List of ''GLOW'' characters

Ruth Wilder

Ruth Wilder (Alison Brie) is an actress struggling to land a role on film and television. Originally from Omaha, Nebraska, and having studied the works of August Strindberg, Ruth relies heavily on method acting. 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 (GLOW). 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". After several weeks of struggling to come up with a character, she creates the in-ring persona of Zoya the Destroya, a Soviet heel based on the real GLOW wrestler Colonel Ninotchka.^[1]

In Season 2, Ruth directs the show's opening sequence without Sam's approval, resulting in tensions between the both of them. She also develops a relationship with new cameraman Russell Barroso. 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. Sam rewards her by having her win the GLOW Crown in the show's final episode.

Debbie Eagan

Debbie Eagan (Betty Gilpin) 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.^[2]

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.

Cherry Bang

Cherry Bang (Sydelle Noel) is a former stuntwoman who becomes GLOW's head trainer. She previously worked in Sam's exploitation films in the 1970s and had an affair with him. 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.^[3]

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 in front of the camera. This results in director Rick Hollander cutting her lines and forcing her to change her hair. After analyzing footage of the pilot episode, Sam deduces that Cherry's background in stunt work never prepared her for acting, and 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.

Carmen Wade

Carmen Wade (Britney Young) is a 25-year-old woman who is part of a professional wrestling family. Her father, legendary wrestler Goliath Jackson, disapproves of her desire to become a wrestler, as he sees women's wrestling as a cheap sideshow. While she has wrestling skills and helps Cherry train the other ladies, Carmen suffers from stage fright. Carmen's in-ring persona is Machu Picchu, a gentle Peruvian giant loosely based on the real GLOW wrestler Mount Fiji.^[3]

Sam Sylvia

Sam Francis Sylvia (Marc Maron) is a Sicilian American exploitation film director hired to direct GLOW. He had directed eight films in the 1970s and claims that two of them are taught in colleges. In addition, his film Gina the Machina was deemed so controversial that it was banned in 49 states. Sam has a chronic drug and alcohol addiction that has led to one divorce and multiple affairs with other women; his habits continue in GLOW when he has an affair with wrestler Rhonda Richardson. He often has conflicts with GLOW's producer Sebastian "Bash" Howard over the creative direction of the promotion, with Sam going for a dystopian sci-fi theme and Bash incorporating colorful stereotypes. Sam is loosely based on Matt Cimber, the director of the original GLOW series.^[4]

In Season 2, Sam goes paranoid over his role as director when he learns that Bash talked K-DTV out of replacing him with another director named Rick Hollander. This is exacerbated when he discovers that Ruth directed the show's main title sequence without his approval. After firing Reggie Walsh for defending Ruth, Sam punishes Ruth by keeping her off the next episode's taping. He subsequently settles his difference with Ruth, admitting to his insecurity.

Justine Biagi

Justine Victoria Biagi (Britt Baron) is a 17-year-old punk rock girl who uses the in-ring name Scab. On the first day of auditions, she claims to be 19 years old. She is a fan of Sam's exploitation films and has a romantic relationship with pizza boy Billy Offal. Later in the series, Justine reveals herself to be Sam's illegitimate daughter, as he had a one-night-stand with her mother Rosalie after being kicked out of a Black Panther Party rally in Sacramento nearly two decades ago. Her sole purpose of joining GLOW was to meet him.^[5]

In Season 2, Justine no longer participates in GLOW as a wrestler; instead, she plays small parts in the show as a teenage girl named Lisa. She also goes back to school at the insistence of Sam. One day, Rosalie spots her on an episode of the show and storms in Sam's house to bring her back to Sacramento. After being allowed to attend the school dance, Justine is talked out of moving out to New York with Billy and decides to go home with her mother.

Rhonda Richardson

Rhonda Richardson (Kate Nash) is a British model who takes the in-ring persona of Britannica, an English genius inspired by the real GLOW wrestlers Zelda the Brain and Godiva. Prior to joining GLOW, she was homeless, living in a car and asking men for money in Santa Monica. Rhonda becomes romantically involved with Sam, but he becomes concerned when she makes their affair obvious in front of the other ladies.^[5]

In Season 2, Rhonda adds a male store window mannequin named Thomas as part of her Britannica persona; in the GLOW storyline, Britannica is working on bringing Thomas to life using her knowledge of science. When GLOW faces cancellation due to its new time slot, Rhonda reveals that she has been working without a social security number, which poses a problem for her as the ladies prepare for job openings. Not wanting to return to her drunk and abusive parents in Bromley, she takes Jenny's advice and visits the British Consulate to secure a work visa, but her request is denied and she is marked as an illegal alien. Carmen proposes for Rhonda to marry her fan Cupcake so she can secure a green card. The wedding is the focus of GLOW's final episode on K-DTV, but it falls through when Bash objects the marriage and confesses his love for Rhonda before marrying her.

