Ugly Betty (TV series)

Ugly Betty is an American comedy-drama television series developed by Silvio Horta, which was originally broadcast on ABC between 2006 and 2010. It revolves around the character Betty Suarez who, despite her lack of style, lands a job at a prestigious fashion magazine. The series is based on Fernando Gaitán's Colombian telenovela Yo soy Betty, la fea, which has had many other international adaptations. It was produced by Silent H, Ventanarosa, and Reveille Productions partnered with ABC Studios and executive produced by Salma Hayek, Silvio Horta, Ben Silverman, Jose Tamez, and Joel Fields. The pilot was filmed in New York; seasons one and two were filmed in Los Angeles and seasons three and four in New York City.
During its first three seasons, it aired on Thursday nights, where it was mostly successful. However, viewership dropped significantly in the show's third season, particularly in the important 18–49 age group. In October 2009, the series was moved to Fridays, where it had trouble finding an audience. The backlash from its fans prompted ABC to move the show to Wednesdays at 10:00 pm Eastern/9:00 pm Central starting January 6, 2010, where it was thought that it would better complement its Wednesday hits Modern Family and Cougar Town.[1][2] Despite this, on January 27, 2010, ABC announced it was canceling the series due to low ratings.[3] Since the show's cancellation, it has gained a cult following. With the end of the series, there was talk of a push by Ana Ortiz and America Ferrera for an Ugly Betty movie.[4][5]
== Production ==
The idea to bring Ugly Betty to American TV screens began in 2001 when NBC was planning to adapt Betty as a half-hour comedy, which would be produced by Sony Pictures Television[6] but it didn't get past the planning stages (It took three writers to come up with a concept based around the character)[7] until ABC and Hayek's company came on board in 2004 and retooled it as an hour-long comedy-drama.[8] Two years later, on May 16, 2006, ABC announced that Ugly Betty would be part of the 2006–2007 North American season lineup as a weekly hour-long series; the initial order was for 13 episodes.
ABC had announced the title of the series would be Betty the Ugly, a change from its developmental title, but changed it back to Ugly Betty on July 14, 2006,[9] although the Ugly Betty title was already being used in promotions prior to this date on Citytv. There was speculation that the show would be a daily serial that would have debuted as a summer 2006 or midseason 2007 entry, but given the buzz and growing interest in the show, the network decided to make it a weekly series instead. On August 8, 2006, ABC decided at the last minute to make a schedule change to move Ugly Betty from its previously announced Friday 8 p.m. (ET) time period to Thursday at 8 p.m. replacing sitcoms Notes from the Underbelly and Big Day as a lead-in to top-rated program Grey's Anatomy, due to the growing interest in the show.
The program's pilot was tested on several cable providers to gauge interest and feedback from viewers, most notably the Hispanic community, including those who are fans of the original Betty, who hoped that ABC would maintain the integrity of the original. ABC also allowed its affiliates to show free off-air screenings to the public at various events ahead of the show's debut. In addition the network screened the debut episode on the web and made the episodes available for download on iTunes after their initial airings on January 5, 2007. The encore episodes also have run on ABC Family and SOAPnet, both of which have aired marathons of the show.
On October 13, 2006, ABC ordered a full season pick-up for the series, beyond the original 13 ordered at the May Upfronts[10] due to its premiere ratings. ABCoriginally announced 22 episodes for the season 1, but increased the number of episodes by one to 23. The season finale is the episode called "East Side Story." On March 21, 2007, ABC renewed the series for a second season.[11]
Although he joined NBC as their new entertainment head, Ben Silverman remained co-executive producer on the show, but in a limited role.[12]
In November 2007, the cast of the series made headlines when they threw their support behind the 2007 Writers' Strike by joining them on the picket line in solidarity. Ferrera commented on the reason why they did this: "The issues coming up with the actors' contracts are very similar to what the writers are dealing with right now, and we have to stay united and stand strong within the creative community for what we believe is fair."[13] On November 25, the cast appeared in a 38-second video for "Speechless Hollywood" in which a black & white camera pulled away from a close up of Ferrera to show her co-stars sitting next to her as they look directly at the camera without speaking.[14]
On February 11, 2008, ABC picked up Ugly Betty for the 2008–09 television season, along with nine other shows.[15] Unfortunately on the day the renewal was announced, two of the show's executive producers, Marco Pennette and James Hayman, were let go. The departure of Pennette and Hayman added to the constant off-camera turnovers on the series, including the exiting or firing of five writers.[16] In a Q&A from TV Guide, Michael Ausiello criticized the decision, saying "that someone saw fit to fix what wasn't broken" and praised the two men for writing several of the show's best episodes.[17] These turn of events may have also contributed to Rebecca Romijn's decision to no longer be a full-time regular on the series in the third season, citing the move by new writers to make changes in the direction of several characters, especially Romijn's role as Alexis.[18]
With the strike over as of February 12, there was the possibility for seven new episodes to be completed by April, bringing the number of second-season episodes produced to 20,[19] but only 18 episodes were eventually produced. As a result of the strike, creator Silvio Horta delayed plans for a musical episode and having Lindsay Lohan on board for a possible storyline until the third season.[20] Four days later on February 16, 2008, ABC picked up Ugly Betty for the 2008–09 television season.[21]
On March 12, 2008, Horta signed a two-year, seven-figure deal with ABC Studios, which guaranteed the show's future and gave Horta a chance to produce other projects aside from Betty.[22]
On April 17, 2008, the show's podcast, which was usually presented in audio and hosted by stars Urie and Newton, became available on video for the first time.[23]
On May 6, 2008, ABC announced that starting with the third season, Ugly Bettywould return to New York City and start production there. The move was done to bring the authenticity of the great series' setting into the show and to take advantage of a tax credit offered by the State of New York's Governor's Office of Motion Picture and Television Development.[24][not in citation given] The production returned to Silvercup Studios in Queens, where the original pilot was produced.[25] The move resulted in several Los Angeles crew members being let go.[26] These events would lead California Assemblyman Paul Krekorian to introduce bill AB X315, the "Ugly Betty Bill", which would keep television and film production from leaving the state by using tax incentives. The bill was passed by the assembly and Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger signed it into law on February 19, 2009.[27][28]
In January 2009, ABC announced that it was putting Ugly Betty on hold to make room for the new comedies In the Motherhood and Samantha Who? in the Thursday night time slot. The series' aired one more original episode on March 19, 2009.[29][30] On Sunday, March 15, 2009, ABC announced that, after a five-week break, Ugly Betty would return for its final five episodes of the season on Thursday, April 30, 2009. Ugly Betty's return was originally planned for May 7, but due to low ratings for Motherhood, ABC moved it up a week. The two-episode season finale aired on Thursday, May 21 from 8–10 pm.[31]
The move by ABC and the show's declining ratings led viewers to believe that ABC would cancel the show. But on February 17, 2009, Becki Newton stated that the show has been picked up for a fourth season.[32] That statement would later be confirmed on March 5, 2009, when Stephen McPherson, president of ABC Entertainment Group, announced that ABC planned to renew Ugly Betty.[33] On April 23, 2009, ABC gave an early fourth season renewal to Betty.[34]
Ugly Betty [35] began airing on Friday nights starting October 16, 2009, at 9:00 pm Eastern/8:00 pm Central, although it was originally scheduled to start a week earlier on October 9. This caused fans and critics to worry that ABC wished to end the show, since that time slot is perceived as the Friday night death slot.[36][37][38][39] On July 24, 2009, TV Guide Network announced that it had acquired the exclusive cable rights to the show and would air the fourth-season episodes two weeks after its ABC run with an option to strip the show daily, with plans to air it weekly starting in the fall of 2010.[40]
With Eastwick recently canceled, ABC began considering moving Ugly Betty to the Wednesday night 10:00PM Eastern/9:00PM Central timeslot,[41][42] although there was talk of moving Lost to that same timeslot. On December 1, 2009, ABC, sensing a backlash from viewers over its decision to move Ugly Betty to Fridays, its sliding ratings, and praises from critics over the improved storylines, made the move to Wednesday official by announcing that it would start airing new episodes on its new night starting January 6, 2010.[43][44]
== Plot ==
Betty Suarez is a quirky, 22-year-old Mexican American woman from Queens, New York, who is sorely lacking in fashion sense. She is known for her adult braces, rather unusual wardrobe choices, sweet nature, and slight naïveté. She is abruptly thrust into a different world when she lands a job at Mode, a trendy, high fashion magazine based in Manhattan that is part of the publishing empire, Meade Publications, of the wealthy Bradford Meade. Bradford's son Daniel has been installed as editor-in-chief of Mode following the death of Fey Sommers(Bradford's longtime mistress). Bradford hires the inexperienced Betty as his womanizing son's newest personal assistant to curb his habit of sleeping with his assistants. As time goes by, Betty and Daniel become friends and help each other navigate their individual professional and personal lives.
Life at Mode is made difficult for both Betty and Daniel by their co-workers. Their most serious threat comes from Creative Director Wilhelmina Slater, a vindictive schemer who devises numerous plots to steal Daniel's job and seize control of the Meade empire. In addition, Wilhelmina's loyal assistant Marc St. James and Mode receptionist Amanda Tanen continually mock and humiliate Betty for her lackluster physical appearance, awkward nature, and initial lack of taste in fashion, though they both ultimately warm to Betty in later seasons. However, not everyone at Mode is against Betty; she gains loyal friends in Scottish seamstress Christina McKinney and nerdy accountant Henry Grubstick. She also receives strong support from her father Ignacio, older sister Hilda, and nephew Justin.
