Willis Family

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The Willis Family
Queen of the Willis family
Willis Family 2019.png
Type Cartoon family
Created by Ava Zinn
Origin Frank's Life
Frank & Brittani
Original run August 12, 2006 (2006-08-12) – present (present)
First appearance "Pilot"
Address 6328 West Evansville Road, Quillsville, Indiana

The Willis family is a cartoon family from the animated television series Queen of the Willis. The Willis are a LGBT nuclear family consisting of the same sex married couple of Ava (a transgender woman since November 1, 1999) and Angie (a bisexual woman), their nine (eight living) children Tom (formerly Margo), Deanna (formerly Andrew), Brian, Stuart, Ron, Emilie, Hillary, and Luanne, and Brynn, their dog Tabby (formerly Rags), their cat Shushu, lobster Heather, Ava's nephew Austen and Austen's dog Bianca (formerly Baxter). They live at 6328 West Evansville Road in the fictional town of Quillsville, Indiana. Ava drives a blue Ford truck, Angie drives a black Dodge SUV, Heather drives a Chevy Malibu, Deanna drives a Dodge Caravan. They were created by Ava Zinn, in model of her comic strip and animated film, Frank's Life and Frank & Brittani. The family debuted August 12, 2006, after Hoosier Millionaire was canceled, in the episode "Pilot."

Alongside the 16 main family members, there are a number of other major and minor characters in their family. The most commonly recurring characters are Ava's parents Harry and Peggy; Ava's deceased brother, Albert; Ava's step-parents Clyde Claussen and Charlie Harvey; Ava's cousin Diane; Angie's parents Bob Donaldson and Lisa Shanks; Angie's now deceased stepfather Ned Shanks; Angie's biological stephmother, Skye; Angie's half-siblings Laura, Drew and Sarah; Tom's widowed transgenered wife, Trevelle Abhrams; Deanna's wife Brandi Sousa and their daughter, Tessanne Sousa (the first granddaughter and grandchild of Ava and Angie).



Family members[edit]

Characters in bold have appeared on the both the original and revival series.
Characters in italiics have appeared on the revival series onwards.
Characters in bold italics have appeared on both Deanna & Brandi and Queen of the Willis.

1st generation[edit]

  • Ellie Willis (born 1909) - Sister of Elroy Willis
  • Carter George Willis (born 1912) - Father of Harry Willis, Janice Parkington, and Sharon Willis
    • Thelma Jane Willis (b. 1917 d. 2019; maiden name Polk) - Mother of Harry Willis, Janice Parkington, and Sharon Willis
  • Shirley Willis (born 1914) - Sister of Cater Willis
  • Esther Zinn (born 1916) - Mother of Peggy Willis
    • Elroy Willis (born 1924) - Father of Peggy Willis

2nd generation[edit]

  • Unnamed brother of Peggy Willis
    • Unnamed wife and brother-in-law of Peggy Willis
  • Margaret Harriet "Peggy" Willis (1933-2012)
  • Janice Parkinton (b. 1943; maiden name Willis) - youngest daughter of Carter and Thelma Willis
  • Sharon Willis (b. 1941) - eldest daughter of Carter and Thelma Willis
    • Candice Willis (b. Carl Riker 1948)
  • Bob Donaldson (b. 1958) - biological father of Angie Willis
    • Lisa Shanks (b. 1952) - mother of Angie Willis
    • Skye Donaldson - mother of Laura, Drew, and Sarah Donaldson


3rd generation[edit]

  • Vladamir Chaz Willis (born Veronica Chastity Willis 1969) - illegitimate transgedered son of Juaniko Hill and Peggy Willis
  • Aeverine Melanie Florence "Ava" Willis (born Frank Michael Willis January 4, 1973) - transgendered daughter of Harry and Peggy Willis
  • Albert Fred Willis (born October 11, 1977) - son of Harry and Peggy Willis
  • Amanda Ava "A.A." Willis (born October 11, 2006) - daughter of Charlie Harvey and Peggy Willis
  • Diane Willis (born 1958) - daughter of Peggy Willis' brother and Peggy Willis' sister-in-law
    • Clyde Lee (born 1958)
  • Scott Willis (b. 1963) - eldest son of Candice and Sharon Willis
  • Marissa Willis (b. 1965) - eldest daughter of Candice and Sharon Willis
  • Clint Willis (b. 1967) - youngest son of Candice and Sharon Willis
  • Arianna Willis (b. 1969) - middle daughter of Candice and Sharon Willis
  • Melanie Willis (b. 1971) - youngest daughter of Candice and Sharon Willis
  • Laura Donaldson (b. 1990) - oldest daughter of Skye Donaldson and middle daughter of Bob Donaldson
  • Drew Donaldson (unknonw birth year) - son of Bob and Skye Donaldson
  • Sarah Donaldson (unknown birth year) - youngest daughter of Bob and Skye Donaldson
Pets

4th generation[edit]

