List of Supergirl characters

This article is about characters appearing in the television series. For supporting characters of the comic book character, see Supergirl § Supporting characters.

Supergirl is an American television series developed by Greg Berlanti, Ali Adler and Andrew Kreisberg based on the characters created by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster in the "Superman" franchise and Al Plastino and Otto Binder's character Supergirl (Kara Zor-El). The series stars Melissa Benoist in the titular role of Kara Zor-El / Kara Danvers / Supergirl, as well as Mehcad Brooks, Chyler Leigh, Jeremy Jordan, David Harewood and Calista Flockhart. In addition to original characters, several other characters from DC Comics universe also appear throughout the series. For its first season, Supergirl aired on CBS, before moving to The CW for its second season.

The series follows Kryptonian refugee and Superman's biological cousin Kara Zor-El (Benoist), who, after hid her powers on Earth for more than a decade, becomes National City's superhero as Supergirl, battles against extraterrestrial and otherworldly threats, criminal masterminds, being targeted by her cousin's rogues gallery, and encountering an emerging community of metahumans within her adoptive world and individuals from parallel universes. Supergirl also deals with Earth's populace's fears and hostility against beings with superpowers, leading her into conflicts with industrialist Maxwell Lord (Peter Facinelli) and Lucy Lane's (Jenna Dewan) father General Sam Lane (Glenn Morshower). She is assisted by a few close friends and family who guard her secrets—most notably her cousin's longtime friend, James Olsen (Brooks) and mentored by the Martian survivor J'onn J'onzz (Harewood).

Main characters

Character	Actor	Season appearances
		Starring	Recurring	Guest
Kara Zor-El / Kara Danvers / Supergirl	Melissa Benoist	1-present	-	-
File:Melissa Benoist (cropped).jpg Melissa Benoist Kara Zor-El / Kara Danvers / Supergirl (portrayed by Melissa Benoist) is a 24-year-old Kryptonian living in National City, who must embrace her powers after previously hiding them. She assists her adoptive sister as part of the Department of Extranormal Operations (DEO) as she discovered the truth that her foster father also worked for the DEO so they would not take her, while Alex's co-workers at the DEO help her perfect her powers. Kara works as Cat Grant's assistant at CatCo. Benoist expressed her excitement over portraying the character, and being able to "(tell) a story about a human being really realizing their potential and their strength". Claire Holt and Gemma Atkinson were considered for the role. Malina Weissman portrays a young Kara.
James Olsen	Mehcad Brooks	1–present	–	–
Mehcad Brooks A former Daily Planet photographer (portrayed by Mehcad Brooks), James moved to National City and became the new art director for his former colleague, Cat Grant's media company, CatCo Worldwide Media. He is a potential love interest for Kara. Among his reasons for moving across the country include his breakup with his fiancée, Lucy Lane (with whom he has since reconciled), and keeping an eye on the newly-revealed Supergirl for Superman, who considers him a close friend. While working at the Daily Planet, James received the Pulitzer Prize for taking the first photograph of Superman.
Alex Danvers	Chyler Leigh	1–present	–	–
File:Chyler Leigh.jpg Chyler Leigh Kara's adoptive sister (portrayed by Chyler Leigh), Alex is a doctor and scientist with a past as a party girl and alcoholic, who is hired by Hank Henshaw at the DEO after being arrested for drunk driving, in a effort to turn her life around and see potential in her. Jordan Mazarati plays a young Alex. Having been trained in extensive combat after joining the DEO, the now-sober Alex tasks herself in providing rigorous training to Kara in order to decrease her reliance on her powers. Initially, like Kara, she becomes suspicious of the DEO and thus her own role upon learning of their father having worked there in order to protect Kara, but Alex ultimately learns that Henshaw is the Martian survivor J'onn J'onzz in shape-shifted disguise, whom her father (who she thought is dead) had rescued before his and the real Henshaw's deaths. After she is arrested and placed in custody for having known about J'onn, she and J'onn escape upon learning that her father is alive at Project Cadmus.
Winslow "Winn" Schott, Jr.	Jeremy Jordan	1–present	–	–
File:Jeremy Jordan 2013.jpg Jeremy Jordan A tech expert who works alongside Kara at CatCo (portrayed by Jeremy Jordan), who serves as one of her allies, helping her develop her costume and aiding her in her adventures as Supergirl. Winn has an unrequited crush on Kara and is rivals with James for her affection, and he later pursued a relationship with Cat's new assistant Siobhan Smythe until she turns into Supergirl's metahuman archenemy Silver Banshee. In the series, he is the son of Toyman.
Hank Henshaw / Martian Manhunter	David Harewood	1–present	–	–
File:David Harewood 2015.jpg David Harewood A former CIA agent and ex-head of the DEO (portrayed by David Harewood), who goes on high alert when Supergirl reveals herself, worried that her otherworldly abilities pose a threat to humankind. However, the "real" Henshaw (who was ruthless and obsessed with hunting down aliens he believed to be dangerous) died after he stabbed Jeremiah Danvers in Peru while hunting the alien J'onn J'onzz. After Henshaw died, the 317-year-old J'onzz, who has shape-shifting abilities, took Henshaw's likeness in order to reform the DEO from within as well as a promise to Jeremiah to watch over Alex and Kara, who each subsequently trust him as a mentor after learning of his true identity. In the episode "Falling", J'onn reveals to the whole world his true identity in order to stop Kara, who is affected by Red Kryptonite, from killing Alex. He is then arrested by the DEO agents who are at the scene, only to escape with Alex upon learning that Jeremiah has survived the attack and that he is being held at Project Cadmus, a facility that experiments with aliens and where he was going to be taken. The evolution of Henshaw was discussed during the filming of the pilot, with the executive producers jokingly saying that Harewood would be a good actor to play the Martian Manhunter in a potential television series, to which DC Comics' Geoff Johns asked why it could not be done in Supergirl. Harewood reflected that he had a difficult time "find[ing] an angle to play Hank Henshaw" in the pilot, and became excited when he was told about the change for his character's backstory.
Cat Grant	Calista Flockhart	1	–	–
Calista Flockhart The shallow and superficial founder of the media conglomerate CatCo (portrayed by Calista Flockhart) Worldwide Media, who feels, since she "branded" Kara as "Supergirl", that she has proprietary custody over the new hero. Formerly a gossip columnist at the Daily Planet (and before that, the personal assistant to the Daily Planet's Editor-in-Chief, Perry White) prior to founding CatCo, Cat investigates and reveals that Supergirl is Superman's cousin, which then causes her to become a target for some of Superman's enemies. She also serves as a mentor to Kara, dispensing advice about being a woman in a man's world. In the episode "Hostile Takeover", she suspects that Kara is Supergirl.

