6 (in the original television series) 12–13 (in the films) 15 (in Wednesday; 16, as of season 1 episode 6)
In-universe information
Full name
Wednesday Friday Addams (Wednesday after Morticia's favourite poem which has the line "Wednesday's child is full of woe", Friday because Wednesday was born on friday the 13th, and Addams is the family surname)
Gender
Female
Family
Gomez (father) Morticia (mother) Pugsley (brother) Pubert Addams (youngest brother, Addams Family Values) Wednesday Jr. (younger sister, Halloween with the New Addams Family) Pugsley Jr. (youngest brother, Halloween with the New Addams Family) Fester (originally maternal great-uncle in the 1964 series, paternal uncle from then on) Pancho (paternal uncle, Halloween with the New Addams Family) Debbie Jellinsky Addams (paternal aunt via marriage to Fester, Addams Family Values; deceased) Grandmama Addams (paternal grandmother) Granny Frump (maternal grandmother) Ophelia Frump (maternal aunt) Goody Addams (ancestor; Wednesday)
Wednesday Addams is a character from the Addams Family multimedia franchise created by American cartoonist Charles Addams. She is typically portrayed as a morbid and emotionally reserved child that is fascinated by the macabre, often identified by her pale skin and black pigtails.
Addams Family members were unnamed in The New Yorker cartoons that first appeared in 1938. The character that would later be known as Wednesday Addams first appeared in the August 26, 1944, issue of The New Yorker in an illustration captioned, "Well, don't come whining to me. Go tell him you'll poison him right back." When the characters were adapted for the 1964 television series, Charles Addams named Wednesday based on the Monday's Child nursery rhyme line: "Wednesday's child is full of woe". Actress and poet Joan Blake, an acquaintance of Charles Addams, offered the idea for the name.[1] Wednesday is the only daughter of Gomez and Morticia Addams and the sister of Pugsley Addams. Earlier adaptations depict her as the younger sibling, while later adaptations depict Wednesday as the elder Addams child.
Appearance and personality
Wednesday Addams is a young girl (in the original series, she is about six, in the first original movie she is perhaps 8 to 10 years old, and about 13 in its sequel, as seems to be the case in the animated films; in the Netflix series she is 15 and 16) who is obsessed with death and is described as brilliant, with a penchant for doing odd scientific experiments. Wednesday does most of her experiments on her brother Pugsley Addams for "fun" or for punishment. Wednesday has sometimes been shown as caring about Pugsley, but has also often been shown actively carrying out his execution; not that Pugsley typically seems to mind. She enjoys raising spiders and researching the Bermuda Triangle. She has a tendency to startle people due to her gothic appearance, and macabre interests.
Wednesday's most notable physical features are her pale skin and long, dark braided pigtails. She seldom expresses her emotions, but is generally bitter, often sporting a withering stare, rarely breaking eye contact. Wednesday usually wears a black dress with a white collar, black stockings, and black shoes. In the TV series, her middle name is "Friday",.[2] This is retained in the Netflix series which further clarifies this is because she was born on Friday the 13th.
In the 1960s series, she is a far more sweet-natured child than the morose and spooky little girl of the original comics, serving as something of a foil to the more legitimately bizarre personas of her parents and brother; although her favorite hobby is raising spiders, she is also a ballerina. She is stated to be six years old in the television series pilot episode. Wednesday's favorite toy is her Marie Antoinette doll, which her brother guillotines (at her request). She also paints pictures (including a picture of trees with human heads) and writes a poem dedicated to her favorite pet spider, Homer. Wednesday is deceptively strong; she is able to bring her father down with a judo hold. Although she is obsessed with death, the macabre, and enjoys being miserable, she is also good-natured, smiles and dances often, and with a slight distaste for torture.
In the 1991 film, Wednesday is depicted as having a significantly darker personality than that of the 1960s TV series, and a far more malevolent one than that of the original comics. She harbours openly sadistic tendencies, and has a deeply morbid, stoic, and detachedly acerbic personality. She is shown to have a deep fascination with the Bermuda Triangle (a detail retained for several subsequent incarnations of the character share) amongst other-such unusual interests, and a deep admiration for her late great-aunt, Calpurnia Addams, who was burned as a witch in 1706 after she'd danced naked through the streets and having "enslaved a minister". In the 1993 sequel, she was expanded to be even more malicious still; burying a live cat for no discernable reason, trying to execute her baby brother, Pubert, by guillotine, burning down Camp Chippewa (along with the camp's counsellors), and finally literally scaring her would-be love-interest, Joel, to death.