  • Dylan Porter (unknown) - illegitimate Son of Ava Willis and Alisan Porter
  • Breeanna Sellars (unknown) - illegitimate Daughter of Ava Willis and Christiana Sellars
  • Stan Hicks (unknown) - illegitimate Son of Ava Willis and Brittani Hicks (no relation to Gary Hicks)
  • Dominique Hicks (unknown) - illegitimate Daughter of Ava Willis and Brittani Hicks
  • Thomas Mark Nicholas "Tom" Willis (born Margo Nichole Willis; October 11, 1987 - April 28, 2011) - transgendered son of Ava and Angie Willis
    • Trevelle Willis (maiden name Abhrams; 1988 - 2019)
  • Deanna Annalisa Willis (born Robert Andrew Willis August 18, 1990) - Daughter of Ava and Angie Willis
  • Amy Lynne Donaldson (born 2004) - Daughter of Laura Donaldson and Dan Martinez[WillisFam 1]
  • Ronald Bartholomew "Ron" Willis (born 2008, sextuplet) - Son of Ava and Angie Willis
  • Luanne Gracie Lauren Willis (born 2008, sextuplet) - Daughter of Ava and Angie Willis
  • Stuart Kevin Willis (born 2008, sextuplet) - Son of Ava and Angie Willis
  • Hillary Crystal Gayle Willis (born 2008, sextuplet) - Daughter of Ava and Angie Willis
  • Emilie Loretta Lynn Willis (born 2008, sextuplet) - Daughter of Ava and Angie Willis
  • Brian Martin Willis (born 2008, sextuplet) - Son of Ava and Angie Willis
  • Brynn Addison Hannah Willis (born April 28, 2012) - Illegitimate daughter of Ava Willis and Lynsay Gerardo; maternal rights adopted by Angie Willis
  • Austen Kevin Willis (born 1998) - son and only child of Albert Willis and Julie Crawford.
  • Rumer Ashli Moffitt (born 1995) - illegitimate daughter of John Moffitt and Heather Willis
  • Arthur Bryce Willis (born 2019) - illegitamate son of John Moffitt and Heather Willis[WillisFam 2]
  • Larra Donaldson (born 2021) - daughter of Laura Donaldson and Scott Schuller
Pets

5th generation[edit]

  • Tessanne Sousa - Daughter of Deanna Willis and Brandi Sousa
Pets

Main family[edit]

The show revolves around the adventures of the family of Angie Willis, a bumbling, but well-intentioned, blue-collar worker. Angie is an Irish American Catholic born in Utah with a prominent Midwestern and Hoosier accent.[1] Her transgendered wife Ava is a manager of a retailer, and has a distinct Midwestern accent from being the transgendered daughter of a socialite and a retired educator. Ava has four children from three relationships: Angie has one child from ex-boyfriend Todd Unger: Heidi Unger. Ava and Angie have nine (originally two) children together children: Tom, their first transgendered son, who was frequently the butt of Angie's jokes due to his "homeliness" and lack of popularity (Tom died in 2011); Deanna, their teenage transgendered daughter, who in many respects, appears as a younger version of her father; sextuplets: daughters Hillary, Luanne, Emilie; transgendered daughters Brittany, Rhonda, and Suzanne; and Brynn, their youngest daughter.[2] Living with the family is Heather, the family lobster, who is highly anthropomorphized, drinks martinis, smokes cigarettes, vapes, drives a car, and engages in human conversation, though she occasionally acts like a normal crusacien, for example, she cannot resist chasing a ball.[3] Other family members iin the family are Tabby and Shushu, respectively the family dog and cat of ambiguous sexual orientation who has adult mannerisms and speaks fluently with an upper-class affected English accent and stereotypical archvillain phrases.

Ava Willis[edit]

Aeverine Melanie Florence "Ava" Willis,[4] (formerly Frank Michael Willis), voiced by Ava Zinn for the normal voice, Melvin Runcraft for the evil voice, and Frank Davidson for the pre-transition voice. Ava is the father of the Willis family, protagonist who proudly sold "retail gifts and retail accessories" as the assistant manager (later manager) at Craven Gifts, and throughout the entire series always makes a big deal about the job when everybody around Ava finds her occupation boring. A few episodes show Ava escaping from her troubled home life by working on her home and garden when times are tough.[5] In early episodes, Ava resembles—in both voice and appearance—the Claudia character from Amanda & Elisa, a character also voiced by Zinn. Ava is usually a well-meaning parent, but is often confused and anxious towards modern trends and the antics of her friends and family members. She transitioned to from male to female on November 1, 1999 and has an enlarged clitoris, which made concieving children with Angie difficult. Ava is uncomfortable with public displays of intimacy with her wife and children. She has a very difficult time saying "I love you" to any member of her family, as she thinks it is unmanly. Ava's trademark exclamation when surprised or angered or in times of discomfort (sounding like "Aahhh!") and "Dammit") are running gags on the series. Ava is a byproduct of a bygone era - always faithful, friendly, firm, reasonable, well-read and hard-working. Much of the series revolves around Ava's desire to do the right thing compared to much of the rest of the people around her who would rather cheat, lie or exploit. Ava is a proud Hoosier, having grown up there. She was, however, born a boy in a ladies room at Cleveland Municpal Stadium, and spent the first three days of her life in Cleveland, Ohio.

