Summary

• Characters like Grandmama Addams and Cousin Itt don't stand out against the Addams Family characters that appear in more adaptations.
• Gomez Addams had been a favorite Addams Family character for generations, but he has begun to take a backseat to his morose wife and daughter.
• Thing and Wednesday Addams' prevalent presence on Netflix's Wednesday has thrust these characters into the top spots for Addams Family favorites.

There have been several live-action interpretations of The Addams Family, and in this day and age, some characters have begun to stand out among the rest. For decades, each member of the family has entertained fans with their unique brand of macabre magic, worming their way into American pop culture like a maggot through a corpse. Still, as the times change and adaptations like Netflix's Wednesday bring the kooky family members to the modern age, the characters that most appeal to audiences change along with them.

The Addams Family got its start with Charles Addams' comic strips in 1938, and the First Family of Fright has been immortalized with a television series, several cartoons, a few live-action films, and Netflix's Wednesday. Through each franchise adaptation, each character in the Addams Family mythos is distinct, with a perfect amalgamation of humor and horror. However, there are specific characters in The Addams Family and Wednesday that make the bigger stir, have the more interesting character arc, and, overall, come across a little better to modern audiences.

9 Grandmama Addams

Gomez's mother and mother-in-law to Morticia (though sometimes this is reversed depending on the iteration), Grandma Addams (or Grandmama) has always been somewhat of a mysterious figure in the Addams household. Never one to keep her opinion to herself, she regularly speaks her mind whether her barbarous commentary is warranted or not. Creator Charles Addams described her as a "disrespectful old hag" who has been portrayed by such talents as Blossom Rock in the television series, Carol Channing in the animated series, and Bette Midler in the 2019 animated film.

The Addams Family's Grandmama is an excellent character in all, but she doesn't stand out as well compared to her cooky family members. She never appeared in Wednesday season 1, though it's possible that she will gain a more prevalent part as the modern retelling of this family's story continues. Still, for now, Grandmama Addams comes in at the bottom of the list.

8 Cousin Itt

Short in stature but big in personality, Cousin Itt is one of the most memorable characters in the Addams Family for obvious reasons. Made entirely from human hair, with no discernible body, he speaks in gibberish only Addamses can understand and frequently wears a bowler and sunglasses. He was created for the '60s television series, the reoccurring joke being that Cousin Itt attempted dozens of careers without any conception that he might not get them due to his physical appearance. He's appeared in the '90s live-action films and the 2019 animated film where he's the smallest he's ever been.

As an extended member of the Addams family, Cousin Itt doesn't live in the home with Morticia and Gomez. Therefore, he's a far less present character in any of the various Addams Family adaptations. This is especially true for Wednesday, which takes place at Nevermore Academy rather than the Addams Mansion. This means there is a little less personality or moments on screen to contribute to his ranking. Still, it's hard for young audiences especially not to love Cousin Itt.

7 Lurch

The lugubrious manservant to the Addams Family is almost as well known as they are, and in fact, the towering mute has been with them so long he's become one of them. His immense height (6'9") and strength sometimes make the delicate tasks of butlering onerous, but he manages with a grimace and a moan. The original television series never really described where Lurch came from, though he did have a normal-sized mother who made an appearance. In the 2019 animated film, he escaped an insane asylum, and the Addamses struck him with their car.

It's fascinating that Lurch can be such a memorable character with no real method of communication, but there's an unlikely gentleness here that makes him a beloved member of the Addams family. He was again brought into the fold (though only briefly) in Netflix's Wednesday, serving the family as their driver and, assumedly, their butler back at home. Any Addams Family adaptation wouldn't be the same without Lurch, but he doesn't quite hold up to the central crew.

6 Pugsley Addams

With his striped shirt, shorts, and doe-eyed expression, Pugsley may not present as impressive a visage as the other Addams, but make no mistake, he's an Addams through and through. In the '60s television series, he's depicted as a gifted engineer, often building guillotines, torture devices, and other complicated apparatus to inflict pain on his sister Wednesday. In the '90s film, he became more of her dim-witted accomplice, which made the eldest Addams less inventive by far. In Wednesday, Pugsley continues the dim-witted character trend, though in a softer, more lovable way that clarifies he is a figure deserving of his sister's protection.

In recent adaptations of The Addams Family, Pugsley has served to support the growing prevalence of Wednesday's character. This makes him less interesting on his own, but his role in the family is still an important one. In the '90s films, Pugsley is frequently Wednesday's willing torture victim, thus contributing to the overall strangeness of the Addams Family. In Netflix's Wednesday, Puglsey helps reveal Wednesday's softer side. This makes audiences love him just as much as his family presumably does but keeps him from being a common favorite Addams Family character.

