Cassie Howard

## Cassie Howard

* Current
* Gif
* 11 y/o

## Lifestyle

### Occupation

High school student (senior)
Cheerleader

## Relationships

### Family

Gus Howard (father)
Suze Howard (mother)
Lexi Howard (younger sister)
Ted (uncle)

### Friends

Maddy Perez (best friend; formerly)
Kat Hernandez (close friend; formerly)
Barbara Brookes (close friend; formerly)
Rue Bennett (friend; formerly)
Jules Vaughn (friend; formerly)

### Romances

Chris McKay (ex-boyfriend)
Daniel Dimarco (fling)
Nate Jacobs (ex-boyfriend)
Unnamed several ex-boyfriends

## Behind the scenes

### Actor

Sydney Sweeney
Kyra Adler (11-year-old)

### Appeared in

16 episodes (see below)

**Cassandra "Cassie" Howard** is a main character in the first and second seasons of *Euphoria*. She is portrayed by Sydney Sweeney, while her 11-year-old counterpart is portrayed by Kyra Adler.

The sweet and popular Cassie has difficulty navigating relationships as rumors of her sexual history circulate the school. She eventually finds a fondness for Christopher McKay, a former football star at East Highland High School whose struggles on the college field causes problems in their relationship.

Following her break up with McKay, and major break down caused by overwhelming fear of being alone, Cassie finds superficial comfort in a secret relationship with her best friend's abusive ex-boyfriend, Nate Jacobs, which complicated her personal life.

## Biography

### Early life

Cassie was born to Gus and Suze Howard and grew up alongside her sister, Lexi Howard. When she was younger, Cassie was motivated by her father to pursue professional ice skating; however, Gus stopped encouraging her due to being unable to pay for the lessons. Upon entering puberty, Cassie formed a close bond with Suze, who provided her with support and love. Though they both loved Cassie, Suze and Gus constantly fought with one another, partially due to his constant flirting with other women and her behavior while drunk. The night before she started ninth grade, Cassie's parents had an intense argument which led to their separation. Afterwards, Cassie was told by a classmate that Gus left Suze because she cheated on him; though initially angry, she came to realize that her parents were both flawed and better apart.

Although Suze let him visit their daughters on weekends, Gus started spacing out his visits and eventually stopped visiting entirely. One night, Gus crashed into a truck while driving home from work inebriated. He becomes addicted to painkillers prescribed to him during his recovery. During and after his stay at the ICU, Cassie constantly attended to him and texted him from school; however, he ultimately stopped responding as he did before. Later on, a week before Cassie's fifteenth birthday, Gus called Cassie to let him into the house one last time, collecting fine china from the house to pawn before disappearing entirely.

Afterwards, Cassie started and ended relationships with multiple guys, every one of which would try to coerce her into taking nudes or filming sex tapes with them. Most of them posted these photos or videos online after their breakup; though she had a panic attack the first time it happened, Cassie eventually reasoned that they wouldn't have much of an impact on her life. She also began ice skating again. At the beginning of the school year, Cassie entered a relationship with Chris McKay, whom she shared a mutual interest in cars with.

### Season 1

#### "Pilot"

Cassie goes to a party at McKay's house, where she flirts with him. He is a little distant at first, but he soon reciprocates her attention and calls her the "most beautiful girl" he's ever seen.

Not long after are they making out in a bedroom, about to hook up. McKay tells Cassie to stay right where she is while he goes to get a condom. When he returns, he takes her with a roughness that scares her. He even starts choking her, but soon stops when Cassie yells at him. A few awkward moments later, Cassie warns him not to touch her like that unless he asks her or she asks for it.

#### "Stuntin' Like My Daddy"

While walking in the school courtyard, Cassie, BB and Maddy talk about the party at McKay's house the other day. Kat comes up to them and the girls all congratulate her on losing her virginity.

Later that day, McKay comes over and the two watch a movie. During it, he keeps on ranting about football and Cassie tries seducing him into a good mood. However, he isn't having it asks her why she's "making everything so sexual," so Cassie backs off and apologizes.

That evening, McKay apologizes to Cassie via text, and she forgives him. He proceeds to ask for nudes and when she shows hesitance, he keeps insisting. Eventually, Cassie gives in.

#### "The Trials and Tribulations of Trying to Pee While Depressed"

It is revealed that Cassie was pregnant with McKay's child. Cassie was worried about how McKay would react, but also somewhat happy. When she told McKay, he reacted badly. He was shocked and upset. He told Cassie that she couldn't keep the baby as his family and coach would kill him. When he asked Cassie if she was seriously considering keeping the baby she replied with 'No, I just wanted to dream for a while'.