=== Season 1: 2006–2007 ===
Season one premiered in the United States on September 28, 2006 and aired 23 episodes. Major plotlines during the first season include: Betty and Daniel settling into their respective roles as personal assistant and editor-in-chief at Mode fashion magazine; Betty's relationships with pre-Mode boyfriend Walter and new love interest Henry; Daniel's numerous sexual relationships and his relationship with fellow editor Sofia Reyes (Salma Hayek); Wilhelmina's plots with the "Mystery Lady" to undermine Bradford and Daniel's positions at Meade Publications; Christina's temporary switch to Wilhelmina's side in an attempt to boost her career; the truth behind the murder of Fey Sommers and the death of Daniel's older brother Alex; Ignacio's immigration status and health problems; and Hilda's struggle to find a new career and salvage her relationship with Justin's dad, Santos.
=== Season 2: 2007–2008 ===
The season's theme was "Brighter, Bolder, Bettyer" with a reworked version of Mika's "Hey Betty (You Are Beautiful)" being used as the featured song in its promos. Nine new recurring characters, played by Freddy Rodríguez, Illeana Douglas, Alec Mapa, David Blue, John Cho, Gabrielle Union, Gene Simmons, and Eddie Cibrian were introduced. Lorraine Toussaint continued in her role as Claire's fellow prison escapee, Yoga, as a recurring character. Production was halted in November 2007 due to the Writers Guild of America strike; ultimately the season episode order was cut to 18 instead of a proposed 23. New episodes did not air on U.S. television until April 24, 2008, starting with "Twenty Four Candles", and ending on May 22, 2008, with "Jump". This was the last episode to be produced in Los Angeles.
Major plotlines this season include the following: the love triangle between Betty, Henry, and a deli shop worker named Giovanni "Gio" Rossi; Claire's escape from prison, recapture, and trial for the murder of Fey Sommers; the aborted wedding of Wilhelmina Slater and Bradford Meade; Hilda and Justin's reaction to the murder of Santos in the season 1 finale, Daniel and Alexis's power struggle for Mode after their father's death; Amanda's search for her biological father; Marc's relationship with fashion photographer Cliff St. Paul; Hilda's attempt to start her new beautician career and a relationship with Justin's gym teacher; Christina's reunion with her recovering alcoholic husband; and Wilhelmina's scheme to conceive an heir to the Meade fortune using Bradford's sperm.
=== Season 3: 2008–2009 ===
ABC renewed the series for a third season on February 11, 2008. In addition, production was moved to New York City from Los Angeles to make the series more realistic and to take advantage of increased tax incentives in New York. The third season premiered on September 25, 2008. This season added ten new recurring regulars, played by Grant Bowler, Mark Consuelos, Heather Tom, Val Emmich, Ralph Macchio, Sarah Lafleur, Bernadette Peters, Lauren Velez and Daniel Eric Gold. Lindsay Lohan, Julian De La Celle, Derek Riddell and Eddie Cibrian returned from the second season for more appearances. "The Show" by Australian singer Lenka is used as the promo theme for the season.
The seasons begins with Betty moving to an apartment in the city, after rejecting both Henry and Gio. Major plotlines include Daniel and Wilhelmina's respective relationships with Molly and Connor - a former couple; Betty and Marc both competing in the YETI program, a series of classes for aspiring editors; Betty's new relationship with Matt Hartley, a wealthy sports editor also taking part in YETI; Christina's surrogate pregnancy for Wilhelmina, and later belief that the baby is in fact her own; Molly developing terminal cancer and Ignacio's heart problems resulting in Betty having to return home, resulting in Marc and Amanda taking on Betty's apartment.
The season was the last that featured Rebecca Romijn and Ashley Jensen as regulars, with Romijin's character Alexis moving to France to be with her son early in the season, and Jensen's character Christina returning to Scotland with her family in episode 20.
=== Season 4: 2009–2010 ===
Following dropping ratings in Season 3, Ugly Betty was moved from its Thursday night slot to the "Friday night death slot" resulting in further ratings decreases and protests from fans. Despite moving the show to a new Wednesday night slot in January, ratings failed to improve, and on January 27, 2010, ABCconfirmed that the series would end in April, at the same time reducing the season length from 22 to 20 episodes.[45]
Following the events of the season 3 finale, Betty is promoted to editor at Mode, but faces increased pressure when her former boyfriend Matt is named as her boss, in addition to hostility from Marc, who was passed over for promotion for Betty. Further storylines include Justin being bullied upon starting high school and subsequent relationship with male classmate Austin; Daniel struggling to adapt following Molly's death; Claire tracking down her long-lost son Tyler and his subsequent alcoholism; Hilda renewing her relationship with Bobby Telercio (Adam Rodriguez) and subsequent engagement and marriage.
The series concludes with the Suarez sisters leaving home, with Betty accepting a new job in London and Hilda and Justin moving out to live with Bobby. Daniel gives up his position at Mode, handing the reins to Wilhelmina; Marc's efforts are finally vindicated via promotion and Amanda is successful in finding her birth father. In the final scene, Daniel bumps into Betty in London, informing her that he is looking for his passion, and Betty jokingly offering him a role as her assistant.
Following news of the show's cancellation, a number of former cast members returned to reprise their roles in guest appearances, including Ashley Jensen, Christopher Gorham, Freddy Rodríguez and Grant Bowler.
== Cast and characters ==
Actor 	Character 	Seasons 	Seasons	Seasons 	Seasons
Actor 	Character 	1 	2 	3 	4
America Ferrera 	Betty Suarez 	Main 	Main 	Main 	Main
Eric Mabius 	Daniel Meade 	Main 	Main 	Main 	Main
Vanessa Williams 	Wilhelmina Slater 	Main 	Main 	Main 	Main
Tony Plana 	Ignacio Suarez 	Main 	Main 	Main 	Main
Ana Ortiz 	Hilda Suarez 	Main 	Main 	Main 	Main
Becki Newton 	Amanda Tanen 	Main 	Main 	Main 	Main
Michael Urie 	Marc St. James 	Main1 	Main1 	Main1 	Main1
Mark Indelicato 	Justin Suarez 	Main 	Main 	Main 	Main
Ashley Jensen 	Christina McKinney	Main 	Main 	Main 	Guest
Rebecca Romijn 	Alexis Meade 	Main2 	Main2 	Recurring	
Alan Dale 	Bradford Meade 	Main3 	Main3 	 	
Kevin Sussman 	Walter 	Main1 	 	 	
Judith Light 	Claire Meade 	Recurring	Main 	Main 	Main
Christopher Gorham	Henry Grubstick 	Recurring	Main 	Guest 	Guest
Daniel Eric Gold 	Matt Hartley 	 	 	Recurring	Main4
== Main characters ==
=== Betty Suarez ===
Main article: Betty Suarez
Betty Suarez, played by America Ferrera, is the main protagonist. Aims to run her own magazine in the future. She initially did not know the true circumstances that led to her hiring (annoyed by Daniel's womanizing, Bradford Meade hired Betty to be his son's assistant knowing that Daniel would find her unattractive and get him to take his job seriously), but stayed on as Daniel's assistant as they forged an unlikely friendship. Soon Betty became one of Daniel's most trusted friends, constantly keeping him from trouble, jail, and even once saving his life when his girlfriend, Reneé, proved to be a sociopath of sorts. She was also most supportive of him whenever he was battling against Wilhelmina, his father Bradford, his trans sister Alexis, or untrue accusations. Betty was at first discriminated by most of her colleagues due to her lacking fashion sense, but as she proved to be kind they ceased to mock her as much. She became best friends with Christina McKinney, the first person who was nice to her at Mode. She also became friends with Marc and Amanda, and though they are occasionally mean to her and enjoy teasing her clothes and ideas, they both bonded with Betty on numerous occasions such as when Amanda ran out of cash and moved in with Betty. She went to London for Hilda's bachelorette party with Amanda. She also met Christina Mckinney who is her best friend there as she is a famous designer. She wrote a column of London Fashion Week 2010 for Mr. Dunne a publisher. In the second to last episode of Season 4 she met Mr. Dunne again, who offered her a job as co-owner of a London magazine and she accepted the offer. In the last episode she met Daniel in London and asked him playfully if he wants a job to be her new assistant.
=== Daniel Meade ===
Main article: Daniel Meade
Daniel Meade, played by Eric Mabius, was named Editor-in-Chief of Mode by his father after the death of former editor-in-chief Fey Sommers; his appointment made him a target of Wilhelmina's schemes to take over the job that she felt she rightfully deserved. His womanizing and lackadaisical attitude towards his job led Bradford to hire Betty as Daniel's assistant; despite his initial reluctance and attempts to get Betty to quit, he and Betty forged a working partnership and friendship. His womanizing and later prescription drug addiction stems from his unhappy, dysfunctional family life. Sister and boss, Alexis, later convinces him to take a 'leave of absence', effectively ousting him from Mode. Retakes his job back after sales plummet but in an arrangement by Claire now shares co-EIC duties with Wilhelmina Slater.He then quit Mode and wanted to find what he is really passionate for. At the season 4 finale he went to London and met and asked Betty out to dinner.
