The Bridgerton Family Tree Explained

Unless you've completely sworn off all of Netflix's original series, it's pretty hard to have completely avoided "Bridgerton." The lush period romance took the streamer by storm, becoming one of Netflix's most watched series in no time at all. Revolving around the romantic exploits of a prolific Regency-era family, "Bridgerton" spends each season focusing in on one of the family's adult children as they search for love in the midst of the drama-laden London society.

But even if you've seen "Bridgerton," you would be forgiven for having all of the different characters mixed up in your head. There are a lot of people to keep track of, even just within the immediate Bridgerton family, without considering all of the various side characters. (It certainly doesn't help matters that the actors playing the three eldest brothers are difficult to tell apart at first glance.) If you find yourself wondering, "Wait, is he the artist or the one sleeping with the opera singer?" never fear — here's a quick primer to help you keep track of all the Bridgerton characters.

Violet Bridgerton (Ruth Gemmell) is the matriarch of the Bridgerton family, ruling over her enormous family with love and a warm sense of humor. She was widowed at an early age after the untimely death of her husband, with whom she enjoyed a true love match — together, they had eight children, named alphabetically one after another. And although she mourned him, she devoted the bulk of her attention to their care. Above all else, she wants the best for her kids, particularly when it comes to their choice of spouse. 

Although the Bridgertons are a prominent family in London society, Violet doesn't want any of her children to marry solely for position. She hopes for them to be as happy in their marriage as she was in hers. The Bridgerton kids can be an unruly bunch, but she deals with their various missteps with grace, a word of advice, and infinite amounts of patience.

Although Edmund Bridgerton (Rupert Evans) is only shown in flashbacks on "Bridgerton," his legacy casts a long shadow over the rest of his family. The former Viscount Bridgerton, Edmund was by all accounts a loving husband and father, utterly devoted to his wife and children. But he also had one fatal flaw: A severe bee sting allergy. 

One day, after going on a hunt with his eldest son, he returned home to their country estate and stopped in the garden to pick flowers for his wife Violet, then pregnant with their eighth child. It was then that he was stung by a bee, quickly going into anaphylactic shock and dying in front of his horrified wife and son. Although the older Bridgerton children are the only ones with substantial memories of their father, all are inspired by the obvious love between their parents, using it as a model for their future relationships.

Anthony Bridgerton (Jonathan Bailey, who almost passed on the role of Fiyero in "Wicked") is the oldest son of Edmund and Violent, taking over the title of Viscount Bridgerton after his father's death, although the early seasons of "Bridgerton" see him shirking that responsibility, only stepping up when his younger sister Daphne is presented to society and begins the process of finding a husband. Instead, he prefers cavorting with opera singers to getting married and starting a family of his own. And by all accounts, Anthony is not the easiest person to get along with. He's stubborn, arrogant, and hot-tempered, always convinced that he is in the right. 

But beneath his prickly exterior lies a great deal of trauma; he was, after all, the only Bridgerton child to watch his father die, becoming the head of the family in an instant, and bearing witness to their mother's all-consuming grief. Anthony does not search for love because he's seen how devastating it can be, and doesn't want that for himself. He's scared of loving someone that much and then losing them. But that all changes when he meets Kate Sharma, a headstrong young woman who can go toe-to-toe with him, and the chemistry between the two is immediately evident (even though he's originally courting her younger sister Edwina). They have a classic enemies-to-lovers narrative, marrying at the tail end of the show's second season.

Benedict Bridgerton (Luke Thompson) is the second son of the family, and thanks to that position, he has a certain amount of freedom to pursue his own interests. A young man with a sensitive and artistic sentiment, his passions tend to run toward painting; he was admitted into the Royal Academy of Art, although he left once he discovered that his acceptance was in part a result of a large donation Anthony made to the school, and, well, sleeping his way through the bohemian crowd of London. He's had a swath of both male and female lovers over the course of the first and second season, but has yet to find someone to spend the rest of his life with. (Maybe that'll change in season 4, when he finally gets his turn as the center of attention?)

Benedict has an especially close relationship with his younger sister Eloise, which makes sense, since they can both safely be considered the black sheep of the family. Their nighttime conversations on the swings outside their family's residence, sharing a forbidden cigarette, represent a rare opportunity for both to share their unconventional hopes and fears.

