The Secret Life of the American Teenager is a television series created by Brenda Hampton. It first premiered on ABC Family on July 1, 2008 and is currently in its fifth season.^[1] The show features a regular cast of characters, which began with eleven main characters in its first season. Since then, characters have left the show, with new main characters having both been written in and out of the series. In addition, Secret Life features multiple guest stars each week, some having larger roles than others.

The plot focuses on the character of Amy Juergens after becoming accidentally pregnant at band camp. It explores how the pregnancy affects her, her peers, and her family. After her sister starts Ulysses S. Grant High School, Amy finds how virtually everyone at school carries a secret or an unexpected problem.

Main characters [link]

Amy Juergens [link]

Portrayed by Shailene Woodley, Amy becomes pregnant after a one night stand at band camp right before her freshman year of high school. Upon entering high school, Amy begins a relationship with Ben Boykewich, a highly supportive classmate with whom she falls in love with. She confesses her pregnancy to her two best friends, Madison and Lauren, who inadvertently spread the rumour about Amy having sex with Ricky. During this time, Amy's sister Ashley discovers her pregnancy due to Amy's recent weight gain and erratic behavior, but promises to keep her secret from their parents. After Ben finds out, he proposes to Amy because he genuinely loves her, and feels like he can be a better father than Ricky due to his family's financial stability. After Amy tells her parents, she contemplates having a abortion as she is afraid of what people will say about her. She changes her mind, but is still adamant about not returning to school. Ricky reaches out to Amy during this time, saying that he does want to be involved with what happens to the baby. She then plans to go live with her grandmother Mimsy, but is unable to after the entire family discovers that Mimsy suffers from Alzheimer's, and has sold her house in order to move into assisted care living. Amy goes back to school, but is uncomfortable with being known as "the pregnant girl". After making it halfway through her pregnancy, Amy's mother Anne informs her that in order to keep the baby, she will have to find a job and daycare. Amy is surprised, since she assumed that her mother would stay home and look after the baby like she did with her and her sister. Because of this, Amy and Ben get married using fake IDs, but they learn afterwards that the marriage was void since they were both under-aged. Amy then decides on adoption, and finds out that her father's longtime employee Donovan and his partner Leon want to adopt the baby. The adoption falls through due to Ricky's interference, and she ultimately decides to keep the baby due to the love and support of her family and friends. After deciding this, Grace and Adrian throw her a baby shower where Amy then goes into labor. While in the hospital, Amy reprimands Ricky for getting her pregnant, but then recalls in a series of flashbacks and realizes that she was equally responsible for what had happened. She gives birth to her son John, who she let Ashley name, and begins to struggle with motherhood. After breaking up with Ben during her sophomore year, Amy briefly dates Jimmy, the son of her mother's ex-boyfriend, but their relationship ends after he finds a condom in her purse. Not knowing this at first, Amy is led to believe that Jimmy broke up with her because she was a bad kisser, and asks Ricky to kiss her just to be sure. Adrian finds out about this, and sleeps with Ben in order to get back at both of them. Amy and Ben quickly reconcile and get back together around the end of the year. After being accepted into a summer music program in New York, Amy decides to go but is surprised to learn that the program was for teen mothers. During this time, Ben reveals to Amy that Adrian had gotten pregnant from their one night stand, and had been keeping it from Amy for several weeks. After breaking up with Ben, she develops feelings for Ricky when he comes to visit. She tells him that if he really wants to be with her, he has to stop sleeping around...and get "tested." At the beginning of season four, Amy and Ricky are together and are trying to be a real family for their son. After the stillborn death of Ben and Adrian's baby, Amy and Ricky begin a sexual relationship. Three months later, Amy moves herself and John into Ricky's little apartment over the butcher shop where he works. Amy decides she wants to marry Ricky, but he thinks she's moving too fast. Later he proposes at his graduation, where he is also valedictorian. At a graduation party, Ricky kisses Adrian one last time; something Amy allowed. The next day, Ricky is surprised that Amy isn't in a hurry to marry, she is content with just being engaged until she feels the time is right for them to marry.Later in the season Amy thinks shes pregnant again and becomes very moody,she finds out shes not pregnant But is still very moody.Ricky takes her where they first met and Amy begins to become a little more happy and appreciative of Ricky and his proposal to her.

