List of South Park characters

Stone and Parker voice most of the male South Park characters.[2][7] Mary Kay Bergman voiced the majority of the female characters until her death in 1999, near the end of the third season.[8] Eliza Schneider and Mona Marshall succeeded Bergman in 1999, and respectively 2000, with Schneider leaving the show in 2003, after the seventh season.[8] She was replaced by April Stewart, who, along with Marshall, continues to voice most of the female characters.[8] Bergman was originally listed in the credits under the alias Shannen Cassidy to protect her reputation as the voice of several Disney characters.[16] Stewart was originally credited under the name Gracie Lazar,[17] while Schneider was sometimes credited under her rock opera performance pseudonym Blue Girl.[18]

Some South Park staff members voice other recurring characters; supervising producer Jennifer Howell voices student Bebe Stevens,[7] writing consultant Vernon Chatman voices an anthropomorphic towel named Towelie,[7] and production supervisor John Hansen voices Mr. Slave, the former gay lover of Mr. Garrison.[19] South Park producer and storyboard artist Adrien Beard, who voices Token Black, the only African-American child in South Park, was recruited to voice the character "because he was the only black guy [in the] building" when Parker needed to quickly find someone to voice the character during the production of the season four (2000) episode "Cartman's Silly Hate Crime 2000".[20][21]

Stanley "Stan" Marsh is one of the show's four central characters and is voiced by and loosely based on series co-creator Trey Parker.[4][22] He first appeared in The Spirit of Christmas and is portrayed (in words of the show's official website) as "a normal, average, American, mixed-up kid".[23] Stan is a third- then fourth-grade student who commonly has extraordinary experiences not typical of conventional small-town life in his hometown of South Park. He is also commonly portrayed as the main protagonist of the series, as in most episodes he plays this role. He is well known for the phrase "Oh my God! They killed Kenny!" which he says in many episodes whenever Kenny is subjected to painful and often gruesome deaths, and this phrase is very well known throughout popular culture.

Kyle Broflovski is one of the show's four central characters and is voiced by and loosely based on series co-creator Matt Stone.[7] Having appeared first in The Spirit of Christmas shorts, he often displays the highest moral standard of all the boys and is usually depicted as the most intelligent.[24] When describing Kyle, Stone states that both he and the character are "reactionary", and susceptible to irritability and impatience.[25] In some instances, Kyle is the only child in his class to not initially indulge in a fad or fall victim to a ploy. This has resulted in both his eagerness to fit in, and his resentment and frustration.[24][26] Kyle is distinctive as one of the few Jewish children on the show, and because of this, he often feels like an outsider amongst the core group of characters.[25][27] His portrayal in this role is often dealt with satirically, and has elicited both praise and criticism from Jewish viewers.[6][28][29][30] In many episodes, Kyle contemplates ethics in beliefs, moral dilemmas, and contentious issues, and will often reflect on the lessons he has attained with a speech that often begins with "You know, I learned something today...".[31]

Eric Theodore Cartman first appeared in the 1992 short series The Spirit of Christmas and is voiced by Trey Parker.[7] Cartman has been portrayed as aggressive, prejudiced and emotionally unstable since his character's inception. These traits are significantly augmented in later seasons as his character evolves, and he begins to exhibit psychopathic and extremely manipulative behavior. He is depicted as highly intelligent, able to execute morally appalling plans and business ideas with success. Among the show's main child characters, Cartman is distinguished as "the fat kid",[2] for which he is continuously insulted and ridiculed.[32] Cartman is frequently portrayed as a villain whose actions set in motion the events serving as the main plot of an episode.[5] Other children and classmates are alienated by Cartman's insensitive, racist, homophobic, anti-semitic, misogynistic, lazy, self-righteous, and wildly insecure behavior.[33][34][35][36][37] Cartman often makes anti-semitic insults towards Kyle,[2][38] constantly teases Kenny for being poor,[39] particularly manipulates and mistreats Butters Stotch and displays an extreme disdain for hippies.[40][41] Though he is considered the main antagonist of the series, he has been portrayed as a protagonist or antihero on several occasions.

