Meredith again. He informs Aria that Meredith got a job at Rosewood High, were Aria attends and Ella teaches. In the Halloween episode, it is revealed by Garrett that Byron may have seen Alison on the night she died. Alison told him,"you know what I'm capable of!"
- Ella Montgomery is Aria's mother, as well as a teacher at Rosewood High. Ella believes in treating her children as friends, not as property. She has mentioned that she doesn't want to push into Aria's private life, and she thinks that Aria should be allowed to keep secrets. Ella was unaware of her husband's affair with a student until "A" sent her a letter. After asking Byron to move out, and his refusal, she left the home. Eventually, Aria found out her parents were secretly getting back together, and Ella decides to move back in. When her son, Mike, is depressed, she doesn't feel he needs medication, and remains somewhat in denial about his illness. She finally receives her wake-up call when he attacks her in his bedroom. When Ella found out Aria was dating Ezra, she was angry, but she believed Aria when she said she had broken it off, and tried to win her back her freedom, which Byron didn't think she deserved. Later, she finds out that Aria and Ezra are still together, and decides she is going to try to understand their relationship. Ella is aware of A, and tries to send Aria to a boarding school to get away. Aria is furious, and blackmails her mother into not going through with it. Ella tearfully tells Aria how ashamed she is, and how she doesn't know how to save their relationship. In season 3, she and Byron have divorced and Ella tries to move on with her life not knowing how. Aria creates a profile for her on a dating website under the nickname "Hot Mamma." Ella is furious at Aria but later she likes the idea and starts dating again. She befriends and starts dating the owner of the brew who is much younger than her. In season 4, she leaves Rosewood so she can go live with her boyfriend in Europe but returns at the end of season 4.
- Mike Montgomery is Aria's younger brother. A lacrosse player, he suffers from a mental illness, which causes him to burst into fits of anger and later leads him to break into people's houses for fun, before he begins to shut down emotionally and withdraw completely from his family. He blames Aria for the trouble between their parents. Mike accidentally discovered that Jenna and Garrett knew each other when he stole a pot made by Jenna from Garrett's house. Mike reveals to Aria that the only reason he punched Ezra was because after Ezra and Aria announced they are a couple, he feared what Byron would have done to hurt Ezra judging by the look on his face and thought, "better I do it, than him." Throughout the rest of the series he appears to have improved after going to a therapist. It does not tell when or if he was still seeing his therapist. He seemed to forgive Aria and their relationship is better. He stopped being rebellious and more focused of his family's problems and helping them out. He is dating Mona Vanderwaal.