Benjamin "Ben" Boykewich [link]

Portrayed by Ken Baumann, Benjamin "Ben" Boykewich joined band in order to meet Amy and asked her to a school fund raiser. When Ben learns that Amy is pregnant with Ricky's baby, he proposes to her and offers to care for the baby with her. Later on the series, Ben gets Adrian pregnant, after he lost his virginity with her in his car in front of Amy's house. The couple decide to keep the baby. He then tells Amy and they break up. By the third season's mid-season finale, it is shown that Ben and Adrian have some romantic feelings for one's another. In the autumn premiere, Ben and Adrian find out they're having a baby girl, which is what Ben was hoping for. His father bought a condo for the two of them, and they later get married. Their daughter, Mercy, was stillborn which left Adrian and Ben devastated. He later decides he wants out of the marriage due to Adrian's attitude. He admits it harshly to Adrian after she gave away their baby's things. After his outbursts to Adrian he then gets drunk and humiliates himself in front of his father. But he later begins to recant his decision after having time to vent his frustration. But, later Adrian decides she also does not want to remain married, and asks him to leave. He leaves brokenhearted and then later asks Adrian to remain his friend. He also allows Adrian to keep the condo with the approval of his father and continues to keep his word of being her friend to her after she is embarrassed at the graduation party. He also meets a new girl named Dylan, who seems be interested in him. Alice tells Ben that Henry slept with Adrian at the graduation party, which enrages him and prompts him to tell a stunned and contrite Henry that he is no longer welcome at his home. Dylan and her friends visit Ben and ask if he minds if they smoke some pot. Ben is taken aback, but doesn't want to appear judgmental, so he allows them to smoke in his room. They are discovered by Leo and Dylan's parents, and Ben lies to protect Dylan and tells them that he was given the pot at the party the night before.

Adrian Lee Enriquez Boykewich [link]

Portrayed by Francia Raisa, Adrian is the daughter of Ruben Enriquez and Cindy Lee, and the wife of Ben. She is 18 years old. Adrian is both book smart and street smart, hard-edged and emotional. Although she is a straight-A student and a majorette, she has a reputation for being a drama queen and the "school slut". She also has strong feelings for Ricky despite claiming she doesn't anymore since they stopped speaking to each other. Adrian grew up never knowing who her father was, until she went on a search to find him. Now she lives with her mother, who married her father after 16 years, and live next door to the Juergens. Her mother is a flight attendant and her father is a District Attorney. Adrian and Ben had sex which resulted in Adrian getting pregnant. She had her mind set on abortion, but she eventually backed out and decided to keep the baby. Adrian's decision to keep the baby has received a lot of positive support from her father and even Amy, who had called her to let her know that she is giving Adrian the same offer she once gave her to be friends because their kids might end up becoming friends. Adrian later finds out that she is having a baby girl, which both she and Ben are excited about, and she and Ben later get married. Their daughter, Mercy, was stillborn, leaving Adrian and Ben devastated. After this, Ben realizes he no longer loves Adrian, if he ever did, and wants to get divorced. When she finds this out, Adrian wants to try getting pregnant again, believing that they will fall back in love and be happy again if she's pregnant again. When this doesn't work, she decides he should leave. After he left, Adrian realised she still loved Ricky so she decides to date a guy named Dante trying to make Ricky jealous. In the process, she meets Dante's brother, Omar and dates him because Dante left the country without an explanation. But Ricky had other plans - he propose to Amy. Adrian wants one last kiss from Ricky, to see if she still has feelings for him. At the graduation party, she receives the kiss and is happy to discover that the kiss leaves her unmoved; however, Omar is at the party and is offended by Adrian kissing Ricky, and leaves. Disconsolate, Adrian has sex with Henry. The next day, she realizes that she has made a mistake, and repeatedly calls Omar, who refuses her calls. To her surprise, Dante' arrives back from his semester abroad. When she tells him that she has been seeing his brother, he breaks up with her. Adrian and Grace are fed up with boys, and decide to enroll in summer school together.

Richard "Ricky" Underwood [link]