Later that episode, Cassie is seen telling her mum that she needs help and her mum hugs her and tells her that she loves her so much.

## Personality

Cassie is very sweet, albeit a people pleaser, as evidenced by how she sacrifices her own comfort for the pleasure of others. That issue likely stems from her childhood; Cassie falls in love with every guy she dates and empties her cup to fill theirs to make sure they don't abandon her like her father did. She is a very sensitive and sentimental person too.

Cassie is seen as a whore by guys because of the leaked nudes and recorded sex tapes that have spread around the school. Rue narrates her reaction after stumbling upon the videos "The first time she found out, she had a panic attack, and wanted to swallow a whole bottle of Tylenol." This ends up causing more problems after her boyfriend finds out.

In Season 2, a twist in the storyline reveals a darker side of Cassie, when she unexpectedly encounters Nate during New Year's. Their secret affair begins with a passionate makeout session, but soon, Cassie's true colors emerge. It becomes evident that she is not so different from Nate or anyone who has abused and abandoned her or treated her as a whore, as she willingly resorts to violence, bullying, revenge and anger to achieve her desires. Cassie's deep-rooted wrath and her yearning for love, vengeance and freedom without any consequences push her towards a dangerous path. The years of abandonment and relentless bullying she endured have slowly transformed her into a budding sociopath. After she forms a bond with Nate, the true extent of her seething resentment and intense hatred towards Maddy, Rue, and her own sister Lexi comes pouring out. Fueled by a deep sense of jealousy, she firmly believes that they have been blessed with countless advantages in life, ones that she has never experienced. In her eyes, she perceives herself as superior to them, further intensifying her feelings of resentment and hatred.

Cassie's transformation from a sweet naive girl taken advantage of to a sadistic bully who derived pleasure from betraying and abandoning her dear loved ones, Maddy and Lexi, was fueled by her own deep-rooted misery and despair caused by her father's abandonment, the sexualisation she faced from her male relatives and her dad's friends and the slut shaming and spreads of her nudes. As she experienced a lifetime of suffering, Cassie believed that her loved ones should share in her suffering. This perverse enjoyment she found in witnessing their agony was particularly evident in two instances. The first occurred when Maddy tearfully pleaded for an explanation outside while Cassie hid in the bathroom, begging to understand why Cassie had chosen Nate over their friendship. Few days later, Cassie sadistically and silently taunted her by wearing the necklace Nate gifted Maddy on her birthday and flaunting their relationship to her, asserting her dominance and superiority to Maddy. The second instance unfolded during Lexi's play, where Cassie publicly subjected her younger sister to verbal abuse and gaslighting. These cruel actions served to assert her dominance and instill fear, leaving Lexi feeling utterly humiliated. Cassie's sadistic tendencies thrived on the suffering and subservience of those around her, leaving a wake of emotional devastation in their path.

After Cassie finally gets her well-deserved comeuppance, courtesy of Maddy standing up against her abuse, it becomes evident that this event will only fuel Cassie's wrath and deepen her sociopathic tendencies. As Maddy confidently confronts Cassie on stage, delivering a blow that not only physically removes her from the auditorium as she chases Cassie out but also metaphorically strips her of her power, Cassie's eyes fill with tears and her gaze becomes a potent mixture of anger and vengeance. Despite the breakup between Nate and Cassie, Maddy's resolute response towards Cassie after she tells her about their breakup, "Don't worry, this is just the beginning," only amplifies Cassie's determination to seek revenge. Consumed by a burning desire for retaliation, Cassie will undoubtedly direct her blame towards Maddy, Lexi, and Rue, viewing them as the catalysts responsible for the unraveling of her once seemingly perfect life.

## Physical Appearance

Cassie has long, slightly wavy blonde hair, blue eyes, and has a curvy "hourglass" figure, complemented by her slender frame.

The clothes she wears throughout the episodes are usually blue, which symbolizes the character's sadness and loneliness. Her wardrobe includes skirts and cropped cami tops, and she usually wears a colorful pair of earrings and basic accessories.

Her makeup is simple on everyday occasions, with basic foundation, highlighter, mascara, and every now and then a bit of eyeliner. She has fun bright blue makeup on Halloween when she dresses up as Alabama Worley. She wears her hair parted down the middle or parted down the side a bit. It's mostly wavy, or curled and on occasions she wears it in French braids.

As a young teen, Cassie wore her hair straight or wavy and up halfway in two pigtails.