Kenneth "Kenny" McCormick is one of the shows' main characters who debuted in the 1992 shorts. His oft-muffled and indiscernible speech—the result of his parka hood covering his mouth—is voiced by co-creator Matt Stone.[7] He is friends with Stan and Kyle, while maintaining a friendship with Eric Cartman.[42] Kenny is regularly teased for living in poverty, particularly by Cartman.[39] Prior to Season Six, Kenny died in almost every episode, with only a few exceptions.[note 1] The nature of the deaths was often gruesome and portrayed in a comically absurd fashion,[43] and usually followed by Stan and Kyle respectively yelling "Oh my God! They killed Kenny!" and "You bastard(s)!".[44] In the episode "Kenny Dies", Kenny dies after developing a terminal muscular disease,[45] while Parker and Stone claimed that Kenny would not be returning in subsequent episodes and insisted they grew tired of having Kenny die in each episode.[46] For most of season six, his place is taken by Butters Stotch and Tweek Tweak.[47][48] Nevertheless, Kenny returned from the year-long absence in the season six finale "Red Sleigh Down", and has remained a starring character since, although he only appears once in 1 episode in Season 20. His character no longer dies each week, and has only been killed occasionally in episodes following his return.[49] Kenny's superhero alter ego, Mysterion, first appeared in the season 13 episode "The Coon".[50][51] It is revealed in the season 14 episode “Coon vs. Coon and Friends” that Kenny canonically has an ability to resurrect after dying, though he is always the only one who can ever remember dying, despite his friends always bearing witness. It is revealed that each time he dies, Kenny's mom spontaneously gives birth to him, and then is put back in his orange parka and in bed, to regenerate overnight. This was due to his parents’ involvement in the cult of Cthulhu, whose meetings they would only attend because of the free alcohol.

Kenny's role in the show is the least consistent of the four boys. His role in given episodes has fluctuated between a fully fledged member of the group for the show's first five seasons, and in other seasons been virtually absent.

Voiced by Matt Stone, Leopold "Butters" Stotch is cheerful, naive, optimistic, sweet-natured, gullible and more passive relative to the show's other child characters. He can become increasingly anxious, especially when faced with the likelihood of his parents' punishments, which is usually being grounded, usually, for no good reason, such as when Butters threatened to "kill" himself as part of a scheme by Stan, Kyle, Kenny and Cartman, and his parents said they would "only" ground him for two weeks if he came down. Butters usually doesn't indulge in a foul-mouthed language like the other children and speaks with a mild stutter and tends to fidget with his hands. The other characters perceive him as "nerdy" and he obliviously maintains a very wholesome attitude and mild disposition despite the tragedy and abuse that he frequently encounters from both his classmates and parents. His happy-go-lucky persona has been described as resembling that of a typical 1950s sitcom child character and is usually presented in stark contrast to the harsh treatment he receives at the hands of his friends and strict parents, Butters appeared initially as a background character in first the episode, "Cartman Gets an Anal Probe", but gradually became one of Parker and Stone's favorite characters. Besides wanting to genuinely surprise fans, Parker and Stone killed Kenny at the end of season five to allow an opportunity to provide a major role for Butters, as his following episode, revolves entirely around him. Stan, Kyle, and Cartman allow him into their group as the "fourth friend", but eventually adopts his super-villain alter ego of Professor Chaos, whom, in spite of his name, only seems to be able to screw things up that either nobody takes notice of, or can be easily resolved. Despite this, Butters has continued to be a major character in recent seasons and continues to be a frequent source of help to Cartman, while also being the main victim of Cartman's constant pranking and manipulation.

Randy and Sharon Marsh are the most prominent set of parents on the show. They are a middle-class married couple who raise their 10-year-old son Stan and 13-year-old daughter Shelly.

Randy is 45 years old, and like Parker's father, is a geologist, making his first appearance in the series while monitoring a seismometer in the episode "Volcano". He was depicted to work at the South Park Center for Seismic Activity, and was later shown to work for the U. S. Geological Survey. He was briefly fired from his geologist job near the end of the 12th season, and quit briefly during the end of the 14th season, but has since been-rehired both times. He also serves on the city council, specializing in the town's parks and public grounds.

A recurring character trait of Randy's is his being prone to overreacting and obsessively seizing upon irrational ideas and fads, whether by himself or as part of a large contingent of the town's adult population.

Though the show frequently depicts him to be a moderate to heavy drinker, numerous episodes have dealt with Randy's belligerent and negligent behavior brought upon by his severe intoxication.

A few instances of personal achievement have made Randy a hero in the eyes of his friends and fellow townsfolk, such as being awarded a Nobel Prize, and twice setting a record for producing the world's largest piece of human excrement. Randy has conversely been subjected to ridicule from the entire town, ranging from when he inadvertently accelerated the effects of global warming by suggesting the entire populace take on a more uninhibited approach to passing gas in order to avoid the hazard of spontaneous combustion, to when he reluctantly exclaimed "niggers" while attempting to solve a puzzle during a live broadcast of Wheel of Fortune. In addition to the professional singing he did in his youth, Randy can also play guitar, as seen in "Guitar Queer-O". He can also speak a little Mongolian, having learned some in college, as seen in the episode "Child Abduction Is Not Funny".

