Characters

The following is a list of characters from the TV show Pretty Little Liars, which is based on the series of young adult novels by Sara Shepard. The series follows the lives of four girls -- Spencer, Hanna, Aria, and Emily whose clique part after the disappearance of their leader, Alison. Later they begin receiving various messages from someone using the name "A" who threatens to expose their secrets — including long-hidden ones they thought only Alison knew.

Aria Montgomery
Aria Montgomery (Lucy Hale) is considered the "alternative" one of the group. She is more outgoing in fashion and what she sees as acceptable behavior. She moves back to Rosewood with her family after living in Iceland for a year. Before Alison's death, she and Alison discovered that Aria's father was having an affair with one of his former students, Meredith, who became his coworker at Hollis College. Alison encourages Aria to tell her mother the truth, but instead, Aria reluctantly agrees to keep her father's secret. In the book, Aria's brother Mike blames Aria for their parents' problems. In the TV series, he does not completely blame her, but still has psychological problems stemming from this. Mike's problems escalate until he attacks their mom. By the middle of Season 2, Mike appears to be doing better.

Considered the most artistic one of the group, Aria also tends to be the most outgoing of the girls. Her interest in being a writer is what really attracts her to Ezra Fitz upon their first meeting in a bar. She is unaware that Ezra is a teacher at Rosewood High School. Despite their attempts to stay away from each other once they realize their student-teacher relationship, they eventually give in to their Aria confesses to the girls that she is seeing Ezra, shocking them. But not.

Out of all the girls in Alison's old clique, Aria is the most secretive, rarely getting help dealing with her issues. Her crush on Noel was encouraged by Alison; the two later briefly dated, but their relationship was ended after Noel attempted to blackmail Ezra after discovering that he was dating Aria. When Jason comes back to Rosewood, Aria feels herself drawn to him and becomes conflicted between her feelings for Jason and Ezra. Ezra's ex-fiance, Jackie, also comes to Rosewood; Aria, jealous, attempts to push her out of Ezra's life once and for all.

A has tormented Aria the least out of the four girls, though A does expose Aria's father's affair and attempts to ruin Aria's relationships with both Hanna and Ezra after blackmailing Hanna into trying to set up Aria's mother so that she will discover Aria and Ezra are dating. Aria breaks up with Ezra because of Jackie threatening to tell Byron about their relationship and getting him fired, but they get back together. Once Ezra finds out that Jackie was the reason why Aria broke up with him, he asks her if she still trusts him, leading them to telling Byron and Ella about their relationship. This leads to Ezra getting punched by Mike. It is later told that Mike was sorry about what he did, and tells Aria that he only punched Ezra for fear of what their father would have done if he had not. Aria later tries to explain to Byron and Ella that she loves Ezra and he loves her, but they understandably still disapprove. But when Aria's old classmate Holden comes back to Rosewood, Aria tricks Ella and Byron into thinking that she and Holden are planning to go out. Aria later tells Ella that she and Byron may have gotten Ezra to leave Rosewood but they lost their daughter, too. She is shocked when Ella shows up at Ezra's apartment asking them to explain to her how their relationship "works".

Hanna Marin
Hanna Marin (Ashley Benson) is the "diva" of the group, having taken Alison's place as the most popular girl at Rosewood in Alison's absence. Prior to Alison's death, Hanna was a bulimic girl who Alison frequently mocked for being overweight. Hanna often purges, as a way to make herself feel better.

Hanna's parents are divorced; she lives with her mother and feels betrayed by her father, who has remarried. Hanna does not get along well with her father's new wife and daughter, the latter with whom she has a rivalry. After experiencing financial hardship, Hanna's mother steals thousands of dollars from the bank she works at, which Hanna accidentally discovers and is forced to keep a secret.

Hanna's best friend before the series is Mona Vanderwaal; after Alison's disappearance, the two transformed themselves from losers to the most popular girls in school. Though Alison was one of Hanna's closest friends, Hanna expresses relief at Alison being dead, having been hurt so often by Alison, and seeing how Alison hurt everyone else. At the start of the show, Hanna was dating Sean, who she had crushed on for a long time, however, they break up as Hanna becomes more focused on the mystery surrounding A and Alison's killer. She later becomes close to Rosewood's resident bad boy, Caleb, and the two begin to date, with Hanna subsequently losing her virginity to Caleb. Although Hanna dumps him after she discovers Caleb was working for Jenna, the two later rekindle their relationship. Hanna is also friends with Lucas, who harbors an unrequited crush on her.

A frequently torments Hanna with taunts about her weight, and threatens to reveal her mother's theft from the bank. A also ran Hanna down with a car, after claiming that Hanna "knew too much"; the accident left Hanna with a broken leg and ribs. Hanna ruined her father's wedding to Isabel but didn't stop the marriage because Ashley tells her that Tom still married Isabel in a private ceremony. Hanna finds out from Tom that Kate will be attending Rosewood because he is moving back to Rosewood to be closer to her along with Isabel and Kate.

In the second season finale we learn that Hanna's best friend is A (Mona Vanderwall) who is played by Janel Parrish. Hanna is devastated and cannot bear the fact that Mona tormented her and her friends. Mona is later in a mental institution for the torment.

Spencer Hastings
Spencer Hastings (Troian Bellisario) is considered the "de facto head" of the group. Intelligent and extremely ambitious, she thrives for perfectionism in everything she does, in an attempt to live up to the high expectations of her parents. Spencer's biggest rival is her older sister, Melissa, and the two are constantly at odds. Their relationship is often strained by the fact that Spencer has a habit of crushing on, and later kissing, Melissa's boyfriends (first Ian, then Wren). She is the closest with Aria although she got along with the others as well.

Although they were close friends, Spencer resented Alison, who constantly threatened to reveal to Melissa that Spencer kissed Ian. The two of them often argued, as Spencer was the only one of the girls who was willing to stand up to Alison. On the night of Alison's disappearance, Spencer told Alison that they were done being friends, and that she was tired of being treated like Alison's property. However, it was Spencer who went looking for Alison when she heard Alison scream.