## Relationships

### Family

#### Gus Howard

Gus Howard is Cassie's father. Initially, he was a devoted husband and father despite problems, him and Cassie's mom Suze had in season 1. Him and Cassie had a tight bond when she was growing up and he pushed her to become a professional ice skater. He even gave her ice skates as a birthday gift and enrolled her in ice skating lessons. This came to a halt when he couldn't afford it. When Cassie got older, problems in her family that involved her father became more prevalent. Such as his alcoholic tendencies and his inability to keep a steady income with him often relying on loans from people close to him. When him & Suze's relationship came crashing down ultimately ending in separation, Gus stopped coming around as much. His visits became more and more rare. He eventually stopped visiting them for months. He ended up crashing into a truck after getting out work and was put in the ICU. While he stayed in the ICU he got addicted to the painkillers given to him during his recovery. Cassie still stayed by her father's side during this and constantly attended to him and texted him from school. The last time he was seen was a week before Cassie's fifteenth birthday in which she was called to let him into the house, where he collected the fine china to pawn before disappearing.

#### Suze Howard

Suze and Cassie's relationship is relatively close. She and Cassie seem like they love each other. Cassie only has her mom and sister after her dad left. So, it makes sense that she is close to Suze. Suze disapproved of Cassie and Nate's relationship. This disapproval made Cassie mad because she wanted validation for her relationship with Nate.

#### Lexi Howard

Lexi is Cassie's younger sister. She puts on a play called Our Life and humiliates her sister in Season 2 Episode 7. What kind of sister are you, Lexi!?

This play is heavily critical about Cassie. It portrays her as being shallow and selfish when it comes to personality and her sister. Also, it shows how Cassie only really gets validation from her romances. The play airs out Lexi's true feelings towards her sister. This shows how complicated their relationship is and that Lexi internalizes her anger with Cassie instead of telling her for the fear that she will flip out like she did during the play.

### Romances

#### Chris McKay

McKay is Cassie's ex-boyfriend; they had a strained but attentive relationship. McKay generally appeared to love and care for Cassie, but was often preoccupied with his struggles in college, football and expectations from his father. He was also somewhat uncomfortable with how public Cassie's sex-life with previous boys are. Due to this, he is often the subject of teasing from his peers, who view Cassie as a "slut", and he generally allows it to get the better of him, which leads to him occasionally saying mean-spirited things to Cassie, and even flat-out denying that they're anything more than friends around certain people.

Meanwhile, Cassie genuinely loved McKay and was willing to even send him naked pictures of her even while she is upset with him. She is frustrated by him constantly being ashamed of her and saying things "Why do you always have to make things so sexual?" When they argue or go through rough times, she has problems staying fully faithful to McKay. While she has never had sex with another person while they were together, she did flirt and kiss with Daniel, on more than one occasion while they were upset with each other.

Despite this, the two did have decent communication within their relationship and did not hold back with each other when the other made the person upset. This took a turn however, when as the two were getting ready to have sex at a party held by the fraternity McKay was trying to get into, they were ambushed by a group of his fraternity brothers and he was hazed.

#### Daniel Dimarco

They met one day in the East Highland High School cafeteria, where they introduce themselves and say each other's names. At the carnival, her and Daniel ride the carousel, where they kiss, and she almost has an orgasm, as Daniel and several other people watched her. Later, Daniel lets Cassie know that he likes her and kisses her, but Cassie tells him that they can't have anything because she's in a relationship. At Daniel's Halloween party, they guess each other's costume, and Daniel tells her that her costume was the coolest he had ever seen. Then the two of them head to a room, where they kiss. Before having sex, Cassie tells him that she can't, Daniel gets angry and tells her that was the second time she's done that to him, and that any guy who says he's interested in her beyond just having sex, is full of shit. She starts crying and leaves the room.

#### Nate Jacobs

Nate is her latest boyfriend and current ex. While the two were solely friend and boyfriend of Maddy in Season 1 and had little to no interactions, the two got together after he found Cassie drunk on the ground outside a mini-mart on New Year's Eve, driving to the party. When Nate spills beer on Cassies dress, she looks at him seductively and takes off her underwear, letting him know she’s attracted to him. At the party they go their separate ways but later, Nate tells Cassie he’s going to the bathroom. She follows him and they end up having sex. This is when Maddy bangs on the bathroom door. unbeknownst to her, Cassie and Nate are on the other side. When Cassie realised it’s Maddy on the other side, she goes into hysterics and hides in the bathtub until Maddy leaves. After the events of Nate and Fezco’s altercation, Cassie calls Nate the next day, ranting about how she can’t handle the secret she has to keep. Nate is irritated but continues to console her while he looks at pictures of Maddy. Cassie becomes addicted to the attention Nate gives her, meeting with him for over a month to have sex in secret, despite her initial guilt and shame at betraying her best friend. Cracking under the pressure of Maddy finding out and beating her in retaliation, she texts him saying they should break up, to which he calls soon after and says to never put that into writing again.