Colin Bridgerton: The member of the family most likely to make you sit through a slideshow of his latest travels. A younger son of an incredibly rich family, he has all of the financial stability and none of the responsibility. Although Colin (Luke Newton) is shown to have a playful sense of humor, he also has an earnest and romantic side, as evinced by his relationship with Marina Thompson. He becomes infatuated with her almost immediately, proposes to her impulsively, and would have been perfectly willing to marry her even though she was carrying another man's child, if she had only been honest about it. When he returns to England after a long period of traveling to get over her, he pretends to be a carefree man about town, even though he's still recovering from having his heart broken. 

Before long, however, he rekindles his friendship with Penelope Featherington, and in attempting to help her find a husband, he ends up realizing exactly how much she means to him. (And how much fun they can have on a carriage ride together.) But things get a little complicated when Colin learns that she's Lady Whistledown, a figure who has sent more than a few curveballs in the direction of the Bridgertons over the years. After some initial unrest, Colin proves himself to be the ultimate wife guy, supporting Penelope when her secret is exposed on a larger scale. At the end of the third season, they welcome an unnamed son.

Daphne (Phoebe Dynevor) is the oldest daughter of Violent and Edmund Bridgerton, and it's her journey onto the marriage market that launches the "Bridgerton" series. The first season begins with her debut into society, when she is proclaimed the season's diamond by none less than the queen herself. Beautiful and intelligent, Daphne should have no trouble catching herself an eligible bachelor, were it not for the interference of her brother Anthony, who scares off any potential suitors. Desperate not to be left on the shelf, she and Simon, the duke of Hastings, hatch a plan that will be mutually beneficial for both of them: They'll pretend to be courting, which will make other men notice her, and will keep other women (and their ambitious mothers) off his back. All they have to do is not fall in love with each other, and their plan will work perfectly.

Inevitably, that's exactly what they do. Once married, they have a blissful honeymoon period, until Daphne discovers that Simon's inability to have children is actually just a preference, a deception she sees as a betrayal. Their relationship basically falls apart for a while, until they both realize that the feelings they share for one another are stronger than their disagreements. At the end of the first season, Daphne gives birth to their first son, a little boy named August, followed by a daughter.

Eloise (Claudia Jessie) would be the first to tell you that she's the most unconventional Bridgerton. The second daughter of the family (and a classic middle child), Eloise strains against the expectations of London society. She is able to convince her mother to allow her to delay coming out a year, and is shown to have a strong distaste for parties, balls, and the entire courtship process. She would rather devote her time to intellectual pursuits, or at least have the choice to, instead of being foisted onto the marriage market. She's a few decades early to be a suffragette, but she's very much in that mold.

Since Eloise hasn't had her romantic storyline yet (maybe in season 5?), most of her time thus far on "Bridgerton" has been spent attempting to identify the mysterious Lady Whistledown, first for her own edification and later at the command of the queen. She feels a deep and profound sense of betrayal when she learns that the gossip writer is none other than her best friend, Penelope Featherington, especially since Lady Whistledown exposed to scandal both the Bridgertons as a family and Eloise individually. 

Benedict and Eloise may be the black sheep of the Bridgerton family, but Francesca (played by Ruby Stokes in the first two seasons and Hannah Dodd in the third) is undoubtedly its dark horse. She's often absent during the first two seasons of the show, and even when she's there, we feel an immediate sense that she's different from her loud, gregarious siblings. Francesca is quiet, introverted, and passionate about music, and although she loves her brothers and sisters, she also feels somewhat separate from them. When it's time for Francesca to debut into society, she looks forward to the prospect of marrying and getting a break from her bustling family.

She feels an immediate kinship to John Stirling, Earl of Kilmartin, whose quiet, thoughtful ways seem to reflect her own. He wins her heart by having a violin piece rearranged according to her suggestions, and presenting the sheet music as a gift — proof that he listens to her and values her opinions. Although it goes against the queen's wishes, they marry in the third season and prepare to move to his family's seat in Scotland. But an unexpected challenge to their wedded bliss comes at the reception, when Francesca meets John's cousin Michaela and is bowled over by her. She loves John, but she doesn't know what to make of this immediate spark between her and Michaela, leaving the state of their marriage very much in a "to be continued" state.

Gregory (Will Tilston) is the youngest son in the Bridgerton family, and he's only just reaching his teenage years in the third season of the show. Since he's a bit too young for "Bridgerton" to focus on his romantic exploits (he likely won't be featured as a romantic lead until the last season or two of the show, if it lasts that long — the plan is for eight seasons), we don't know a ton about his character yet. 

He's closest to his younger sister Hyacinth, since they're separated from their older siblings by a number of years, and they're often shown playing (and fighting) together. Gregory looks up to his older brothers tremendously, and in the second season he and Anthony have a conversation that makes it clear that he regards Anthony as the only father he's ever had. It bothers him that he can't remember his actual father, since he was just a baby when he died, and it makes him happy to hear that Anthony sees similarities between the two of them, especially their shared fondness for practical jokes.