In "two episodes" after her estrogen and anti-androgen medication regimen is disrupted, Ava turns into a deranged and demonic mastermind, speaking in a low-pitched male voice "like Edward Woodward", framing Melissa for playing pranks. Ava did this in an attempt to replace Angie within her immediate family. Ava's madness grows worse over the episode, culminating with her trying to eliminate everyone that might get between herself and Pamhouser. In these episodes, Melissa ultimately tricks Ava into taking the medication, reverting her back to her usual self.

In an interview with News Setinel Zinn described her as "Hank Hill as a woman with the knowledge of what she's doing. She has the mind of a transgendered man, basically, and a source of big laughs is when she does realize she's doing something right."[6]

Angie Willis[edit]

Angela Anne "Angie" Willis (née Donaldson and formerly Shanks), voiced by Holly Everman from 2006-2011, Karly Jameson since 2019. Angie is the mother of the Willis family works as a substitute accountant. Angie was born in Utah and was adopted by Ned and Lisa Shanks. Her strained relationship with her stepfather is a source of drama for her.

Angie is the Head of the Willis family and bespectacled woman who is just a big child. She has other roots beside her Irish ones, including African-American, Spanish, Scottish and German. She is incredibly jealous of other attractions Ava has in her life, an attitude that tends to get out of hand in most cases. In one episode, Angie and Ava split up because of Angie's jealousy only to discover that Ava has the same character flaw and the two decide to live with their mutually jealous nature. Angie has a very short attention span and frequently ends up in bizarre situations, as Deanna points out in one episode, after Angie's bird dies "She will get over it pretty quickly and then move on to another crazy-ass thing".

Angie dies from injuries due to a drunk driving accident in the Queen of the Willis series finale episode "Into That Final Good Night in Quillsville".

Kellie Willis[edit]

Kellie Noelle Willis (née Martin ), voiced by Kellie Martin. Kellie is Ava's second wife and the stepmother the Willis family and works as the owner of Angie's Sweethearts Restaurant. Kellie was born in Quillsville, but grew up in Los Angeles and returned to Quillsville.

In a coincidence, Kellie is a stark contrast to Angie. She was denounced by Deanna and Brynn at first, arguably due to the jealousy that her father remarried (and Kellie's sucessor died after driving drunk). However, Deanna and Brynn soon warmed-up to Kellie, developed a family relationship and noticed she had qualities that Angie sorely lacked.

Tom Willis[edit]

Thomas Mark Nicolas "Tom" Willis (formerly Margo), voiced by Pauly Shore in the pilot and Leonard Lai - Tom was an unattractive, sensitive, and emotionally fragile teenage transgendered boy. He was enrolled at Babyface Regional High School. His multiple insecurities caused him to desperately try to be part of the "in-crowd", but this only results in him getting coldly rebuffed by the bullying head quarterback of his school. Initially valued to the family in earlier seasons, his standing in the family's "pecking order" was more similar to that of the stereotypical “middle child” (despite being the oldest of the Willis children by age) such as being the butt of Angie's jokes due to his "homeliness" and fragile confidence, despite frequently proving to be more responsible and reasonable than the rest of the family.

He was murdered in the Season 5 finale "Quillsville Cold Case: Albert Willis" where he was shot by his paternal aunt, Julie Crawford Willis. In the season 12 finale "Cruel & Desparate Justice," it was revealed Tom was pregnant as a male in 2003 and gave birth to a girl Kaylee Jillian Willis, thus resulting in giving Ava and Angie their first grandchild.

Deanna Willis[edit]

Main article: Deanna Willis

Deanna Annalisa Willis (formerly Andrew), voiced by Candis Cayne from 2006-12 on Queen of the Willis and Rachael Passalt since 2019 on QOTW and The Souzas. Deanna is an average, excitable, and outgoing teenage college-age transgirl. Physically, she is a younger version of Ava, but intellectually, she often shows better potential, as shown from moments of articulation and coherence within her speech, and makes good points when especially talking about films, TV series, actors and actresses, etc. Similar to Tom, Deanna deals with the problems that most teenage lesbian girls face: acne, girls, and school. Deanna was enrolled at Babyface Regional High School in Quillsville, Indiana until graduating in the pilot episode of The Souzas .

Deanna is also willing to take drastic measures to get what she wants or needs, especially when it comes to getting good grades. She, at one point, believed that she got a bad grade on an English test when she tickled her brain by sticking an army man's rifle into her nose and accidentally puncturing a lobe.

She was often portrayed as an airhead, but was shown to be an expert mechanic in the first two seasons and is good at logic puzzles. Deanna was promiscuous, but she settles down after Brandi got pregnant by Deanna. Deanna and Brandi get married in the sixth season on Queen of the Willis and in the pilot of The Souzas.

The Willis sextuplets[edit]

Main article: The Willis sextuplets

The Willis Sextuplets (Suzanne (born Stuart), Rhonda (born Ron), Brittany (born Brian), Luanne, Emilie, and Hillary–Suzanne is voiced by Alexandra Moffitt, Rhonda and Brittany are voiced by Ava Zinn, Luanne is voiced by Cathryn Swaringen, Emilie is voiced by Jacqui Fountaine and Hillary is voiced by Andrea Coolranch) were the youngest of of the Willis family children, born in 2008 in "And Then there were 13" until Brynn's arrival. Because they were so young, the sextuplets didn't play a large role in the series' initial run.