Portrayed by Daren Kagasoff, Ricky Underwood is the 18-year old-son of Bob and Nora Underwood and the father of John Juergens (fathered him at 16 with Amy Juergens after a one-night stand at band camp). Ricky is a senior at Ulysses S. Grant High School, where he is the drummer in the high school marching band and holds the reputation of being the school's bad boy and has slept with many girls. His father, Bob, is a drug addict who beat Ricky's mother and sexually abused Ricky as a child. His mother was a drug addict and alcoholic who never helped him out of fear. Ricky was in foster care and used to see a therapist (and Lauren's father), Dr. Ken Fields, who he sometimes still visits. Ricky is shown to being capable of love, demonstrated with his son, John. He wants to put his past behind him, but sees himself as "damaged goods." He can fall in love and be faithful, as shown in his relationship with Amy. Ricky falls in love with Amy after she returns from New York. Ricky and Amy go on a date in the fall finale of season 3 and she makes him get tested before considering to have sex with him. Ricky tests disease-free, and chooses to not have sex with anyone other than Amy. Their first time having sex occurred in the wake of dealing with the news of Ben and Adrian's stillborn daughter. Amy and John soon moves in with Ricky. Amy finds messages left by Adrian after she tells her she's in love with Ricky. Amy gets caught by Ricky, with him stating they should spend some time apart if she can't trust him. Ricky eventually apologizes to Amy and they get back together. Amy tries to get Ricky to propose by doing "wild" things such as giving him a milkshake and a bath. Ricky ends up being the Valedictorian (scored highest academically) and at the end of his speech he proposes to Amy. At the graduation party Amy allows Ricky to kiss Adrian one last time to give closure to her. Ricky wants to know when Amy wants to get married, and is taken aback when Amy doesn't seem to be in a hurry to plan their wedding.

Ashley Juergens [link]

Portrayed by India Eisley, Ashley Juergens is the youngest daughter of Anne and George Juergens, youngest granddaughter of Mimsy, the younger sister of Amy Juergens, older sister to Robby Juergens, and the aunt of John Juergens-Underwood. She often wears black. She is mature, observant, and sarcastic, tending to speak in a low, monotone voice. Between her parents' marital troubles and Amy's pregnancy, Ashley is often forgotten by her family and remarks that she could get away with anything. However, Ashley's main concern is keeping her family together. Ashley believed that Amy's baby would reunite her dividing family and worked hard to discourage Amy from adoption. She recently developed feelings for Ricky. She stays away from Ricky, for benefit of Amy and Ricky, but is told to back down by Amy so that she and Ricky can see if they can try to be a couple. Ashley passes her GED after a brief stint in home-schooling and travels across the US with her new friend, Toby. They end up broke in Florida and stay with his grandmother, earning money with any part-time job they can find. Ashley returns home the day after Ricky's graduation and announces that she will be attending college in Florida in the fall.

Jack Pappas [link]

Portrayed by Greg Finley II, Jack Pappas is a senior who is on the football team. His stepfather, Reverend Stone, is the minister of the church Grace's family attends and told him to date Grace only to ensure her wealthy family continued to donate. He eventually breaks up with Grace and moves in with Tom in Grace's family's guest house, even though he still loves Grace. He later dates Madison and they break up after summer vacation. Jack and Madison reunite, and although they are back together, Madison becomes very jealous that Jack is living with Grace's family. He moves out of the guest house and into the big house (where Grace lives) because Tom's new girlfriend and her children move into the guest house with Tom. Jack's room is next to Grace's which makes Madison even more nervous about their relationship. Later on, Jack and Madison break up, because he is still in love with Grace. Jack is chosen to give the invocation at the graduation ceremony, and Grace helps him write it. At the end of season 4 they share a kiss to see if they still have feelings for each other. The kiss is captured on a cell phone, and the picture is sent to Grace's current boyfriend. Jack is jubilant when Grace's boyfriend breaks up with her, but Grace's mother suggests that since he is going to college in a few months, perhaps he'd be better off just being friends with Grace and taking advantage of new college experiences.

Grace Bowman [link]

Portrayed by Megan Park, Grace Bowman is the biological daughter of Marshall and Kathleen Bowman and the younger sister of the adopted Tom Bowman. Grace is 17 years old. She is in 11th grade, and an ex-cheerleader. Grace was a devout Christian and does her best to be stay true to her religion. Originally, she was in a relationship with Jack, but they later break up after she loses her virginity to him. She briefly becomes involved with Ricky, but ultimately becomes involved with Grant, the cousin of Griffin. Grant and Grace bond over their shared desire to become doctors, and strengthen that bond over a summer at MED camp. In her endeavors to become a doctor, she visits Africa with her doctor step-father, where she cheats on Grant with Daniel, a college student. Grant and Grace later break up and she begins to date Daniel, but their relationship isn't smooth due to his greater maturity. Grace becomes jealous of Daniel's ex-girlfriend at the graduation party and Daniel leaves. Grace and Jack share a kiss the next morning after the party, which is captured on a cell hone by Daniel's ex-girlfriend, Raven. Raven texts the picture to Daniel, and he breaks up with Grace, realizing that she still has feelings for Jack. Grace later confesses to Adrian that she thinks she may still be in love with Jack.

