Ben Henrickson Wayne Henrickson Raymond Henrickson Aaron Henrickson Lester Henrickson Unnamed Son
Daughters
Sarah Henrickson Cara Lynn (Walker) Henrickson Tancy Henrickson Nell Henrickson
Grandsons
Bill Quitman
Grandfathers
Orville Henrickson
Otherrelatives
Roman Grant (father-in-law via Nicki) Adaleen Hallstrom Grant (mother-in-law via Nicki) Nancy Davis Dutton (mother-in-law via Barb) Ginger Heffman (mother-in-law via Margene) Roberta Harlow (sister-mother via Frank) (deceased) Nita (sister-mother via Frank) Sue (sister-mother via Frank) Lourdes (sister-mother via Frank) Alby Grant (brother-in-law via Nicki) Wanda Henrickson (sister-in-law via Joey) Joey Henrickson, Jr. (nephew via Joey)
Soap opera character
Unknown
In-universe information
Father
Bill Henrickson
Mother
Ana
Half-brothers
Ben Henrickson Raymond Henrickson Wayne Henrickson Aaron Henrickson Lester Henrickson
Bill was born to Frank Harlow and Lois Henrickson at the Juniper Creek compound, a fictitious community that practices fundamentalist Mormon principles including polygamy. His grandfather, Orville Henrickson, was the prophet of Juniper Creek. His accountant was Roman Grant and they went out on a trip where Orville died under mysterious circumstances likely at the hands of Roman, who survived the crash. Roman Grant seized the power and the role of prophet shortly after Orville's death.
Bill spent most of his childhood in this community with his brother Joey and late sister Margaret, but at fourteen was thrown out of the compound by his father on instructions from Roman, who found Bill too much like his grandfather, and a potential threat to Grant's power. While attending college he met his first wife Barbara, who was a devout Mormon. Upon marrying her, he abandoned the principles of fundamentalist Mormonism and polygamy, and became a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
Soon after third child Tancy's birth, however, Barbara Henrickson was diagnosed with uterine cancer, from which she was expected to die. During her illness, Bill met Nicolette Grant, the daughter of the Juniper Creek prophet Roman Grant, and brought her to his home. Nicolette helped to comfort Barbara while she was sick and care for her children, and it was decided that when Barbara died Nicolette was to marry Bill and raise their children.[citation needed] Barbara, however, recovered from her illness, and instead of abandoning Nicolette, Bill decided to return to the principle of polygamy and take her as his second wife. Nicki is mother to two of Bill's children, Raymond and Wayne.
Meanwhile, Bill's hardware business Henrickson's Home Plus was expanding. One employee of his store was Margene Heffman. Margene did not excel at doing her job, so Bill took her into his household as a babysitter. Soon, Bill fell in love with Margene, and took her as his third wife. Margene later gave birth to two sons, Aaron and Lester, and a daughter, Nell.
After marrying Margene, Bill moved his family to a set of three adjacent houses, connected by a common back yard, in Sandy, Utah, a suburb of Salt Lake City, and opened a second Henrickson Home Plus at a new location. Since moving, Bill has seen a number of problems, the main one being demands for a percentage of his income from Roman Grant. In addition, he has had to deal with the problems of impotence and Nicolette's credit card debt, but has continued to love and protect his family.
In 2007 he and his business partner Don Embry decide to invest in slot machines, though this leads to a problem with another FLDS family, the Greenes. Both Roman and the head of the Greenes, Hollis Greene, fear that Bill is the next prophet. Bill arranges to turn state's evidence against the Greenes and go undercover for the FBI, as the Greenes are wanted for murder and extortion in Utah and in Mexico.