They are enrolled at Vivica A. Fox Elementaty School. Despite their age, and the fact their father is a woman, Stuart, Ron, and Brian acts much like Angie while Luanne, Emilie, and Hillary acts much like Ava, behaving at times very articulate, yet hormonally charged. They seems to get along fairly well with their parents and eldest sister Deanna and has a normal love/hate relationship with Brynn, who at times seems to neglect them, yet at other times speaks to them as if an intellectual equal. They temporarily move from Quillsville to Detropolis in the pilot episode of The Souzas but return to Quillsville after Ava converts Tom's bedroom to Brynn's and Ava expands the house.

Despite being younger than their sister, Deanna. They seems to take a more aggressive hand in their interaction, openly insulting Deanna. However, this seems to just be their way of addressing people in general, and not done with any deep malice intended. In fact, their relationship is showing promise of being a decently caring one at this point. In one particular episode of The Souzas, Brynn and the sextuplets are disturbed by how clean and attentive Deanna is in regards to Brandi's parental requests. Initially annoyed at her making them look bad, they become sympathetic when they realize that they never accepted Tom's death, and has been doing all he can to avoid giving into Deanna's sorrow. Together Brynn and the sextuplets do all they can to help Deanna let her feelings out and at the same time, they accept her as their sister.

In "Quillsville Cold Case: Something About Loose Ava", Brian, Ron and Stuart quietly transitioned from male to female and respectively go by Brittany, Rhonda and Suzanne, resulting in the sextuplets being all-female.

Brynn Willis[edit]

Brynn Addison Hannah Willis, voiced by Maribel Mort, is the Willis family's youngest daughter and baby of the family. She was conceived in 2010 by Ava and the family marriage counselor Lynsay Gerardo in "Therapist Hopping 2", adopted in 2011 by Angie in "Quillsville Cold Case", and was born in the season 6 episode "Uh, Oh! MEXICO! in 2012.

Because she was so young, like The Willis sextuplets, Brynn didn't play a large role in the series' initial run.

Heather Willis[edit]


Heather Alexandra Willis, voiced by Ava Zinn, is the Willis family's pet lobster. Heather has lived with the Willis family since Angie picked her up as a stray while Ava and Angie were on vacation in Maine. Angie is her best friend, despite Heather's superior intelligence. Heather is often the voice of reason for the family, frequently reminding Angie how stupid or corrupt her ideas are. She also has a very close friendship with the family cat and dog (Shushu and Rags), and the three of them have been at the center of some of the most critically acclaimed episodes during the series, most notably the Back Home Again... episodes.

Ava Zinn has once described Heather as "a lobster who has a wit as dry as the cocktails she drinks."[7]

Tabby Willis[edit]

Tabitha Andrea "Tabby" Willis (formerly Timothy "Rags" Willis), voiced by Ava Zinn, is the Willis family's pet dog. Tabby originally served as the main villain of the show. Though she (then as Rags) was originally an antagonistic child-genius sociopath, hell-bent on killing her owner and taking over the world, in more recent episodes, particularly after her gender transition, she is a much more friendly yet flamboyant character, though nonetheless still rambunctious and disrespecting towards her owner and peers. Despite having a rivalry with the family's cat and lobster (Shushu and Heather), this seems to have ended as she, Shushu and Heather now share a very close friendship. Tabby is considered to be the show's breakout character.

Tabby quietly transitioned to female in the season seven premiere episode "Ten Years to Life". In "Revenge of the Male Anchors 5," Tabby fathers five puppies, including her daughter Pheobe Willis, with Christine Stewart.

  • Pheobe Willis (voiced by Ava Zinn): Tabby's daughter with Christine Stewart. She was concieved and born in Revenge of the Male Anchors 5 after Tabby and Christine were at Petco Sam's Club in Fort Wayne. Pheobe has three sisters, Elizabeth, Nadine and Marianne.

Shushu Willis[edit]

Sheryl Juanita "Shushu" Willis, voiced by Ava Zinn, is the Willis family's pet cat. Shushu first appeared in RAGStory after Tabby (then Rags) picked her up as a stray. Like Tabby, she was originally an antagonistic child-genius sociopath, hell-bent on taking over the world, in more recent episodes, particularly after Tabby's gender transition to female, she is a much more friendly yet flamboyant character, though nonetheless still rambunctious and disrespecting towards her owners and peers. Despite having a rivalry with the family's dog and lobster (Tabby and Heather), this seems to have ended as she, Tabby and Heather now share a very close friendship.

In "Revenge of the Male Anchors 5," Shushu gives birth to five kittens, including her daughter Alaina Willis, with Adam Teekerman.

  • Alaina Willis (voiced by Ava Zinn): Shushu's daughter with Adam Teekerman. She was concieved and born in Revenge of the Male Anchors 5 after Adam and Shushu were in Fort Wayne. Alaina has two brothers, Dane and Seth, and two sisters, Andrea "Andi" and Gianna.

Bianca Willis[edit]

Bianca Kellie Willis (formerly Baxter Albert Willis), voiced by Ava Zinn, is Austen's pet dog that has lived with the Willis family. Bianca and her owner, Austen moves in with the Willis family after Albert's then-wife Julie stabs Albert (Ava's brother) with a fork during a drunken fight which tips over their trailer.