George Juergens [link]

Portrayed by Mark Derwin, George Juergens is the estranged husband of Anne Juergens, the father of Amy, Ashley and Robby Juergens, and the maternal grandfather of John Juergens. George is a comically blunt, somewhat immature and often oblivious man, but one who loves his family and tries hard to protect them and keep them together. His first wife was Kathleen Bowman, a woman who married him for sex. George, a furniture salesman, met Anne while she was in college. He and Anne eloped shortly after discovering Anne was pregnant with Amy. Two years later, they had Ashley. It is later found out that he cheated on Anne with other women. The two get a divorce and remarried and separate again. He also has another son with Anne, Robbie. He currently lives at his children's childhood home with his dog. When everyone moves out, he invites Ricky's mother, Nora, to move in with him as a roommate. She moves into Ashley's garage bedroom. George and Anne still feel a spark for each other, but Anne seems intent on seeing the divorce go through.

Anne Juergens [link]

Portrayed by Molly Ringwald, Anne Juergens is the daughter of Mimsy and Robert, the divorced wife of George Juergens, the mother of Amy, Ashley and Robby Juergens and the maternal grandmother of John Juergens. She is a responsible, practical, and naturally independent woman who tries to install the same virtues in her daughters. Anne met George while she was majoring in Women's Studies at college. When Anne discovered she had become pregnant with Amy, she reluctantly dropped out of college, married George and became a housewife. Two years later, she had Ashley, and another 14 years after that, she had Robbie. She and George separated after she became tired of his womanizing and realized that she was not happy in the marriage. She dated an architect for a while, and they planned to marry when she became pregnant, thinking it was his child; he later confessed that he could not have children, and she realized that Robbie was George's son. She lived with her mother for a while after her separation from George, but when her mother went into a home for Alzheimer patients, she was on her own, and began to see a high school sweetheart for companionship, but the relationship didn't go anywhere. She and George made an attempt to get back together and she took over the design portion of his furniture business, but again she finds poorly-hidden evidence that he was unfaithful, and resumed divorce proceedings.

Leo Boykewich [link]

Steve Schirripa portrays Leo Boykewich, Ben's widowed father. He is known as "The Sausage King" and trusts Ben to do the right thing and is one of the first to suspect Amy's pregnancy. While he doesn't dismiss Ben's strong feelings for Amy, he does encourage Ben to spend a summer in Italy to gain some perspective on his situation. Leo sends Ben to work with a family in Bologna, Italy. Leo begins to date a woman named Betty, who is the prostitute Tom had once hired. Leo delivered the news to Ben of Grace's father's death the night after he slept with Betty for the first time, though it is assumed he doesn't know that Betty is a prostitute. We later learn from Betty that she was very upfront about her profession the first day she introduced herself to Leo, because she was afraid of embarrassing him. He later proposes to Betty, not knowing she was already married, but she does want to be with Leo. He promises to hunt down her husband, who hurts her, so they can get married, which they do in a large, elaborate ceremony and reception. Leo takes Ricky under his wing by giving him a job at the butcher shop and allowing him to live in the upstairs apartment. He is upset when Ben and Adrian discover they are having a baby, and tries to caution Ben from marrying Adrian just because she is pregnant. Ben is insistent, however, so Leo purchases a condo for the newlyweds. When Ben is ambivalent about being married, Leo sternly tells him that he made the choice, and he now has to make the best of it. When the baby is stillborn, Leo tearfully breaks the news to Ben and Adrian's friends at the hospital, and then later supports Ben's decision to get a divorce. In Season 4, Leo questions whether or not he wants to be married to Betty anymore when he suspects that his longtime assistant, Camille, is in love with him. Even so, Leo decides to stick with the marriage because he believes that is the right thing to do. Betty later decides that she wants a divorce and Leo agrees to it. He later sends Camille flowers and a bracelet and invites her out to dinner. While talking in the car on the way to dinner Camille kisses Leo, the two are also together at graduation.

Recurring characters [link]

The following is a list of characters that are, or at one time were, a recurring guest on the series.

Nora Underwood [link]

Anne Ramsay portrays Nora Underwood, Ricky's biological mother. For the majority of the first season, she is a distant character in Ricky's past. She has been to jail a few times due to drug possession and Ricky often felt bitter towards her because she failed to protect him from his father's abuse. But in Season 3, episode 7, she comes back into his life, to spend time with her son before she gets put back in jail. Ruben Enriquez (Adrian's father), as a DA helps Ricky get his mother out of jail, as he is willing to try and forgive her. Later on in the season, the two begin to repair the relationship, however, she was unsure about telling him she has a girlfriend, but she later does, and is gratified when Ricky seems pleased for her. The relationship doesn't last, though, and after a night of binge drinking (with the purported intent of convincing Ben that he shouldn't drink) she moves out of Margaret and Shakur's home and moves in with George Juergens, who initially tries to make a play for her, but remains pals when he discovers that she is gay. She is very proud of Ricky's accomplishments in spite of his shaky childhood.