The episode "Gluten Free Ebola" revealed that Randy produces music and performs as the noted musician Lorde, a fact that was explored subsequently in "The Cissy". This has become a running gag that has continued through multiple episodes, such as suggesting much of the Marsh family's income comes from his music career as Lorde rather than his geology job. As of season 22, Randy quit his job and moved the family to the countryside where he sets up Tegridy Farms to grow and distribute cannabis.

Sharon is a 42-year-old receptionist. Sharon has never been portrayed in a work capacity in the series, but was depicted as the receptionist at Tom’s Rhinoplasty, a local surgical clinic, in South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut and South Park: The Stick of Truth.

Herbert J. Garrison, formerly known as Janet Garrison,[52] was the boys’ fourth grade teacher at South Park Elementary until his dismissal, after which he mounted a campaign that resulted in his election as President of the United States. Garrison is particularly cynical, especially in comparison with the rest of South Park's adults, and he is one of the few characters to ever break the fourth wall on the show.

For the first eight seasons of the series, the character was known as Mr. Garrison. He underwent a sex change in the season 9 premiere "Mr. Garrison's Fancy New Vagina". The character was thereafter known to the other characters as Janet Garrison or Mrs. Garrison, despite being unmarried. In the season 12 episode "Eek, a Penis!", he undergoes yet another sex change operation, returning to being a man.

Mr. Garrison was in part inspired by a kindergarten teacher who taught Trey Parker, and who used a puppet named Mr. Hat as a teaching resource. Mr. Garrison was also inspired by a British literature professor Parker had at the University of Colorado; Parker said the voice he uses for the character is a dead-accurate impression of him. Parker said he believes Mr. Garrison has become one of the most complex characters on South Park, particularly due to his ever-growing relationship with Mr. Hat and his sexuality and gender issues; Parker said of Mr. Garrison, "He's the soap opera element to the whole series. [He] has a real story going on."[53]

Gerald and Sheila Broflovski are an upper-middle-class, Jewish married couple who raise their ten-year-old son Kyle and three-year-old Canadian son Ike.

Gerald is a lawyer who also serves on South Park's council as the city attorney,[54] and his role in this profession has been put on display in episodes such as "Sexual Harassment Panda" and "Chef Goes Nanners" in which a trial or legal issue plays a large part in the plot.[55][56][57] He is a generally kind, amiable person, though at intervals he has been shown to assume a snobbish attitude that disaffects his friends and family. Examples include the episode "Chicken Pox" where it is revealed that he used to be close with Stuart McCormick when they were younger but that the two had a falling out due to economic differences or when he begins acting like an arrogant snob after buying a hybrid car in "Smug Alert!". In "Sexual Harassment Panda", Gerald repeatedly sued South Park Elementary (which was faultless in every case), and later every citizen of South Park, showing his shameless monetary greed and disregard for civil propriety. Gerald was once seen to have a repressed gambling problem,[58] and prior struggles with a fictional form of inhalant abuse known within the show as "cheesing".[55] Gerald is, in season 20 of the show, revealed to be an internet troll. His internet alias is 'Skankhunt42', and initially, everyone thinks that Eric Cartman is, in fact, Skankhunt42. When trolling, he makes provocative statements against women, and, most notably, creates images where he "puts a dick in [women's] mouths." He always drinks red wine and listens to music by Boston when trolling. His antics eventually place him in the news after trolling a Danish olympian making him of the two main antagonists of the entirety of season twenty alongside Lennart Bedrager.

Sheila made her first appearance in the season one episode "Death" (where she was originally named Carol), and she exhibits several traits commonly associated with those of a stereotypical Jewish mother. In the episode "It's a Jersey Thing", it is revealed that Sheila was originally from New Jersey, where she was known as "S-Wow Tittybang", and that she and Gerald moved to South Park to avoid having their newly conceived child grow up there. Apart from being briefly appointed to the fictional federal position of "Secretary of Offense" under the Clinton Administration, Sheila is a stay-at-home mother. In earlier seasons, Sheila often spearheaded public opposition to things she deemed harmful to children or to the Jewish community. She led a group to New York City to protest Terrance and Phillip, a Canadian comedy duo whose television show's toilet humor is what she believed to be a negative influence on Kyle.[59] Her outrage escalated in South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut when she further protested Terrance and Phillip by forming "Mothers Against Canada", which eventually instigated a war between Canada and the United States making her one of the main antagonists of the film. At the climax of the film, she takes her crusade against the duo to the extreme by shooting Terrance and Phillip, which fulfills an apocalyptic prophecy allowing Satan, his minions, and his lover Saddam Hussein to invade the Earth. This aspect has been toned down in recent years, and is more or less completely absent from newer episodes.