Austen Willis[edit]

Austen Kevin Willis, voiced by Ava Zinn, is the Willis family's nephew. Austen is the son of Ava's brother Albert and his alcoholic ex-wife Julie. Austen and his dog Bianca (formerly Baxter) moves in with the Willis family after his mother Julie stabs Albert with a fork during a drunken fight which tips over their trailer. Ava initially makes frequent attempts to encourage Austen and Bianca to move out on their own, but later more-or-less accepts him and Bianca as a member of the family. He was a student at Bart Peterson Middle School. In the first six seasons he wore a yellow shirt and red pants, and appears to be about 5 ft 6 in (1.68 m).

Brandi Willis[edit]

Main article: Brandi Souza

Brandi Lucille Willis (née Souza) (voiced by Crystal Bowersox from 2008-12, Kassie DePaiva on Queen of the Willis and The Souzas since 2019) – Brandi is Deanna's itinerant, but generally benign wife, the mother of Deanna's child, Tesssanne, and mother of Gary Hicks' three children Alexander (now Alexandra), Chereice and Telissa. It's often hard for Brandi to hold down a job (she had no credit or Social Security number before moving to Detropolis). She lives on the remainder of the $5 million "settlement monies" she received after "slipping on water at the Sam's Club" having had a portion of her spine fused. Deanna's mother, Angie tried very hard to break her and Deanna apart, but after Brandi's pregnancy on Queen of the Willis was revealed, she and Deanna's father, Ava reconciled the two, giving them a wedding and a new home at Brandi's request in the pilot. Although dimwitted in some aspects, Brandi has learned some facets such as basic math through life experience despite reciving her high school diploma.

  • Tessanne Grace Sousa – Daughter of Deanna and Brandi. She was born in the season 6 episode "Brandi See, Donkey Do".
  • Louisa Sousa (voiced by Karly Jameson) – Louisa is Brandi's sister, Deanna's sister-in-law, Tesanne's aunt and the main antagonist in "Brandi See, Donkey Do". She is an intelligent, modern mother who only appears in that episode "Lucky See, Monkey Do". She has two children, one son and one daughter (Tessanne's paternal first cousins) and raises them in strict accordance with contemporary parenting practices, something which leads her into a rivalry with Angie, whose parenting skills are from older schools of thought, over how to assist Brandi as her pregnancy due date approaches. When Brandi goes into labor, Louisa commandeers the situation and insists that Brandi have a natural, drug-free water birth, but under Ava's encouragement to think for themselves about how to raise their child, Brandi and Deanna opt for a hospital birth instead.

Ava's Family[edit]

Breeanna Sellars[edit]

Breeanna Sellars (voiced by Breeanna Sorensen) – Breeanna Sellars is Ava's daughter with Christiana Sellars. She first appears in "Most Likely Dangerous" and first mentioned in "Ten Years to Life". In "Ten Years to Life" Breeanna is revealed to have been concieved Valentine's Day 1983 as Ava's first child and confirmed by Christiana in "Something About Loose Ava".

Dylan Porter[edit]

Dylan Porter (voiced by [[]]) – Dylan Porter is Ava's son with Alisan Porter. He first appears in "Most Likely Dangerous" and first mentioned in "Ten Years to Life". In "Ten Years to Life" Dylan is revealed to have been concieved Valentine's Day 1983 as Ava's first child and confirmed by Alisan in "Something About Loose Ava".

Stan Hicks[edit]

Stan Hicks (voiced by [[]]) – Stan Hicks is Ava's son with Brittani Hicks. He first appears in "The Former Life of Ava".

Dominique Hicks[edit]

Dominique Hicks (voiced by [[]]) – Dominique Hicks is Ava's daughter with Brittani Hicks. She first appears in "The Former Life of Ava".

Albert Willis[edit]

Albert Willis (voiced by Ava Zinn) - Ava's younger brother, whose physical appearance is very similar to Ava's. He met Julie Crawford in 1989, and they had their first kiss at age of fourteen. Later in her life, Albert and Julie marry and eventually divorce. They have a son Austen and a transgendered female dog, Bianca.

Albert was (temporarily) killed off, after drowning in the pilot episode. Albert returns in Quillsville Cold Case: After Albert he was thought to have murdered by Julie, but Danrick Cereack was the victim his ex-wife killed. It is also revealed in "Quillsville Cold Case: After Albert", Albert had been unaccepting of Ava's gender transition from 1996 to 2002. In the six part season 12 premiere epiosde "Quillsville Cold Case: From Retirement to Homicide Detective" Albert reappears after being comatose for 22 years. He was in a relationship with now Mayor Nicole Pence and revealed that he has a daughter, Marla with Mayor Pence.