Wren and Spencer have a brief affair, which is cut short when Melissa discovers it and dumps Wren. Spencer later begins a relationship with Alex, a boy who works at Rosewood's exclusive country club, though a misunderstanding leads to Alex dumping her. Although initially suspicious of Toby, believing him to be A and possibly Alison's killer, Spencer begins to bond with Toby after she becomes his French tutor and is also framed by A. The two begin to date, against the wishes of their parents. Soon after, Wren returns to Rosewood as a resident at the local hospital, which causes Spencer great emotional confusion. A later forces Spencer to break up with Toby, after revealing that it is the only way to keep Toby safe.

A frames Spencer for Alison's murder, by planting evidence in Spencer's house. She also causes many problems for Spencer's romantic relationships, such as getting Alex to dump Spencer and forcing Spencer to break up with Toby. In addition to this, A feeds into Spencer's suspicions towards Ian and plays upon her rocky relationship with Melissa, in order to cause a rift between Spencer and the rest of her family.

Spencer discovers that Jason her half-brother; she is furious with her parents, believing they betrayed her by keeping it a secret. Spencer later gets drunk and kisses Wren, although he gently turns her down. Spencer attempts to reconcile with Toby, who refuses to speak to her or let her back into his life. However, after Mona's arrest, Dr. Sullivan reveals that it was Toby who convinced her to come back to Rosewood. Toby explains to Spencer that he pretended not to love her to keep them both safe, and the two kiss, reunited.

Emily Fields
Emily Fields (Shay Mitchell) is the "jock" of the group. A highly competitive swimmer, she is considered the star of Rosewood's swim team. Sweet and shy, she is also a lesbian, something that she takes great pains to hide for a long time. Although her parents initially struggle with her being gay, they eventually come to accept her for who she is. After Emily's mother moves to Texas for a while to be with her father (who is in the Army, stationed in Fort Hood, Texas), Emily goes to live with Hanna.

Of the four girls, Emily was the one who had the closest relationship with Alison, whom she was in love with. Although Alison frequently mocks Emily's romantic feelings towards her, she also professes a fondness for Emily, telling her that Emily is the only one who understands her and that Emily is her "favorite". Alison appears after Emily passes out from carbon monoxide poisoning, telling Emily that she knows A's identity, but is afraid Emily will be killed if she reveals it. It is unclear if Alison's appearance was a hallucination or reality.

Emm is immediately attracted to her new next-door neighbor, Maya, and they begin seeing each other. However, their relationship is broken up by Emily's mother, who disapproves and has Maya sent away when she discovers marijuana in her purse. When Emily returns to the swim team after a short leave of absence, she becomes rivals with Paige, who has taken Emily's place as being the best swimmer. She confronts Paige about Paige's homophobia, only to discover that Paige is secretly gay herself (been trying to suppress her feelings for Emily that whole time). The two slowly reconcile and begin to date, though Emily breaks up with Paige, not wanting to be her "secret". In the second season, Emily starts dating Samara, whom she meets through a LGBTQ group, though she is dumped after a misunderstanding caused by A. Shortly after, Maya returns to Rosewood, sparking Emily's hope of renewing their relationship.

A singles her out as the "weakest link", forcing Emily to make up a lie about getting a college scholarship for swimming and tormenting her emotionally and physically, putting her under enormous pressure, which leads to Emily developing a stomach ulcer which is caused by stress. A also secretly dosed Emily with HGH, by putting it in Emily's body cream which she had been using frequently, which ends up on her medical record and destroys her chances of being able get a scholarship.

Emily reunites with Maya, but their new relationship is shaky. When Maya disappears, Emily is distraught, believing Maya has run away to California to stay with some friends. However, it is revealed in the second season finale that Maya has been murdered (presumably by A or another accomplice), her body is found behind the DiLaurentis house. Emily breaks down at the news, inconsolable.

Alison DiLaurentis
Alison DiLaurentis (Sasha Pieterse) was the "queen bee" of Rosewood and the leader of her clique.. Ruling the group with an iron fist, the vicious but charismatic Ali went missing during a slumber party at the end of summer. When Aria, Hanna, Spencer, and Emily begin receiving threatening messages from "A" a year after Ali goes missing, they think she is alive and is playing a trick on them. However, shortly after the appearance of "A", Alisons body is found buried in the backyard of the former DiLaurentis house, hidden under the gazebo (which had been under construction at the time of her disappearance). The discovery of her body launches a murder investigation. The police believe Alison was killed by a blow to the head (with a shovel), but the girls later learn, via Alison's autopsy report, that she actually suffocated to death by being buried alive.

It is revealed through flashbacks and clues sent by "A" that numerous people in Rosewood would have had motive to kill her. Alison was aware of all of the girls' deepest secrets: Spencer kissing Ian (her sister, Melissa's, boyfriend at the time), Aria's dad's affair with a student, Hanna's bulimia, and Emily's homosexuality (and her crush on Alison herself). She was also responsible for blinding Jenna, by setting off a fire cracker in Toby's shed with the girls with her; Ali blackmailed Toby into taking the blame by threatening to reveal that Toby and Jenna were engaged in a sexual affair (though it's later revealed that Jenna was blackmailing Toby into sleeping with her). Before her death, Alison had also been secretly dating Ian and being stalked by an unknown person who threatened to torture her the way she tortured everyone in Rosewood.

"A"
"A" is the main character and the antagonist of the series.

On occasion "A" has been known to act as a less sinister character, such as when she/he saves Spencer from being attacked by Ian. Dr. Sullivan, the girls' therapist, was able to determine A's identity when "A" became her client for a short time, but in some unknown way, "A" figured out how to keep Dr. Sullivan quiet. It is unclear as to how much "A" actually knows about Alison's death. "A" was in possession of a video Ian had filmed of himself and Alison engaged in an affair and also provided the girls with Alison's autopsy report even though she/he took out a specific page leaving the girls wondering what information was on it.

The girls have suspected a few people of being "A": Toby (who was framed by "A"), Ian (who was killed by "A"), Jason (Alison's older brother), Noel, Garrett, Lucas, Jenna, and Melissa. A could be Alison's killer. It was revealed in a prequel episode of the Halloween before Alison went missing that she was also being tormented by "A" as well.