=== Wilhelmina Slater ===
Main article: Wilhelmina Slater
Wilhelmina Vivian Slater (née Wanda Slater), played by Vanessa Williams, is the series' main antagonist. A respected figure in the fashion industry, she was passed over in favor of Daniel Meade for the Editor-in-Chief job at Mode after the death of Fey Sommers; she initially plotted to gain control on Mode by undermining Daniel's authority, often taking advantage of his inexperience. Wilhelmina was also in league with Alexis Meade, passing along information about the Meades while Alexis recovered from gender reassignment surgery and plotted to frame Bradford Meade for the murder of Fey Sommers. In exchange for Wilhelmina's loyalty, Alexis immediately appointed her as Mode's Editor-in-Chief, but Daniel's objections based on the company charter blocked the appointment. Alexis and Wilhelmina's partnership later crumbled as Alexis reconciled with her brother; Wilhelmina then set her sights on seducing Bradford, manipulated him into divorcing Claire (the true owner of Mode) with the hope of marrying into the Meade family as a way to gain control of Mode. However, Bradford refused to relinquish Mode; Wilhelmina then plotted to sabotage Mode and start up her own magazine, Slater, in its wake once she married Bradford, but his heart attack at the altar and subsequent death squashed her claims to the Meade empire. Following this, she was immediately fired from Mode - but before leaving she crashed the Mode computers, causing them to lose an important upcoming issue. Taking advantage of the crisis, she convinced most of the Mode staff to work for Slater. The plans for Slatereventually fell apart as Wilhelmina was unable to secure the necessary funds. She then resorted to using Bradford's sperm (which Wilhelmina obtained immediately after his death by bribing a debt-ridden doctor) to produce a child in hope of claiming a substantial stake in the Meade empire; she intended to carry the child herself, but complications of a "hostile womb" led her to enlist Christina as a surrogate. Alexis promotes her to editor in chief, after she succeeds in coming back to Mode. However, she would later be demoted again after sales plummet, only to be given co-EIC duties by Claire after Claire buys out Alexis' stake in Meade publications. She became the sole editor-in-chief of Mode in the last episode of season 4 after Daniel quit from the magazine.
=== Ignacio Suare ===
Main article: Ignacio Suarez
Ignacio Suarez, played by Tony Plana, is Betty's father. He spent 30 years in the United States as an illegal immigrant. Fled Mexico with his wife Rosa after presumably murdering Ramiro Vasquez, Rosa's first husband, in self-defense. He was sent back to Mexico after being denied a Visa, and became a target of Ramiro Vasquez's revenge. He made it back to the U.S. safely and became a citizen, thanks to Betty's secret deal with Wilhelmina.
=== Hilda Suarez ===
Main article: Hilda Suarez
Hilda Suarez Talercio, played by Ana Ortiz, is Betty's older sister. Initially protective and somewhat jealous of Betty as she pursued her career, but later became supportive. She was a sales representative for Herbalux Cosmetics until the company went under; after this she pursued a career in cosmetology and opened her own beauty salon. Single mother to Justin ever since her ex-boyfriend Santos abandoned them, but Santos later returned when she enlisted his help to cover the expenses for Ignacio's immigration dilemma; later reconciled with Santos and became engaged, but their happy ending was cut short by Santos's death. Later, she marries Bobby Talercio, her high school boyfriend, at the end of the last season.
=== Amanda Tanen ===
Main article: Amanda Tanen
Amanda Tanen Sommers, played by Becki Newton, is initially hostile to Betty because she'd taken the job that Amanda was gunning for; along with Marc, she'd find ways to make Betty's job difficult - misplacing memos, "forgetting" to pass along messages, and being nasty in general. Amanda and Betty would later become 'frenemies' - joining forces when needed (such as when they were both in danger of losing their jobs) and confided in Betty about her unhappiness at being one of Daniel's many girlfriends. Despite knowing his reputation, she'd fallen in love with Daniel and hoped she'd be the one to change his ways. When it was clear that Daniel wasn't interested in getting to know Amanda beyond the bedroom, she broke off their relationship. Amanda later admitted she had gotten her job at Mode because her father dealt with the finances of the editor, Fey Sommers; she would later find out that Fey was actually her birth mother, who'd given Amanda up because Fey felt she couldn't devote her efforts to Modeand to being a mother at the same time. With this discovery, Amanda began a quest to find her biological father, as well as capitalize on her connection to the fashion legend to attain fame and respect. At the second last episode of the last season she quit Mode to be a stylist. She discovered that Spencer Cannon was her biological father.
=== Marc St. James ===
Main article: Marc St. James
Marc St. James (né Marcus Weiner), played by Michael Urie, is the series' secondary antagonist. He was devoted to Wilhelmina, often deeply involved in her schemes to take over Mode and Meade Publications. Like Amanda, he was initially hostile to Betty but later became 'frenemies' when they were in danger of losing their jobs, as well as pretending to be a couple when Marc's overbearing mother visited. Betty had pushed a reluctant Marc to end the ruse and tell his mother that he was gay; he finally came out to his mother who seemingly disowned him because of it. He had an ex-boyfriend Cliff but broke up with him when he told him that he slept with another guy. After his break-up with Cliff, he had another boyfriend, Troy. He was promoted as Junior Fashion Editor at Modeafter 5 years of being Wilhelmina's assistant. In the end of the last season Wilhelmina promoted him as the new creative director of Mode.
=== Justin Suarez ===
Main article: Justin Suarez
Justin Suarez, played by Mark Indelicato, is Betty's nephew. His love of fashion and musical theater and flamboyant attitude has brought up questions over his sexual orientation, but his family is supportive of his interests. He had clashed with his father Santos over not being a "normal boy" in Santos's eyes, but later Santos had accepted his son for the way he is. In Season 4 it is revealed that he is gay and has a boyfriend named Austin. In Hilda's wedding they danced together. In the last episode he was with Austin. He is usually friendly with Marc St. James, who provides Justin with some emotional support.
=== Christina McKinney ===
Main article: Christina McKinney
Christina McKinney, played by Ashley Jensen, was the first person to befriend Betty when she arrived at Mode; with her knack for office gossip, she revealed to Betty about the true circumstances that led to Betty's hiring as Daniel's assistant. Despite her lack of trust in "the bitches at Mode" and especially Wilhelmina, she often became a willing pawn in Wilhelmina's schemes: as an aspiring fashion designer, Christina agreed to deliver evidence that would implicate Bradford Meade for the murder of Fey Sommers; in exchange Wilhelmina featured Christina's designs in the Mode fashion show. Christina admitted that she emigrated from Scotland five years prior to the first season, after abandoning her alcoholic husband Stuart. Stuart would later track Christina down at Mode, where he revealed he had severe liver damage and only had a few months to live, unless he secured the funds for an experimental treatment. Christina promised to get the money, but after her initial attempts failed, she reluctantly accepted Wilhelmina's offer in exchange to serve as the surrogate mother for Wilhelmina and Bradford Meade's child. She later gave birth to the baby (actually her own) during Fashion Week 2009. She eventually leaves with the baby and Stuart to go back to Scotland. She became a famous fashion designer in London and introduces Betty to Mr. Dunne who is a publisher and was last seen in Hilda's bachelorette party.
=== Alexis Meade ===
Main article: Alexis Meade
Alexis Meade (né Alexander Spencer Meade), played by Elizabeth Payne (credited as "The Mysterious Woman") and Rebecca Romijn, formerly Alex Meade and the actual father (now second blood mother) of Daniel Meade, Jr.; upon Bradford's vehement objections over Alex's desire to have gender reassignment surgery, he faked his death and hid for two years prior to the series start, recuperating from the surgery and emerged as Alexis. She was in league with Wilhelmina in plotting revenge against Bradford (in exchange for her loyalty, she promised Wilhelmina the editor job at Mode), but their schemes fell through as Alexis reconciled with Daniel and even attempted to make peace with her father, until she found out Bradford was plotting to get Alexis out of the country. In revenge, she hired a hitman to kill Bradford, but this plan backfired as the hitman had cut the brakes of Bradford's car that Alexis drove and crashed in a rush to get Daniel help following an overdose. After the accident Alexis suffered from retrograde amnesia, but has since remembered everything. Upon Bradford's death, she and Daniel fought over control of Meade Publications - which they'd settled though a paintball game in the Mode offices. She briefly sided with Wilhelmina by giving her the EIC role but changed her mind and reinstated Daniel after sales plummet. She would later give up her role as owner of Meade Publications by giving her shares back to Claire after she agreed to plead guilty after she accidentally pushed Christina down a flight of stairs. Claire gives shares to Wilhelmina in return for Alexis's freedom. When released, Alexis decides to leave and live in Paris.
=== Bradford Meade ===
Main article: Bradford Meade
Bradford Meade, played by Alan Dale, placed his son Daniel in charge of Modefollowing the death of Fey Sommers, the previous Mode editor and Bradford's mistress; this appointment angered Wilhelmina, who immediately began plotting to take over Mode. Annoyed by Daniel's lackadaisical attitude towards work and tendency to sleep with his assistants, Bradford hired Betty knowing that Daniel would find her unattractive and get him to focus on his job. He was suspected in Fey's murder, but was cleared when his wife Claire confessed. Bradford favored his son Alex over Daniel, until Alex told Bradford that he'd wanted a sex change; Bradford vehemently objected and threatened to disown Alex if he went through with the operation. After faking his death, Alex re-emerged as Alexis and with a vendetta against Bradford. When her partnership with Alexis fell apart, Wilhelmina set her sights on seducing Bradford, hoping to marry him and seize control of Meade Publications; however, Bradford suffered a heart attack and later died before he could say "I do".
=== Walter ===
Walter, played by Kevin Sussman, was Betty's boyfriend at series start; in the pilot episode, he abruptly dumped Betty for Gina Gambarro, but then pleaded Betty to take him back after finding out that Gina only wanted him for his employee discount. He and Betty reconciled briefly, although Walter's derision of Betty's job at Mode and her ambitions in general further strained their fragile relationship. They eventually broke up when Walter decided to accept a new job in Maryland; the split was amicable as they both admitted they had been drifting apart for a long time.
=== Claire Meade ===
Main article: Claire Meade
Claire Meade, played by Judith Light, is a recovering alcoholic, she was upset over Bradford's numerous infidelities, especially over his twenty-year-long affair with former Mode editor Fey Sommers. She had admitted to Betty that she killed Fey and attempted to leave the country in order to evade murder charges, but then turned herself in. When it was revealed that she was the true owner of Mode, Wilhelmina plotted to gain control by starting an affair with Bradford which led to his divorcing Claire in order to marry Wilhelmina; this action prompted Claire to escape from prison to stop Wilhelmina. After Bradford's death, Claire was sent back to prison to await her murder trial; she cleared of the crime when it was revealed Claire had unknowingly been under the influence of a poisonous perfume concocted by Fey that was meant to kill Claire, but instead the perfume had caused Claire to go insane and cause the events that led to Fey's demise. Now free, she soon found herself bored and neglected by her children; after meeting with other women with similar feelings of restlessness, she was inspired to start up her own magazine, entitled Hot Flash. She and Cal Hartely had an affair and had a child Tyler Meade-Hartley.