Mandy Willis[edit]

Amazing Ava Amanda "A.A." or "Mandy" Willis (voiced by Ava Zinn) - Ava's youngest half-sister who was born in "Peggy's Eminent Domain Pain" and Ava is 33 years older than Mandy. A.A. is Peggy's and Charlie's then-infant daughter, and the younger of Ava's two half-brothers, Albert and Vladamir. Mandy's nickname A.A. is an abbreviation for "Amazing Ava," implying that the original Ava was unsatisfactory to her mother. Peggy treats Mandy much better than Ava presumably because Peggy sees her as being her second chance of being a better mother than she was for Ava and Albert. Mandy was key at a time when Ava had to convince Peggy not to end her life as well as to permit Ava to give her mother money for the baby's sake (and as payback for the years Peggy raised her and Albert). Mandy was absent at the time of her mother's death, and was not seen throughout the rest of the orignial series, although it was presumed she was living with her father and stepmother. In the revived series (as a pre-teen), after her father, Charlie Harvey lost custody as well as losing parental rights to Harry and Finola Willis and is sent to live with Ava as of "Serves Me Right for Giving Plasma to Frank O'Bannon".

Vladamir Hill[edit]

Vladamir Hill (voiced by Ted Shields) – Vladamir is Ava's and Albert's elder half-Russian transgendered half-brother who has lived in Russia all his life. Ava and Vladamir have the same mother, due to Peggy's affair with a Russian doctor during her war days, and share many similarities in appearance and mannerisms (this in spite of the fact that Ava actually shares more of her father's features); one of these is that when he is shocked, like Ava, he yells "GAAH!" Like Ava, Vladamir also has an enlarged penis after his transition from female to male and is an assistant manager at the company for which he works, making robots and robot accessories.

Diane Willis[edit]

Diane Willis (herself) – The main anchorwoman for Fox 11 Quillsville with Bob Donaldson and Ava's cousin. In the episode "Ava Gets Dianed," Peggy gives her prized Mercedes to Diane without allowing Ava a chance to buy it. Diane enters the car for husband Clyde Lee (himself) in a demolition derby in which it is badly damaged. Ava and Diane make their peace after Diane has the car repaired and installed at the Mercedes Ranch.

Julie Crawford[edit]

Julie Crawford Willis (voiced by Holly Everman) – Julie, Bianca's and Austen's violent alcoholic mother was imprisoned for "second-degree assaulting" her husband (Albert, Ava's brother) in the back with a fork and ultimately murders Albert as well as Tom in "Quillsville Cold Case". Though she is often mentioned during the course of the series, she appears in the pilot, "Quillsville Cold Case," visiting Bianca in Quillsville after her release from prison and briefly being courted by Robert Craven.

Peggy Harvey[edit]

Margaret "Peggy" Harvey (née Zinn and formerly Willis) (voiced by Ava Zinn) - Ava's cantankerous mother she has a hair-trigger temper. Despite her many shortcomings, she occasionally showed a softer side, for example in the episode "Tom and Deanna Tragic Adventures" where she helped Tom and Deanna learn to walk again after her parachuting accident. Her neck was slashed by bullies at Quillsville Central High School (now Babyface High School) and her head was reattached to spinal cord , resulting in a short height and stilted gait. Despite her disability, she eventually reached the rank of Master Teacher. After Peggy and her first husband Harry, Ava's father, divorced, she married a much younger, soft-spoken, hunky doctor named Charlie who conceived and Peggy gave birth to a daughter "A.A." ("Amanda Ava"). She was immensely proud of her teaching service. Instead of addressing Angie by her name she calls her "Ava's wife".

Charlie Harvey[edit]

Charlie Harvey (voiced by George Gray) - Charlie is Peggy's second husband and Ava's stepfather. He's a doctor after he retired from being an Chippendales dancer. He has muscular implants and suffers from depression following the birth of Peggy's daughetr "A.A." He is generally depicted as docile and unintelligent, although he is a certified medical assistant. He was absent at the time of Peggy's death and was only seen once more in the original series and twice more in the revived series, where he says he is engaged and will remarry in "Serves Me Right for Giving Plasma to Frank O'Bannon". Charlie was in Kindergarten when Ava was already an adult (indicating she is older than him).

Harry Willis[edit]

Harrison Elroy "Harry" Willis (voiced by David Caruso) – Harry is Peggy's first husband, and the father of Ava and Albert Willis. He divorced Peggy after suffering years of verbal abuse. Harry is a kind man who collects knickknacks because they made him happy during Peggy's abuse. Ava is often over-protective of him, fearing he is too old and fragile to go out and do things on his own. Harry lives in Iowa with her Japanese transgendered husband Clyde Claussen (voiced by Leonard Lai). Harry's legal name varies during the series. He is listed as "Harry" on Ava's and Albert's birth certificates, but is addressed as Harrison by the clergyman during his wedding to Finola Atkinson (voiced by Finola Hughes). Harry is the only son of Carter and Thelma Willis and has two sisters (making them Ava's aunts) Janice Parkington and Sharon Willis.

Finola Willis[edit]

Finola Willis (née Atkinson) (voiced by Finola Hughes) – Finola is Harry's second wife, and the stepmother of Mandy, Ava and Albert Willis. Finola and Harry were married after Harry began dating Finola behind Clyde Claussen's back.