"A"'s identity is Mona, which was revealed at the end of Season 2. But the directors clue in that maybe she wasn't the only one sending texts and tormenting the four girls. At a dance the girls figure out who " A" is. Mona goes with Spencer to the motel where "A" has a secret hide out. When Mona goes to " get gum out of the car" she comes back as "A". Spencer is freaked out and doesn't have time to react before Mona smacks her. Mona then gets her in the car and tells Spencer that she has two options join the "A" team or disappear like Dr. S did. Spencer is called by the other girls and answers it without Mona knowing. Hanna, Emily, and Aria hear everything Mona said. They then see where she is taking Spencer and Aria knows a short cut. The girls all get there at the same time. Hannah is so mad that she almost runs into Mona. Mona then realizes what happens and attacks Spencer, The girls fight Mona and push her off the cliff into bushes. The police arrive soon and so does Dr. S. She tells the girls that she would have never come backnif it wasn't for Toby convincing her. Mona is then put into a mental hospital. But the girls are not done with "A" yet. In the third season, a new "A" started sending messages. This time "A" is more dangerous sending teeth to Emily.

Acquaintances of Aria Montgomery
The following characters are all family members and acquaintances of Aria Montgomery, one of the protagonists of the series.

Family

 * Byron Montgomery (Chad Lowe) is Aria's father and a history professor at Hollis College. He asked Aria to keep his affair with a student, Meredith, a secret after Aria witnessed them kissing. Regretting the affair and wanting them to be a family again, Byron moves the family to Iceland for a year as a sabbatical. The relationship between Byron and Ella becomes strained after A sends her a letter revealing Byron's affair. After spending some time apart, Ella and Byron slowly begin to rebuild their relationship. When Mike becomes depressed, Byron reveals that his brother Scott, who committed suicide, also suffered from mental illness; Byron feels guilty for not doing anything to help his brother. Byron finds out that Ezra is involved in a relationship with Aria after they tell him and Ella and is furious about it. In an effort to get Ezra away from Aria, Byron recommends him for a job in New Orleans. He also plots to send Aria to an all girls boarding school in Vermont. When Aria threatens to reveal his affair to his boss, however, he backs off from sending her to boarding school but gets Ezra fired from Hollis.
 * Ella Montgomery (Holly Marie Combs) is Aria's mother, as well as a teacher at Rosewood High. Ella believes in treating her children as friends, not as property. She has mentioned that she doesn't want to push into Aria's private life, and she thinks that Aria should be allowed to keep secrets. Ella was unaware of her husband's affair with a student until A sent her a letter. After asking Byron to move out, and his refusal, she left the home. Eventually, Aria found out her parents were secretly getting back together, and Ella eventually decides to move back in. When her son, Mike, is depressed, she doesn't feel he needs medication, and remains somewhat in denial about his illness. She finally receives her wake-up call when he attacks her in his bedroom. When Ella found out Aria was dating Ezra, she was angry, but she believed Aria when she said she had broken it off, and tried to win her back her freedom, which Byron didn't think she deserved. Later, she finds out that Aria and Ezra are still together, and decides she is going to try to understand their relationship. Ella is aware of A, and tries to send Aria to Boarding School to get away. Aria is furious, and blackmails her mother into not going through with it. The last we see of Ella in the second season is her tearfully telling Aria how ashamed she is, and how she doesn't know how to save their relationship.
 * Michael Montgomery (Cody Allen Christian) is Aria's younger brother. A lacrosse player,he suffers from some sort of mental illness, which has causes him to burst into fits of anger and later leads him to break into people's houses for fun, before he begins to shut down emotionally and withdraw completely from his family. He blames Aria for the trouble between their parents. Michael accidentally discovered that Jenna and Garrett knew each other, which he told Aria about. Michael reveals to Aria that the only reason he punched Ezra was because after Ezra and Aria announced they are a couple, he feared what Byron would have done to hurt Ezra judging by the look on his face and thought, "Better I do it, than him."

Friends

 * Holden Strauss (Shane Coffey) is a childhood friend of Aria's who returns with his family from a year abroad in Portugal in the middle of Season 2. He asks Aria out on a date, and discovers that she only agreed so she could get out of the house unsupervised and try to meet Ezra. Instead of becoming upset, he suggest that they continue the cover, though he remains secretive about what he does during their fake dates. We later find out that his secret is more serious than it seemed at first when he accidentally reveals a very large bruise on his stomach, but he tells Aria not to worry about it. He eventually tells her that he is doing Tang Soo Do, a Korean martial art, and that his parents forbid him to keep training, that is why he needs a cover. The situation turns out to be more complicated, though, when Ella tells Aria that Holden has a heart condition that could kill him any time. Aria goes to watch one of Holden's fights and she sees how much he loves to fight.

Relationships

 * Ezra Fitz (Ian Harding) is a former English teacher at Rosewood High School and later teaches at Hollis. He became romantically involved with Aria after the two met at a club and instantly bonded. When he discovered that Aria was his student, he attempted to break things off, but found himself unable to do so. He broke up with Aria for a little while in order to take time to think about their relationship. He quit his teaching position at Rosewood just before Noel threatened to expose Aria and Ezra's relationship. Ezra later explains to Aria that he was engaged to a girl named Jackie when he was in college, but that she broke it off; Jackie later returns to Rosewood after getting a teaching position at Hollis. Although Ezra loves Aria, he seems to still have some lingering feelings for Jackie, and the two remain close. His relationship with Aria is often strained by the fact that they have to hide that they are together. Aria, who apparently was a virgin, was surprised dreaming with having relations with Ezra and then confirmed that she was not surprising Ezra with a very sexy dinner and then closing the door of the office. He confesses to Ella that he loves Aria (though she misunderstands and believes he is talking about Spencer) when he comes to comfort Aria after her arrest. In "Through Many Danger, Toils, and Snares" we find out that Aria broke up with Ezra because of Jackie threatening to expose their relationship but they later get back together after Aria explains to Ezra that Jackie was the reason why she broke up with him. Ezra and Aria later tell Byron and Ella that they are a couple which leads him to getting punched by Mike (though it's told he only did it fearing what Bryon what would have done instead). Ezra later tells Jackie, who comes into his office trying to convince him it'll never work out for him and Aria due to age difference and the fact she's still a teenager, to get out of his office and stay away from Aria and that he wanted nothing more to do with Jackie herself. Aria continues to attempt to convince her parents to allow her to date Ezra but in the meantime they try to set her up with someone else. When Aria calls Ezra, he tells her not to call him again. The two later rekindle their relationship when Aria leaves him a voice mail telling Ezra that, if he doesn't meet up with her, their relationship is over. Ezra turns up at the last minute after a student tells him to 'be bold' and the two kiss in the rain. Aria decides not to tell her friends that the two are back together, hoping that, by keeping it from them, she can also keep it from 'A'. They later have sex in his apartment after Ezra finds out that he has been fired from Hollis.