Jimmy Valmer is one of the boys' two handicapped classmates, alongside Timmy Burch. He is physically disabled, requiring forearm crutches in order to walk. His disability has never been specified on the show but seems visually and functionally similar to cerebral palsy. In Season 7 Episode 2 "Krazy Kripples", it is made clear that both Jimmy and Timmy were born with their disabilities. In any case, hampered by his legs, which in many cases he appears not to be able to use, Jimmy primarily uses his crutches both as substitutes for his legs and sometimes even as extra (weaponized) extensions for his arms. He prefers to be called "handi-capable".[60][61] Jimmy is able to speak coherently, and his various aspirations on several different levels of journalism over time also sometimes even makes him more articulate than any of the other children, though his speech is largely affected by his stuttering, and sometimes also his tendency to end some of his sentences with "...very much". He aspires to be a stand-up comedian, and is often featured performing his routines. His catchphrase during his routines is "Wow, what a terrific audience!"

Wendy Testaburger is the show's most prominent female student. Her best friend is Bebe Stevens, she is the on-and-off girlfriend of Stan. She is also the other voice of reason (besides Kyle). Wendy has previously been voiced by Karri Turner (in the unaired pilot), Mary Kay Bergman, Mona Marshall, Eliza Schneider, and is currently voiced by April Stewart. Fellow co-creator Matt Stone has also cited the name of Wendy Westerberg, the wife of an old friend from his childhood.[53] She wears a pink beret, a purple coat and yellow pants. She has long black hair with uneven bangs. Wendy made her first appearance unnamed, but clearly recognizable, in "The Spirit of Christmas".

Like her boyfriend Stan, Wendy is mature for her age, critical of popular trends, moral and intellectual, as well as being a feminist, as noted in many of her appearances. She campaigns in several episodes on causes such as breast cancer and the suffering of Bottlenose dolphins, often arguing with Eric Cartman who calls her a "bitch" or "ho" in response. Although the two generally only argue, he pushes her to the limit in the Season 12 (2008) episode "Breast Cancer Show Ever" wherein the two engage in a fight on the playground, in which Wendy badly beats up Cartman.

Wendy is known to be protective of her relationship with Stan. In the Season 1 (1997) episode "Tom's Rhinoplasty" when Stan, along with the other boys, falls in love with an attractive substitute teacher, Wendy accuses her of stealing Stan from her, and eventually formulates a complex plan to get her thrown into the sun. She also sometimes displays jealousy – in the Season 6 (2002) episode "Bebe's Boobs Destroy Society", her best friend, Bebe Stevens, receives more attention than she does because of Bebe's developing breasts. Wendy then gets breast implants, but the boys end up ridiculing her after only just realizing the control Bebe's breasts had on them. This behavior is somewhat contradicted by episodes such as "Stupid Spoiled Whore Video Playset" and "Dances with Smurfs" where she is more concerned with principles than trends and attention.

Wendy is very prominent in the show's earlier seasons, usually quarreling with Eric Cartman or reinforcing her relationship with Stan. She speaks in several episodes (especially in the first season) and is often chosen to help the boys out over her classmates. Wendy and Stan's relationship received less focus over the course of the Season 5 (2001), and she has only one minor role in Season 6 (2002). This culminates in her breakup with Stan and pairing with Token Black in "Raisins", after which she makes only scattered prominent appearances until the end of the eleventh season, where she gets back together with Stan in "The List". They subsequently pair up as partners on a field trip in "Super Fun Time", she beats Cartman in a fight in "Breast Cancer Show Ever" and in the episode "Elementary School Musical" Stan suspects that she may leave him for a popular boy called Bridon. Wendy is able to kiss Stan on the cheek in "Elementary School Musical" without his previous nauseated reaction.

Wendy was voted student council president, something first noted in "Bebe's Boobs Destroy Society" and re-addressed seven seasons later in "Dances with Smurfs", when Cartman becomes the morning announcer and starts spreading defaming comments about her—most notably her supposed genocide of the Smurfs. In response to the allegations, Wendy becomes a guest on Cartman's morning show and manipulates his own story of the Smurf holocaust before announcing her resignation and electing him as the new school council president, effectively relieving him of his morning announcement job. Throughout the episode, Stan solidly defends her.