‘Desperate Housewives’ cast, then and now

Teri Hatcher (Susan Mayer)

Teri Hatcher revived her career by playing Susan Mayer, a divorced mom who’s open to finding love with a new man — specifically the local plumber, Mike. She won a Golden Globe in 2005 for the role.

Hatcher proved she was the perfect choice to play Susan right from the start. “It was one of the best auditions of my career. The kind you leave and on the elevator ride down to the parking lot you think, ‘Well, that couldn’t have gone any better,'” she told EW in 2012.

Hatcher rose to small-screen stardom as Lois Lane in the lighthearted superhero series Lois & Clark (1993–1997), during which time she checked “Bond Girl” off her dance card in Tomorrow Never Dies (1997), Pierce Brosnan’s second outing as the suave superspy. And of course, there was her now-legendary guest role on Seinfeld in 1993 as Jerry’s girlfriend Sidra, whose breasts are the subject of a heated “are they real or fake” dispute. Her punchline to that question remains in the cultural zeitgeist to this day.

In addition to a supporting role in Spy Kids (2001), Hatcher’s big screen highlights include voicing Coraline’s mother — and, of course, the villainous Other Mother — in Coraline (2009). She also appeared as Lois Lane’s mother in an episode of Smallville (2010) and had a recurring gig as Queen Rhea on Supergirl (2017).  

Hatcher was married to Marcus Leithold from 1988 to 1989. She married actor Jon Tenney in 1994; they divorced in 2003 and share a daughter, Emerson.

Felicity Huffman (Lynette Scavo)

Felicity Huffman won an Emmy for playing Lynette Scavo, the overburdened mother who dreams of getting back to working life. 

As Huffman recalled in a 2012 EW interview, she connected with the character during her audition: “I was kind of drowning in motherhood like Lynette, and that’s what really got me the part, so I should thank my children.”

Before arriving on Wisteria Lane, Huffman was best known for her lead role in Aaron Sorkin’s acclaimed series Sports Night (1998–2000). Her big-screen career included The Spanish Prisoner (1997) and Magnolia (1999) before her starring role as a transgender woman in Transamerica (2005) landed her an Oscar nomination. 

While she’s since appeared in films like Georgia Rule (2007) and Cake (2014), the actress has found a more consistent home on the small screen. She earned three Emmy nominations for American Crime (2015–2017) and later played Central Park Five prosecutor Linda Fairstein in Ava DuVernay’s Emmy-winning miniseries When They See Us (2019).

She and fellow thespian William H. Macy married in 1997 after dating for 15 years. They have two daughters, Sophia and Georgia. Huffman was involved in a 2019 college admissions scandal involving entrance exams. She pled guilty and served 11 days in prison. Her conviction was later reduced from a felony to a misdemeanor.

Marcia Cross (Bree Van de Kamp)

Marcia Cross earned Emmy and Golden Globe nominations as Bree Van de Kamp, a buttoned-up wife and mother who always tries to project a perfect image, even when her life is falling apart. 

Cross had high expectations for the drama early on. “I said to [showrunner Marc Cherry] before I got the part, ‘If I do this, I would really want her to have some underbelly that was very interesting,’” she told EW in 2012. “I’d seen on Oprah where all these women were addicted to Vicodin. Now, that’s a real story! Anybody who’s got to hold it together that tightly, there’s probably some angst underneath.”

Cross began her career on daytime soaps, including Another World (1986) and One Life to Live (1986–1988), before booking the primetime soap Knots Landing (1991–1992). But it was her role as the explosive Dr. Kimberly Shaw on Melrose Place (1992–1997) that really turned heads. The Juilliard alum was a regular on season 2 of Everwood (2003–2004) before landing Desperate Housewives. Since the suburban satire concluded, Cross has maintained a presence on the small screen with roles in Quantico (2015–2017), You (2021), and Monarch (2022).

Cross married stockbroker Tom Mahoney in 2006 and later gave birth to twin daughters, Savannah and Eden.

Eva Longoria (Gabrielle Solis)

Eva Longoria got a star-making role as Gabrielle Solis, a lonely wife who’s willing to stray outside her marriage for attention. 