Recurring characters

This is a list of recurring actors and the characters they portrayed in multiple episodes, which were significant roles. The characters are listed by the order in which they first appeared.

• Laura Benanti as Alura Zor-El and Astra In-Ze:

Kara's biological mother and aunt, who are twins. Alura's guidance (both in flashbacks, and as a Kryptonian Artificial Intelligence which acts as Kara's holographic virtual "mother", whose advice Kara can access in the present day) proves invaluable in Kara's journey, while Astra plots to rule the Earth and targets Kara for revenge upon Alura, who was the judge who sentenced her to imprisonment at Fort Rozz, though she claims that she wanted to save Krypton and Earth. Attempting to kill J'onn J'onzz in the episode "For the Girl Who Has Everything", Astra is killed by Alex; thus, Non, her husband, seeks revenge on Kara. It is later revealed that Astra and Non created Myriad, a mind control program that is designed for the purpose of saving environment but can also be used to enslave people, and hence, is the main reason they are sentenced to Fort Rozz for life.

• Helen Slater as Eliza Danvers:

A scientist and Kara's foster mother, who is more protective of Kara than Alex. She is the one who tell Kara and Alex about her husband working with the DEO in order to protect Kara and warns them about Hank as he is not to be trusted because of his involvement in Jeremiah's death. Slater portrayed Supergirl in the 1984 film and Lara-El in the television series Smallville.

• Dean Cain as Jeremiah Danvers:

A scientist and Kara's foster father, who offered his services to the DEO by working with Hank in order to protect Kara. Ten years earlier and under mysterious circumstances, he and Hank went to South America to capture J'onn J'onzz, with whom Jeremiah became friends after the alien saved him. When Hank caught up and saw them shake hands, he tried to kill J'onn, leading to a fight between Jeremiah and Hank while trying to keep Hank from killing J'onzz; Hank then stabbed Jeremiah, who later killed him in self-defense, collapsed on the ground, and was left for dead. He asked J'onzz to watch over his daughters. In the present, J'onn learns that Jeremiah not only survived the attack, but is also alive and being held at Project Cadmus. Cain portrayed Superman in Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman.

• Briana Venskus as Vasquez:

A DEO agent who often works closely with Hank (J'onn), Alex, and Kara/Supergirl and is responsible for coordinating/relaying information on alien attacks or other incidents.