In the animated series and Canadian TV series The New Addams Family from the 1990s, Wednesday's appearance is based upon that of the films and, (as with most later iterations of the character) she retains her more malevolent personality, love of torture, and fascination with the mad and macabre; she is portrayed as having her parents' consent to tie Pugsley to a chair and torture him with a branding iron and ice pick. In the 1990s animated series, no one is allowed to touch Wednesday's pigtails.
In The Addams Family Broadway musical, Wednesday is 18 years old, has short hair rather than the long braids in her other appearances and, uniquely among latter versions of the character, her darker qualities and sociopathic traits have been toned down, bearing little resemblance to other versions of the character. She is shown to be in love with (and even revealed to be engaged to) Lucas Beineke. In the musical, Wednesday is also explicitly stated to be older than Pugsley.
In the web series Adult Wednesday Addams, Wednesday once more has the dark, sociopathic and sadistic nature of the 1991 and 1993 films (although, as with most versions of the character, any particularly brutal or horrific acts are only ever implied and off-camera) and her long braids, connecting with the events and the depiction of the movies and the original cartoons. This Wednesday deals with being an adult after moving out of her family home.[3]
In the 2019 animated version of the same title, Wednesday again retains her stoic nature and sadistic tendencies; trying to bury Pugsley, and tormenting a bully at school. However, despite her gothic appearance and strange demeanour, she's also bored with her macabre and sheltered life; wanting to see the world despite Morticia's objections. This leads to her befriending Parker Needler and the two taking on several of each other's traits, with Wednesday at one point wearing colorful clothes - before ultimately deciding she prefers dressing in darker clothes anyway. In the 2021 sequel, her love of science experiments is again revived. She also often feels disconnected from the rest of her family for her differences, later realizing that being different is "the most Addams-y thing to be" and growing to love her differences, and has a pet squid named Socrates. Her braided pigtails end in nooses in the first film, and weights in the second.
In the Netflix series Wednesday, the titular character dabbles in detective work and writes gothic mystery novels. She tries to publish her works, but they are seen as far too shocking and macabre. Once again, Wednesday retains the more stoic and malevolent attributes established in the original films of the 1990s, but is shown to be notably softer, and opens up over the course of the series, finding a best friend; the colorfully-clad werewolf Enid, becoming entangled in something of a love triangle, and displaying more overtly affectionate care for her brother, Pugsley. The Wednesday of the series also has psychic abilities, and can foresee important things in a person's past or future through touch. Because of her abilities, Wednesday is a termed a "Raven" as her visions are largely negative, which causes her to distance herself from the others; thinking she cannot trust them, though this changes over the course of the first season. Her mother, whom Wednesday has a strained relationship with in the show, possesses similar psychic abilities, telling Wednesday that their visions are based on their own attitude, with Morticia calling herself a "Dove" since her visions are usually comparatively positive. Wednesday also shares a similar appearance to her distant ancestor, Goody Addams, who was a "witch of great strength" and had the same precognitive powers. Beyond her aforementioned interests in writing and investigation, some of Wednesday's other hobbies in the series include playing the cello and, much as in the films; fencing. She is also shown to speak both German and Italian. Wednesday is also stated to be allergic to any color other than black, white, or gray (which is to say, any color at all).
Cindy Henderson (voice): the animated television series The New Scooby-Doo Movies (Wednesday Is Missing; 1972), the animated television series The Addams Family (1973),
Noelle Von Sonn: the pilot of the television show The Addams Family Fun House (1973),[4]
In the 1977 television holiday-themed special, Halloween with the New Addams Family, Lisa Loring plays a grown-up Wednesday, who mostly entertains their party guests with her flute, and can hear and understand coded help messages by bound-up members of the family, and dispatch help to free them. In the time interval between the original TV series and this television movie, her parents had two more children who look just like the original Pugsley and Wednesday, and they appropriately are called Wednesday Jr and Pugsley Jr, respectively.