When Longoria auditioned, she was mainly known for her stint on The Young and the Restless (2001–2003) and turned out to be a natural for the part. She told EW in 2012, “I went in for the audition and Marc [Cherry] was like, ‘What’d you think of the script?’ I was like, ‘I didn’t read the script. I just read my part.’ He said right then and there that he knew I was Gaby — it was the most selfish thing I could have said.”

Once Desperate Housewives became a hit, the Texas native made the transition to film in the Christian Bale-led cop drama Harsh Times (2005) and the Michael Douglas thriller The Sentinel (2006). In recent years she’s appeared in the rom-com remake Overboard (2018) and Dora and the Lost City of Gold (2019), and she even popped up on season 4 of Hulu’s hit caper Only Murders in the Building (2024) playing a fictionalized version of herself. 

However, her focus over the last several years has been behind the camera. Longoria teamed up with Cherry to produce Lifetime’s soapy satire Devious Maids (2013–2016) and, after getting her feet wet directing a handful of TV episodes, helmed her feature debut, Flamin’ Hot (2023), a fictionalized retelling of the invention of Flamin’ Hot Cheetos.

Longoria was married to actor Tyler Christopher from 2002 to 2004 and to NBA star Tony Parker from 2007 to 2011. In 2016, she married José Bastón. The couple has one son, Santiago.

Nicollette Sheridan (Edie Britt)

Nicollette Sheridan was Edie Britt, a thrice-married real estate agent who makes life more difficult for the four central housewives. 

Sheridan got her start on television in the primetime soap Paper Dolls (1984) before joining the cast of Knots Landing (1986–1993). She made her film debut as the titular “sure thing” in the John Cusack teen comedy The Sure Thing (1985) and continued to make a name for herself in comedy, from the wit of Noises Off… (1992) to the broad farce of Beverly Hills Ninja (1997).

The actress left Desperate Housewives on bad terms after five seasons, accusing showrunner Marc Cherry of hitting her on the head on set and writing her character off the show in retaliation when she reported it. Following her tenancy on Wisteria Lane, Sheridan found a new home on the Hallmark Channel, starring in several movies for the network. She also appeared in the Dynasty (2018–2019) reboot, taking over the character made famous by Joan Collins. 

Sheridan tied the knot with actor Harry Hamlin in 1991; the union lasted one year. In 2015, she married Aaron Phypers, but the couple split after six months, officially getting divorced in 2018. She was also notably engaged to singer Michael Bolton from 2006 to 2008 after having dated on and off.

James Denton (Mike Delfino)

James Denton played Mike Delfino, the hunky and mysterious plumber who marries Susan twice over the course of the show. 

Denton recurred on the NBC drama The Pretender (1997–2000) before moving to Wisteria Lane. In 2015, he took a leading role in Hallmark’s fantasy series Good Witch (2015–2021). Naturally, his status as a Hallmark Channel favorite led to a string of its famed Christmas movies. He reunited with Housewives costar Teri Hatcher for A Kiss Before Christmas (2021). 

Denton married Jenna Lyn Ward in 1997 but it ended in divorce. In 2002, he married Erin O’Brien; the pair have two children, Sheppard and Malin.

Doug Savant (Tom Scavo)

Doug Savant played Lynette’s husband, Tom Scavo, who struggles to keep up with his growing family.

Savant’s first claim to fame was Melrose Place (1992–1997) in the groundbreaking role of Matt Fielding, one of the first openly gay lead characters in mainstream TV history. Since his time on Desperate Housewives, he has continued appearing on the small screen, including turns on Criminal Minds (2013), The X-Files (2016), and The Cleaning Lady (2024).

The actor married Dawn Dunkin in 1983. They had two children, Arianna and Madeline. The couple split in 1997. A year later, Savant married his Melrose costar, Laura Leighton, with whom he shares two kids, Jack and Lucy.

Vanessa Williams (Renee Perry)

Vanessa Williams joined the show’s seventh season as Renee Perry, a troublemaking new housewife.

After becoming the first Black woman to win the Miss America pageant in 1984, Williams turned her attention towards an acting career. She soon appeared in Soul Food (1997), the Arnold Schwarzenegger actioner Eraser (1996), and the Samuel L. Jackson-led reboot Shaft (2000). 