Janice Parkington[edit]

Sharon Willis[edit]

Carter & Thelma Willis[edit]

Carter Willils and Thelma Willis (both voiced by Ava Zinn) - The parents of Harry Willis, Sharon Willis, and Janice Parkinton; paternal grandparents of Ava and Albert, and half-grandparent of A.A.; paternal great grandparents of Tom, Deanna, Bianca, Austen, Brian, Ron, Stuart, Emilie, Hillary, Luanne, and Brynn; and paternal great-great grandparents of Tessanne and Lina Willis.

Esther Zinn[edit]

Esther Zinn (voiced by Ava Zinn) - She was mother of Peggy Willis; maternal grandmother of Ava, Albert, and A.A.; maternal great grandmother of Tom, Deanna, Bianca, and Austen (and posthumously Brian, Ron, Stuart, Emilie, Hillary, Luanne, and Brynn); and maternal great-great grandmother of Tessanne and Lina Willis.

Angie's Family[edit]

Heidi Unger[edit]

Heidi Unger (voiced by Traci Davidson) – Heidi Unger is Angie's daughter with Todd Unger. She first appears in "For the Love of Heather" in a cameo. In that episode Heidi is revealed to have been concieved after Angie was raped in 1983 and Angie gave Heidi up for adoption.

Sheena Unger[edit]

Sheena Unger (née Martin) (voiced by Cathryn Swaringen): The wife of Todd Unger, who fatally shot her husband, Todd, and Quillsville Police Sergeant Detective Tiffani Donovan as well as wounding Indiana State Master Trooper Anna Pamhouser.

Todd Unger[edit]

Todd Unger (voiced by Pete Ward): Unger is the ex-boyfriend of Angie Donaldson and the husband of Sheena Unger. He first appears in "Ode to Deanna" in a cameo. In "The Rape of Heather Willis" Todd is later revealed to be Angie's rapist from 1983 and several others in Quillsville as "Fat Bigfoot Bobcat" rapist. He is fatally shot by his wife Sheena, who also fatally shot Quillsville Police Sergeant Detective Tiffani Donovan and wounded Indiana State Master Trooper Anna Pamhouser. He started out as an arrogant deadbeat Craven Gifts customer who previoulsy had a relationship with Angie in 1983 and nearly raped her 36 years later. Angie became pregnant by the rape and she was forced by Ned to give the baby up for adoption.

Bob Donaldson[edit]

Bob Donaldson (voiced by himself) – Bob is the main anchorman for Fox 11 Quillsville with second cousin-in-law Diane Willis, the biological father of Angie with Lisa Shanks. Bob was Lisa's first boyfriend when Angie was born in Utah. Bob is also the father of Laura, Andrew, and Sarah with wife Skye. In the episode "Revenge of the Male Anchors 2," it was discovered that Bob is the biological father of Angie.

Ned Shanks[edit]

Ned Shanks (voiced by Garfield Everman) – Ned Shanks was Angie's step-father. Ned lived in Marion, Indiana with his wife Lisa until Lisa divorces him in "Sexist Father." Ned hated Ava because she is a transwoman, and often calls her a "Methodist transgendered whore", disapproved of Angie's family's lifestyle, and frequently attempts to force his religious views on them. To a lesser extent he disapproved of Ava due to Angie's heritage, and is angry with Angie for not marrying an "Irish seed". When Ava (then Frank) and Angie got married, Ned taped the sign "To a Methodist Bastard" underneath the "Just Married" sign on the limousine. Despite all of this, he truly did love and care for Angie, and showed on multiple occasions to care for his grandchildren. Ned used to have a job at a metal fabrication plant. Ned dies in a hospital after uttering "Angie... you're a slutty stinking drunk!" as his last words.

Lisa Shanks[edit]

Lisa Shanks (voiced by Holly Everman from 2006-2012, Alexandra Moffitt since 2019) - Ex-wife to Ned, Ex-boyfriend to Bob Donaldson and mother of Angie. She has gray hair and noticeable wrinkles below her eyes, and wears pink earrings and a purple bead necklace. She also wears glasses and is a heavy smoker. Unlike Ned, she is generally friendly and personable, and gets along well with Ava. Before Ned's death, she divorced him because she had "needs he didn't fill" and dated a younger man for a while. She often appears with news inconvenient or troubling to Angie and her family. Her brief partnership with Angie's biological father, Bob Donaldson, is established in the episode "Revenge of the Male Anchors".

Overbearing and shrill, she's avoided by all of her family members. She nags them with her shockingly whiny voice, often with good intentions but presenting them in the wrong way. The family (especially Laura) tries to avoid spending any time with Lisa, as she is quick to inadvertently criticize how people live their lives. After going back and forth playing tricks on each other in one Halloween episode, Angie ultimately gets the upper hand by having a fake phone conversation with Lisa in front of Ava where she agrees to let her mother stay for three weeks. She is very traditional and conservative, as opposed to her daughters' more liberal and feminist philosophies.

From what is known of Lisa's childhood and marriage, life was hard on her emotionally, plagued with instability and neglect. Her mother, Darlene, put her freedom ahead of her children and, as a result of her mother's promiscuity, Lisa never knew who her father was. As a young woman, Lisa, like her mother, found herself pregnant out of wedlock but, unlike her mother, married the man she was pregnant by, Bob Donaldson. While Lisa's marriage to Bob lasted only nine years, their union wasn't a success as Bob cheated on her for much of their marriage. Largely disappointed by the outcome of her life, Lisa grew to be a bitter person in her old age, which she dealt with by hiding her emotions and being highly critical of others.