=== Henry Grubstick ===
Main article: Henry Grubstick
Henry Grubstick, played by Christopher Gorham, was originally from Tucson, Arizona. At the series start he shared a flirtation with Betty, but didn't make any serious advances since she was still involved with Walter. However, when Betty had finally broken up with Walter, Henry's ex-girlfriend Charlie had arrived from Tucson to reconcile with Henry. Betty admitted to Henry she had feelings for him, but was uncomfortable staying friends with him and Charlie. He later broke up with Charlie in order to date Betty, but then Charlie dropped in on their first date to reveal she was pregnant with Henry's child. Despite the circumstances, he and Betty start up a relationship, ever present of the looming deadline and heartbreak in store for them. The two would later break up after she turned down his marriage proposal. He also breaks up with Charlie after he returns to Arizona and now travels around the world with a new girlfriend. Later, he receives a drunk dialed message from Betty, inviting him to be her date to Hilda's wedding. The two eventually figure out they are too different to be together, and remain friends.
=== Matt Hartley ===
Matt Hartley (season 4; recurring in season 3), played by Daniel Eric Gold, is a love interest for Betty. The two hit it off, leading to indications that they could be more than just friends. He also has an MBA and almost became a lawyer. It was later revealed that he comes from a wealthy family after Betty discovered that a check sent to her family came from him. In the season 3 Finale, Matt and Betty are about to move in together. However, Matt sees Betty kissing Henry and breaks up with her at the end of the episode. In season 4, Matt ignores Betty and tries to show that he has no feelings for Betty but he has. In order to make Betty realize what she is missing, Matt takes a job as managing editor at Mode. He makes her life miserable, but they grow closer. Later on in the episode "The Bahamas Triangle", Matt kisses Betty and they get back together again, until Matt leaves in "Back in Her Place" to tour and help out in Africa.
== Recurring characters ==
Name 	Portrayed by 	Occupation(s) 	Biography
Cliff St. Paul 	David Blue 	Photographer 	Marc's fiancé; Marc was initially ashamed of having their relationship out in the open at Modedue to Cliff's less-than-fashionable appearance, but Marc later apologized after realizing he really didn't care what others thought of their relationship as long as they were happy. The relationship would end after Marc admitted that he slept with another guy to him just before he proposed to Cliff.
Suzuki St. Pierre
(the alias of Byron Wu)	Alec Mapa 	Fashion TV host 	Suzuki St. Pierre is a flamboyantly gay host on the Fashion Channel whose reporting on the Meade family and Modeoften fuels the intensity/plotting of the main characters. It is later revealed that St. Pierre's real name is Byron Wu and he is in fact a serious journalist, heterosexual, and lives a mainstream life with his wife and children in the suburbs when not on air. He developed the Suzuki St. Pierre character when he was unable to find lucrative employment in mainstream media and has been blackmailed by people threatening to "out" him as straight.
Elena 	Lauren Velez 	Nurse 	Ignacio's girlfriend; Was friendly with Hilda when she hired her to watch over Ignacio, who at first disliked her changing his normal routine after his heart attack. But that would all changed when he began to warm up to her, resulting in the two becoming a couple, a move that would cause Hilda to turn on her but later warm up to. She also helped deliver the presumed "Meade-Slater" baby during Fashion Week 2009.
Connor Owens 	Grant Bowler 	Chief Financial Officer of Meade Publications	Originally hired by Wilhelmina (but in reality by Daniel as part of his scheme) to help solve a financial crisis at the company. He is a long-time friend of Daniel. He had a fiancée, Molly, but that would end abruptly thanks to Wilhelmina (who wanted Connor) and by Daniel (whom he would punch out after Molly dumped Connor). Betty later learned that he was siphoning money out of the company, and when Wilhelmina was tempted with an offer to go away with him, she accepted only to discover that he had left the country after she tried to turn him in.
Nico Slater 	Jowharah Jones(season 1)
Yaya DaCosta(season 4)	Daughter of Wilhelmina Slater 	Her relationship with Wilhelmina is uneasy, as Wilhelmina treats Nico more as a nuisance; they later reconcile. Nico later attempts to extort Wilhelmina by telling her that she had murdered her abusive boyfriend, but due to interference from Marc, Wilhelmina exposed Nico who left in shame.
Calvin "Cal" Hartley 	David Rasche 	Billionaire businessman 	Father of Matt Hartley. Agrees to invest in Meade Publications, which will go broke if he doesn't. Insists that Wilhelmina remain with the company even though she was not the mother of the baby she believed was the biological son of Bradford. He had an affair with Claire Meade that resulted in a baby.
Victoria Hartley 	Christine Baranski	Socialite 	Protective of her son Matt and resented Betty for dating him. Estranged from Calvin because of his affair with Claire, thus in turn make both ladies enemies.
Meegan 	Smith Cho 	Betty's co-worker 	Tends to give Betty the cold shoulder, despite Betty's efforts to win her over.
Natalie 	Jamie-Lynn Sigler 	Assistant to Daniel Meade 	She met Daniel at a support group and became close. She also took over Betty's assistant role, much to the resentment of Betty. She also began manipulating Daniel by luring him into a cult-like organization
Bennett Wallace 	Dylan Baker 	Cult leader 	Leader of "The Community of the Phoenix," a cult that is trying to lure Daniel into their fold by using Modeas their front. Natalie is a member and supposedly taking orders from him.
Austin Marley 	Ryan McGinnis 	High school student 	Began a rivalry with Justin over a girl in their acting class. Following one of the class's performances, the two shared an unexpected kiss when the curtain fell. Austin and Justin date secretly, with Justin's stepfather-to-be Bobby seeing them stealing a kiss at the front door of the Suarez house. Austin is very patient with Justin as he deals with his sexuality. Austin attends Hilda's wedding as Justin's date and the two dance together.
Daniel "DJ" Meade, Jr.	Julian de la Celle	Schoolboy 	Daniel "DJ" Meade, Jr. is the illegitimate son of character Alexis Meade. His existence was revealed in the final episode (2.18) of Season 2. Daniel Sr. had an affair with the child's mother over a decade earlier, but she had never contacted him to let him know the child was his. When she died, she left a letter for her son naming Daniel Sr. as the father. When Daniel Jr. came to New York City on a field trip, he left the group and wandered to Modemagazine, where he found Daniel. With the help of a translator, he told Daniel Sr. his story. Daniel initially denied he was the boy's father and demanded a paternity test, attributing the scandal to his nemesis, Wilhelmina Slater. Upon reading the letter from the boy's mother, he was convinced.
Season 3 begins one month after the finale, in late summer to early fall. Daniel Jr., now called DJ, understands more English, although he speaks very little. The same goes for Daniel Sr. in the reverse. He and his father communicate by predominately speaking to one another in their native languages with the occasional usage of words or sentences from the other. They understand each another with increasing success. As the show was English-language, DJ's French dialog was often clarified by situational context, the responses of the other characters or subtitles.
Sofia Reyes 	Salma Hayek 	Editor-In-Chief of MYW
Author 	Used Daniel and Betty by luring Betty away from Mode and manipulating Daniel into falling in love with and proposing to her so she could make him the subject of her premiere issue, and in the process endures Amanda's wrath.
Santos 	Kevin Alejandro 	Petty criminal 	Hilda's late fiancé and Justin's father; Known for gambling and running into trouble with loan sharks; Was hated by Ignacio because of his background and abandoning Hilda and Justin; Homophobic towards Justin, but defended him regardless; Asked Hilda to marry him, but would lose his life when he tried to protect a shopkeeper against a robber.
Gina Gambarro 	Ava Gaudet 	Housewife 	Used Walter; Archenemy of Betty and Hilda; spent time in Juvenile Detention as teen; spreads gossip; left Queens to marry a wealthy doctor, used that to restart her feud with Hilda. According to Christina and Daniel, Gina has a name that would fit a fashion designer.
Fabia 	Gina Gershon 	Fashion/cosmetics mogul 	Is a top advertiser at Mode. A close "frenemy" to Wilhelmina Slater. With the exception of the "Pilot", in every appearance in season 1, she insults Wilhemina, with comments about her age or appearance.
Steve 	Stelio Savante 	Private investigator 	Hired by Bradford Meade to dig up information about Fey Sommers' death, especially anything that would implicate Bradford's involvement in Fey's death. He was later discovered to be a double agent - presumed by Bradford that Steve was working for Fey, but actually worked for Alexis and Wilhelmina - and buried alive by Bradford's henchman.
Grace Chin 	Lucy Liu 	Lawyer 	An accomplished defense attorney hired to represent Bradford, who was accused of Fey Sommers' murder. She agreed to take the case only after Daniel fully apologized for standing her up during their college days. She and Daniel briefly had a relationship, which ended (along with her involvement in Bradford's case) when Alexis threatened to expose their affair.
Constance Grady 	Octavia Spencer 	Immigration caseworker 	Caseworker who made Ignacio's life a living hell...until she starts falling for him; Has a habit of falling for male immigrants and uses that scheme to hold their green cards applications over their heads; When Ignacio told her he wasn't her boyfriend she slapped an ankle bracelet on him as payback; Discovered by Hilda that she was actually fired after she attempted to marry Ignacio.