The Addams Family (1991) and its sequel Addams Family Values (1993)[5] depict a gloomier Wednesday, more akin to the original comics than the version originated in the 1960's TV series. However, the films further develop Wednesday's character, depicting her as a considerably more macabre and sinister individual than the comics had previously established.
In both films, Wednesday is played by Christina Ricci. Wednesday's personality is markedly severe, with a sharp deadpan wit, ominous demeanour, sociopathic overtones, and an intense preoccupation with her desire to severely harm (or even kill) her two brothers, Pugsley and, later, Pubert. All of this, of course, is played to comedic effect, with much of the humour of the character being derived from the sheer absurdity of such a young girl possessing so grave a demeanour, engaging in so many horrific and disturbing pursuits, and all while being arguably the most immoral member of an already considerably amoral family. Consequently, much of Wednesday's personality, as established in the 1991 and 1993 films, has become so synonymous with the character that virtually every iteration since has subsequently been modelled on Ricci's depiction.
In the sequel Addams Family Values (1993), Wednesday and Pugsley are sent against their will to a summer camp for "privileged young adults" called Camp Chippewa. Here they meet Joel Glicker (played by David Krumholtz)—a neurotic, allergy-ridden wallflower camper with an overbearing mother— who quickly develops an infatuation with Wednesday. Unable to leave, Wednesday does her best to avoid participating in the many camp activities being forced upon her - most notably, her camp counselors' Gary and Becky's, incessant attempts to compel her to act in Gary's culturally tone-deaf musical production of the first Thanksgiving. However, despite their efforts to escape, Pugsley, Wednesday, and Joel are ultimately caught, locked in the "Harmony Hut", and forced to watch a seemingly endless progression of upbeat family films to reconditon them out of their antisocial behavior. On finally being released from the hut, Wednesday feigns a cheery new demeanour to fool her captors and finally agrees to play the role of Pocahontas in Gary's play (though her smile mostly ends up frightening the other campers; particularly newfound nemesis - and the star of Gary's horrendous play - Amanda[6]). During the play, Wednesday leads the other social outcasts of the camp—who the counselors have also all cast in the roles of Native Americans—in a revolt that ultimately results in the capture of Gary, Becky, and Amanda, whom Wednesday has bound, before striking a match and leaving the camp in flames behind her, Pugsley and Joel in tow. Before she heads back for home, Wednesday shares a kiss with Joel, seemingly reciprocating his affections. However, in the midst of a later conversation in which Joel attempts to discuss his feelings with her, and the possibility of a future romantic relationship between them, the tender moment (and the film) is abruptly ended when Wednesday quite literally scares him to death.
Zoe Richardson appeared at the Birmingham Hippodrome as Wednesday Addams in a Musical adaptation of The Addams Family on Ice in November 2007.
The Addams Family musical debuted on Broadway in April 2010, with Krysta Rodriguez playing Wednesday. The character is now 18 years old, has "become a woman", and no longer sports her signature pigtails. In March 2011, Krysta Rodriguez was replaced with Rachel Potter as Wednesday in the Broadway cast. The production began its first national tour in September 2011, with Cortney Wolfson cast in the role of Wednesday Addams.
The web series Adult Wednesday Addams (2013–2015) gained media attention with the third episode of Season 2 in which Wednesday punished a pair of catcallers.[7] While this behavior gained attention from early fans, The Tee & Charles Addams Foundation, copyright owners of The Addams Family, flagged the series for copyright violation resulting in the series being temporarily pulled from YouTube,[8] however as of 2016 the series has been reinstated.
Chloë Grace Moretz voices Wednesday in the 2019 animated movie and in the sequel, which was released on October 1, 2021. The whole family is mostly designed to resemble the initial cartoon depictions, with added details; for instance, Wednesday's hair braids end in nooses in the first film, and weights in the second.
Jenna Ortega portrays a teenaged iteration of Wednesday in the 2022 Netflix series of the same name. Largely modelled on the Wednesday of the 1990 original film and its sequel, this version of the character retains much of the caustic wit, precociouness, cold hostility, contemptuousness, and deadpan delivery originated in Ricci's portrayal. However, unlike previous incarnations, this Wednesday is also shown to possess supernatural abilities; with the series as a whole taking on more conventional fantasy elements than previous adaptations. Uniquely, Wednesday's family is also largely absent for much of the series, and in place of the close-knit familial bonds typical of the otherwise asocial character, instead interpersonal focus is placed upon newly formed friendships and a burgeoning love triangle. Ortega's performance in the series received acclaim from critics;[9][10] she was nominated for a Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Television Series Musical or Comedy and for an Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series.[11][12] The series was renewed for a second season.