Henry 'Hank' Miller & Alice Valko [link]

Allen Evangelista portrays Henry 'Hank' Miller, has been Ben's friend since the third grade. He is now dating Alice (who is portrayed by Amy Rider), who has also become a friend of Ben's and some of the girls in school. Alice is very smart and knows a lot of factual information, while Henry is a bit more social. They have and discuss sex quite often, but fairly maturely. In the first episode, Alice pointed out Amy to Ben. In season 4 Henry breaks up with Alice and the two try "shared custody" of Ben, which is awkward and doesn't work out. In the last episode of Season 5, Alice walks in to a bedroom after a graduation party to find Henry in bed with Adrian. Angrily, she tells Ben what she found, and Ben tells Henry he is no longer welcome in his home.

Marc Molina [link]

Jorge Pallo portrays Marc Molina, who was the school guidance counselor and was a big hit with the girls at the start of the school year. Before Amy reveals her pregnancy to her two best friends, Lauren and Madison, they gab about the new counselor, asking if she has something better to talk about than him. He's always helping people, especially Ben and Adrian. He disappeared before the season break, with people saying that he ran off with Adrian, but no one really knew why he was gone. It was later revealed that he left to get married. We later find out that his wife was his crazy girlfriend that he talked about with Ben and also that he was once a cop until his wife made him quit the force. Marc believes he married the wrong person, but it is revealed that his wife is pregnant when she comes to Amy's baby shower. He eventually resigned because he needed a better job to support his growing family.

Mimsy Scott Levy [link]

Alice Hirson portrays Mimsy, who is Robert Scott's widow, Anne's mother, Amy, Ashley and Robby's grandmother and John Juergens great-grandmother. She has the beginnings of Alzheimer's disease and recently moved to an assisted care home. It is stated that she likes everyone better than Anne, and Anne is reluctant to tell her about anything in her life, such as her marital problems with George as well as her pregnancy. Anne and Amy worry about her sometimes. Mimsy is reported as having suffered a slight stroke and therefore, Anne and George miss John's first birthday to go to her side. Mimsy surprises Anne and George with the news that she has married a gentleman named Eugene Levy.

Kathleen Bowman [link]

Josie Bissett portrays Kathleen Bowman, who is the mother of Grace Bowman, adoptive mother of Tom Bowman, the ex-wife of George Juergens, and new wife of Jeff Tseguay. She cheated on George during their marriage. As a teen, Kathleen's mother did not let her have any physical contact with any boys. She told Grace that she only married George for sex. She waited until she married Marshall Bowman to have sex with him. She becomes a widow after Marshall dies in a private jet crash and began dating a younger man named Dr. Jeff Tseguay, a gynecologist, much to Grace's displeasure. Kathleen and Jeff are so excited that Grace suddenly seems to be in favor of the marriage that they impulsively decide to marry right away. Kathleen therefore changed her name from "Bowman" to "Tseguay". Kathleen tries to balance supervising Tom's special needs with his desire to be independent, and tries to get Grace to behave responsibly when it comes to sex.

Tom Bowman [link]

Luke Zimmerman portrays Tom Bowman, Grace's older brother, who has Down Syndrome. His mother passed away earlier in his life, then he was adopted by the Bowmans. With the normal drives of a young man, he is interested in sex—at one point, he calls an "escort" service and a prostitute named Betty comes in response to his call. They do not have sex, but she spends the evening talking with him and allowing him to confess his frustrations. Later, he meets Tammy and wants to marry her, despite having only been on one date with her. Tammy ends up marrying someone else. He sometimes refers to Ricky as "Drummer Boy" and cares deeply about Grace. He mistakes Adrian's manipulation of him to borrow money as interest in him, and tries to respond, with no luck. When it is first announced that Adrian is pregnant, Tom proposes to her, and promises to take care of her. She gently refuses him. He and Jack share the Bowman's guesthouse for a while when Tom is impatient for more independence that Kathleen is willing to allow him. Jack moves into the main house when Tom beings dating a woman with two children that he met on the bus on his way to work as a Vice President of Human Resources.