Ameila "Yoga" Bluman 	Lorraine Toussaint	 	She was a convict who befriended Claire and aided with her escape from prison; she was incredibly protective of Claire, keeping her from doing something rash that would lead to their capture. They planned to flee to Italy until Claire heard of Bradford's heart attack: they briefly hid at the Suarez home when Claire decided to see Bradford one last time while Yoga stayed behind. Upon her re-arrest, Claire told the police that Yoga was killed during their escape; after hearing this, Yoga fled the Suarez home (presumably for Italy as originally planned) and has not been seen since.
Renee Slater 
(née Rhonda Slater)	Gabrielle Union 	 	Wilhelmina's younger sister; dated Daniel despite Wilhelmina's objections. She has a history of serious mental illness that led to the accidental death of her ex-boyfriend, and underwent years of therapy and was on medication. When Renee found out the truth about Wilhelmina's child with Bradford Meade, Wilhelmina switched her medication, prompting Renee's disorder to re-emerge: Renee became irrationally jealous and moody, and was so convinced that Betty was in love with Daniel that she accidentally set Daniel's apartment on fire and attempted to kill Betty. Following this incident, she was committed to a mental hospital.
Kimmie Keegan 	Lindsay Lohan 	Manager at Flushing Burger
Associate Editor at Mode	Betty's High School schoolmate who tortured her on numerous accounts. She worked as Ignacio Suarez's boss at Flushing Burger earlier in season three. After abusing Ignacio at work, she was confronted by Betty and Hilda, getting them all into a food fight after she destroyed Betty's "idea binder". She and Betty later reconciled after Betty apologized for her behavior, and Kimmie admitted that she was jealous of Betty because she seemed to have everything "so together". She later arrived at Modein hope for Betty to find her a job, and was originally a disaster but after Betty decided to help her, became more successful. She then befriended Marc and Amanda, but after Betty accidentally got her a big promotion, she began to treat Marc, Amanda, as well as Betty horribly. However, Wilhelmina soon fired her after she attempted to trump Willi in a decision for the cover shoot that Betty was in charge of. This a scheme concocted by Marc, Amanda, and Betty, although the latter tried to warn her eventually but she did not listen. She vowed to get revenge before being taken away by security.
Beckett "Becks" Scott 	Bailey Chase 	Photographer 	Known to be a playboy and hangs out with Daniel when he is in town; spent a lot of time in Africa. Though a loyal friend, he can sometimes be a bad influence in motivating Daniel to continue his womanizing ways. His character is the American counterpart of Mario Calderon.
Nick Pepper 	Max Greenfield 	Assistant to Alexis Meade 	Not liked by the other assistants because of his "I'm better than anyone" attitude; has an ongoing (and romantic) rivalry with Amanda, who wants to take his job. He would end up taking a bigger paying job as an assistant editor at a New York daily. He had a sort of babyish attitude and takes advantage of some things but not with Alexis. He has been hated by everybody at Mode but a subtle relationship for Alexis and is sometimes sarcastic. He inspired Betty to apply at YETI after he became an editor.
Giovanni "Gio" Rossi 	Freddy Rodriguez 	Sandwich salesman 	His annoyance has gotten Betty's attention in more ways than one; has dreams of owning a restaurant. As Hilda has noted, Gio appears to have a crush on Betty. After she turned down his offer to go to Rome, he went as far as banning her from his life, but in the end they become friends and has moved on. In season 4, Gio meets Betty in England and states he is engaged to another and inspires her to step off the path of fashion
Sheila 	Illeana Douglas 	Creative Director at Mode 	Sarcastic version of a Wilhelmina-in-training; treats Betty as if she never existed; admitted to having made out with Fey Sommers and made her true feelings known about daughter Amanda and her talents; Obsessed with Victoria's Secret and drinking under working stress. Briefly took over as Creative Director of Mode when Wilhelmina left to start her own magazine.
Kenny 	John Cho 	Accountant 	Henry's friend and fellow accountant at Meade Publications; despite his preppy, upper-class upbringing, he harbors dreams of becoming a rap superstar. His habit of "street-talking" annoys everyone, especially Betty and Alexis.
Hilary 	Juliette Goglia 	Junior high school student 	Justin's best friend and fellow Drama Club member; she told Justin about where Hilda was really working at after she was fired from her first job at a beauty salon; Is under peer pressure from her fellow female classmates to be more like them.
Charlotte "Charlie" 	Jayma Mays 	Jewelry designer 	Henry's ex-girlfriend and Betty's rival; came to New York unannounced in order to rekindle her relationship with Henry, who was in love with Betty. She initially befriended Betty, but later realized Betty and Henry's attraction to each other and became jealous. Henry later broke up with her in order to date Betty, but then Charlie revealed that she was pregnant. Betty would find out that Charlie had a fling with Dr. Farkas, Betty's orthodontist, putting her child's paternity in question. After Henry found out about Charlie's infidelity, a paternity test was done and revealed that Henry was the father. She moved back to Tucson, but returned to New York late in her pregnancy; bitter about the turn of events, she was incredibly nasty to Betty and looked for ways to keep Henry and Betty from spending time together. Charlie later reconciled with Betty, admitting that she cheated because Henry was in love with Betty and she acted out against both of them because she was alone and afraid. After Charlie gave birth to their son Nate, both she and Henry returned to Tucson, but the two would later break up.
Jodi Papadakis 	Bernadette Peters 	Teacher at YETI
Editor at the New York Review	Proclaimed by Betty as her idol, but she somehow gives her a hard time when it comes to handing out difficult assignments. In the season 3 finale she steals Betty's dream job at the New York Review.
Molly Meade 	Sarah Lafleur 	Elementary school teacher 	Connor's former fiancée and Daniel's wife. They became a couple after she broke with Connor, but the relationship took a turn for the worse after she reveals to Daniel that she has cancer. Even though he was shocked, they finally get back together and after a while he proposes to her. In the season finale of season 3, to Daniel's shock and dejection, Molly dies.
Archie Rodriguez 	Ralph Macchio 	New York City councilman 	He was responsible for having Hilda shut down her beauty shop because she didn't have a license, but later advised her she could operate as a boutique. The two begin to date, but drift apart slowly, so they break up
Randy 	Max Ehrich 	High school student 	Randy was one of the bullies in Justin's school who later surprised Justin by showing up at an audition for a Broadway musical. He became Justin's new best friend but under pressure from his "jock" friends, he humiliated Justin by calling him "pathetic", thus ending their friendship.
Bobby Talercio 	Adam Rodriguez 	Teacher 	Hilda's love interest in season 4 and eventually husband. Bobby and Hilda dated in high school, not long before she got involved with Santos. Betty always had a crush on Bobby, but he always thought of her as a kid. Hilda and Bobby became reacquainted when she discovered that he was teaching Driver's Ed at Justin's school. Hilda and Bobby then began seeing each other again, but Ignacio wasn't pleased, because he had always believed that the rumors about Bobby's family being involved with the mob were true. Eventually, Bobby proves himself to Hilda, as well as to her family, and he asks her to marry him. Bobby accidentally spots Justin kissing Austin and "promises" not to tell Hilda, but intentionally clues her in. They were planning a "come-out" party until Marc told them it was the best idea to let him come out to them in his own time. Bobby and Hilda get married in the second final episode, and later move into their own apartment with Justin.
== Minor characters ==
Characters who appeared in at least one episode as part of various storylines.
Name 	Portrayed by 	Occupation(s) 	Biography
Vincent Bianchi	Rhys Coiro 	Photographer 	In "Queens for a Day": Initially refused to work for Mode due to a dispute, but after bonding with Betty over their neighborhood connections, she convinced him to change his mind.
Leah Stillman 	Debi Mazar 	Confidence trickster 	Befriended Hilda by claiming to be a lawyer's assistant; scammed Hilda out of thousands of dollars when Leah promised to help out with Ignacio's immigration troubles.
Ted LeBeau 	Brett Cullen 	Owner of Beau-Mart 	Texan businessman who romanced Wilhelmina, but ended their relationship when he decided to reconcile with his ex-wife.
Hunter 	Teddy Sears 	Stripper 	In Four Thanksgivings and a Funeral, he posed as Sofia Reyes's perfect fiancé to make Daniel feel insecure. His real job and involvement in Sofia's plot was later discovered by Betty and Christina in "Sofia's Choice".
Petra 	AnnaLynne McCord 	Fashion model 	In "Punch Out" and "Petra-Gate": pretended to be 16 years old after she slept with Daniel in an attempt to further her career; revealed to be actually 20 years old.
Lena 	Ivana Miličević 	Manager 	In "Punch Out" and "Petra-Gate": Petra's mother and manager, who initially posed as her sister to charm Daniel; after Daniel slept with Petra, she admitted that she was actually her mother and would turn Daniel in to the police unless he put Petra on the cover of Mode. Their plan is foiled when Petra's true age is revealed.
Tavares 	Mykel Shannon-Jenkins	Fashion designer 	In Petra-Gate and A Tree Grows in Guadalajara: Pretended to be gay in order to be taken seriously as a designer; he charmed Amanda into getting him an appointment with Wilhelmina.Him and Amanda often had sex thought she turned him straight and he admitted that he was actually straight ; they then started dating in secret. He treated Amanda horribly in public to keep up the ruse prompting her to break it off, but not before exposing and humiliating him.
Rodrigo Veloso 	Cristian de la Fuente	Creative Director at Mode Brasil	Alexis' ex-boyfriend.At Wilhelmina's suggestion, he was recruited by Bradford to seduce Alexis and convince her to move to Brazil with him, in exchange for the editor-in-chief job at Mode Brasil. His relationship with Alexis ended when he discovered the truth.
Dwayne 	Rick Fox 	Bodyguard 	Wilhelmina's bodyguard and lover, despite her engagement to Bradford Meade. Betty found out about their affair, but agreed to keep it a secret when Wilhelmina offered to use her connections to speed up Ignacio's return from Mexico.