Hyacinth (Florence Hunt) is the baby of the family, so young that she never actually met her father, as she was born a month after his death. She's closest to her older brother Gregory, the only other Bridgerton who is still a child at the time that the series starts. They have a competitive relationship — he's older, but she's taller — that persists even as they grow older. Hyacinth is a clever girl, and is eager to be included with her older sisters. 

She's emotionally invested in their relationships, especially Daphne, who at one point seemed poised to become a princess by marrying the queen's German nephew. Although Hyacinth is young, she's not to be underestimated: She has a knack for troublemaking and an ability to outsmart even her fully grown adult siblings. Hyacinth is still a few years away from being launched into society, but she'll certainly be a force to be reckoned with when that day comes.

Kathani Sharma (Simone Ashley, who you can also see in Amazon's 2025 rom-com "Picture This"), known as Kate, is the orphaned daughter of an English clerk and an Indian woman, both of whom died when she was young. Her father remarried after her mother's death to Lady Mary Sheffield, the daughter of an earl who became estranged from her parents when she ran away with someone they saw as below her station. They had a daughter together named Edwina, Kate's younger half-sister and the apple of her eye. It is for Edwina that Kate, her stepmother, and Edwina move from India to London for the social season. If they can find an eligible match for Edwina, they may be able to mend fences with Mary's parents, putting Edwina in line to inherit their fortune, although Kate alone is aware of this.

Kate comes across as headstrong, competitive, and unafraid of conflict, especially in her interactions with Anthony Bridgerton, who she seems determined to dislike. When it comes to her sister, Kate is self-sacrificing to a fault, denying all of her own wishes and dreams to see Edwina settled. This is taken to an extreme when she's willing to watch Edwina marry Anthony Bridgerton, even though she herself is in love with him. Luckily, the wedding is broken up before both parties make a huge mistake, and the magnetic pull between Kate and Anthony can't be denied for long. They marry at the end of the second season, and Kate becomes pregnant with their first child shortly thereafter.

Simon Basset (Regé-Jean Page) returns to London at the beginning of the first season of "Bridgerton" upon the death of his estranged father, who all but disowned him as a child because of his pronounced stutter. As an adult, he has inherited the family title, but is also determined that the Hastings duchy die with him as a final revenge against his father. This puts him in direct opposition with all of London society, who expect him to marry and continue the family line — and have put all their daughters in contention for the role of Duchess of Hastings.

When he begins to develop feelings for Daphne Bridgerton, his biggest source of conflict is between his desire to be with Daphne and the vow he made to his father on his deathbed that he will be the last of his line. Although the threat of scandal forces them to marry, bringing this conflict to a head, they eventually work it out. Simon is rakish, stubborn, and frequently antisocial, but he's also wrapped around Daphne's little finger.

Penelope Featherington (Nicola Coughlan) grew up across the street from the Bridgertons, and was a childhood friend of both Eloise and Colin. Clever and brutally observant, Penelope turned her wallflower status into a money-making scheme, becoming the anonymous purveyor of London gossip, Lady Whistledown. But her double identity gets her into trouble, when she's often put into a position to protect her loved ones by hurting them. She had a secret crush on Colin Bridgerton for most of her life, even though she resigned herself to the fact that he would never feel the same way about her. 

In her own way, she tried to save Colin from scandal and ridicule when Marina, her distant cousin, attempted to baby-trap him. But it wasn't until the third season of "Bridgerton," when she finally rejected her mother's tragic sense of style and got a makeover, that Colin began to notice her. Their relationship evolved quickly, since they had known each for years, and they were married that season. In its epilogue, they introduce their infant son, and the brand new Lord Featherington, since the first of the Featherington daughters to produce a male heir would inherit the title.

As of the third season of "Bridgerton," John Stirling (Victor Alli), the Earl of Kilmartin, was the most recent Bridgerton spouse to be introduced. Quiet, thoughtful, and with an estate in the Scottish Highlands far away from the London hustle and bustle, he's a perfect match for the introverted Francesca. Unlike many of her other suitors, he seems to value Francesca for her personality, and it's clear that they both have similar temperaments. 

Although he struggles to express his feelings and speak up for himself, his relationship with Francesca seems to embolden him. The two are married in the third season, and they make the long journey up to Scotland after their wedding, with the soul-searching Eloise in tow. Although they may not have the passion simmering beneath all the other show's couples, they're well-suited for each other and seem to make one another genuinely happy.