Sheila the She-Wolf

Sheila the She-Wolf (Gayle Rankin) is an asocial woman who wears heavy black eye makeup and has a savage personality. She claims to have an acute sense of smell and hearing, hence being a light sleeper. She also says that she is spiritually a wolf and has been using her persona for at least five years. Sheila actually has blond hair underneath her thick black wig, but she refuses to break kayfabe even in everyday life. Aside from wrestling, Sheila is in charge of audio production. She can play the keyboard, but is limited to "Theme of Exodus".^[5]

In Season 2, Sheila is shown to have more skills outside the wrestling business. She becomes a typist for Ruth and Debbie, who have no experience in using a typewriter. At the same time, she becomes concerned about her new popularity upon seeing dozens of fans dressed like her.

Tammé Dawson

Tammé Dawson (Kia Stevens) is a heavy-set black woman who takes the in-ring persona of The Welfare Queen, an arrogant wrestler who flaunts her wealth from America's welfare policies and preys on the impoverished. She is initially concerned with her gimmick, as her son Ernest is studying at Stanford University. Prior to joining GLOW, Tammé worked as an extra in several TV shows such as Knots Landing and Gimme a Break! and as an audience coordinator for some game shows such as Family Feud.^[5]

In Season 2, Tammé pays Ernest a visit for parents' weekend. When Ernest hears that she is in GLOW, he goes with her to L.A. to attend the next taping, where she defends the GLOW crown against Debbie. Tammé loses to Debbie and is further humiliated when Debbie gives her an apron and a broom, causing her to walk out of the ring in disgust while the crowd boos Debbie. Later on she talks to Ernest, who admits he found the portrayal offensive but the sight of his mother wrestling amusing, and Tammé is able to make peace with her son watching GLOW.

Melanie Rosen

Melanie Danielle "Melrose" Rosen (Jackie Tohn) is a "party girl" and chauffeur who worked as an extra in several films and music videos. She initially is at odds with Cherry Bang, who sees through her as an attention-starved Jewish-American princess who has never had a real job. Melrose introduces herself as "Melanie Rose," even though her real last name is Rosen. Her in-ring personality is based on the real GLOW wrestler Hollywood.^[5][6]

Dawn and Stacey

Dawn Rivecca (Rebekka Johnson) and Stacey Beswick (Kimmy Gatewood) are hairstylists who pull practical jokes on the other GLOW women. Their in-ring personas are Edna and Ethel Rosenblatt: The Beatdown Biddies - a geriatric tag team based on the real GLOW wrestlers The Housewives: Arlene and Phyllis. In GLOW's first show, Dawn are Stacey are put on a bind when they are scheduled to face Cherry and Tammé, as two black women beating up two elderly white women looks bad on all sides. As a compromise, The Beatdown Biddies wear Ku Klux Klan outfits (somewhat inspired by original GLOW characters The Hicks: Sara and Mabel) to completely put the match in favor of their opponents. Aside from wrestling, Dawn and Stacey are in charge of the wrestlers' hair and make-up.^[5]

In Season 2, Dawn and Stacey evolve their characters into The Toxic Twins: Nuke and Ozone, based on The Housewives' other persona The Heavy Metal Sisters: Chainsaw and Spike.

Arthie Premkumar

Arthie Premkumar (Sunita Mani) is an Indian-American pre-med student who takes the in-ring persona of Beirut the Mad Bomber, a Middle Eastern terrorist based on the real GLOW wrestler Palestina. She is also the backstage medic for the wrestlers. During her match with Rhonda in GLOW's pilot episode, Arthie's gimmick is met with extreme hostility from some male fans, who spit at her and yell racist insults at her. One fan throws a beer can at her, but she blocks it and hits Rhonda in the head. While tending to Rhonda's head wound backstage, Arthie shows concern about the fan reaction to her gimmick.^[5]

In Season 2, Arthie plans to kill off her Beirut gimmick and introduce a new persona, but her idea is stolen by Dawn and Stacey, causing a rift between them. Arthie also reveals that she failed med school, but she is more committed to GLOW than ever before. In addition, she slowly becomes attracted to newcomer Yolanda Rivas.

Reggie Walsh

Reggie Walsh (Marianna Palka) is an Olympic medalist. She is originally given the "Liberty Belle" gimmick in the persona test, but because of a lack of personality, the gimmick is given to Debbie instead, and Reggie becomes Vicky the Viking due to her tall, athletic stature and blond hair. Her in-ring persona is loosely based on the real GLOW wrestler Brunhilda.^[5]

In Season 2, Reggie is fired by Sam after defending Ruth over her decision to direct GLOW's title sequence and the show's pilot episode. When GLOW is relegated to a 2:00 a.m. time slot, Reggie is rehired by Sam to help complete the season.