An accomplished singer with 11 career Grammy nominations, Williams is also a Broadway vet dating back to 1994’s Kiss of the Spider Woman and received a Tony nomination for playing the Witch in the 2002 revival of Stephen Sondheim’s Into the Woods. 

Williams later stepped into the spike heels of the wicked Wilhelmina Slater on Ugly Betty (2006–2010), earning three Emmy nominations along the way. She recently starred in the West End production of the musical The Devil Wears Prada as overbearing editor Miranda Priestly.

Williams and her first husband, Ramon Hervey II, were married from 1987 to 1997. They share three children, Melanie, Jillian, and Devin. She had another child, Sasha, with her second husband, NBA veteran Rick Fox; they were married from 1999 to 2004. In 2015, she wed Jim Skrip, but they split in 2021.

Ricardo Chavira (Carlos Solis)

Ricardo Chavira played Carlos Solis, who’s fiercely protective of his wife Gabrielle — sometimes too much. 

Before Desperate Housewives, Chavira had appeared in episodes of NYPD Blue (2001), 24 (2003), and Six Feet Under (2002). After its conclusion, he landed a recurring role on Jane the Virgin (2016–2017) and played governor turned doomed president-elect Frankie Vargas on Scandal (2016–2017). The native Texan had a run on the horror-comedy Santa Clarita Diet (2017) and Selena: The Series (2020–2021) as the eponymous singer’s father.

Chavira tied the knot with Marcea Dietzel in 2007. They share two children, son Tomás and daughter Belén.

Jesse Metcalfe (John Rowland)

Jesse Metcalfe plays John Rowland, the young gardener who has an affair with Gaby in season 1. He was a series regular when the show started and returned occasionally in subsequent seasons.

Metcalfe first caught attention on the supernatural soap Passions (1999–2004) and broke into movies as the title character in John Tucker Must Die (2006). He joined a true TV legacy in the revival of Dallas (2012–2014) as Christopher Ewing, the adopted son of Bobby and Pam Ewing. 

The actor jumped to the Hallmark Channel as the star of Chesapeake Shores (2016–2021). He’s since made a home on the network, appearing in several Martha’s Vineyard Mysteries installments and many Christmas TV movies. Metcalfe has also found a foothold in faith-based films, including the Dennis Quaid vehicle On a Wing and a Prayer (2023).

Brenda Strong (Mary Alice Young)

Brenda Strong was the voice of Mary Alice Young, a housewife who commits suicide and narrates the show from beyond the grave. She earned two Emmy nominations for her voiceover performance.

While Strong was usually unseen, her role as narrator was a crucial component of the show. She later played Ann Ewing in the Dallas reboot and featured prominently on Fear the Walking Dead (2016–2017), Supergirl (2016–2021), and 13 Reasons Why (2018–2020). Long-time TV viewers may also remember the former Miss Arizona winner from her memorable recurring characters on Seinfeld (1996–1997) and Sports Night (1998–2000).

Strong married Tom Henri in 1989, but the pair split in 2011. She and director John Farmanesh-Bocca tied the knot in 2015.

Kyle MacLachlan (Orson Hodge)

Kyle MacLachlan was Bree’s second husband, Orson Hodge, who gradually reveals his darker side throughout the series. 

MacLachlan’s career is inextricably linked with David Lynch, who cast him as his fresh-faced lead in both Dune (1984) and the classic noir Blue Velvet (1986). They teamed up on the small screen for Twin Peaks (1990–1991), giving the actor perhaps his most beloved role as Special Agent Dale Cooper. He reprised the character — and two other variants — in Lynch’s lauded 2017 revival. 

He’s been a reliable character actor for decades, from The Doors (1991) to the infamous Showgirls (1995) to Pixar’s Inside Out (2017). On the small screen, MacLachlan played Charlotte’s husband on Sex and the City (2000–2002) and popped up on How I Met Your Mother (2010–2014), Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (2014–2015), and Portlandia (2011–2018) as the mayor. Most recently, he’s appeared in Amazon’s post-apocalyptic Fallout (2024–present) and this summer’s Blink Twice (2024). 

MacLachlan married publicist Desiree Gruber in 2002. They have one son, Callum.