Cast and characters The Good Wife

main characters

alicia florrick (née cavanaugh) (julianna margulies): wife of peter, disgraced state s attorney, returns work junior litigator @ law firm stern, lockhart & gardner, through old law school friend gardner, whom has feelings. having spent many years wife , alicia finds herself @ bottom of career ladder, trying juggle both home , professional life ongoing scandal surrounding husband, whom has 2 children, zach , grace. alicia smart, independent, fiercely protective of children, , more wife. excels @ keeping cool exterior. ruffled , thinks through going say, choosing words maximum impact or sting. alicia graduated top of class georgetown university law center in mid-1990s. after graduation worked @ crozier, abrams & abbott 2 years left focus on kids , peter s career. , gay younger brother, owen, have loving relationship despite having personalities polar opposites. in season 3, alicia third-year associate @ firm. , peter separated, , has affair will; but, mid-season, breaks off. alicia struggles feelings peter. hurt , has not entirely forgiven him, still loves him. toward end of season 3, peter announces candidacy governor of illinois; alicia stands @ side makes announcement. in season 4, alicia gets , takes promotion equity partner of firm , begins planning start new firm cary. after dies in season 5, alicia goes period of mourning, , separates peter, maintaining marriage sake of careers. in season 6, alicia runs state s attorney , develops friendship prosecutor finn polmar. after winning election, alicia caught in electoral fraud scandal, , though innocent, must resign post. broken , humiliated once again, returns law, working bond court lawyer before starting small private practice in apartment.
cary agos (matt czuchry), young harvard-educated lawyer: in first season, first year associate @ lockhart gardner alicia florrick. in first episode, established there 1 permanent position, putting cary competition alicia. @ end of first season, firm selects alicia, , cary goes work state attorney s office. in season three, cary appointed cook county deputy state s attorney, though subsequently demotes himself having in-office affair. dissatisfied demotion, accepts offer return lockhart gardner. placed in rivalry alicia , resents , political connections husband, peter florrick, disgraced state s attorney. own career trajectory takes many twists , turns, because of bad luck, cary maintains integrity , loyalty individual relationships has formed. seems have crush on kalinda sharma, firm s investigator. later revealed cary has difficult , distant relationship father, jeffrey agos, lobbyist in washington, d.c., not ever seem think cary enough. season 4 ends, after not getting partnership @ lockhart gardner sought, forms new firm bringing him other fourth year lawyers @ firm, , manages convince newly minted lockhart gardner partner alicia come them.
kalinda sharma (archie panjabi), firm s in-house private investigator: kalinda worked peter 3 years. fired after accusing of working 2 jobs. kalinda unflappable, inscrutable, fiercely private, , physically violent. exceptionally @ job, although tactics not strictly legal. key firm s winning case, @ eleventh hour. not work others. although kalinda not let many people close her, becomes friends alicia, aid of tequila shots; , feels protective of her. after becoming friends, alicia finds out kalinda had one-night stand peter before knew alicia, damaging friendship; on time, 2 start reconcile. kalinda has cynical, misanthropic outlook on human behavior. openly bisexual , has series of relationships through show, women , because can case. kalinda once claimed prefers women because her, women better lovers men women understand needs , feelings better. little known kalinda when series begins, , incredibly secretive past. character s signature wardrobe piece has become pair of knee-high boots; character wore pumps panjabi felt boots grounded in character. in season 4, revealed kalinda has estranged abusive husband, nick saverese, played marc warren. kalinda grows romantically close cary. in season 6, desperately tries save cary malicious prosecution on drug-related charges while alicia busy running office, , @ point of desperation, fakes brady violation through computer hacking have cary s charges dropped. later, when deception caught, forced surrender drug dealer lemond bishop state s attorney s office in order spare diane prosecution; diane had unknowingly used fake evidence in court. in order not found bishop turning him on state s attorney office, kalinda disappears own safety.
zachary zach florrick (graham phillips), teenage son of alicia , peter florrick: elder of florricks 2 children, older brother of grace florrick, grandson of jackie florrick , veronica loy (alicia s mother), , nephew of owen cavanaugh. zach has interest in politics, @ 1 point joining peter s campaign intern. zach smart, stubborn , has strong sense of right , wrong, has led him not afraid of questioning authority figures @ times. zach s computer skills , technical know-how expose lies being spread dad. beyond computer skills, shows aptitude using law mother. protective of mom because of father has put through. zach coping parents separation , starting @ new school , starting date. throughout series, zach dates scheming becca , later girl named neesa happens of somali origin , race , religion brought father s campaign, causes issues. becomes complicated when father released prison , contemplates run office, making children s life political fodder, despite mother s best efforts. zach goes georgetown university.