Bill's relationship with his three wives is complex. He would consider having an affair with another woman adulterous, but he does have a flirtation with a possible fourth wife. Bill claims he is completely in love with all three wives, and that he was moved by the Holy Spirit to choose them. Barb is head wife - the only legal marriage - and the one he can acknowledge in public. Margene and Nicki must say to others that they are single. Bill seems to argue the most with Nicki, who causes problems such as accidentally exposing their polygamy on several occasions, her credit card debt, and her jealous nature. However, he appreciates Nicki's unflinching devotion to the Principle. Bill's affections for Margene are in league with his affections for head wife Barb: she being the youngest and barely out of her teens, she has the largest sexual appetite (it is implied that Bill's sex life with his other two wives has dwindled considerably), she has the most child-bearing years left, and she causes the least trouble of all his wives (it's implied that she would cause more if she had a better understanding of the conflicts that surround the household, such as the atrocities between the compounds). In the 2007 season finale, Barb tells him that she "outed" them to the neighbors as polygamous because Margene wanted to be a surrogate mother and Barb would not go along with that. Bill tells Barb that as his first wife he needs her the most and offers her membership on the board of the gaming company.
Season 3
Bill tries to attract partners for his casino business plan. The family continues to date Ana and tries to decide when and who should give birth to the next child. Bill gets an answer about the casino. Both Bill and Adaleen try to further their agenda with Rhonda. Lois is on the run and comes to Bill for help. Bill makes a proposition to Alby. The tension between Bill and Nicki reaches a head when Bill asks for the two to be unsealed.
Ana gives her answer to the family's proposal. She marries then divorces the family shortly after. Bill gets entangled with a collector who is trying to get a hold of a historical document Alby is selling.
In the season finale, Bill forms a new church following their exile from Juniper Creek and Barb's excommunication.
Season 4
With the grand opening of the Blackfoot Magic Casino only days away, the Henricksons make last-minute preparations under the skeptical eye of Tommy Flute, son of Billʼs partner Jerry.
In the 6th episode, it was revealed that Ana is pregnant and that she is also engaged. Bill finds out that his son Ben has romantic feeling for Margene and bans him from the house.
Season 5
It is revealed that Margene was 16 when they got married; she had lied that her age was 18. Barb, his first wife, struggles with her place within the newly formed church and demands a priesthood holder position that Bill cannot offer. Nikki, his second wife, struggles with learning about an affair between her daughter Cara Lyn and her much older math teacher. Bill is shot in the series finale by his neighbor Carl after a dispute. With his dying words, Bill asks Barb to give him a blessing signifying his acceptance of her priesthood and respective place in the family. Nikki and Cara Lyn have a conversation that solidifies their relationship, while Margene fulfills her dream to travel to Central America and volunteer. Bill's 'ghost' is last seen sitting at the head of his dining room table watching his three wives.
Polygyny is the most common and accepted form of polygamy around the world, entailing the marriage of a man with several women.
Polygamy was practiced by leaders of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints for more than half of the 19th century, and practiced publicly from 1852 to 1890 by between 20 and 30 percent of Latter-day Saint families.
The Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints is a religious sect of the fundamentalist Mormon denominations whose members practice polygamy. It is estimated that 6,000 to 10,000 members reside within the congregate sister cities of Hildale, Utah and Colorado City, Arizona; Eldorado, Texas; Westcliffe, Colorado; Mancos, Colorado; Creston and Bountiful, British Columbia; and Pringle, South Dakota.
Warren Steed Jeffs is an American religious leader who has been convicted of several sex crimes and two assisted sex crimes involving children. He is the president of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, a polygamous movement. There is no affiliation with the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. In 2011, he was convicted of two felony counts of child sexual assault, for which he is serving a life sentence.
Ervil Morrell LeBaron was the leader of a polygamous Mormon fundamentalist group who ordered the killings of many of his opponents, using the religious doctrine of blood atonement to justify the murders. He was sentenced to life in prison for orchestrating the murder of an opponent, and died there in 1981.
Big Love is an American drama television series that aired on HBO from March 12, 2006, to March 20, 2011. It stars Bill Paxton as the patriarch of a fundamentalist Mormon family in contemporary Utah that practices polygamy, with Jeanne Tripplehorn, Chloë Sevigny, and Ginnifer Goodwin portraying his wives. The series charts the family's life in and out of the public sphere in their Salt Lake City suburb, as well as their associations with a fundamentalist compound in the area. It features key supporting performances from Amanda Seyfried, Grace Zabriskie, Daveigh Chase, Matt Ross, Mary Kay Place, Bruce Dern, Melora Walters, and Harry Dean Stanton.
