List of King of the Hill characters

King of the Hill is an American animated sitcom created by Mike Judge and Greg Daniels. The main characters are Hank Hill, Peggy Hill, Bobby Hill, Dale Gribble, Bill Dauterive, Jeff Boomhauer, Luanne Platter, Nancy Gribble, Joseph Gribble, Kahn Souphanousinphone, Minh Souphanousinphone, Connie Souphanousinphone, John Redcorn, Cotton Hill, Didi Hill, Buck Strickland, and Lucky Kleinschmidt are all listed first followed by recurring and guest characters.
Hank Rutherford Hill (voiced by Mike Judge) is the main protagonist who proudly sells "propane and propane accessories" as the assistant manager at Strickland Propane. Hank's enthusiasm for his career is not usually shared by other characters in the series. The episodes "Movin' On Up" and "Chasing Bobby" show Hank escaping from his troubled home life by working on his lawn and truck when times are tough. Hank resembles—in both voice and appearance—the Tom Anderson character from Beavis and Butt-Head, who is also voiced by Judge. Hank is usually a well-meaning father, but is often confused and anxious towards modern trends and the antics of his friends and family members. He suffers from a narrow urethra, which made Bobby's conception difficult. Hank is uncomfortable with public displays of intimacy with his wife and son. He has a very difficult time saying "I love you" to any member of his family, as he thinks it is unmanly. Hank's trademark exclamation when surprised, angered or discomforted (sounding like "Bwaaa!") and his phrase "I tell you what" ("what" in his dialect being pronounced "hwaht") are running gags on the series. Hank is always faithful, friendly, firm, reasonable, well-read, and hard-working. Much of the series revolves around Hank's desire to do the right thing compared to much of the rest of the people around him who would rather cheat, lie or exploit; however, the people who try to take advantage of Hank tend to regret it because Hank is tougher and a lot shrewder than they thought. His favorite sports team is the Dallas Cowboys (he never expressed much interest in the NBA and Major League Baseball teams in the Dallas-Fort Worth area) though he has indicated that being a Houston Texans fan isn't out of the question because they aren't in the same NFL conference as Dallas and would only require any rooting interest decisions if the Cowboys and Texans somehow faced each other in a Super Bowl. Hank is a proud Texan, having grown up there. He was, however, born in a ladies room at Yankee Stadium, and spent the first three days of his life in New York City.
Margaret J. "Peggy" Platter Hill (voiced by Kathy Najimy) (née Platter) is Hank's wife. Peggy was born in Montana and raised on her family's cattle ranch, her strained relationship with her mother being a source of drama for her. Peggy is a substitute teacher in Arlen, Texas, specializing in teaching Spanish despite having a terrible grasp of the language. Peggy resembles in appearance the Marcy Anderson character from Beavis and Butt-Head. Peggy is also a mediocre freelance newspaper columnist, notary public, an exemplary softball pitcher, a Boggle champion, and has started a career in real estate. She has a habit of adding or changing ingredients to ordinary dishes and then naming them after herself. "Spa-Peggy & Meatballs" and "Apple Brown Peggy" are examples. Peggy is very self-conscious about her larger-than-normal feet (size 16 ½ on the left, 16 on the right). Despite boasting of her intelligence, she has been the victim of manipulation, such as being conned out of $2,500 for a phony degree, indoctrinated into a homogeneous cult, and tricked into a pyramid scheme selling Herbalife inspired products. She has brown hair and typically wears glasses, an aquamarine sleeveless shirt, and denim culottes, but often wears different outfits.
Robert Jeffrey "Bobby" Hill (voiced by Pamela Adlon) is Hank and Peggy's husky son who starts out the series at 12 years old, and later turns 13 years old. He is best friends to Joseph and Connie. Although friendly, gentle, lovable, and generally well-liked, he is not very bright and often prone to making bad decisions. He wants to seek fame as a prop comic and move to New York when he is older. Bobby displays little interest in gender roles and, although superb at golf and target shooting, dislikes team sports, often taking such classes as Home Economics and Peer Counseling instead of more traditionally "masculine classes", much to Hank's chagrin. Although many (including Hank) tend to typify him as "not right", he is romantically successful, dating Connie and other girls throughout the series.