Diane 	Kristin Chenoweth 	Dental nurse 	A dental nurse who helped Betty uncover the affair between Dr. Farkass and Charlie, and encouraged her to tell Henry. Diane had a love for romantic comedy films and regularly compared life situations to movies.
Lily 	Lydia Jordan 	High school student 	A student at Justin's drama class. Justin claimed to have a crush on Lily, and kissed her on stage, but later admitted that in fact it was their classmate Austin that he had the crush on.
Penny Meadows 	Rachel Dratch 	Features editor at Mode 	The former features editor at Mode who apparently isn't that pleasant to be around. Betty tells Daniel that "She's mean and scary, and always has terrible breath like coffee and mothballs". She falls 28 stories off the Meade Publications building to her death after trying to shoo pigeons off the window sill of her office. Marc and Betty vie for her job, and after a flip of a coin, Betty receives it.
Heinrich 	Michael Stuhlbarg 	Fashion Designer 	Appeared in There's No Place Like Mode Heinrich was an eccentric fashion designer whose designs centred around the idea of pain, using materials such as; broken glass, barbed wire and razor blades. Betty was asked to write his press release for the Mode show but eventually ran his show. She at first was unsure of an idea due to Heinrich being obscure with what he wanted and telling her to 'listen to the clothes. After Matt gave her the idea to personally get involved, she discovered that he'd grown up behind the Berlin wall and lost his father as he tried to escape, using this as an idea she presented the show that William would be born at. Heinrich loved the show and gave her a barbed wire headpiece which Amanda then tried to steal. According to Amanda he is her favourite designer even though originally she said she'd never heard of him. At the end of the episode Betty jokingly threatens Daniel with making him wear Heinrich's clothes.
== Unseen characters ==
The following characters play important roles in Ugly Betty, although they are never seen on screen.
Name 	Occupation(s) 	Biography
Fey Sommers	Former Editor-in-chief of Mode	(Died: 2006) Formidable longtime editor of Modemagazine, Fey gave birth to a daughter (Amanda Tanen), but placed the baby up for adoption. Fey conducted an affair with Bradford Meade and attempted to poison his wife Claire, but the murder attempt backfired when Claire cut the brakes on Fey's car. Her former assistant, then-Creative Director Wilhelmina Slater, attempted to frame Bradford for the murder, but failed.
Rosa Suarez 
(née Sálazar, formerly Vasquez)	Unknown (possible housewife) 	(Died: 2001) Deceased mother of Betty and Hilda Suarez and wife of Ignacio Suarez. She was originally married to Ramiro Vasquez in Mexicoand Ignacio was employed as their cook — Ramiro was physically abusive to Rosa and Ignacio killed him. Ignacio and Rosa fled to the U.S. where they married, and also where Rosa died after a long battle with cancer. In the episode "A Tree Grows in Guadalajara", it is mentioned that Betty strongly resembles Rosa.
; Cast notes
:
* ^1 In the first season, Michael Urie and Kevin Sussman are credited as guest stars from 1x01 to 1x13, being billed as main cast members from 1x14 onward.
* ^2 In the first season, Rebecca Romijn is introduced as main cast member in 1x13, having not appeared prior to that.
* ^3 In the second season, Alan Dale is only credited as a main cast member through 2x10.
* ^4 In the fourth season, Daniel Eric Gold is only credited as a main cast member through 4x11.
== Cancellation ==
On January 27, 2010, ABC announced that Ugly Betty would cease production after the fourth-season finale, which aired in April 2010.[46] "We've mutually come to the difficult decision to make this Ugly Betty's final season", executive producer Silvio Horta and ABC Entertainment president Steve McPherson said in a joint statement. The show had struggled in the ratings in the US, falling from an average 8.1m to 5.3m viewers between the third and fourth seasons.[47]
== Future ==
On April 16, 2010, it was reported that an Ugly Betty movie could be in the works. In an interview, series star Ana Ortiz stated:
On September 15, 2010, America Ferrera stated that she knows of no plans for an Ugly Betty movie and that she thinks "the rumor is well and alive— it's always a possibility I suppose!".[49] On September 29, 2010, Entertainment Weekly writer Michael Ausiello reported that a movie is not going to happen.[50]
On February 7, 2011, Eric Mabius stated on The Sun newspaper "There may still be a romantic conclusion for Daniel and Betty. The fans want a film and hopefully that will happen if enough people ask for it."[51]
On November 9, 2011, Ferrera stated on Perezhilton.com "It's so wonderful that the fans care so much that this question about the movie just keeps coming up. It's not anything that's actually in the works but is something that's always a possibility, and it's wonderful to know that the fans want it."[52]
On April 10, 2013, Michael Urie was asked about his stance on a potential movie. "Oh my god, absolutely! Everyone would jump right back on that!" enthused Urie, who played Marc St. James on the show. "[Working on Ugly Betty] was the best and I'm still in close contact with all of those people."[53]
On April 16, 2013, a Facebook Kickstarter campaign was started in the hopes of getting Silvio Horta's attention to create a movie. The campaign's goal is to follow in the footsteps of Veronica Mars, who also funded their movie through the fundraising site Kickstarter.[54]
== Spin-off ==
=== Mode After Hours ===
Mode After Hours is a spin-off web-series which chronicles the adventures of Marc and Amanda when all (excluding security) staff members have left Mode for the night. The two usually plan on what to do in the future, dressing up as co-workers and mocking them, prepare for a date, going onto online dating sites, competing in certain activities, and inadvertently annoying security.
Even though the show mainly features Marc and Amanda, a few other characters are seen whose faces are never shown. Perhaps the only other main character of the show is Marc and Amanda's only nemesis who is, by far, the only mentioned MEADE Publications Security Officer, named Sander, who is in charge of watching the Mode hallways. Sander would be a judge of some competitions between the two such as dancing but on a negative note, he collects tapes of Marc and Amanda and is making a collection of the two fooling around.[citation needed]
== Competition with other "Betty" offshoots ==
Although Disney-ABC Domestic Television (Buena Vista Television) has sold the series to foreign territories, the English-language version is expected to compete with the in-house versions in several of the locations.[55]
As noted by the international broadcast posted below, several of these broadcasters have not only acquired this version, but the counterparts as well, including those that were produced by the broadcasters themselves. So far the series has been sold to TV networks and broadcasters in over 130 countries, making this version the most successful of the "Betty La Fea" franchise,[56] but in the Guinness World Records 2010 El Libro De La Década, it stated that Yo Soy Betty La Fea is the most successful soap opera in the world, upstaging Ugly Betty.[57]
In the U.S., Univision aired the Mexican counterpart La fea más bella, which ran weeknights at 8 p.m. (E/P), including Thursdays during the same time Ugly Bettyairs. The star of the Mexican version, Angélica Vale, was anticipated to make a cameo in the 22nd episode, playing Betty's "counterpart" from the series, Leticia 'Lety' Padilla Solís;[58] Vale instead appeared in the season finale playing Angelica, an orthodontist's assistant who looks exactly like Lety (pre-makeover).
=== Inspired versions ===
While the original Betty la Fea has spawned serialized versions globally, it appears that the weekly American version has begun to pique interest as well.
A version of Yo soy Betty, la fea made by Bosnian Federalna Televizija (FTV), Croatian RTL Televizija and Serbian Fox Televizija began airing in October 2007. The title of the show was Ne daj se, Nina ("Don't give up, Nina"). After a long audition, newcomer Lana Gojak, who resembles America Ferrera, was cast in the role of Nina (Betty). Other cast members were established actors such as Robert Kurbaša, Edvin Livarić, Bojana Ordinačev, Petar Ćiritović, Andrija Milošević, Kristina Krepela and Sloboda Mićalović. The first, and only, season consisted of just over 50 episodes. Although the storyline basically followed that of Yo soy Betty, la fea, Lana Gojak's appearance as Nina seemed to be based more on the heroine of Ugly Betty than on that of Yo soy Betty, la fea. The series had a number of other elements that were directly borrowed from Ugly Betty, rather than from Yo soy Betty, la fea. The series did pretty well in the ratings, but was too expensive to produce, so a second season was never ordered.
In 2007, there had been talk of an Arabic version of Ugly Betty, which would have been produced and shot in Dubai.[59] This would have been the first Betty, la Fea-inspired series to be directly adapted from the American version, but the project never came to fruition.
On May 24, 2010, the first (and so far only) direct adaptation of Ugly Betty, Georgia's გოგონა გარეუბნიდან (Gogona Gareubnidan, which means "suburban girl") premiered, a mere month and a half after Ugly Betty aired its series finale. The first season would consist of 10 episodes and would conclude in August 2010.
On January 1, 2014, the first Arabic (Egyptian) version was set to air on OSN ya hala under the Name هبة رجل الغراب (Heba Regl El Ghorab which means "Heba The Leg Of The Crow").
=== Criticism from Colombia ===
In November 2007, Sony Entertainment Television began airing Ugly Betty in South America with Spanish and Portuguese subtitles. However, in Colombia, there were criticisms over the American version, calling it a pale imitation and counterfeit copy of their original version.[60] The series differ greatly: the Colombian version aired as a soap opera with daily cliffhangers, while Ugly Bettyairs as a weekly comedy, only sometimes ending with cliffhangers.[61] The American version also has a different main plot and explores different themes. While the American version has more than half a dozen core characters, the Colombian version revolves only around Betty and her boss's life with its main plot being Betty's unrequited love for her boss.
== Syndication ==
The TV Guide Network has purchased the rights to air reruns of Ugly Betty on cable television.[62] In addition to its cable run, Ugly Betty is also seen on local stations in the United States as a double-run weekend offering, which began in September 2010.
== Home media ==
Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment (under the ABC Studios label) has released all four seasons of Ugly Betty on DVD in region 1, 2, 4.