5 Gomez Addams

As the charismatic patriarch of the Addams Family, Gomez Addams embodies all the qualities that make the spooky family what it is. He's fiercely loyal, extremely eccentric, and a romantic at heart. He's a proud father to his children, a loving husband to his wife, and he'll fight to protect them from harm until his last breath. Gomez was immortalized in the '60s television series by John Astin and in the '90s films by Raul Julia. His sense of theatricality with his devotion to swordplay and performance, passionate regard for his wife, boundless energy, and zest for life have always made him a very popular character.

Gomez has taken a backseat to his wife and daughter in recent years, proudly allowing them to run the show with their cleverness. This had become his most outstanding characteristic—a devoted husband and father who behaves as if he is lucky to even be in Morticia and Wednesday's presence. This causes the Addams patriarch to rank a little lower than the women he adores, which is precisely how the character would want it.

4 Morticia Addams

The sultry, sophisticated matriarch of the Addams Family is a gothic siren that floats through the Addams manor with the grace of a specter and the pallor of a corpse. She enjoys clipping the heads off of roses, holding seances to communicate with dead relatives, and driving her husband, Gomez, into fits of romantic ecstasy. Over the years, Morticia has become an icon and role model, influencing everyone from Vampira to Elvira with her clingy black dress, black hair, and supernatural charm. When she isn't summoning the dark forces and joining their hellish crusade, she's a loving mother and devoted wife.

Morticia's character and relationship with Wednesday was changed slightly for Netflix's Wednesday, and this was a divisive shift. She is much the same, though her steadfast understanding of her daughter was stripped away slightly to leave room for some character growth. When layered with the previous version of Mortica's character, this only makes her all the more interesting.

3 Uncle Fester

The always hilarious Uncle Fester is literally a bright light in the gloomy Addams' home - he generates 110 watts of electricity at random and can illuminate a lightbulb by sticking it in his mouth. He was first portrayed as Morticia's uncle in the '60s series, but in the '90s live-action films, he was Gomez's brother. Part of the hunched, bald galoot's charm is that he never takes anything seriously. He gets migraines for fun, just so he can put his head into a giant vice grip and turn it. Despite his bizarre behavior and looks, he loves his niece and nephew dearly and idolizes their parents.

As the most comedic character of The Addams Family, Uncle Fester has become a beloved character on a different level than his family members. This is demonstrated by the buzz when Fester made a surprise appearance in Wednesday season 1. He was only present for an episode, but Wednesday's wide smile (the only one she offered throughout the Netflix series) and the online excitement of The Addams Family fans after Fester's appearance was all the proof needed to support his status as one of the best in the franchise.

2 Thing

Thing appears in every incarnation of the Addams Family, though his presence isn't always explained. In the '60s television series, he's a "Thing" too horrible to be seen, save for his human hand that emerges from a box. Thanks to advances in movie magic by the '90s films, he could be a disembodied hand that runs around the manor, and this idea has continued into the Netflix spinoff, in which the titular Wednesday noted that Thing is an Addams family mystery.

Despite being only a hand, Thing has an immense personality. He was only a minor character in the original series, but since then, he has evolved to be inseparable from the Addams Family franchise. This is why, despite the majority of the Addams Family characters playing only minor roles in Wednesday, Thing is a constant and vital presence. He helps Wednesday and acts as something of a moral compass, communicating through bits of American Sign Language and an unmistakable voiceless attitude.

1 Wednesday Addams

The morose daughter of Morticia and Gomez Addams has become a pop cultural icon since she first appeared in the cartoons of Charles Addams. Her macabre sensibilities communicated in her deadpan humor made for some of the biggest laughs in her various incarnations. Initially, she was introduced as six years old, with a fascination with sharp objects and spiders. In the '90s live-action films, she was depicted as a little older and played by Christina Ricci in a performance that has gone on to define the character for new generations. Then, in Wednesday, Jenna Ortega takes her character to another level entirely.

The fact that Wednesday Addams got her own spinoff series proves that she is the most relevant to modern audiences. No matter how strange her family or morose her ways, Wednesday is a teenager through and through, which makes her relatable to anyone who has ever experienced those formative years. Between her determined intelligence, iconic dancing skills, and deadpan stare, Wednesday Addam has made the biggest impact across several generations of any of The Addams Family's characters.