grace florrick (makenzie vega), teenage daughter of alicia , peter florrick: younger of florricks 2 children, younger sister of zach florrick, granddaughter of jackie florrick , veronica loy (alicia s mother), , niece of owen cavanaugh. although pretty , compassionate, friendless, due personality. begins become religious, friend @ school, mother s bemusement, , alicia tries supportive in spite of own atheist outlook. grace naïve , young age. has tutor, jennifer, likes bust out dancing in public. has many questions father s infidelity, not understand. idolized father, , despite sins, wants parents together. grace not happy move house in highland park apartment, , struggles make friends in school. in final season, provides clerical support mom when alicia starts new legal business out of apartment.
will gardner (josh charles), name senior partner @ stern, lockhart & gardner: old friend of alicia s, in pilot helped job firm , trying avoid appearing if favors her. complicated fact 2 have feelings each other. , alicia have affair beginning @ end of season two. in season 3 break when alicia s daughter goes missing, , alicia decides needs focus more on children. seen of ladies man throughout series , had various love affairs , girlfriends. had working relationship diane lockhart, co-managing partner @ firm, , 2 demonstrate shrewd ability guide business, through difficult times. plays in regular pick-up basketball game other attorneys , judges, , has friendships players scrutinized. during season three, suspended practicing law 6 months punishment stemming old bribery scandal returns firm in season four. in season 5 after planning, alicia , cary leave lockhart & gardner start own firm; takes betrayal personally. in episode 15 of fifth season, shot , killed in courtroom client jeffrey grant (played hunter parrish).
diane lockhart (christine baranski), name senior partner @ firm: liberal , champion of women s causes. has strong opinions on many issues, including on guns , violence, although in 1 plot line had romantic relationship conservative ballistics expert. speaks fluent french , seems have active social life. among paramours kurt mcveigh, firearms expert , conservative republican, whom diane drawn despite political opposites , dislike of guns, , marry. although skeptical of alicia florrick s abilities lawyer when joins firm, diane becomes sort of mentor her. mentor @ distance, , support comes way of cryptic advice points alicia in right direction. not hesitate tell when thinks wrong. diane torn between supporting alicia , cary agos when 2 in competition.
eli gold (alan cumming), peter florrick s campaign strategist , crisis manager: eli consults peter when considers return office. style of management blunt, rude. eli politically astute , not waste time niceties. eli separated wife, vanessa gold, has political aspirations of own, , has daughter, marissa, outspoken mother , shares healthy relationship father. eli believes securing support of peter s wife alicia crucial ambitions may harbor, , realizes alicia no pushover , usual wife-coddling techniques not work. seems respect boundaries alicia sets up, particularly concern children zach , grace. top political consultant expert in damage control, eli has talks diane lockhart , gardner joining firm in way. eli seems genuinely invested in peter florrick , respects both him , alicia, although frustrating enigma him. has brief shot @ romance natalie flores, student worked in past nanny wendy scott-carr. eli leaks details press of natalie s status illegal immigrant comes know seen regret , later helps job intern @ lockhart & gardner. cumming s portrayal of gold has been compared rahm emanuel. became main character in season two. eli jewish, not religious. does, however, request sabbath off. in season 5 peter asks him chief of staff, position eli accepts.
david lee (zach grenier), head of family law, divorce lawyer, , equity partner @ lockhart/gardner: family law division responsible sizeable chunk of firm s income, david has more sway diane or like. david misanthropic , prone scowling, sarcasm , being directly rude people when thinks things not going way. more anything, unambiguously concerned making money. particularly hates julius cane, firm s head of litigation , equity partner. nevertheless, @ rare moments, alicia florrick turns him , comes through. although no easy judge of character, has liking alicia s mother, , sporadically asks alicia her. after recurring in first 4 seasons, promoted series regular fifth season.
finley finn polmar (matthew goode): introduced in fifteenth episode of fifth season; finn polmar assistant state s attorney prosecuted jeffrey grant (played hunter parrish) being defended gardner. during shooting in courtroom, finn wounded pulling dying safety. finn recovers injuries, alicia later seeks him out looking answers after s death, , acts finn s lawyer when state s attorney s office tries scapegoat him. in sixth season, assistant state s attorney against florrick-agos, trying take down 1 of top clients, drug kingpin lemond bishop (played mike colter). finn leaves state s attorney office midway through sixth season start own practice, , represents alicia in exit negotiations cary , diane, though declines alicia s invitation work her. finn s sister died of drug overdose, divorced, , has son. @ 1 point finn confides in alicia , wife had miscarriage. finn s character intended fill gap s death left behind, left show after season six.
lucca quinn (cush jumbo): bar court attorney alicia encounters @ start of seventh season. become business partners , develop close friendship.
jason crouse (jeffrey dean morgan): calm, experienced hourly investigator whom alicia hires in seventh season, becomes love interest alicia.

recurring characters