Dale Alvin Gribble (voiced by Johnny Hardwick from 1997–2022) is the Hills' chain-smoking neighbor who is also an insect exterminator among various self-appointed occupations. His physical appearance was modeled after Hunter S. Thompson. Hank considers Dale a close friend, but he often gets annoyed with his schemes and conspiracy theories. Dale is paranoid about any government activity and frequently uses the alias of "Rusty Shackleford" to operate without revealing his true identity, including receiving unemployment compensation payments as Rusty. Dale is the president of the Arlen gun club and is a licensed bounty hunter. He possesses a vast collection of guns from pistols to automatic weapons and is an ardent defender of Second Amendment rights. Despite being a firearms aficionado, his aim is relatively poor and despite being knowledgeable in military matters, he is the weakest, physically, of the main cast and is an abject physical coward. He is an avid UFOlogist. Dale remains oblivious to the fact that his wife, Nancy, has cheated on him with John Redcorn for 14 years and his son Joseph, who strongly resembles John Redcorn, is not his biological son. Everyone else knows of Joseph's paternity but chooses not to tell Dale because of his total obliviousness, the loving, trusting relationship he has with Joseph and Nancy, and the fact that Dale is more of a father to Joseph than John Redcorn.
Sgt. William "Bill" Fontaine de La Tour Dauterive (voiced by Stephen Root) is the Hills' overweight, divorced, clinically depressed neighbor. He grew up in Louisiana with his cousin Gilbert and speaks Creole and English. He was formerly a rugged star fullback on Arlen High's football team where he set the school record for touchdowns and was nicknamed the "Billdozer", and is now a sergeant barber in the United States Army. While his job mostly consists of shaving recruits, he is in fact an extremely talented barber who is able to replicate Hank's signature flattop when Hank's longtime barber became senile. Bill once had a bright future in the Army wanting to be a tanker, but ended up ruining his life after marrying the promiscuous Lenore. Bill is something of a masochist and is often attracted to people who abuse him; after suffering under his father and Lenore, Bill has an almost complete lack of self-worth. He obsesses about his ex-wife, and his loneliness is a running gag on the series. He frequently tries to flirt with and win over Peggy, who alternates between being disgusted and dismissive at his presence or recognizing his essential kindness and harmlessness and being nice to him. Despite coming across as a loser, however, Bill has enjoyed several romantic successes (or near-successes), including romances with Kahn and Luanne's mothers, former Texas governor Ann Richards, and the young widows of two of his dead cousins. He is named after executive producer and writer Jim Dauterive.
Jeffrey Dexter "Jeff" Boomhauer III, referred to as simply Boomhauer, (voiced by Mike Judge) is a slim blonde ladies' man and neighbor of the Hills, whose mutterings are hard to understand to the audience but easily understood by his friends. A running joke is when his friends fail to understand him for some reason other than his incoherence, such as reading out loud the legalese in a contract. His speech is usually heavily littered with the phrases "dang" and "dang ol'". Boomhauer can mumble his words, but he sings clearly and speaks other languages clearly (mainly French and Spanish). Boomhauer is a classic-car aficionado and owns a 1969 Dodge Coronet Super Bee (in high school, he owned a late 1960s Ford Mustang nicknamed "Ms. Sally"), and, despite his incoherent ramblings and womanizing, often displays himself to be more intelligent and philosophical than his three friends. Although hinted at previously, in episode 18 of season 13, his first name is finally revealed when a Canadian woman who lives next door to the family that trades houses with him for the summer calls him "Jeff", and the driver's license shown in the series finale reads "Boomhauer, Jeff". Throughout the series it is never known what he does for a living, although it was revealed in an early episode that he was an electrical engineer, but was on workers' compensation. At the end of the series finale, a badge seen in his open wallet reveals that he is a Texas Ranger.