↑ In the BroadwaymusicalThe Addams Family, Morticia refers to Grandmama as Gomez and Uncle Fester's mother, to which Gomez reacts with surprise and says that he had thought she was Morticia's mother. Morticia later says that Grandmama "may not even be part of this family", referencing Grandmama's ever-changing relation to the family.
The Addams Family is a fictional family created by American cartoonist Charles Addams. They originally appeared in a series of 150 standalone single-panel comics, about half of which were originally published in The New Yorker between 1938 and their creator's death in 1988. They have since been adapted to other media, such as television, film, video games, comic books, a musical, and merchandise.
Uncle Fester (Addams) is a member of the fictional Addams Family and has been played by numerous actors, beginning with Jackie Coogan in the television series The Addams Family (1964–1966).
Thing T. Thing, often referred to as just Thing, is a fictional character in The Addams Family series. The Addamses called it "Thing" because it was something that could not be identified, being originally an unseen creature in the original cartoons, but starting with the live-action television series it was settled to be a disembodied hand. It is known as "Mãozinha" in Brazil, "Cosa" (Thing) in Spain, "Dedos" (Fingers) in Hispanic America, "Mano" (Hand) in Italy, "La Chose" in French speaking countries, "eiskaltes Händchen" in German, "Rączka" in Polish, and "Izé" in Hungarian.
Addams Family Values is a 1993 American supernatural black comedy film directed by Barry Sonnenfeld and written by Paul Rudnick, based on the characters created by Charles Addams. It is the sequel to The Addams Family (1991). The film features almost all the main cast members from the original film, including Anjelica Huston, Raul Julia, Christopher Lloyd, Christina Ricci, Carel Struycken, Jimmy Workman, and Christopher Hart. Joan Cusack and Carol Kane joined the cast for this film.
Morticia Addams is a fictional character from the Addams Family multimedia franchise created by American Charles Addams in 1933. She plays the role of the family's reserved matriarch. Morticia Addams has been portrayed by several actresses in various Addams Family media, including Carolyn Jones in the television series The Addams Family (1964–1966), Anjelica Huston in the feature films The Addams Family (1991) and Addams Family Values (1993), and Catherine Zeta-Jones in the streaming television series Wednesday (2022).
Lurch is a fictional character created by American cartoonist Charles Addams as a butler to the Addams Family. In the original television series, Lurch was played by Ted Cassidy.
Grandmama is a fictional character in the Addams Family television and film series. First appearing in the works of cartoonist Charles Addams, she is a supporting character in the film, television, and stage adaptations.
Gomez Addams is the patriarch of the fictional Addams Family, created by cartoonist Charles Addams for The New Yorker magazine in the 1940s and subsequently portrayed on television, in film and on the stage.
Addams Family Reunion is a 1998 American comedy film based on the characters from the cartoon created by cartoonist Charles Addams. It is the sequel to The Addams Family (1991) and Addams Family Values (1993). Directed by Dave Payne, the film was intended to serve as a pilot for a new proposed television series produced by Saban. The film stars Daryl Hannah and Tim Curry as Morticia and Gomez Addams respectively while Carel Struycken and Christopher Hart's hand are the only ones to reprise their roles from the last two films. The film's plot focused on the eccentric, macabre aristocratic Addams family mistakenly arriving at the wrong family reunion and encountering a man who seeks to commit murder in order to inherit a fortune.
Pugsley Pubert Addams is a member of the fictional Addams Family, created by American cartoonist Charles Addams.
The Addams Family is an American Gothic sitcom based on Charles Addams's New Yorker cartoons. The 30-minute television series took the unnamed characters in the single-panel gag cartoons and gave them names, back stories, and a household setting. The series was spearheaded by David Levy, who created and developed it with Donald Saltzman in cooperation with cartoonist Addams, who gave each character a name and description. Shot in black-and-white, The Addams Family aired for two seasons on ABC from September 18, 1964, to April 8, 1966, for a total of 64 episodes — its opening theme was composed and sung by Vic Mizzy.