Jenny Chey

Jenny Chey (Ellen Wong) is a Cambodian-American woman who takes the in-ring persona of Fortune Cookie, a stereotypical Chinese martial artist. Aside from wrestling, Jenny is in charge of the wrestlers' costumes.^[5]

In Season 2, Jenny helps Melrose with her constipation in exchange for her jacket. This results in some animosity between the two when new crew member Phil notices Jenny wearing the jacket and makes out with her.

Bash Howard

Sebastian "Bash" Howard (Chris Lowell) is the heir to the Howard Foods business empire and producer of GLOW, as well as the promotion's ring announcer and commentator. He provides the ladies with an old boxing gym for them to train and The Dusty Spur motel as their sleeping quarters. Bash also coordinates with K-DTV for broadcast rights and Patio Town for sponsorship. However, he is in a bind when his mother Birdie freezes his assets after having spent over $600,000 on GLOW. Bash is loosely based on GLOW creator David McLane and his dealings with financier/owner Meshulam Riklis.^[5]

In Season 2, Bash has the boxing gym converted into the official GLOW arena, but is once again strapped for cash due to Birdie funding him on a bi-monthly basis. Because of this, his butler Florian walks out on him due to a bounced check. When K-DTV relegates the show to a 2:00 a.m. time slot, Bash and Debbie go to a TV network convention and persuade several network producers to attend the final episode's taping in hopes for at least one of them to buy the show's rights. However, he is devastated upon hearing that Florian has died. While coping with his friend's death, Bash marries Rhonda on the show's final episode to help her secure a green card.

Mark Eagan

Mark Eagan (Rich Sommer) is Debbie's husband. He had encouraged Debbie to leave Paradise Cove to be happy and raise a family; however, during Debbie's pregnancy, he had a sexual affair with Ruth after they both got drunk at a party. After Debbie learns of his infidelity, Mark makes several attempts to mend their marriage. However, Debbie realizes that he has never taken her career seriously ever since her Paradise Cove days.^[5]

In Season 2, Mark moves out of Debbie's house after she divorces him. They share joint custody of their son Randy.

Mallory

Mallory (Amy Farrington) is a casting director who purposefully brings in Ruth to casting calls to show directors who not to cast in their projects. Seeing that Ruth is desperate for a break, Mallory leaves a message on her answering machine about a potential opportunity with GLOW. She also threatens to have Ruth blacklisted from all casting calls if she continues to stalk her in the office restroom. Later in the series, Mallory calls Cherry to inform her that K-DTV has invited her to audition for a TV drama titled Chambers and Gold.

Keith Bang

Keith Bang (Bashir Salahuddin) is Cherry's husband and the GLOW referee. Like Cherry, Keith previously worked with Sam on his exploitation films in the 1970s.

Florian Becker

Florian Becker (Alex Rich) is Bash's butler. He and Bash have known each other since the third grade. Florian participates in GLOW's pilot episode to present the GLOW Crown.^[7] He makes a cameo in the first episode of Season 2, but does not reappear due to a falling out with Bash over a bounced check. Florian is later revealed to be gay and passes away from pneumonia, possibly caused by AIDS.

Glen Klitnick

Glen Klitnick (Andrew Friedman) is an executive for North Hollywood-based K-DTV who picks up the broadcast rights of GLOW. On the night of GLOW's pilot episode taping, Glen tells Cherry that she won the audition for Chambers and Gold, but she must quit GLOW if she wants to take the part.

Billy Offal

Billy Offal (Casey Johnson) is a pizza delivery boy who develops a relationship with Justine. He and Justine have very differing opinions on Sam Sylvia's films, as he considers him to be a hack. In Season 2, Billy is the lead vocalist of the punk rock band Shitpope, with Justine printing t-shirts for them. Seeing that Justine has issues with Sam and Rosalie, Billy tells her to move with him to New York, where he plans to continue his band's career. Eventually, Justine breaks up with him and decides to move back with her mother to Sacramento.

Goliath Jackson

Goliath Jackson (Winston James Francis) is a veteran wrestler and Carmen's father. He is against Carmen pursuing a career in GLOW, as he wants her to get married and be a good housewife instead, but comes around to the idea by GLOW's pilot airing when he influences the crowd to cheer for her.

Big Kurt Jackson and Mighty Tom Jackson

Big Kurt Jackson (Carlos Edwin) and Mighty Tom Jackson (Tyrus) are Carmen's elder brothers. They are known in the wrestling business as the tag team "The Lumberjacksons". At the insistence of Carmen, the duo train Ruth and Debbie for their main event. In the Season 2 finale, Big Kurt angrily confronts Carmen when she trains the wrestlers to use one of his moves on the TV show, but is talked down by Debbie and convinced to help out for the show's final episode.