Dr. Marshall Bowman [link]

John Schneider portrays Dr. Marshall Bowman, Grace's overprotective father. He's also the partner of the Juergens' pediatrician, Dr. Hightower, which is how he found out about Amy's pregnancy. Marshall later admits to Ricky that his brother was sexually abused by his neighbor and later committed suicide. Marshall dies when his private jet crashes, leaving Grace thinking the crash was all her fault because she had sex with her boyfriend, Jack, after Marshall told her not to. His body was cremated and spread on a hole in a golf course. It was discovered in Season 4, that Marshall had a relationship with another woman while he was in Zimbabwe and they had a son together named Jacob.

Madison Cooperstein [link]

Renee Olstead portrays Madison Mildred Cooperstein. She is in the 11th grade, she's one of Amy's best friends, and her values are defined by her Catholicism. Madison unintentionally spreads gossip and rumors, though she is a well-meaning girl. She dated Lauren's brother, Jason, and unintentionally spread the news of Amy's pregnancy. She feels ignored by Amy because she is spending more time with Ben than with her. Madison broke up with Jason but started to have feelings over the breakup. It is revealed that her mother died. Madison seems to have a crush on Jack and might have done something with him over the summer. She does not want a relationship with Jack despite fooling around with him. After Jack and Grace's relationship fizzles, Jack begins to date Madison. Madison, hoping to reassure Jack that she is a "free spirit" and doesn't want to trap him, tells Jack that she's not interested in children or marriage. This causes Jack to rethink the relationship because, as he tells her, the whole idea of dating is to find someone that you might want to marry. Since she says she doesn't want to marry, perhaps he should be dating elsewhere. Madison quickly recants and tells Jack that she is interested in a family and children, but not for a long time. They resume their relationship, and while Madison is seriously considering having sex with Jack, she confesses that she isn't quite ready, wanting the occasion to be special and wearing a pretty dress and having her make up done. Jack tells her that he is fine with waiting. So, to get around having actual sex, Madison and Jack often have oral sex. After school ends, Madison sleeps over at the Bowman guest house (where Jack stays) and lies about where she spent the night. When her dad gets an email from Lauren, he forbids Madison and Jack to date. Madison later tries to date her former supervisor, whom her father discovers lied about his age, and proceeds to kick him out of his home. Madison lost her virginity to Jack after Adrian and Ben's wedding, but because she and Jack regret having sex, they decide to discontinue any sexual activity. At the graduation party Madison has sex with Lauren's boyfriend, Jesse. Lauren tells her that she hates her, orders her out of her house when Madison comes to apologize, and rips up a photo of the two of them.

Lauren Treacy [link]

Camille Winbush portrays Lauren Treacy, who is also in the 11th grade and one of Amy's best friends. She is smart, practical, and seems to be the voice of reason for Amy. Her father is Ricky's therapist. Along with Madison, Lauren also accidentally spread the news of Amy's pregnancy. She made out with Ricky one night in his car. She also feels ignored by Amy. Her parents are divorced, and her mother is remarried. Lauren is now dating Jesse, and plans to have sex with him when Madison and Jack have sex. After her parents find out that she and Jesse slept over at Jack's guest house and she lied about it, her father and mother ban her from seeing and being with Jesse. She and Jesse break up, but then get back together when they realize they still care for each other. Jesse throws an all-night graduation party, where he drinks too much and ends up in bed with Madison after Lauren makes it clear that she neither intends to drink or have sex that night. Angrily, she breaks up with Jesse and tells Madison that she hates her.

Jason Treacy [link]

Andrew McFarlane portrays Jason Treacy, Lauren's older brother and Madison Cooperstein's ex-boyfriend. He's a member of the Grant High Football team and portrayed as an excellent student, proven by the fact that he was the only other student besides Grace Bowman to be accepted into the Young Healers Camp program, for students who aspire to be doctors. At med camp, he and Grace became extremely attracted to one another because of all the time they spent together, and eventually they kissed. However, before returning home, they agreed to only be friends, but Jason still broke up with Madison before the next school year began. Along with Grace and her new boyfriend, Grant, he also attended the Young Healers Camp again the following summer.