• Peter Facinelli as Maxwell Lord:

A tech mogul who is fascinated by Supergirl. Lord deduces that Supergirl has a secret identity and is determined to learn it at any cost, becoming her enemy in the process, eventually using Supergirl's connections to Alex and eavesdropping on the latter. After unleashing Bizarro on Supergirl, Maxwell is arrested by Alex and held by the DEO. The DEO eventually releases him, but warns him never to tell anyone the truth about Supergirl or the DEO; otherwise, they will release enough evidence of his crimes to send him to jail.

• Chris Vance as Non:

A former scientist in league with the House of El and a brutal Kryptonian military officer who is sinister, powerful and angry – the antithesis of all things Supergirl stands for and becomes her greatest threat. He is Astra's husband—and hence Kara's uncle—and second-in-command. He seeks revenge on Kara for Astra's death.

• Jenna Dewan-Tatum as Lucy Lane:

The younger sister of Lois Lane and James' ex-fiancée. In addition to her duties as trial counsel (prosecutor) for the Judge Advocate General's Corps, United States Army (where she held the rank of major), Lucy is a legal attaché on her father's staff, though she resigns her commission in order to remain in National City. She later accepts a job as general counsel for CatCo. In the same episode, it is mentioned that she graduated from the United States Military Academy and earned her J.D./M.B.A. from Harvard Law School. After breaking up with James again, Lucy leaves CatCo and returns to the military. She works with Colonel Jim Harper on the investigation into J'onn J'onzz. However, when Kara reveals to her that she is Supergirl, she helps rescue Hank and Alex, and is later named acting director of the DEO. By the end of the first season, Lucy officially becomes a co-director with J'onn J'onzz after he returns to the D.E.O.

• Brit Morgan as Leslie Willis / Livewire:

A confident, abrasive and funny shock-jock who works for CatCo and becomes as dangerous and shocking as her words following an accident in which Supergirl rescues her from a potential helicopter crash during a lightning storm. The rescue backfires when Supergirl gets struck by lightning while pulling Leslie out of the helicopter—electrocuting them both and giving Leslie electrical powers. She is captured and given over to the DEO. However, she is later broken out of prison by Siobhan Smythe/Silver Banshee, who wants to team up with her to get revenge on Cat. Along with her new partner, she is defeated by Supergirl again, this time with the help of The Flash and the citizens of National City, and is placed in police custody after The Flash adding new features to the National City Police Department on countering and imprisoning metahuman criminals.

• Glenn Morshower as Sam Lane:

A powerful military general and overprotective father to both Lucy and Lois whose arrival in National City stirs up trouble for Supergirl when he enlists her in a dangerous government initiative.

• Emma Caulfield as Cameron Chase:

A stern, no holds barred FBI agent dedicated to law enforcement following her father's violent murder.

• Tawny Cypress as Miranda Crane:

A senator who uses her anti-alien beliefs to gain votes, but is forced to turn to Supergirl for help when her visit to National City is interrupted by an alien attack. She is kidnapped by the White Martian, who poses as Crane in order to kill the Martian Manhunter until Supergirl helps the latter avert it before it goes further. The real Crane apologizes and vows to help make peace with humans and aliens.

• Blake Jenner as Adam Foster:

Cat Grant's eldest son and thus Carter's half-brother. He serves as Kara's potential love interest and thus another rival for James and Winn.

• Daniel DiMaggio as teenage Kal-El:

Kara's biological cousin. Kal-El appears in Kara's dream when Non has an alien organism known as the "Black Mercy" poison Kara.

• Italia Ricci as Siobhan Smythe/Silver Banshee:

A new hire at CatCo Worldwide Media who clashes with Kara and later Supergirl. She briefly becomes Cat's top assistant, and has her sights set on becoming a media mogul in her own right. She has already attracted the attention of Winn, while discovering that her father had been involved in an affair upon learning he was a member of an Ashley Madison-esque website that is exposed by Indigo. When she sees a video of Supergirl (under the influence of Red Kryptonite) letting an alien get away, she tries to pitch it to Cat, and then tries to sell it to Cat's former employer, Daily Planet. When Cat finds this out, she fires Siobhan for her disloyalty. After another attempt to gain revenge on Kara fizzles, she discovers that she has the power to sonic scream. Upon learning that the women of her family are taken over by a banshee's spirit whenever they are wronged, Siobhan decides to get even with Cat and Kara by teaming up with Livewire; in the process, she embraces her curse for the powers it provides and becomes Silver Banshee. She is later defeated by Supergirl and the Flash, along with Livewire, and both she and her partner are imprisoned in metahuman cells provided by the Flash.