 * Noel Kahn (Brant Daugherty) is a popular jock and friends with Sean and Mike. He has feelings for Aria and briefly dates her, ending things when he discovers that Aria is seeing Ezra. Noel attempts to blackmail Ezra with this information, but ends up getting framed by A (for apparently stealing mid-term exams). After a suspension, he returns to school and becomes somewhat romantically involved with Mona, but eventually breaks up with her and starts dating Jenna. (1st temporade)

Other

 * Meredith Sorenson (Amanda Schull) is a former student at Hollis who Byron had an affair with. She ignores Aria's pleas for her to stay away from Byron and in an effort to get close to Byron again, attempts to befriend Ella, who was unaware of the affair. In the beginning of season 3, "A" forces Aria to reveal a past secret in which revealed that Aria and Allison trashed Byron's office and framed Meredith for the crime after Aria believes a found ear ring proves Byron and Meredith were still together after Aria found out about the affair. After the incident Byron did end all ties with Meredith because he felt threatened.But when "A" forces Aria to confess it was her, it gives now divorced Byron and Meredith another chances at a relationship. When Aria is forced to confess and apologize to Meredith, she returns the ear ring "A" gave her, which was taken from Allison's grave only to find out the ear ring is not hers.


 * Jackie Molina (Paloma Guzman) is Ezra's ex-fiance. After getting a teaching job at Hollis, she makes hints at wanting to reconcile her relationship with Ezra. She discovers that Aria and Ezra are in a relationship, and uses this as leverage when Aria attempts to force her out of Ezra's life by threatening to expose a paper that Jackie plagiarized. Jackie forces Aria to break up with Ezra but the two later get back together and reveal their relationship to her parents when Ezra overhears Jackie threatening Aria. Ezra later tells Jackie to get out of his office when she comes by his office and to stay away from Aria after Jackie makes a comment about his relationship with Aria being "a terrible mistake," and that he wants nothing to do with Jackie again.


 * Simone (Alona Tal) is Aria's former babysitter (and role model). She comes back to Rosewood to visit her parents and also to help Ella Montgomery with her English class, where she is asked to be a speaker as an experienced freelance writer. She befriends Ezra Fitz thanks to the suggestion of Ella Montgomery, much to Aria's chagrin. Simone is oblivious to Aria's feelings, and the two have coffee together. After that, Ezra picks up on Aria's envying Simone, who is a talented writer and also age appropriate for Ezra. He admits to enjoying the time spent with her, but denies that it is anything more than that.

Acquaintances of Hanna Marin
The following characters are all family members and acquaintances of Hanna Marin, one of the protagonists of the series.

Family

 * Ashley Marin (Laura Leighton) is Hanna's mother, who works at a bank in Rosewood. She is angered by Hanna's shoplifting, so she has an affair with Detective Darren in order to keep Hanna from being charged. After some financial hardship caused by the divorce, Ashley falls behind on her bills and resorts to stealing money from the safety deposit box of a client; the money is later stolen (by A, unbeknownst to Ashley) and Hanna is forced to slowly earn it back by hurting Lucas. Although she is divorced from Tom, Hanna's father, Ashley still has lingering feelings for him; when he comes for a visit, she ends up sleeping with him. However, she ends the affair when she realizes that Tom will never change. After Emily's parents move to Texas, Ashley invites Emily to come live with her and Hanna. She initially disapproves when Hanna starts dating Caleb, but eventually warms up to him even saying how she sees "herself" in him.


 * Tom Marin (Roark Critchlow) is Hanna's father. He divorced Hanna's mother, Ashley, after having an affair with Isabel, his current wife. When he comes to Rosewood to visit Hanna, he begins to grow close to Ashley once more, something which is encouraged by Hanna. Tom eventually sleeps with Ashley, but she breaks things off with him when she realizes that he will never change. His wedding to Isabel is interrupted by Hanna, who reveals his affair with Ashley to Isabel. Despite Hanna ruining Tom's wedding to Isabel, Ashley reveals to Hanna that Tom still married her. Tom later reveals that he will be moving back to Rosewood with Isabel and Kate so he can be closer to Hanna.


 * Isabel Randall (Heather Mazur) is Tom's new wife and Hanna's stepmother. At Tom and Isabel's wedding, "A" makes Hanna reveal that Tom had slept with Ashley while he was engaged to Isabel. Despite Hanna telling Isabel about Tom's affair with Ashley, Isabel still marries him. Until recently, Isabel seemed entirely unaware of her daughter Kate's nature.


 * Kate Randall (Natalie Floyd - Season 1; Natalie Hall - Season 2) is Isabel's daughter and Hanna's stepsister. Although Hanna is friendly to Kate at first, she begins to resent her. Kate is shown to possess a malicious streak, with a willingness to use manipulation for her own purposes. Hanna had said some unkind things about Kate, but apologizes to her. Kate pretends to accept the apology, but makes comparisons of how to break in horses and how she would break in Hanna. She humiliates Hanna after getting her drunk at their parents' rehearsal dinner. Even though Hanna stopped Isabel's wedding to her father, Kate still becomes Hanna's stepsister because their parents still got married, just at the courthouse. Tom later moves back to Rosewood with Isabel, and Kate is enrolled at Rosewood High. It appears that Kate actually wants to be friends with Hanna at school, but she was really trying to look like a an innocent victim, even sending the school a naked photo of herself and framing Hanna for it. But after finding out the truth, Hanna neutralizes Kate for a time.


 * Regina Marin (Betty Buckley) is Hanna's Grandmother. She is quite eccentric but very smart. Regina is very fond of her granddaughter and Ashley, and is very ambiguous about Tom's new family. Regina sees right through Kate and her sneaky ways.

