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 (2022). Below is a list consisting of the many characters who have appeared throughout the original series' seven-season run.
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.
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."
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.
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.
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.
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.
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."
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.
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.
The following characters are all family members and acquaintances of Aria Montgomery, one of the protagonists of the series.
The following characters are all family members and acquaintances of Spencer Hastings, one of the protagonists of the series.
The following characters are all family members and acquaintances of Hanna Marin, one of the protagonists of the series.
The following characters are all family members and acquaintances of Emily Fields, one of the protagonists of the series.
The following characters are all family members and acquaintances of Alison DiLaurentis, one of the protagonists of the series.