• Jeff Branson as Detective Draper/Master Jailer:

A third-generation guard at Fort Rozz who turns vigilante after learning that many of its inmates were loose on Earth. He is bent on chasing down the escapees and bringing them to justice, believing that he is judge, jury, and executioner on Earth, even if the criminals were convicted of lighter crimes. He poses as a National City detective to get information on the escapees' whereabouts.

• Laura Vandervoort as Indigo:

A living computer, formerly known as Brainiac 8, sentenced to Fort Rozz for turning against the people of Krypton, but now unstoppable on Earth. It is revealed that she was the one who hijacked Kara's pod and connected both the pod and Fort Rozz that brought them to Earth, and also that she despises Astra. After Kara and Winn defeat her and she disintegrates, Non recreates Indigo in order to do his bidding. Vandervoort portrayed Supergirl in the series Smallville.

Guest stars

The following is a supplementary list of guest stars, some recurring, who appear in lesser roles. The characters are listed in the order in which they first appeared.

• Robert Gant as Zor-El: Kara's biological father.
• Faran Tahir as The Commander: An alien military expert who leads the forces aligned against Supergirl.
• Owain Yeoman as Vartox: An alien convict who has been hiding on Earth for the past twelve years and seeks a battle with Supergirl after she emerges, using the attempted plane crash that Kara aborted in order to draw her out. He commits suicide after Kara defeats him in their rematch before he could destroy National City.
• Justice Leak as Hellgrammite: An alien escapee from Fort Rozz who feeds on DDT, and is later killed by Alex. Based on the DC Comics character of the same name.
• Chris Browning as Ben Krull / Reactron: A former nuclear physicist and a enemy of Superman who decides to get revenge on him by trying to kill Supergirl as payback for his wife's death.
• Levi Miller as Carter Grant: The son of Cat Grant, he is sensitive and shy and has a crush on Supergirl, which he confesses to Kara when she babysits him.
• Iddo Goldberg as T. O. Morrow and Red Tornado: A brilliant scientist, and his android designed as the ultimate super-weapon that gains sentience. Morrow later reprograms Red Torando to kill Kryptonians, and both are defeated by Alex and Kara, respectively.
• Joan Juliet Buck as Katherine Grant: Cat Grant's mother, whom Cat has despised due to her failure to recognize her daughter's success.
• Charles Halford as Jemm: An alien prisoner who uses the gemstone embedded in his forehead to manipulate people's emotions and behavior. He is a conqueror of 12 planets, for which he was also convicted.
• Hope Lauren as Bizarro: A mirror image of Supergirl, loosely based on the Bizarro Superman. She is a comatose Jane Doe whom Lord creates through the infusion of Kara's DNA and black blood cells and orders to destroy Supergirl after learning her true identity. With the exception of fire breath and freeze vision, her powers are identical to those of Supergirl. She is defeated by Kara after the DEO injects her with blue kryptonite and placed back in a comatose state at the DEO headquarters.
• Henry Czerny as Winslow Schott, Sr. / Toyman: A mad criminal genius and Winn's estranged father who weaponizes toys to wreak destruction, as he seeks revenge on his former boss for stealing his ideas, which led Winslow to send a bomb to his workplace at the cost of six lives, excluding his boss, who survived.
• Eddie McClintock as James Harper: A colonel for the United States Marine Corps who leads the investigation of Hank Henshaw / J'onn J'onzz's affair alongside Lucy Lane.
• Grant Gustin as Barry Allen / Flash: A crime scene investigator from Central City in an alternate universe (Arrowverse) who becomes a superhero after being hit by dark-matter infused lightning. Barry accidentally arrives in Supergirl's reality after crossing a dimensional barrier while testing a tachyon accelerator with S.T.A.R. Labs, befriends Supergirl and reveals the existences of the multiverse and metahumans to her and her allies. The Flash helps Supergirl battle against Livewire and the Silver Banshee, provides means for Supergirl's Earth's inhabitants to combat metahuman criminals, eventually returning to his world with Supergirl's help. Gustin stars as the character on The Flash.
• Eve Torres Gracie as Maxima: Another alien prisoner who is the queen of the planet Almerac and once attempted to make Superman her mate. She attempts to escape with the help of the D.E.O. agents including Lucy Lane (under the influence of Myriad) before Kara manages to stop her.

The hosts of The Talk, Sara Gilbert, Julie Chen, Sharon Osbourne, Aisha Tyler and Sheryl Underwood, cameo as themselves.

See also

• List of DC Comics characters
• List of Arrow characters
• List of The Flash characters

External links

• Full cast and crew of Supergirl at IMDb