Cassie and Nate hide their relationship for over a month, with him often ignoring her in public, leading to her trying to capture his attention through extensive beauty routines and eye-catching outfits. Only when she dresses similar to Maddy does he notice her at school, consecrating her obsession to be his only girl. Cassie confirms this by telling Nate that she loves being his little secret, as it means she gets special attention from him.

Soon after, Cassie sought to maintain their relationship, Nate tells her that he was with Cassie a few hours ago which upsets Cassie, making her think him and Maddy are back together. She tells Nate that she viewed his and Maddy's relationship as toxic and she’s willing to do everything to keep them apart, even if that meant putting a wedge in between them herself.

Once Maddy finds out about the affair through Rue, who reveals seeing Cassie running to Nate's truck and kissing him right after New Year's, Cassie begins spiraling into self-conflict, maintaining that she and her relationship are innocent of criticism as Maddy and Nate weren't "together", going so far to initiate arguments with her family, trying to harm herself, and eventually leaving home to move into the Jacobs household, aware that he is the reason behind her life falling apart and everyone else turning their back on her. Cassie gives Nate full control over her, such as her clothes (specifically like Maddy), who she talks to, what she eats, and more. This comes to an end at Lexi's play, where he angrily kicks her out of his home for Nate's portrayal of him.

Cassie tries to defend her relationship again and humiliate Lexi for her perception of matters, only to be booed by the audience, attacking the actress of Haley, and beaten and chased by Maddy. Cassie, bloody in the bathroom after, believes her relationship to be over, to which Maddy says that "this is just the beginning", foreshadowing that Nate will not let Cassie go and continue his cycle of abuse and her emotional turmoil.

### Friends

#### Maddy Perez

Cassie and Maddy befriended each other when they began 9th grade by getting into cheerleading. While Cassie was initially nervous around Maddy due to her prominent self-confidence, they quickly became inseparable; however, she never fully trusted Maddy due to her own lack of confidence. In Maddy's perspective, Cassie was a friend that she often went to a search of reassurance; for example, when her parents were fighting at home she decided to sleep over at Cassie's for a couple of days, having no trouble with lowering her guard around her and showing a more vulnerable side, further displaying how much she trusted her. Maddy also never listened to any gossip that revolved around Cassie, and her sexual life, confirming that she liked her just the way she was. Whenever Cassie needed any help, either by asking for relationship advice or simple outfit choices for a date, Maddy was always there to help her. She was also the first and only person she directly confessed to about dick pics, that she discovered on Nate's phone. After New Year's party, Maddy became visibly worried and suspicious about Cassie's well-being, only suspected her of having a meltdown due to her recent breakup with McKay, and fear of being alone, but still never shared any doubt that she was most likely hooking up with her abusive ex-boyfriend. Despite knowing everything that Nate has done to Maddy, including physical assault during the carnival, and her increasing guilt, Cassie still decided to have sex with him multiple times after New Year's party, eventually becoming obsessed about getting any attention from Nate; she even decided to copy Maddy's style at one point. Even when Cassie ruined her birthday party by getting shamefully drunk and vomiting on her and others in the jacuzzi, Maddy was still willing to forgive her.

After Rue revealed the truth, Maddy at first enraged intended to beat up Cassie, which later escalated into tears due to the realization that their friendship was built on lies. She fell into a state of melancholy, not being able to understand how Cassie could throw their friendship for a man that put her through so much suffering. After seeing Cassie's new look and her openly entering into the relationship with Nate, she sarcastically remarked how she at least looks the part.

#### Kat Hernandez

Cassie and Kat aren't super close. They're good friends but Cassie's not as close friends with Kat as she is with Maddy. They're seen together whenever Maddy is around and seem to relatively enjoy each other's company. After Cassie was found out to have a secret relationship with Nate and that they've been hooking up since the New Years' Eve party. She similarly dropped Cassie as a friend. She may rekindle her friendship with Cassie in season 3 alongside the possibility of Maddy doing it also.

#### Barbara Brookes

Barbara Brookes (BB) and Cassie are more of a proximity friendship. They're both mutual friends with Maddy.

So it makes sense that they would interact at least once. They don't have much scenes together outside of Maddy being around. Cassie does invite her to give her advice about what's going on with her life, so she must value their friendship somewhat. Their friendship breaks apart whenever it's found out that Cassie was hooking up with Nate in season 2 episode 5. BB even encouraged Maddy to beat up Cassie in episode 8 of season 2 saying that "she deserves it".