Skye Donaldson[edit]

Melanie "Skye" Donaldson (voiced by Karly Jameson) - Skye is the husband to Bob Donaldson, stepmother to Angie and mother of Laura, Andrew, and Sarah. Overbearing and shrill, she's avoided by all of her family members. She nags them with her shockingly whiny voice, often with good intentions but presenting them in the wrong way. The family (especially Angie and Laura) tries to avoid spending any time with Skye, as she is quick to inadvertently criticize how people live their lives. After going back and forth playing tricks on each other in one Halloween episode, Laura ultimately gets the upper hand by having a fake phone conversation with Skye in front of Ava where she agrees to let her mother stay for three weeks. She is very traditional and conservative, as opposed to her daughters' more liberal and feminist philosophies.

Laura Donaldson[edit]

Tamara Laura Donaldson (voiced by Laura Donaldson) - Laura is Angie's oldest half-sister and Angie is 20 years older than Laura. Laura is Bob Donaldson's second child and Bob's child with Skye Donaldson. Laura makes her first appearance when Ava and Deanna are watching news from Fort Wayne, when it was revealed Laura and Angie are sisters. Depicted as neurotic but a loving, devoted aunt to her nieces and nephews, and as of season 9, mother to Larra.[8][9]

Laura is an intelligent, warm, highly sensitive underachiever with chronic low self-esteem. Angie seems to be in charge of Laura's life, which is a frequent cause of conflict between the two; however, Laura sometimes enjoys having Roseanne mother her, especially when she feels vulnerable. Laura's character becomes more animated and colorful as the series progresses.[10] Laura is anchor/reporter at CBS 40. Laura often comes up with off-the-wall ideas, but many of her unconventional ideas actually work. Her romantic relationships are frequently unstable, including one with domestic abuser Manny. She eventually marries Ava's colleague Scott Schuller, who impregnated her during a one-night stand. Laura gives birth to their daughter Larra two months before she marries Scott.

The marriage is short-lived because Laura finds Scott boring, petty and self-centered, and they fall out of love. At one point Laura, unhappy with self-absorbed couch potato Scott, starts going out with another couple, which then becomes one man. Ava sees her, warns her about Scott's possible reaction, but later accidentally blurts it out to Scott, who returns home upset, accuses Laura of adultery and refuses to speak to her. With Lisa's help, Angie has Scott realize that his accusations against Laura are unjustified, and he returns to her. But at this point Laura has realized that she's happier being single. Laura is crushed by the divorce at first, but moves on to become a successful single mom to Larra.

In Season 9, whilst Laura is in labor, Angie's mother Lisa reveals to Laura that her birth name is revealed to be Tamara Laura Donaldson and that the family began calling her Laura because Angie couldn't pronounce Tamara and instead called her "Laura."[11] Despite Laura's apparent flightiness in the early episodes, Laura is actually the backbone of the Willis/Donaldson family in many ways, as Angie admits in the last episode of Season 6. It is also revealed in that same episode that the character of Laura had come out as a bisexual during the final season instead of Lisa, and that Angie knew but had simply always pictured Laura with a man.[12] However, as most of Season 6 (and the final episode in particular) has been since ret-conned out of existence, this revelation is no longer applicable.

In Season 12, it was revealed that she was sexually assaulted by Greg Metcalf and gave birth to her eldest daughter, Amy.

Amy Donaldson[edit]

Amy Lynne Donaldson (voiced by Jacqui Fountaine) - Amy is Laura's oldest daughter and Amy is 20 years older than Larra. Amy is Laura Donaldson's first child. Amy makes her first appearance in Quillsville Cold Case: Cruel & Desperate Justice when it was revelaed Laura was raped by Greg Metcalf and Laura was forced to give up Amy for adoption. Amy lived in Detropolis, Ohio until Tabby and Shushu found Amy, also revealed that Amy and Larra are half-sisters. [13]

Larra Donaldson[edit]

Larra Donaldson (voiced by Karly Jameson) - Larra is Laura's youngest daughter and Larra is 20 years younger than Amy. She is Laura Donaldson's second child.

Andrew Donaldson[edit]

Sarah Donaldson[edit]

Notes[edit]

  1. Greg Metcalf was named the biological father in "Quillsville Cold Case: Cruel & Desperate Justice" and Donaldson gave Amy up for adoption and would not be reunited until 2025.
  2. Bobby Joe Bones was named the biological father in "The Rape of Heather Willis" and Bones' paternity rights were terminated.

References[edit]

  1. "Cavalcade Of Cartoons, No Joke: Animated Shows Make Up A Third Of The Midseason Replacements For Axed Fall Premieres". The Charlotte Observer. 1999-01-10. 
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  3. "NoSirGifts revisits Queen of the Willis". 2015-03-07. 
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  6. "BGF: Ava Zinn". 
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  10. "The Sitcom Reader, Second Edition: America Re-viewed, Still Skewed". 
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  12. "The Top 10 Most Lesbian Moments of "Queen of the Willis"". 
  13. ??