Dr. Jeff Tseguay [link]

Reid Scott portrays Dr. Jeff Tseguay, Grace's step-father. Jeff met Kathleen during the aftermath of Marshall's death—his brother died in the same plane crash that killed Marshall. Kathleen and Jeff's relationship is inadvertently discovered by Jack when he is in a drug store and witnesses Kathleen and Jeff purchasing contraceptives. He agrees not to tell Grace, but Kathleen decides to go ahead and tell Grace anyway, knowing that her interest in another man only six months after Marshall's death will deeply upset her. One evening, Kathleen is at Jeff's house and Jeff decides not to answer a phone call from his mother. His mother becomes concerned and bursts in on the couple talking in bed, much to Jeff's chagrin, Kathleen's embarrassment, and his mother's interest. Their relationship escalates quickly, and upon Grace's pretense at encouragement, they decide to marry. The day after the wedding, Jeff talks to Grace and tells her that he feels that they got off on the wrong foot, and, as her new stepfather and as an obstetrician/gynecologist, invites her to talk about her misgivings. During the talk, Grace begins to sort out her conflicted feelings about sex. Jeff later joins a medical team working for an extended period in Africa, where Grace visits him and meets Daniel. Jeff invites Kathleen to join him in Africa for a few months, and although tempted, she doesn't feel that she can leave Tom and Grace.

Betty Boykewich [link]

Jennifer Coolidge portrays Betty, who meets and interests Leo Boykewiche. She is upfront about telling him that she has been a prostitute, because she doesn't want him embarrassed when he finds out, but he decides he doesn't care. He discovers that she can't marry him because she is still married to a man she hasn't seen in a long time. Leo locates her husband, only to find that he has died, and he proposes. When Ben is conflicted over having sex with Adrian, Betty offers to listen to his problems, but Ben rudely turns her away, telling her he doesn't need advice from a prostitute. She is hurt, but soon bounces back. When Ben sincerely apologizes for his outburst, she assures him that she has already forgotten it, and goes on to encourage Ben to act on his feelings. Betty and Leo are married in a lavish wedding with Ben inviting all his friends to celebrate. Betty clumsily but earnestly attempts to console Adrian after the loss their baby. In season 4 she decides that she realizes that Leo is not happy and tells him she wants a divorce and wants to go to college. In one of the last episodes of the season her mother dies and while awaiting a flight on her soon-to-be ex-husbands private jet she is approached by a divorce lawyer.

Robert "Bob" Underwood [link]

Bryan Callen portrays Robert "Bob" Underwood, Ricky's biological father and grandfather to John Juergens. He was sent to jail for sexually abusing his son. When on parole, he returns, scaring Amy when he came to her house trying to find out where Ricky was. He is trying to convince Ricky to sell the baby but is later caught by Jack and put in jail again for possession of drugs.

Margaret Shakur [link]

L. Scott Caldwell portrays Margaret Shakur, Ricky's foster mother and John Juergens's foster grandmother. Margaret and her husband love Ricky as their own, and are proud to be his parents. Later, Margaret and Sanjay have dinner with Anne and George to discuss Ricky's custody case, and expressing a desire to be a part of John's life. Margaret helped Adrian with her decision about whether or not to terminate her unplanned pregnancy. Later, Ricky's birth mother, Nora, moves in with Margaret and Sanjay when starting her life over, and they have become good friends. Margaret decides to take in one of Ricky's former foster brothers, Ethan, who ends up in juvenile detention after sexting nude pictures of an underage girl to his friends when she breaks up with him. Because of overcrowding in juvenile detention, Ethan will return to live with Margaret.

Cindy Lee Enriquez [link]

Paola Turbay portrays Cindy Lee, Adrian's mother who works as a flight attendant and is rarely home. At the start of the show, she and George, Amy's father, had an affair. When she was a teenager and found out she was pregnant with Adrian, she ran from Ruben Enriquez, claiming she didn't want him to have anything to do with the baby. She loves Adrian, but thinks that Adrian doesn't love her back, though she does. She was unaware of Adrian's affairs and her moniker as the "school slut" until Adrian's father told her. Despite this, Cindy continues to work, leaving Adrian alone, where Adrian continues to have sex. Cindy and Ruben are now together. She got a promotion at work which would've required her to move to New York but declined so she could marry Ruben. After a minor case of cold feet, Cindy and Reuben decide to get married the day before Leo and Betty's wedding in a judge's office. Much to Cindy's consternation, Reuben's mother has sent a completely inappropriate wedding dress to wear — an ugly red, flouncy dress several sizes too large. After a moment of anger, Cindy shrugs and she and Reuben are married, with Adrian as a witness. When Adrian becomes pregnant, Cindy tells her daughter that she will stand behind Adrian, whether or not she decides to have an abortion. This spawns an argument between her and Reuben, who is against abortion.