Friends

 * Mona Vanderwaal (Janel Parrish) is a former unpopular girl at Rosewood who longed to be accepted into Alison's group and was continuously mocked by Alison. After Alison's disappearance, Mona completely transformed herself and befriended Hanna, and they both became popular students. She enjoys bullying Lucas, much to Hanna's annoyance. After the appearance of A, Mona notices that Hanna is now acting strangely, and feels jealous that Hanna has rekindled her friendships with Aria, Emily, and Spencer. She dislikes Caleb and makes attempts to break Hanna and Caleb up, even asking Lucas for help (though he declines). Mona is somewhat romantically involved with Noel, which Hanna disapproves of. Although Noel breaks up with her, Mona acknowledges that Hanna was right about Noel. Mona knows the existence of "A" as she too is now a victim of "A". "A" threatens to put Mona in jail for stealing, unless she puts Hanna's police file public for all of Rosewood to see. Mona doesn't do so and instead returns the necklace she stole back to the jewelry store where she was confronted by the cops and was ordered to do community service by working in a soup kitchen. Despite this, Mona is still being threatened by "A". Hanna decides it's best if Mona hangs with her and the others for protection from "A". On the last episode of Season 2 it is revealed that Mona is "A" . . . or one of multiple "A's". She ends up having a mental breakdown and threatens Spencer by giving her the option of either "joining the A Team" or "disappearing" via Spencer's father's gun (Mona admits that she was the one to steal it from his desk). Mona shifts into an even more enraged frenzied state when Hanna, Aria and Emily show up (Spencer alerted them via her cell phone) and attacks Spencer which results in Mona falling off of the nearby cliff. Mona survives, but is committed to a mental hospital and is diagnosed with an antisocial personality disorder coupled with her high intelligence (she was living in a state of "hyper reality" where everything revolved around her). . . which explains how she was able to be aware of everything going on all of the time while acting ditzy and superficial (she also was recording all of Hanna's cell phone conversations and had easy access to the girls' personal dwellings). At the end of the episode, Mona is visited by a mysterious stranger (dressed in a red coat) in the mental facility and admits she did everything that she was "told to do". This implies that Mona is just one of many "A's" and there is someone else calling the shots.


 * Lucas Gottesman (Brendan Robinson) is an unpopular student at Rosewood, who harbors an unrequited crush on Hanna, who he develops a friendship with. More than once he expresses his happiness at Alison's death, having been continuously tormented by her. He destroys the girls' memorial to Alison, stating that it isn't right that Alison's cruelty should be forgiven just because she died. It is hinted that Lucas was the unknown person who was stalking Alison prior to her death. Hanna forms a friendship with Lucas, and "A" gets her to lead Lucas on at a dance. Although initially angered by Hanna's rejection of his romantic feelings, he eventually forgives her and eventually goes so far as to bring Caleb home to make Hanna happy. He asks Hanna for dating advice after he becomes involved with a girl named Danielle. Lucas is later suspected of either being A or working with A, which causes a frightened Hanna to lash out at Lucas in self-defense. Soon afterward, Hanna and the others are convinced of Lucas merely being the victim of a misunderstanding and several coincidences (but an implication is made of the real A taking advantage of their suspicions of Lucas). The friendship between Lucas, Hanna, and Caleb appears intact. However, at the masquerade at the end of season two, we see Lucas hanging out with some suspicious people. At the end of episode 2, in season 3, The jacket tag says large, which means that's probably for a men (Lucas ?) and its for The "A" group.

Relationships

 * Sean Ackard (Chuck Hittinger) is Hanna's boyfriend prior to the beginning of the series. Having crushed on Sean since before Alison's disappearance, motivated by insecurities about her weight, Hanna puts a lot of pressure on their relationship. When Sean refuses to have sex with Hanna, she becomes upset and wrecks his car, though Sean understands and forgives her. However, the mystery surrounding A and Alison's death begin to take a toll on their relationship and that, combined with Sean's treatment of Lucas as well as his attraction to Aria, leads to their breakup. Afterwards, Sean seeks out Emily's help in pursuing Paige, unaware that Paige is a lesbian.


 * Caleb Rivers (Tyler Blackburn) is a foster child and Rosewood's resident "bad boy" who Hanna seeks out for help in hacking Emily's phone so that she can call Maya, her girlfriend at the time. Though initially annoyed and frustrated by Caleb, she becomes more sympathetic towards him when she discovers his poor home life. The two eventually enter into a relationship which results in Hanna losing her virginity to Caleb. When she discovers that Caleb originally tried to get close to her while working for Jenna, she dumps him, feeling betrayed. He is brought back to Rosewood by Lucas, who wants Hanna and Caleb to make amends and reunite. After Caleb is contacted by his birth mother, he leaves Hanna to stay in California for a while. He returns in time for Tom's marriage to Isabel, accompanying Hanna to the wedding. Caleb then comes back after being in California and helps Hanna and her friends hack A's phone without telling him who's phone it belongs to, but it backfires when "A" shuts the phone down. His surprise birthday party later gets ruined because Lucas has something to tell Hanna but Hanna takes it the wrong way and they both end up falling out the boat. The girls (excluding Hanna) let Caleb continue to hack "A"´s phone and so that he does it they tell him about "A" but just the important parts that include defending Hanna. The girls try to hide the truth from Hanna but when she finds out she is angry at them. They however talk and become friends again. Meanwhile, Caleb becomes obsessed with finding out who "A" is, which caused "A" to hack into Caleb's computer and planted secure school files, which landed him in trouble with the police, However Hanna saves him by deleting the files. Caleb is the first person other than the liars to help figure out who "A" is. Earlier Lucas has some problems and starts to be a bad boy at school when he is given a letter to give to his parents he drops it into a bin and sets it on fire, Hanna starts to worry about Lucas so she asks Caleb to talk to him. Later Caleb confronts Lucas and asks him why he nearly set fire to his girlfriend and why is he acting so weird, Lucas says sorry and walks off leaving Caleb wondering. In the third season, Hanna has trouble telling Caleb about what's going on in her life, causing him to breakup with her.

Other

 * Darren Wilden (Bryce Johnson) is a detective investigating Alison's murder. He is attracted to Hanna's mom, Ashley, who he once drove home after she had been drinking and asked for a ride, later sleeping with her to make up for not charging Hanna, who was caught shoplifting. He is distrustful of the girls, frequently questioning them beyond normal means, such as when he humiliates Emily by outing her to her friends. The detective returns in season 2 episode 12, when the girls are arrested. Officer Reynolds suggests there could be a raise in this for him, as he has his suspicions of the girls to start with. He reveals to them that he knew the murder weapon all along, and the girls had just been caught with it. He had strong feelings towards them all especially Hanna, and was determined that they would be thrown into jail. The girls are very grateful for Spencer's mom for getting them out of it and landing them with merely community service. When Ashley begins to worry that someone is still trying to get to her daughter, she goes to Darren for help, asking him if he had anything to do with Hanna's police report being released. Darren says that information could get him fired, and he didn't release the report.