Luanne Leanne Platter Kleinschmidt (voiced by Brittany Murphy 1997–2009) (née Platter) is the Hills' 21-year-old niece, daughter of Peggy's scheming fraternal twin brother Hoyt and his alcoholic former wife Leanne. Luanne moves in with the Hills after her mother Leanne stabs Hoyt with a fork during a drunken fight that tips over their trailer. Hank initially makes frequent attempts to encourage Luanne to move out on her own, but later more or less accepts her as a member of the family. She was a student at the beauty academy and later at Arlen Community College. She was often portrayed as an airhead. When Peggy was scammed by an internet test that "proved" she was a genius, she only believed it to be a scam upon learning that Luanne was also proclaimed a genius. Despite this, Luanne was shown to be an expert mechanic in the first two seasons and is good at logic puzzles. She also has something of a vindictive streak, especially when she feels slighted; she was once shown to have tried flushing Hank's keys down the toilet after being passed over for a propane sales position he was hired for instead (though she actually flushed Peggy's by mistake), and later tried putting Peggy's shoes and glasses down the garbage disposal and intentionally dyed Peggy's hair green after being fired as her stylist for a local beauty pageant. Luanne was promiscuous, but she settles down after being visited by the spirit of her first boyfriend, the slacker Buckley, whom she calls "Buckley's angel," and then attending a church-sponsored "born-again virgin" program, where she starts a Bible study class. Luanne created a puppet show entitled "The Manger Babies" for a public-access television cable TV station, featuring the barnyard animals who witnessed Jesus's birth (though they included a penguin and an octopus). In the 10th-season finale, Luanne revealed that she was pregnant with the child of Lucky, whom she married in the 11th-season finale. In the 13th and final season, she has a baby girl named Gracie Margaret Kleinschmidt. She wears a green sleeveless crop top and red capris (or, in some early episodes, a red-orange T-shirt and blue jeans).
Nancy Hicks-Gribble (voiced by Ashley Gardner) (née Hicks) is Dale's wife, Joseph's mother and weather-girl-turned-anchor for local news station Channel 84, and is 40 years old. She had a 14-year affair with John Redcorn, which produced her son, Joseph, although the affair ended when John Redcorn befriends Dale. Nancy finally becomes a faithful wife to Dale. John Redcorn refused to come back to her out of respect for Dale. Her mother Bunny was similarly unfaithful to Nancy's father, but did not reveal her own long-term affair until Nancy began suffering from stress-induced hair loss over her unresolved feelings for John Redcorn. Nancy is a former beauty queen, a fact which helped her get her job as a news weather-girl.
Joseph John Gribble (voiced by Brittany Murphy from 1997–2000, Breckin Meyer from 2000–2010) is Dale and Nancy's 13-year-old son and one of Bobby's best friends. Despite Joseph's obvious Native American features, his similarity in appearance to John Redcorn, and the fact that his middle name is "John," neither he nor Dale is aware that Redcorn is his biological father (Nancy refers to Dale having a "Jamaican grandmother" to explain Joseph's dark complexion). Redcorn's occasional and awkward attempts to get closer to Joseph (against Nancy's wishes) lead Joseph to regard him as strange and creepy. Joseph starts out as an ordinary teen, but eventually grows weird and creepy—not to mention dim-witted. Joseph begins to take after Dale more than John Redcorn, Nancy, or even any of his friends. Joseph has a half-sister named Kate (by John Redcorn having another affair), who is very similar to Joseph in personality and interests but likewise does not realize that Redcorn is their father. Joseph is the only character of the series shown to physically mature, having grown six inches in height over the course of a summer, a more built physique, athletic prowess and having a deeper voice and a wispy mustache upon his reappearance.
Kohng Koy "Kahn" Souphanousinphone (Lao: ຂອງ ຂ້ອຍ "ຄານ" ສຸພານຸສິນພອນ) (voiced by Toby Huss) is Hank's materialistic and self-centered Laotian-American next-door neighbor, Minh's husband, and Connie's father. He was born and raised in Laos until he emigrated to Anaheim, California before the events of the series took place, then moved to Arlen during season 1 due to problems with their previous neighbors. He frequently believes he is better than his new neighbors due to having more of and owning everything a little better than them, especially the Hills, often referring to them as "hillbillies" or "rednecks" despite not knowing what they mean. He frequently boasts of his superiority to others, though his biggest dream is to be more successful than Ted Wassanasong (Lao: ເຕດ ວະສະນາສົງ). Despite his arrogant and self-centered attitude, Kahn seeks approval and friendship from his neighbors. He previously worked for a defense contractor that manufactured composite ceramic armor, but was fired for spilling company secrets. After a string of job failures due to his attitude, which forced his family to move to other locations in the U.S., he found a new job in Houston, which forces him to commute. Upon recollection of the story of how Minh and Kahn met, it is revealed that he was formerly a rebel and playboy whom Minh chose over the straight-laced intellectual her father set her up with. In one episode, Kahn shows that he is a trained martial artist while getting into a fight with a few rednecks. In the episode "Just Another Manic Kahn-Day", it is revealed that Kahn has bipolar disorder (which was also briefly mentioned in the earlier episode "Lost in Myspace") and he wildly bounces between being brilliant and surprisingly likable when he's taking his medicine and being a miserable, sullen jerk when he's not. It is revealed in the episode "Three Days of the Kahndo" that Kahn has a brother also living in the U.S. with a family of his own.