Season	Season 	DVD 	Release date 	DVD Extras and Bonus Features	# of Discs
 	Season 1	The Complete First Season – The Bettyfied Edition 	August 21, 2007 	
* "Becoming Ugly"
* "A La MODE"
* "Green is the New Black"
* Deleted scenes
* Audio commentaries
* Bloopers	6
 	Season 2	The Complete Second Season – Brighter, Bolder, Bettyer 	September 9, 2008 	
* On Set with the Besties
* The Suarez Tour
* Wihelmina Slater: Love to Hate Her
* Las Pasiones De Telenovelas
* I ♥ Betty
* Bettly Bloops
* Deleted Scenes	5
 	Season 3	The Complete Third Season – Start Spreading the News 	September 22, 2009	
* Audio Commentary
* Look Who Keeps Popping Up
* Coming Home to New York City
* Mode After Hours - Webisodes
* Deleted Scenes
* Betty Bloops	6
 	Season 4	The Complete Fourth and Final Season – From Poncho, to Honcho	August 17, 2010 	
* Betty Goes Bahamas
* Mode After Hours - Webisodes
* Betty Bloops
* Deleted Scenes
* Audio Commentary	4
The Ugly Betty - The Complete Collection was released on March 28, 2011 in United States, United Kingdom and various parts of the world. The complete series was not released in Region 4.
== International broadcasts ==
; 
This section needs additional citations for verification.
; Australia
: Its debut episode on the Seven Network pulled in 2.03 million viewers, beating Nine's airing of 60 Minutes and Ten's airing of The Biggest Loser in the same time period. Since its debut the series has remained in the top five in the Australian TV ratings.[63] The season one finale aired August 5, 2007, and received the lowest rating of the year – 1.051 million and only in the 13th slot of the night. This was predominantly because it aired in the same time-slot as the season premiere of rival program Australian Idol.[64] After holding off on the 2nd season, it was announced in April 2008 that Seven would begin Ugly Betty's second season in a new 7:30 pm Wednesday timeslot, beginning on May 7 The show has lost its large following, only drawing around 900,000 viewers despite strong advertising attempts by Channel Seven. The show was "shelved" after the ninth episode was shown on July 2, and will resume airing the remaining episodes until after the Olympics. It was replaced by "RSPCA Animal Rescue".[65] Ugly Betty returned to Seven on August 28, 2008, at a new and later timeslot of 9:30 pm Thursdays. The episode aired, "Bananas For Betty" was viewed by only 597,000 viewers and was removed. Seven later announced that Ugly Betty will return twice a week, every Tuesday and Thursday at 7:30 pm, starting when Summer begins. It was then moved to only once a week at Thursday 7:30 pm. Soon after, the show was pulled from screening (after finishing the second season) due to moderately low ratings. It was later confirmed on October 23, 2009, that Ugly Betty would return to Australian screens on Seven's new secondary digital channel 7Two. It will resume with the premiere of Season 3, "The Manhattan Project", starting Tuesday, November 3, 7:30 pm.[66] It will air right through summer, with Season 3 to then finish in April/May 2010. In digital channel terms, Ugly Bettyhas been a success, coming first (out of all digital-only channels) in its timeslot, though is averaging 130,000 viewers, well down from its 800,000 and 1.3 million viewers average in seasons two and one respectively. Season 3 has finished airing and the Seven Network are continuing on with Season 4 straight after, starting April 13, 2010, in the same timeslot on 7TWO. Ugly Betty season 1 is also currently airing on Arena TV, an Australian pay TV channel.
; Canada
: Citytv owns the English-language rights to the series, which aired in the same timeslot as the American broadcast till December 2009, when only the stations in Manitoba and British Columbia started airing it Wednesdays at 7 pm (same time as Eastern ABC where it would be 10 pm, aired earlier than US air in Manitoba), for Ontario and Alberta, OMNI simulcasted BettyWednesdays at 10PM. In March 2010, Citytv aired Ugly Betty across Canada due to the cancellation of The Jay Leno Show, airing Wednesdays at 10 pm on Citytv, simulcasting ABC's broadcast up until final airing.[67] Radio-Canada, the French language television arm of the CBC, owns the francophone rights. The French version, known as Chère Betty ("Dear Betty"), debuted in Quebec and in the rest of French-speaking Canada on April 7, 2008 at 8:00 pm local time, 9:00 pm AT.
; France
: The first two episodes aired on TF1 on January 7, 2008 at late-night time, averaging about 3.8 million viewers (28.4% share) and 3.3 millions viewers (39.4% share). Ugly Betty did really well on key demos 15–24 (First episode: 46.8%, second episode: 56.7%) and 18–49 (First episode: 39.7%, second episode: 56.6%). But week after week the show has lost more than 1 million viewers, in part due to the late night schedule. In an effort to attract more viewers, two weekly TV magazines, Arthelius and Series TV Magazine, placed a cover of Ugly Betty on their February 12, 2008 issues.[68][69]
; Ireland
: The European premiere took place on RTÉ Two on January 1, 2007. Season two again premiered on RTÉ Two on October 4, 2007. The second season returned after a break on March 24, 2008 at 8:05 pm. Season Three premiered on November 6, 2008, at 8:40 pm on RTÉ Two and finished on June 4, 2009. Season Four premiered on January 5, 2010 at 8:05 pm on RTÉ Two and finished its run on June 1, 2010. Ugly Betty airs Tuesdays at 8:05 pm on RTÉ Two.[citation needed]
; New Zealand
: The show aired on TV2 at 7:30pm, Sunday nights for season one and two on TV2. The timeslot for season 3 was moved to 5:30 on Sunday night, finishing on August 2, 2009. Season 4 aired at 5.30 pm on Sundays, completing its run on June 27, 2010.[citation needed]
; South Africa
: Ugly Betty premiered in South Africa on Pay Channel, M-Net on Tuesday July 17, 2007. It later was re-broadcast on sister channels, GO and M-Net Holiday. The first season fared well with audience's and was a hit for the channel with a strong buzz around the show. Due to heavy promotions for the show across all media spectrums by M-Net, the premiere episode of Ugly Betty attracted 80% more viewers than Smallville which previously occupied its time slot. M-Net marketing General Manager, Koo Govender, says the first episode was watched by about 432,000 viewers.[70] Generally for its first season, Ugly Bettyoften generated 350 000 viewers with each airing, bringing in good ratings for the channel. Seasons 2 and 3 aired in the same timeslot as its premiere season; Tuesday evenings at 7:30 pm CAT, with Season 2 premiering on March 25, 2008. The channel premiered Season 3 on Tuesday January 13[year missing]. In its third season the show still pulls in strong ratings similar to its premiere season keeping a consistent fan base. M-Net repeats the show on Wednesdays at 5:00 pm CAT.[citation needed]
; United Kingdom
: The premiere on Channel 4 on January 5, 2007 attracted 4.5 million viewers.[71] Two weeks later, Ugly Betty hit a new high with 5.5 million viewers watching the third episode.[72]
: The figures and shares were similar each week, around 2–3 million viewers with 10–15% share; however, the finale rated less than the premiere episode, attracting 3.1 million viewers with 15% share.[73]
: Due to the show's success and the fanbase it achieved in the UK, Channel 4decided to move up the second season premiere to Friday, October 5, 2007, thus allowing viewers to watch episodes one week after their U.S. airing.
: The show went on hiatus from Friday December 12 as a result of the WGA strike in the United States, the last shown episode was Bananas for Betty. Season 2 resumed on September 5, 2008 at 9 pm with the episode "Zero Worship". Season 2 finished on Channel 4, the last episode being shown on Friday, October 17, 2008.
: Season 3 started on Wednesday June 24, 2009 with "The Manhattan Project". The show aired on Wednesday nights up until Wednesday, September 30, 2009, when it was replaced by the new season of True Blood. Season 3 was broadcast on E4 on Tuesday nights at 9 pm, and on Channel 4 (standard and HD); on Monday nights at 10. Its last episode, "The Fall Issue", was shown on Monday, December 7, 2009.
: Season 4 premiered in the UK on Wednesday August 11 at 9 pm.[74] and completed its 20-episode run on Wednesday December 22, 2010. This season, however, was first broadcast on E4, Channel 4's sister channel, before a Sunday afternoon catch-up on Channel 4.
; Brazil
: The show aired on Sony at 11:00am on Monday and SBT at 02:00am on Tuesday. On July 2, 2008, premiered the first season of the series was aired Wednesdays at 22:30 at night. On May 20, 2009, premiered the second season of the series was aired Wednesdays at first 23:50 and then was moved to 01:15. On November 30, 2010 to September 20, 2011, the SBT reprised the first two seasons at 02:00am on Tuesday. On September 27, 2011,[75] the SBT, again showing the series 2:30 am and opened the third season of the series that was exhibited until March 6, 2012.[76] Still no confirmation when premiere the fourth and final season.
; United States (Insular Territories and Overseas Military location)
: In Guam, ABC affiliate KTGM aired the series twice a week, Thursdays at 9:00 pm (actually a same-day Wednesday night airing due to Guam being a day ahead of the United States) followed by a repeat during the week when a time slot is available. They were the only ABC affiliate in the United States to air the show twice.:The Armed Forces Network's AFN-Spectrum channel: airs the series on Wednesdays. The network will usually start airing the latest episodes a couple of months after the US broadcasts, as opposed to waiting a year after its stateside airing.