The Addams Family is an American animated sitcom adaptation of the Charles Addams single-panel comic for The New Yorker. The show was produced by Hanna-Barbera Productions for Saturday mornings in 1973, and was later rebroadcast the following season. Jackie Coogan and Ted Cassidy, who played Uncle Fester and Lurch, respectively, in the 1960s television series, returned in voice-over roles. The cast also included 10-year-old Jodie Foster, who performed the voice of Pugsley Addams. The show's theme music was completely different and had no lyrics or finger snapping, but retained a recognizable part of the four-note score from the live-action series.
The Addams Family is an American animated television series produced by H-B Production Co. and based on the eponymous comic strip characters by Charles Addams. It is the second cartoon show to feature the characters, and ran from September 12, 1992, to November 6, 1993, on ABC. The series' development began in the wake of the successful 1991 Addams Family feature film. Two seasons were produced. It remained part of ABC's Saturday Morning lineup until it was replaced by Fudge in January 1995.
The Addams Family is a musical comedy with music and lyrics by Andrew Lippa and book by Marshall Brickman and Rick Elice. The show is based upon The Addams Family characters created by Charles Addams in his single-panel gag cartoons, which depict a ghoulish American family with an affinity for all things macabre. Although numerous film and television adaptations of Addams' cartoons exist, the musical is the first stage show based on the characters. The Addams Family is also the first show produced by Elephant Eye Theatricals.
The New Addams Family is a Gothic sitcom that aired from October 1998 to August 1999 on YTV in Canada and Fox Family in the United States and CITV in the United Kingdom on weekends. It was produced by Shavick Entertainment and Saban Entertainment as a revival of the 1960s series The Addams Family. The series was shot in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.
The Addams Family are fictional characters who originated in a series of comics created in 1938 by Charles Addams in The New Yorker magazine.
Jenna Marie Ortega is an American actress. She began her career as a child and received recognition for her role as a younger version of Jane in The CW comedy-drama series Jane the Virgin (2014–2019). She then won an Imagen Award for her leading role as Harley Diaz in the Disney Channel series Stuck in the Middle (2016–2018). She played Ellie Alves in the thriller series You (2019) and starred in the family film Yes Day (2021), both for Netflix.
The Addams Family is a 2019 animated supernatural black comedy film based on the characters from the cartoon created by cartoonist Charles Addams. It was directed by Conrad Vernon and Greg Tiernan, with a screenplay by Matt Lieberman and a story by Lieberman, Erica Rivinoja, and Vernon. The film stars the voices of Oscar Isaac, Charlize Theron, Chloë Grace Moretz, Finn Wolfhard, Nick Kroll, Snoop Dogg, Bette Midler, and Allison Janney.
The Addams Family 2 is a 2021 animated supernatural black comedy film based on the characters created by Charles Addams and the sequel to The Addams Family (2019). It was directed by Greg Tiernan and Conrad Vernon and co-directed by Laura Brousseau and Kevin Pavlovic, from a screenplay by Dan Hernandez, Benji Samit, Ben Queen, and Susanna Fogel, and a story by Hernandez and Samit. The film stars the voices of Oscar Isaac, Charlize Theron, Chloë Grace Moretz, Nick Kroll, Javon Walton, Wallace Shawn, Snoop Dogg, Bette Midler, and Bill Hader. It tells the story of the Addams family as they go on a road trip.
Wednesday is an American Gothic coming-of-age supernatural mystery comedy thriller television series based on the character Wednesday Addams by Charles Addams. Created by Alfred Gough and Miles Millar, it stars Jenna Ortega as the titular character, with Gwendoline Christie, Riki Lindhome, Jamie McShane, Hunter Doohan, Percy Hynes White, Emma Myers, Joy Sunday, Georgie Farmer, Naomi J. Ogawa, Christina Ricci, and Moosa Mostafa appearing in supporting roles. Four out of the eight episodes of the first season were directed by Tim Burton, who also serves as executive producer. The first season revolves around Wednesday Addams, who attempts to solve a murder mystery at her new school.
References
↑ Addams Family Values, Letters, The New Yorker, July 30, 2018
↑ "Wednesday Leaves Home" (November 20, 1964) Season 1, Episode 10, at 06:30
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