Acquaintances of Spencer Hastings
The following characters are all family members and acquaintances of Spencer Hastings, one of the protagonists of the series

Family

 * Melissa Hastings Thomas (Torrey DeVitto) is Spencer's older sister, who is engaged to Wren at the start of the series, but later returns to Ian. A perfectionist and the favored daughter, she was Spencer's rival for most of their lives. Their competition lead to Spencer kissing both Ian and Wren, which culminated in Melissa breaking off her engagement with Wren. After the breakup, Melissa rekindled her relationship with Ian and the two eloped, after which Melissa confided in Spencer that she just wanted the fighting between them to stop. Shortly after marrying Ian, Melissa becomes pregnant, which again causes a rift between her and Spencer, who suspects Melissa is covering for Ian. When Ian goes missing, Melissa refuses to believe Spencer's claims that he is dead, thinking that she is receiving text messages from Ian, who is in hiding. After discovering Ian's body, however, Melissa becomes depressed and apologizes to Spencer for choosing Ian over her. When Melissa finds Ian's phone in Spencer's bag, (although it was A who put the phone in there), she believes it was Spencer sending the texts to Melissa's phone and mentions she will never, ever forgive Spencer for this. Melissa discovers that Jason is their half-brother and says that she can't be around their parents because they lied to her and Spencer. She still loiters around the house however, and Spencer and her friends begin to suspect that Melissa knows more about "A" and Ali's disappearance than she is letting on. They find a video taken inside Alison's room the night she disappeared, and Melissa is shown throwing open the door and yelling "Where is she?!" The girls also find out that Melissa was sending Ali threatening text messages, and had worked at a law firm that Ali had suspected of assisting "A" in messing with her life. Spencer and Melissa's dad's gun goes missing, and Spencer fears Melissa took it. Although Melissa didn't take the gun, her parents still feared that she killed Allison through jealousy. So her mom hired a private investigator to watch her. Toward the end of the second season, Melissa makes some odd statements that imply she knows some secrets about Alison and/or the N.A.T. club.


 * Peter Hastings (Nolan North) is Spencer and Melissa's father. A lawyer who places a great emphasis on winning, he destroys evidence that he fears will implicate Spencer in Alison's murder. Although initially he disapproves of Spencer and Toby dating, he warms to Toby after Toby begins to work for him. Peter strongly dislikes DiLaurentises, who has claims are "always crossing lines." In Season 2, Episode 19, it is revealed that Peter did have an affair with Jessica DiLaurentis, he is Jason's father and that Jason, Spencer and Melissa are all half-siblings. We also discover that he paid a private investigator to look into Ali's disappearance, as he was afraid that Melissa had something to do with it, since he already found out Melissa had been sending Ali threatening text messages.


 * Veronica Hastings (Lesley Fera) is Spencer's and Melissa's mother. She has a breast cancer scare that she keeps a secret from her family, not wanting to worry them. A lawyer, she frequently helps the girls out with legal situations. Although she dislikes Toby and his relationship with Spencer, she eventually becomes more tolerant of it.


 * Jason DiLaurentis* Ali's half brother, who is later revealed to also be Spencer's half-brother as her Dad had an affair with his mom, although this was only recently exposed.

Relationships

 * Ian Thomas (Ryan Merriman) is Melissa's late husband. He attended high school with Jason and Garrett and was part of their "N.A.T." club (the initials of a Latin phrase meaning "We See All"). Ian dated Melissa prior to Alison's death, although he was secretly carrying on an affair with Alison, he also flirted and tried it on with Spencer, who had a crush on him. He returned to Rosewood shortly after Melissa broke off her engagement with Ren; after a small courtship, the two eloped and took up residency in the Hastings' renovated barn while their apartment in Philadelphia was being remodeled. He had an uneasy relationship with Spencer, who became suspicious of him and believed he was A/Alison's killer. It is later revealed that Ian liked to secretly videotape the girls when they were getting undressed. When Spencer confronts Ian about Alison's death, he claims he only pushed her, not intended for her to hit her head. After this he aproches Spencer and tries to kill her, stating that he's doing it for Melissa's benefit, but is killed by A, who surprisingly intervenes. His body goes missing and he is presumed to be in hiding, however, his body is eventually discovered, his death staged to look like a suicide; and leaving Melissa with his unborn child.


 * Wren Kingston (Julian Morris) was a medical student who was engaged to Melissa. He was attracted to Spencer and later kissed her, which resulted in Melissa calling off their engagement. However, he later returns to Rosewood to help Melissa out with Ian, who, at the time, they believe to still be alive. He obtains a job at the hospital in Rosewood, telling Spencer he came back for her, he then asks her if she wants to go out for a coffee but she says 'I have a boyfriend now',they leave it at that and go. He then comforts Spencer after her breakup with Toby, leaving her confused.


 * Alex Santiago (Diego Boneta) is an employee of Rosewood's exclusive country club. He meets Spencer after observing her practicing serves, and the two quickly enter into a relationship. Their relationship becomes strained after Melissa plants doubts about Spencer's feelings for him in Alex's mind, leading Alex to think Spencer is slumming it with him. Veronica is initially uncomfortable around Alex, which Spencer thinks is because of Alex being of a lower economic class, however, Alex explains that he comforted Veronica after her cancer scare. Alex breaks up with Spencer for good after A makes him believe Spencer applied for him to go to Europe for a tennis camp after he asked her explicitly not to.