== Merchandising ==
On April 15, 2008, Hyperion Books, a Disney-owned publisher, released a companion book to the series, titled Ugly Betty: The Book, a 175-page softcover about the show in general, which covers the first season and portions of the second, complete with interviews from the cast and crew, tips and quotes from the characters, and mock ads for Fabia Cosmetics and Atlantic Attire. Around the same time, Random House's children's books division published a "magazine"-inspired book tied into the series, complete with photos and mock ads as if they were published by Betty herself, targeted for younger readers.[77]
In addition, a 2008 calendar for Ugly Betty was released using stills from the first season, while a series of greeting cards was issued in January 2008. These photos were edited to enhance her facial features. A 2009 calendar was also released.[78][79]
Even the main character has been immortalized into a doll, as Angelic Dreamz, Inc's Madame Alexander collection introduced two different versions of Betty Suarez that were featured on their website in February 2008.[80]
In July 2009, Coca-Cola UK unveiled a special limited edition Diet Coke bottle created by Patricia Field called "The Betty" for sale in the United Kingdom as an exclusive for customers at Selfridges.[81]
== Reception ==
=== American ratings ===
Season	Timeslot (EDT) 	Season premiere 	Season finale 	TV season	Rank 	Viewers
(in millions)	18–49 viewers
1 	Thursday 8:00 P.M.	September 28, 2006 	May 17, 2007 	2006–2007	#35 	11.3[82]	3.7
2 	Thursday 8:00 P.M.	September 27, 2007 	May 22, 2008 	2007–2008	#53 	9.4[83] 	3.6
3 	Thursday 8:00 P.M.	September 25, 2008 	May 21, 2009 	2008–2009	#64[84]	8.0[84] 	2.8[84]
4 	Friday 9:00 P.M. (2009)
Wednesday 10:00 P.M. (2010)	October 16, 2009[85]	April 14, 2010	2009–2010	#82 	5.5[86] 	1.5
=== Television parodies and references ===
The show has been parodied and referenced in other television shows. In the October 7, 2006, episode of Saturday Night Live, cast member Fred Armisenspoofed the character of Betty by playing a look-alike named Fugly Betsy. Not to be outdone, a February 17, 2007 episode of MADtv has Ellen DeGeneres (played by Nicole Parker) interviewing an actress on her talk show who plays Ugly Betty, with Salma Hayek (played by LisaNova) always pointing out how ugly she is. The Ugly Betty actress (played by Crista Flanagan) claims it is only makeup and costume but is ignored. Crista later reprised her Betty role in the poorly reviewed parody film Meet the Spartans.[87] American singer Katy Perry in music video "Last Friday Night (T.G.I.F.)" spoofed the character of Betty by playing a look-alike named Kathy Beth Terry.
On April 22, 2007, the 2007 TV Land Awards parodied the series with a spoof aptly titled "Ugly Betty White", with White playing Betty Suarez, Charo playing Hilda, Erik Estrada playing Ignacio, Joan Collins playing Wilhelmina, Peter Scolari playing Alexis, and George Hamilton playing Daniel.[88] Thanks to her performance in that parody, the producers cast White as a guest star in the second season.[89]
Even the cast poked fun at their alter egos. On October 30, 2006, three of the series' cast members, appearing in their characters (Ferrera as Betty, Mabius as Daniel, and Newton as Amanda), gave New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick a 'makeover' to make him look more like quarterback Tom Brady in a spoof that was featured on ESPN's Monday Night Countdown.[90]
The program was also referenced in other shows, most notably in "Up All Night", the February 8, 2007 installment of the NBC sitcom 30 Rock, in which Liz Lemon(Tina Fey) says "this would've worked on Ugly Betty" when she fails to crawl out a door without being seen. The scene was patterned after the Ugly Betty episode "Swag" in which Betty crawled through a fashion show.[91] Hayek will also make a recurring appearance on 30 Rock in the third season.[92]
In an episode of the TV sitcom Scrubs, Christopher Turk (played by Donald Faison) has a picture taken of "Ugly Betty" with his daughter, only for it to be torn up by best friend and main character John Dorian.
In March 2009, a spoof of Ugly Betty, called Ugly Yeti was made by Take180.[93]Take180, like ABC, is a Disney company and the parody was featured on ABC's website.
Ugly Betty has also been referenced in television shows in the United Kingdom, where the show found huge success. In the series finale of BBC One hotel-based drama series Hotel Babylon, aired in August 2009, Ben Trueman (played by Michael Obiora) asks fellow front desk employee Melanie Hughes (played by Amy Nuttall) "How long have you had those Ugly Betty braces?" while giving Hughes a makeover, to which she replies: "About 18 months". In a 2010 episode of medical drama series Holby City, which also airs on BBC One, Jac Naylor(played by Rosie Marcel) refers to a patient as "the one who wears the Ugly Bettybraces".
In 2013, Ortiz returned to television in the Lifetime dramedy Devious Maids, which like Ugly Betty was also based on a telenovela. In the series, Ortiz plays Marisol Duarte, a newly hired maid who is determined to find out who framed her son for the murder of a maid. Ironically, it was revealed in the series' seventh episode "Taking a Message" that Marisol's true identity was that of a professor and her real last name was Suarez. It is not known if this was done intentionally but it does give Ortiz the homage of playing characters with the same last name on two different shows.
=== Promotion abroad ===
The buildup to "Bettymania" by various broadcasters also began to take shape overseas, especially in the United Kingdom. On December 6, 2006, Channel 4began to advertise the show. The ad shows seemingly attractive models gathered around a pool, but as the camera angle changes a model comes out of the pool wearing Betty's glasses, then as the models smile, they are all wearing Betty's braces. Another ad parodies Marks and Spencer's successful fashion advertising campaign, as well as Dove and Gap campaigns. A voice over then says, "Fashion has a new face. 'Ugly Betty' Coming Soon To 4." After a week of these teasers, clips from the actual program were included in the trailers. In mid-January, Davina McCall, presenter of Celebrity Big Brother dressed up as Betty live on Channel 4 before the titles of the second eviction show of the evening. On February 16, 2007, Ashley Jensen (Christina) also dressed up as Betty during an airing of Channel 4's Friday Night Project, where she was the guest host. The children's channel CBeebies also parodied the title sequence, with one variation mixing faces of regular CBeebies characters until finally settling with Tiny from Little Robots.
In Australia, during the week leading up to the Sunday premiere of Ugly Betty, February 12 to 17, 2007, Channel Seven devoted a week of Deal or No Deal to the show by having the models dress like Betty, complete with the Guadalajara poncho. Channel Seven also used the series to promote its successful "Beautiful Sundays" schedule.
In South Africa, M-Net teamed up with Ogilve Johannesburg to hype up its campaign for the show, which included a picture of Betty on the mock cover of Elle magazine.[70] New Zealand TV2 also hyped-up Ugly Betty by promoting Tuesday nights as "True Beauty Tuesday", and when the show moved to Sunday nights, it promoted them as "Beautiful Sunday". TV2 also launched competitions for a replica of Betty's poncho.
=== Cultural impact ===
Ever since the show's debut, the main characters, especially the title character, have quickly become the latest fixtures in the lexicon of pop media culture, and already they found their way onto parodies, news media stories, and art-imitating-life situations. The show's impact on issues and culture has also attracted the attention of the United States Congress, where on January 17, 2007 California congresswoman Hilda Solis (D-32nd, El Monte) saluted Ferrera on both her Golden Globe win and for bringing a positive profile to the Latin and Hispanic communities.[94] In addition to that recognition, on May 8, 2007, star America Ferrera was honored by TIME on the magazine's annual list of the 100 most influential people. The event took place at New York's Lincoln Center and the actress was recognized for defying stereotypes with the show.[95] The success of Ugly Betty and how it deals with body imaging among women in general would inspire a series of reports on Entertainment Tonight, in which reporter Vanessa Minnillo went undercover in a fatsuit to see if women were discriminated on the basis of how they look. Gay awareness groups like GLAAD have also noted the positive impact the show has had regarding Betty's teenaged nephew Justin, who realizes that he is gay.
=== Awards and nominations ===
Main article: List of awards and nominations received by Ugly Betty
Since its debut, Ugly Betty won two Golden Globe Awards on January 15, 2007, for "Best Leading Actress in a Comedy Series" (America Ferrera) and Best Comedy Series. Ferrera also won a SAG Award on January 28, 2007, for "Best Actress in a Comedy Series". On June 4, 2007, the series was honored with a Peabody Award "for demonstrating that wit and humanity never go out of style."[96]
Ugly Betty won the Outstanding Comedy Series award by the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation in April 2007.[97] Judith Light also won a Prism Award for her portrayal as Claire Meade.
On July 19, 2007, the series received 11 nominations at the 59th Primetime Emmy Awards in the Comedy category (the most of any comedy series),[98]including Outstanding Comedy Series, Best Actress (Ferrera), Best Supporting Actress (Williams), and Best Guest Starring Actress (Hayek for her role as Sofia; Light for her role as Claire. Both lost to Elaine Stritch). It won three awards — Best Casting in a Comedy Series, Best Direction in a Comedy Series (for the show's pilot episode), and Best Actress in a Comedy Series (Ferrera).[99] For its second season, it received six other Primetime Emmy Award nominations, going home empty handed. Overall, Ugly Betty has been nominated for eighteen Emmy Awards.
Although The NAACP Image Awards honors African Americans in the entertainment industry, the series has won five of the Image Awards' eight major TV categories, a rarity among television series with a multicultural cast. In addition to winning an Image award for the TV series in 2007 and Ferrera for best actress in 2008, Vanessa Williams has won back to back honors (in 2007 and 2008) in the Supporting Actress category for her portrayal of Wilhelmina Slater.
Owing to the massive success of "Ugly Betty" in the United Kingdom, Ugly Betty was nominated for most popular Comedy Program at the 14th National Television Awards in September 2008, but lost to domestic ITV comedy seriesBenidorm. The ALMA Awards honors the Hispanic entertainment community. During its first season, Ugly Betty won four of its first seven nominations and in the second season took home three more, along with a Chevrolet Entertainer of the Year Award for Ferrera for her work on the show. Overall the series has received 162 nominations.
== See also ==
* List of Ugly Betty episodes