Betty Suarez (America Ferrera) is an ambitious, sweet, and fashion-challenged 22-year-old Mexican-American woman from Queens, known for her signature braces, bold glasses, colourful poncho, and unwavering moral compass.
She unexpectedly lands a job as the personal assistant to Daniel Meade (Eric Mabius), the newly appointed Editor-in-Chief at Mode, a cutthroat, ultra-chic fashion magazine based in Manhattan.
Publishing mogul Bradford Meade (Alan Dale) hires Betty specifically because she does not fit the magazine’s hyper-superficial beauty standards. He hopes her presence will force his playboy son, Daniel, to focus on managing the magazine rather than sleeping with his assistants.
Despite an incredibly rocky start and intense workplace bullying, Betty and Daniel form a deep, protective friendship as they help each other grow into their professional roles.
Their workplace environment is highly chaotic and soapy, and fashion diva Creative Director Wilhelmina Slater (Vanessa Williams) constantly hatches elaborate, underhanded schemes to sabotage Daniel and steal the Editor-in-Chief position.
Wilhelmina’s loyal assistant Marc St. James (Michael Urie) and Mode‘s gossipy receptionist Amanda Tanen (Becki Newton) initially serve as Betty’s main tormentors before developing complex, multi-layered friendships with her.
In contrast to the superficiality, bright colours, and high fashion of Manhattan, Betty’s warm-hearted, tight-knit, and grounded working-class family life in Queens featured her protective father Ignacio (Tony Plana), her street-smart older sister Hilda (Ana Ortiz), and her fashion-obsessed, musical-loving nephew Justin (Mark Indelicato).
The series finale (“Hello Goodbye”) concludes with Betty moving overseas to co-run a new progressive fashion magazine in London, and Daniel stepping down from Mode – handing full control of the magazine over to Wilhelmina Slater – to pursue her.
The show ends in Trafalgar Square as Daniel surprises Betty, revealing that he has moved to the city to find himself and start over from the bottom. He asks her out to dinner, playfully offering to be her assistant this time.
Ugly Betty had several high-profile celebrity cameos, drawing major stars from the worlds of fashion, music, and Hollywood, including Victoria Beckham, Betty White, Salma Hayek, Naomi Campbell, Bernadette Peters, Lindsay Lohan, Lucy Liu, RuPaul, Adele, and Gene Simmons from KISS.
Betty Suarez
America Ferrera Daniel Meade
Eric Mabius Ignacio Suarez
Tony Plana Hilda Suarez
Ana Ortiz Amanda Tanen/Fey Sommers
Becki Newton Marc St. James
Michael Urie Justin Suarez
Mark Indelicato Wilhelmina Slater
Vanessa Williams Claire Meade
Judith Light Christina McKinney
Ashley Jensen Henry Grubstick
Christopher Gorham Bradford Meade
Alan Dale Alexis Meade
Rebecca Romijn Suzuki St. Pierre
Alec Mapa
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In contrast to the superficiality, bright colours, and high fashion of Manhattan, Betty’s warm-hearted, tight-knit, and grounded working-class family life in Queens featured her protective father Ignacio (Tony Plana), her street-smart older sister Hilda (Ana Ortiz), and her fashion-obsessed, musical-loving nephew Justin (Mark Indelicato).