Minh Souphanousinphone (Lao: ມິນ ສຸພານຸສິນພອນ) née Hexumalayasabrath (Lao: ເຮັກຫຳມາລາ​ຢາສາບຣາດ) (voiced by Lauren Tom) is Kahn's wife and Connie's mother. Minh is a 38-year-old housewife who enjoys making rude comments about the neighbors, particularly Peggy. Her father is Gum Nga Hexumalayasabrath, aka General Gum. She sometimes has a snobbish attitude toward the neighbors, referring to them as "hillbillies", "rednecks", or "dumb monkeys" despite lacking knowledge of what they actually mean. However, she is overall a more understanding parent and better neighbor than Kahn. She is a crack-shot with championship-level skills, and at one point joined Dale's gun club, exerting a positive effect on its members. She is highly competitive, going so far as to cheat on The New York Times crossword puzzle. Like her husband, Minh grew up in Laos, where her father was a powerful general in the army who was not happy with her decision to marry Kahn. She once told Nancy Gribble that she didn't grow up oppressed: rather, because of her father's high ranking position in the army, she "was peasants' worst nightmare", implying that she was a bully in her youth. She once taught Bobby some of the Laotian language.
Kahn "Connie" Souphanousinphone, Jr. (Lao: ຄານ "ຄອນນີ" ສຸພານຸສິນພອນ, ຈູເນີຍຣ໌) (voiced by Lauren Tom) is the 13-year-old daughter and only child of Kahn and Minh. She is one of Bobby's best friends who briefly falls in love with him and becomes his first girlfriend. She is a talented violinist, straight-A student, and general overachiever and child prodigy only because her father holds her to very high standards. Though it is implied that she works hard because of her overbearing parents, in reality, she does it for herself. Connie is named after Kahn because he wanted a son but was disappointed; if anything, Connie is often embarrassed by his egotistical attitude and rudeness towards others.
John Redcorn (voiced by Victor Aaron in 1997, Jonathan Joss in 1998–Present) is Nancy's Native American former "healer" and adulterous lover, and Joseph's biological father. He is a former roadie for Winger and lead singer of Big Mountain Fudgecake. In Season 9, he began writing and performing his own children's music. He works out of his trailer as a masseur, though his clients are generally only women. It is implied that he has a history of having sex with them, as Hank is horrified when Peggy goes to see him, and John Redcorn even states to him, "Hank, I consider you a friend. I would never heal your wife the way I heal the wives of others." He is also active in American Indian rights campaigns, and Dale once helped him with a lawsuit that netted him 12 acres of land from the federal government. However, he was manipulated into building a casino on the property, which was (and as of 2025, is) not legally permitted to operate inside Texas, whose tribes forfeit gaming rights for federal recognition, and his property was permitted for hazardous dumping to pay the debt. Because Dale had been so helpful, Redcorn felt extremely guilty over what he did with Nancy, and ended his affair by encouraging Nancy and Dale to strengthen their marriage. Dale re-tailored Redcorn's status as a musician from a mediocre rock singer to a successful children's performer. He also has a daughter, Kate, whose mother is Charlene.