 * Toby Cavanaugh (Keegan Allen) is Jenna's stepbrother, who was blackmailed into sleeping with Jenna and taking the blame for the girls accidentally blinding Jenna. After he returns to Rosewood, he strikes up a tentative friendship with Emily after saving her from Ben. Spencer disapproves of the friendship, believing that Toby is Alison's murderer. Emily goes to Homecoming with Toby and later confesses to him that she is a lesbian; her openness makes Toby try to confess to her about having a thing with Jenna, which Emily misunderstands, leading to a physical confrontation. Toby drops her off at the hospital before running away; he is later caught by the police, who have been tipped off by Jenna. After witnessing Toby being taunted in the street, Spencer begins to sympathize with him, and they bond,when they realize they are both being framed for Alison's murder. Despite Spencer's parents distrust and dislike of Toby, they begin to date. After A threatens Spencer with Toby's safety, she decides to break up with him, not wanting him to get hurt. He then falls, because of one of A's tricks and ends up in hospital. He later learns that Wren kissed Spencer and had a one day fling with her. Back in the hospital he tells Wren that his left arm may be broken but his right arm isn't(meaning he would beat him up if he tried anything like it again.) When he comes out he begins to act cold towards her, no longer caring about her. In the season 2 finale he admits that pretending not to love her was the hardest thing he has ever done,she then aproches him and gets ready to slap him but before she has a chance he pulls her close to him and kisses her. In Season 3, Spencer and Toby seem to have moved past all the problems that plagued their relationship in the past, seeming happier and more in love than they ever were.

Acquaintances of Emily Fields
The following characters are all family members and acquaintances of Emily Fields, one of the protagonists of the series.

Family

 * Pam Fields (Nia Peeples) is Emily's mother. Strict and traditional, she expresses great anger and sadness when she learns that Emily is gay. Believing that Maya corrupted her daughter, she holds a grudge against her, eventually discovering marijuana in Maya's bag and having her sent away. Her relationship with Emily becomes extremely strained after this, but begins to heal when Pam stands up to Paige's father for being homophobic and accusing Emily of getting preferential treatment. In the latest episodes, Pam has shown much more acceptance of Emily's sexuality and even offers to have Maya over when hearing she and Emily were back together and acting nicer towards her.


 * Wayne Fields (Eric Steinberg) is Emily's father, who works in the military and is currently stationed at Fort Hood, Texas. At the start of the series, he was stationed in Afghanistan, and when he returned home, Emily came out to him. He struggled to accept Emily's homosexuality at first, but took a liking to Maya after she came over for dinner. After a few weeks of being in Rosewood, he got called back to active duty. When Emily was hospitalized after getting an ulcer, he came to visit her, apologizing for pressuring her into getting a swimming scholarship and explaining that he won't mind if Emily gives up on swimming, as long as she is healthy. At the beginning of Season 3, Emily learns that he will be returning to Afghanistan soon.

Relationships

 * Ben Coogan (Steven Krueger) was Emily's boyfriend at the beginning of the show. It is revealed that the two had been dating prior to Alison's death and that Ben lied about sleeping with Emily, something Emily did not refute, believing it would happen "eventually" anyway. Feeling Emily growing distant from him after the arrival of Maya, he attempts to rape her, but is stopped by Toby. Emily officially dumps him at a party later that evening.


 * Maya St. Germain (Bianca Lawson) was Emily's first girlfriend. When Maya's family moves next door to Emily, the two quickly become friends, and their friendship gradually develops into romance. Their relationship is rocky at first due to Emily's mixed feelings about being gay, but Maya helps Emily to come to terms with her sexuality. They break up when Pam discovers marijuana in Maya's bag and has her sent away to "True North," a camp for juvenile delinquents. When Maya returns to Rosewood, she hints that she may want to rekindle her relationship with Emily. The two later begin to date again, though Maya is seen getting texts and calls which obviously make her uneasy. Maya later confesses that when she was in camp, she was lonely and hooked up with someone. Emily is okay with that as they weren't together at the time and it's clear that it is over. Maya assures Emily it is, but "It seems like he just won't take no for an answer." Which surprises Emily as Maya said "He." This might possibly hint that Maya is bisexual. Maya appears to know Jason DiLaurentis as well, as we see her talking to him once out of Rosewood. After a rocky dinner with Emily's mom, they both admit their love for each other sharing a passionate kiss in Maya's bedroom which leads to their first time making love (as confirmed by Marlee King via Twitter). Later, Maya reveals that her parents might send her back to "True North", after she claims her parents found an old joint from before she was sent away, though Emily is still left skeptical. At the Sharks celebratory party, Emily finds Maya lighting a joint and is mad that Maya has lied to her. Maya though reveals she has a fix to the problem though; she plans to runaway to San Francisco with some friends from camp and asks Emily to go with her. Emily says she can't leave Rosewood, to which Maya asks, "Not even for me?" with a saddened look on her face. Emily is left speechless and Maya leaves the party, upset. Over the next few days, Emily is unable to contact Maya who has already taken off. Maya texts Emily on and off and calls on occasion, but Emily always misses her calls. Later, Maya leaves a text saying she was hurt that Emily had told her parents that she had made contact with her. At the end of season two, Maya's body is found, and she is presumed to have been murdered. Emily breaks down into agonized tears at the news.


 * Paige McCullers (Lindsey Shaw) is the captain of the swim team and the star swimmer in Emily's absence. Jealous of Emily's perceived ease of accomplishments, she makes homophobic remarks towards Emily and physically threatens her. However, she later apologizes to Emily, stating that she can understand if Emily hates her, because she hates herself. She later also apologizes for her father, who causes problems for Emily at school, as he believes Emily is getting preferential treatment for being gay. She then kisses Emily, revealing herself to be gay. The two begin an on-again, off-again relationship, which suffers due to Paige's fear of being outed. Emily breaks up with Paige after Paige becomes jealous of Samara flirting with Emily. In Season 2, Emily starts hanging out with Paige once more, who has finally come out to her parents. While trying to console Emily, who is upset about Maya's disappearance, Paige tries to kiss Emily, but is bluntly rejected. Paige later apologizes and agrees to just be friends with Emily for now.


 * Samara Cook (Claire Holt) is the president of a local private school's Campus Pride group. Upon meeting her, Emily is initially attracted to Samara because of Samara's beauty and the fact that she is out, unlike Paige, who Emily was secretly dating at the time. The two date for a short period of time, but Samara states that she does not want to be exclusive, causing Emily to doubt her feelings. After "A" blackmails Emily into giving Samara's friend her phone number, Samara thinks Emily is flirting and ends the relationship when Emily doesn't give her an honest answer.

Other

 * Nathan St. Germain (Sterling Sulieman) is Maya's cousin. He comes to Rosewood to talk to Emily shortly after Maya's death.

Acquaintances of Alison DiLaurentis
The following characters are all family members and acquaintances of Alison DiLaurentis, the protagonist of the series.