Ruben Enriquez [link]

Philip Anthony-Rodriguez portrays Ruben Enriquez, Adrian's father and the ex-boyfriend of Cindy. He was not involved with Adrian during her childhood years because he and Cindy made a deal not to see each other. When Adrian eventually finds him, Ruben tells Adrian he wants nothing do with her, but later decides to help her turn her life around for the better. Ruben is an Assistant District Attorney and is married for the third time. Adrian is his second biological child (he has a biological son in Mexico), however, he is the stepfather to two sons. For confidentiality reasons, he could not tell Adrian that he had known the truth about Ricky having been sexually abused. He and Cindy marry before a judge, "Fast Eddy", the day before Leo and Betty marry. When his daughter becomes pregnant, Reuben strongly objects to the idea of her having an abortion. This causes conflict between Reuben and his wife, who supports Adrian's decision. Adrian chose to keep the baby, and Reuben couldn't have been happier. When Adrian's daughter, later named "Mercy" is born stillborn, he blames himself for pushing Adrian to keep the baby instead of having an abortion.

Rev. Sam Stone [link]

Tom Virtue portrays Rev. Sam Stone, Jack's stepfather and the minister at the local church. Jack told him why Grace thinks her dad died. He tried, unsuccessfully, to make Grace see that she and Jack having sex had nothing to with her father's death. He also helped Amy find couples to adopt her unborn baby (John) when she was pregnant. After offered a job at his Alma Mater in Phoenix, Arizona as the head of the Philosophy department, he gives up the church and moves with his wife, leaving Jack to complete his senior year. He makes a cameo appearance to marry Ben and Adrian.

Griffin [link]

Brando Eaton portrays Griffin, who is in 9th grade like Ashley, and is her friend. He and Ashley clicked as friends when he asked her to sit with him at lunch. After she asks him if all he wants is to have sex with her, Griffin tells Ashley that he is gay. George likes Griffin after meeting him because Ashley did not pick a guy friend who only wants her for sex. It's revealed that his two older brothers are also gay. He fixes Ashley up with his cousin, Grant, and brings his date, Michael, to Leo and Betty's wedding. After Ashley uses Grant, Griffin decides to introduce him to Grace Bowman. In return, Grace introduces Griffin to Peter, a guy she knew from church, and it was an instant connection for both couples.

Grant [link]

Grant Harvey portrays Grant, Griffin's awkward but engaging cousin, who is decidedly not gay and is interested in Ashley. He is put up to a blind date with Ashley by Griffin, and finds himself attracted to her. At first, George isn't concerned, thinking that since Grant is related to Griffin, he must be gay, too. He is taken aback to discover that Grant is not gay, but decides to trust Ashley not to make the same mistake that Amy did. He wants to have sex with Ashley. After a party held by Leo and Ben, Grant finds interest in Grace, and is now dating. He and Grace stay abstinent through their summer at Med Camp, and have sex after school starts when Grant's parents are out of town. Grant then told Grace that he loved her. Later, Grant's parents come to the Bowman-Tseguay residence and it is found that Grant's father is quite old, but charms the hearts of both Grace and Kathleen.

Katelyn O'Malley [link]

Beverley Mitchell portrays Katelyn O'Malley. She is the new school guidance counselor. It is revealed in season 4 that she lost a child and that her husband left her.

Jesse [link]

Austin Stowell portrays Jesse. He became Lauren's boyfriend in season 2. After sleeping at Jack's guest room with Madison and Lauren, Lauren is banned from seeing Jesse. At his graduation party, where he drinks too much, Lauren discovers him sleeping with Madison .

Minor characters [link]

The following is a list of characters that appear on the show, but usually do not add to the overall plot or story line of the series.

Mrs. Virginia Molina [link]

Constance Marie portrays Mrs. Virginia Molina, Mr. Molina's new wife. They are expecting a baby around the same time as Amy. She shows up at Amy's baby shower after being invited by Joe.

John Juergens Underwood [link]

Amy and Ricky's now two year old son whom they conceived on a night at band camp when Amy was a freshman in high school and when Ricky was a sophomore. Ashley is the one who suggested John's name because "his life was going to be complicated already, so we might as well give him an easy name."

Mrs. Stone [link]

Kristin Bauer van Straten portrays Mrs. Stone, Jack's mother. She met her second husband at grief counseling. Her voice is heard once yelling at Jack when he throws a football into the window. She and her husband tell Jack about his new job in Arizona, requiring Jack to find a new place to live to prevent him from relocating during his senior year.

Peter [link]

Kristopher Higgins portrays Peter, who is introduced in the Season 3 episode "Chicken Little". Peter becomes a love interest for Griffin when Grace sets them up believing Peter is gay. After talking with both his father and Griffin, Peter comes out as gay, and pursues a relationship with Griffin.

References [link]