Nicolette Eugenia "Nicki" Grant is a character in Big Love, an HBO television series set among contemporary polygamists in Utah. The role is played by Chloë Sevigny. The show focuses on the family of Bill Henrickson; Nicki is the second of Henrickson's three wives, and the mother of three of his children: Cara Lynn, Wayne, and Raymond.
Barbara "Barb" Dutton Henrickson is a character on HBO's Big Love portrayed by Jeanne Tripplehorn. Barb is the first wife of Bill Henrickson. Barb was raised in a traditional Mormon family, outside polygamy. Bill and Barb met while in college, and married soon afterwards. Together, they had three children. Barb almost died of uterine cancer after the birth of Tancy "Teeny" Henrickson, the youngest of Barb's children, right before Bill married his second wife Nicolette "Nicki" Grant and later, his third wife Margene Heffman.
Albert "Alby" Grant, played by Matt Ross, is a fictional character from the HBO series Big Love. The character is loosely based on the real life polygamist leader Warren Jeffs.
Roman Grant is a fictional character in the HBO series, Big Love, and is portrayed by Harry Dean Stanton. He was the prophet of the Juniper Creek Compound, and is the father of Nicolette Grant and Alby Grant. The character is loosely based on the real life polygamist leader Rulon Jeffs.
Rhonda Volmer is a fictional character in the HBO series Big Love, and is portrayed by Daveigh Chase. She is introduced in the series as the 15-year-old bride-to-be of Juniper Creek cult leader Roman Grant.
Benjamin "Ben" Henrickson is a character on the HBO series Big Love. He is portrayed by Douglas Smith. Ben is the second child and oldest son of Bill Henrickson with his first and once legal wife, Barbara Henrickson. As of "The Lost Boys", he is 17 years old. He becomes a priesthood holder in season 2.
Polygamy is the practice of having more than one spouse at the same time. Specifically, polygyny is the practice of one man taking more than one wife while polyandry is the practice of one woman taking more than one husband. Polygamy is a common marriage pattern in some parts of the world. In North America, polygamy has not been a culturally normative or legally recognized institution since the continent's colonization by Europeans.
Polygamy is "the practice or custom of having more than one wife or husband at the same time." Polygamy has been practiced by many cultures throughout history.
Joseph Smith, the founder of the Latter Day Saint movement, privately taught and practiced polygamy. After Smith's death in 1844, the church he established splintered into several competing groups. Disagreement over Smith's doctrine of "plural marriage" has been among the primary reasons for multiple church schisms.
The term placement marriage refers to arranged marriages between members of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. Placement marriage is believed and practiced by members of the FLDS Church to show their commitment and obedience in order to obtain salvation for themselves and their parents; it might be considered “the most visible outward symbol of members’ devotion."
Sarah Elizabeth Henrickson is a character on the HBO series Big Love. She is portrayed by Amanda Seyfried. Sarah is the eldest child of Bill Henrickson with his first and legal wife Barbara Henrickson. Though only a supporting character in the first two seasons, Sarah became popular in the show in its third season until actress Amanda Seyfried decided to depart the show to focus on her movie career at the end of season four. She returned in the series finale in the last scene.
Irene Spencer was an American author and a widow of Verlan LeBaron, brother of former prophet Joel LeBaron of the Church of the Firstborn of the Fulness of Times, a fundamentalist Mormon offshoot.
Alma Adelbert "Del" Timpson, was an American Mormon fundamentalist leader. He was involved with a number of Mormon denominations, including the mainstream LDS Church, followed by the Council of Friends, and eventually heading the Centennial Park group, a fundamentalist sect headquartered in Centennial Park, Arizona. In each denomination he held positions of importance within the priesthood and leadership structures.
Margene "Margie" Heffman is a character on Big Love, the fictional HBO television series set among contemporary polygamists in Utah. The role is played by Ginnifer Goodwin. The show focuses on the family of Bill Henrickson; Margene is the third of Henrickson's three wives, and the mother of three of Henrickson's children: Aaron, Lester, and Nell.
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![<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nicolette Grant</span> A main character on HBOs [[Big Love]]](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/2/22/Big-love-chloe-sevigny6.jpg)