Patrick O'Towne

Patrick O'Towne (Andy Umberger) is the CEO of Patio Town, an indoor/outdoor lifestyle store chain. He initially declines to sponsor GLOW due to his lack of interest, but Sam convinces him to reconsider when Ruth cuts a promo as Zoya the Destroya during the ribbon-cutting ceremony of Patio Town's new Calabasas branch.

In Season 2, Patio Town withdraws its sponsorship of GLOW after Tammé hits Debbie with a breakable chair that is implied to be one of the store's products. Furthermore, Patrick is said to have been offended by the show's PSA on teenage pregnancy, as his mother was 15 when she gave birth to him.

Gregory

Gregory (Ravil Isyanov) is the cranky Russian manager of The Dusty Spur motel. When Ruth needs help in developing her Zoya the Destroya character, he takes her to a Russian Jewish family party. Fortunately, Ruth does not speak Russian and thus cannot understand what the family is saying about her.

Gary

Gary (Marc Evan Jackson) is Birdie's butler who has worked for the Howard family for eighteen years. Bash brings the women to one of Birdie's parties in order to try to raise money from the guests to reserve a venue for the pilot, but is stopped by Gary. After letting Bash tell a sob story about the women being recovering drug addicts, a clearly skeptical Gary lets them in. In Season 2, Bash meets Gary at Birdie's house after his falling out with Florian, and expresses his various issues to Gary over some soup. After revealing Florian himself had come by for help after he left Bash, Gary sympathetically offers to convince Birdie to give Bash the money to continue funding GLOW.

Yolanda Rivas

Yolanda Rivas (Shakira Barrera), also known as "Yo-Yo", is a Mexican American lesbian stripper who replaces Cherry in the role of Junkchain in Season 2. Despite having no wrestling background, she excels with her dancing skills, especially breakdancing. When Cherry returns, Yolanda defeats her to keep the Junkchain gimmick. Arthie falls in love with her after they film a segment where Beirut dreams of being a dancer and Yolanda is her male partner.^[8]

Russell Barroso

Russell Barroso (Victor Quinaz) is a member of the GLOW camera crew in Season 2. Prior to joining GLOW, he worked for pornography director Hal Freeman. Russell slowly develops a relationship with Ruth. When GLOW moves to Las Vegas after the show's final episode, Russell says farewell to Ruth, as he is still under contract with K-DTV.

Phil

Phil (Wyatt Nash) is a member of the GLOW camera crew in Season 2 who becomes romantically involved with Jenny.

Rick Hollander

Rick Hollander (Peter O'Brien) is a British director who works for K-DTV. After helming Quilting Bee Easy, the network's longest-running TV show, he is assigned to direct the female buddy cop series Chambers and Gold. The production proves disastrous due to Cherry's inexperience in acting, causing Hollander to try another narrative direction by cutting her lines and making her change her hair. Sam intervenes and convinces Glen and Hollander to release Cherry from Chambers and Gold so she can return to GLOW. Hollander also takes Sam's suggestion to rename Chambers and Gold to Good as Gold.

Susan

Susan (Phoebe Strole) is Mark's secretary in Season 2. Following their divorce, Debbie discovers that Mark has a relationship with Susan.

Tom Grant

Tom Grant (Paul Fitzgerald) is the president of K-DTV. He invites Ruth over for a meeting at his hotel room, where he sexually harasses her. When she walks out of the meeting, Grant punishes GLOW by relegating the show to a dismal 2:00 a.m. time slot and giving their original Saturday morning time slot to a men's wrestling show. Sam destroys Grant's car after hearing about what he did to Ruth.

Rosalie Biagi

Rosalie Biagi (Annabella Sciorra) is Justine's mother who is concerned about her new relationship with Sam and GLOW.

Cupcake

Cupcake (Patrick Renna) is Rhonda's biggest fan. He bakes cupcakes for her and proposes to her, but she rejects his offer. When Rhonda faces deportation for lacking a green card, she reluctantly agrees to marry Cupcake in the show's final episode. The wedding ceremony, however, is objected by Bash, who realizes that Cupcake does not really love Rhonda. When the wedding is changed to have Bash marry Rhonda, a frustrated Cupcake announces that wrestling is fake before he is kicked out of the ring.

Ray

Ray (Horatio Sanz) is the owner of a strip club chain that Yolanda used to work for. He befriends Sam during a high school dance attended by Justine. When negotiations for other networks to pick up GLOW fall through due to K-DTV owning the TV rights to the characters, Ray proposes to have the promotion moved to the Riviera in Las Vegas (which was the home of the original GLOW series) as a live show, claiming that GLOW has the potential to be a headliner and make at least $25,000 a week.