Colonel Cotton Lyndal Hill (voiced by Toby Huss) is Hank's cantankerous father, Peggy's father-in-law and Bobby's grandfather. He has a hair-trigger temper and practically no respect for his son or daughter-in-law, although he has a soft spot for his grandson. Despite his many shortcomings, he occasionally showed a softer side, for example, in the episode "Cotton's Plot" where he helped Peggy learn to walk again after her parachuting accident. His shins were blown off in World War II by a "Japan man's machine gun" and his feet were reattached to his knees, resulting in a short height and stilted gait. Despite his disability, he eventually reached the rank of colonel in the state militia. After Cotton and his first wife Tilly, Hank's mother, divorced, he married a much younger, soft-spoken, busty blonde candy striper named Didi who gave birth to his youngest son "G.H." ("Good Hank"). He was immensely proud of his military service. Though his claim of fighting "nazzies" (Nazis) was proven false and his claim of killing "fitty [50] men" was dubious, his participation in several of the bloodiest battles in the Pacific Theater was confirmed and his uniform was shown to be decorated with the Medal of Honor and the Purple Heart. Cotton himself died in episode #1218, "Death Picks Cotton", after suffering severe burns and an allergic reaction to shrimp during a flashback at a Japanese restaurant. Instead of addressing Peggy by her name he calls her "Hank's wife".
Didi Hill (voiced by Ashley Gardner) is Cotton's second wife, Hank's stepmother, Peggy's stepmother-in-law and Bobby's stepgrandmother. She's a candy striper after she retired from being an exotic dancer. She has breast implants and suffers from postpartum depression following the birth of Cotton's third son "G.H." She is generally depicted as docile and ditzy, although she is a certified optometry assistant. She wasn't present when Cotton died, and years later when she calls Hank and says she needs to meet him to discuss something, Hank pointedly says that he hoped that he would not have any interactions with Didi anymore. She shows up with a box that Cotton had marked to be sent to Hank, and has no idea what it is, telling a frustrated Hank that she's forgotten everything about Cotton since she got engaged to a wealthy professional wrestler before driving away and never returning.
Buck Strickland (voiced by Stephen Root) is the slightly overweight, 68-year-old owner of Strickland Propane, and Hank's boss. A chauvinist, alcoholic, and adulterer, his physical appearance and attitude greatly resemble those of Lyndon B. Johnson, particularly his hairline and habit of hosting employee discussions in his bathroom. A picture of Buck seen in "Pregnant Paws" also shows him picking up one of his bloodhounds by the ears, much like a similar famous photograph of Johnson doing the same. Originally hailing from Arkansas, Buck was historically known for his modest start in business and general business smarts. These attributes have since been worn away by life and been replaced with many habits which often come in the way of his business decisions. Buck is a compulsive gambler to the point where he will use company profits to continue gaming, even betting in underground events. It is often implied that Hank reveres Buck and that, in Hank's eyes, the two have a close relationship. Compared to Hank who is the ultimate model of a good employee, Buck's vices require Hank to keep an extremely close eye. Buck refers to Hank as his "Golden Goose" implying Hank is the only reason his business remains afloat and thus he would never fire him. Hank has used the threat of quitting to capitulate Buck's transition from things Hank found unsavory. His health is questionable as he has suffered numerous infarctions and has had several cardiovascular surgeries including valve replacements.
Elroy "Lucky" Kleinschmidt (voiced by Tom Petty) is Luanne's boyfriend and later husband, a 38-year-old hillbilly. It's often hard for Lucky to hold down a job as he has no credit or Social Security number. He lives on the remainder of the $53,000 "settlement monies" he received after "slipping on pee-pee at the Costco" having had a portion of his spine fused. He was nicknamed "Lucky" after the settlement windfall. After he spent a majority of his money customizing his truck, his finances dwindled down to nine thousand dollars but regained another $53,000 when an ambulance chasing lawyer paid off Lucky to avoid a lawsuit. Lucky lives by an unusual but firm self-implied moral code, refusing to marry Luanne unless he receives a GED. Peggy tried very hard to break him and Luanne apart by sabotaging his studying efforts, but after Luanne's pregnancy was revealed, she and Hank reconciled the two, giving them a shotgun wedding at Lucky's request. He is also one of the guitarists for John Redcorn's band "Big Mountain Fudgecake". Although dimwitted in some aspects, Lucky has learned some facets such as basic math through life experience as opposed to formal education, and was astute enough to deduce that his father-in-law spent time in prison whereas Luanne believed the story that he works on an oil rig.
The following is a list of guest stars on King of the Hill.