'Big Love' Character Profiles

Bill is the patriarch of the Hendrickson family. Bill grew up on a compound that houses many polygamist families, but managed to escape many years ago so he could give his family a better life. His strained relationship with his father is what drives him to be a better father to his many children. Bill has three wives, owns two home improvement stores and relies on Viagra to handle his "husbandly" duties.

Bill's "first wife" is the no-nonsense leader of the wives who controls the household expenses and handles the "Bill" schedule. Barb and Bill have three children together. After an ordeal with cancer, Barb was forced to have a hysterectomy and can no longer produce children. Barb's parents and sister have had a difficult time accepting her lifestyle, and have gone to great lengths to bring her back into their way of thinking. Her sister told the leader of the LDS church about her polygamist lifestyle and Barb was excommunicated.

Bill's second wife, Nicki, is the resident shopaholic. Nicki has very low self-esteem and uses shopping as a way to fill empty spaces in her life. Her father is Prophet Roman Grant, the leader of the commune. Nicki and Bill have two children together, and they would have more if she hadn't been secretly taking birth control pills. In season three, Nicki almost had an affair with her boss and once Bill found out about her deception, he threw her out. In the same season, we also learned that Nicki had been "sealed" to an older man when she was a teenager. The relationship produced a daughter, whom Nicki finally met when the girl was a teenager. Once Nicki learned that her daughter was about to be sealed, she took her away from her father.

Bill's third wife, Margene, is the youngest and most outspoken on the group. Margene may act naive, but I believe she's a force to be reckoned with. In season three, Margene proved to Bill that she has great potential as a businesswoman and began a jewelry business. Bill and Margene have two children together, although it seems the series may have done away with one of her children between season one and three. In season one, Margene had two young boys, but in season three, she had just given birth to a baby girl and only showed her with two kids during the course of the season.

Roman is Nicki's father, and the leader of U.E.B. (United Effort Brotherhood). His followers believe him to be their Prophet and take his word as law over the years. He has many, many wives and countless children. Roman has been a thorn in Bill's side ever since Bill opened up his first home improvement store. Bill has spent the better part of the series trying to oust Roman from U.E.B. and most recently, worked with the D.A. to put him in jail. Bill's brother, Joey, murdered Roman in the final scenes of season three due to his involvement in the death of Joey's bride, Kathy.