Family

 * Jessica DiLaurentis (Anne Marie DeLuise - Season 1; Andrea Parker - Season 2) is Alison's mother, who spearheaded a charity fashion show in Alison's memory. Jessica DiLaurentis also had an affair with Peter Hastings which produced Jason.


 * Jason DiLaurentis (Parker Bagley - Season 1; Drew Van Acker - Season 2) is Alison's, Spencer's, and Melissa's half-brother. He had an interesting relationship with his late sister; though they often fought, they were both conniving and willing to keep each others' secrets. Jason attended high school and was friends with Ian and Garrett, and they formed a club called "N.A.T" (initials from a Latin phrase which means "We See All"). He revealed to Spencer that Alison blamed the accident where Jenna was blinded on her, though Spencer believes Jason knows this to be a lie. After Ian's death, Jason returns to Rosewood, moving back into his old house and papering up the windows, apparently looking for something that Alison hid. He explains to Aria, who he has romantic feelings for, that he can't remember what he was doing on the night of Alison's murder and that someone sent him a note afterward with "I know what you did," written on them causing him to fear he might have killed Alison. We later find out that Spencer's father had had an affair with Jason's mother. When Spencer finds this out, she knows something's up, and she looks back on memories. When she remembers Ali telling her weird things on a night when her parents had been fighting about Jason and Melissa kissing, she figures out that Ali had subtly told her about Jason being her half-brother. When she approaches him he confirms her suspicions and they become closer and eventually he lends her $2,000.

Friends

 * Duncan Albert (Lachlan Buchanan) is a boy Alison met in Brookhaven when she was pretending to be Vivian Darkbloom. When the girls are in Brookhaven, Duncan mistakes Aria for Vivian when she puts on Alison's red coat. Duncan then gives Aria his number and they later meet up at Rosewood High. There Duncan tells her that he knows Vivian was actually called Alison and that Alison talked about them. He is shocked when he hears about Alison's death. They later meet up again and he takes Aria flying. Duncan tells Aria that he took Alison flying many times and he says that she felt safe in the air, because no one could get to her and she was in control. It is made clear that Duncan was in love with Alison, but Alison had Ian. He also tells her that he picked Alison up from Hilton Head the morning before she went missing, which is how the girls find out that Alison was near Rosewood that morning, hours before she met up with them.

Other characters

 * Jenna Marshall (Tammin Sursok) is Toby's younger stepsister. Jenna was accidentally blinded after Alison threw a firecracker into Toby's shed, intending to play a prank on him. At the time, Jenna had been in a sexual relationship with Toby (it is later discovered that Jenna had forced Toby into the relationship, threatening to tell their parents he had forced himself on her if he did not). Although Toby is still afraid of Jenna, further attempts to rekindle their relationship a year later were unsuccessful. Jenna attended a school for the blind in Philadelphia before returning a year later when Alison's body is found. This leads to conflicts with the girls, who feel guilty about what they did to Jenna, and having let Alison pin the blame on Toby. Prior to Alison's death, she and Jenna had been rivals, after Jenna turned down Alison's offer of friendship. Jenna was engaged in a power struggle with Alison before her death, as they had a similar personalities, both being cruel, manipulative and very charismatic. Alison held a grudge against Jenna, and jealously called her "Jenna the Jerk", as many boys were attracted to her. Both Alison and Jenna would use their good looks to get men to do what they want. After Jenna's accident, Alison visited her and threatened to reveal Jenna and Toby's relationship unless Jenna left town. Despite this, Jenna seems to hold some sort of admiration towards Alison, calling Alison "the bravest person" she knew. Jenna tells Spencer that, unlike everyone else, Jenna knew "exactly what kind of person [Alison] really was," hinting that she knows things about Alison that the girls do not. Jenna was a part of a secret club with Jason DiLaurentis, Garrett Reynolds and Ian called N.A.T. Jenna was involved with Garrett, who is helping her to "take down" the girls by implicating them in Alison's murder. Jenna has revealed that she may know what happened to Alison on the night that she died and the truth about N.A.T's purpose. Jenna has broken up with Garrett as of January 2012 and is now seeing Noel. During season 2 we find out that Jenna is scheduled to have a tricky eye operation that has a slim chance upon recovery of returning vision. In the second to last episode of Season two,"If these dolls could talk" it was revealed that Jenna can now see after surgery (she smashes a fly on her mirror), although she keeps her sight a secret and pretends that the surgery has failed. It is revealed in season 3 that Jenna was actually never blind. In the Books Jenna is supposed to be murdered by "A."


 * Barry Maple (Jim Titus) is a police officer at the Rosewood Police Force. He questions Pam Fields when Emily is attacked and also informs her that Emily attended homecoming with Toby. He is also the one who informs Ashley about Hanna's car accident. When the girls call the police after the accident in the bell tower, Barry is the one who questions the girls and asks them if their calling the police is a joke. He later appears at the Montgomery house, when Mike is caught breaking into a house. He also informs Emily when Maya is reported missing by her parents.


 * Garrett Reynolds (Yani Gellman) is a police officer investigating the case of Alison DiLaurentis' death, who is initially assigned to trail Spencer, a suspect in Alison's death. Although he appears to be sympathetic towards the girls, in reality he is secretly dating/in an alliance with Jenna. He was a member of N.A.T along with Jason and Ian, who he went to high school with. Garrett and Jenna have broken up. Aria and Spencer see Garrett watching them after they talk to the guy who Alison owed money to prior to her murder.Garrett then gets arrested, for Alison's murder in front of Melissa.


 * Anne Sullivan (Annabeth Gish) is a therapist who the girls are forced to see to deal with Alison's death. She is visited by A and attempts to reveal A's identity to the girls; A subsequently finds a way to keep her quiet. She returns once Mona ("A") has been caught and explains that Mona ("A") threatened the life of her son to get her to disappear. She then is the one to explain Mona's mental issues to the girls in the jail before Mona ("A") is put in a mental facility.


 * "The Black Swan" is a mysterious character introduced in the second season finale. She was shown hanging out with Lucas and Jenna at the masquerade ball. It is hinted that she might be part (or the leader) of the 'A' team. It is later revealed in an episode of Season 3 that "The Black Swan" is Melissa and she was blackmailed into doing so. It is not clear whether this person is 'A' or not.