#### Rue Bennett

Rue and Cassie seem to be close friends. Rue and her sister Lexi are close friends. So, it makes sense that Cassie would also be friendly with her, even calling Rue affectionate nicknames like "Rue-Rue"; she's there for Rue most of the time and even gets concerned when Rue says she relapsed in season 2. Though Cassie is jealous that at least Rue knows what happened to her father, she doesn't even know where hers is. Rue was also the first person to find out about Cassie and Nate's relationship starting since the New Years' Eve party. Cassie doesn't know this and during episode 5 of season 2. While; they're trying to have Rue come with them instead of running away again. Cassie says some encouraging words to Rue before Rue tells Maddy about Cassie's relationship.

#### Jules Vaughn

Jules and Cassie are more friendly acquaintances than friends. They don't interact much in the series outside of being with a mutual friend like Kat or Rue. They both got invited to the same events, for example, the New Year's Eve party. But; Cassie and Jules didn't talk during it.

## Quotes

**Cassie**: "*I hate you.*"
**Suze**: "*Well, I love you.*"
**Cassie**: "*I love you, too.*"
―Cassie and Suze[src]

**Cassie**: "*What you don't understand, Nate, is I am crazier!*"
**Nate**: "*That's not somethin' to be fuckin' proud of, Cassie!*"
**Cassie**: "*No... but it is something you should be scared of.*"
―Cassie and Nate[src]

**Cassie**: "*You telling me that you love me, and then going and being in a relationship with my best friend!*"
**Nate**: "*[YELLS], What the fuck?! What the fuck is wrong with you?! What the fuck is wrong with you?!*"
**Cassie**: "*Okay. Bye.*"
**Nate**: "*[SIGHS] For fuckin'... C...Cassie, stop. I love you.*"
―Cassie and Nate[src]

**Lexi**: "*Why would you say that?*"
**Cassie**: "*What?! What was I supposed to do?*"
**Lexi**: "*Not say anything.*"
**Cassie**: "*You've heard him, he was going to call the police.*"
**Lexi**: "*No, he wasn't, he was bluffing, and you fell for it, 'cause you're a fucking idiot!*"
**Cassie**: "*WHY DO YOU EVEN CARE?!*"
**Lexi**: "*Because you've just ruined someone's life.*"
**Cassie**: "*Fezco almost killed Nate. That was his decision.*"
―Lexi and Cassie's argument[src]

**Suze**: "*Enough! Enough!*"
**Cassie**: "*What?! I can't say it to her, but you two can say it to me?!*"
**Suze**: "*I've never said, you didn't have any self-respect...!!*"
**Cassie**: "*YOU DON'T HAVE TO, I CAN FUCKING FEEL IT!!!*"
―Cassie's argument with Suze and Lexi[src]

**Maddy**: "*Because Hallie is a two-faced cunt!*"
**Cassie**: "*I'm not a cunt, YOU'RE THE CUNT!!*"
**Maddy**: "*YOU'RE THE FUCKING CUNT, BITCH!!!*"
―Cassie and Maddy's argument[src]

## Trivia

* In "The Next Episode", Cassie dresses up as Alabama Worley from the 1993 film *True Romance* for Halloween.
* According to Lexi, Cassie is 433 days older than her; that's exactly one year, two months, and one week difference between them.
* In "A Thousand Little Trees of Blood", Cassie tried to slit her wrists with a corkscrew due to the fact that everyone was upset with her over having sex with Nate.
* Cassie is jewish.
* In Season 2, Cassie's wardrobe revolves around the luxurious brand Prada, while her sister Lexi is mostly seen in Miu Miu's pieces; this is intentional to show a contrast between the Howard sisters; Miu Miu is often referred to as "*Prada’s little sister*", and Lexi is portrayed as the timid younger sister who’s often in Cassie's shadow, while Cassie's outfits emphasize strongly on her femininity, and her body features which made her popular among her peers.

## Gallery

*See also: Category:Images of Cassie Howard*
* Promotional
* Season 1 stills

**"Pilot"**

## References

1. ↑ Cassie is 18 years old in the first season of *Euphoria*, which takes place in 2018. 2018 minus 18 equals 2000, so she would have been born in or around 2000.
2. ↑ The Trials and Tribulations of Trying to Pee While Depressed
3. ↑ "The Next Episode"
4. ↑ "Shook Ones Pt. II"
5. ↑ "'03 Bonnie and Clyde"
6. ↑ "The Next Episode"
7. ↑ "The Theater and Its Double"