Royal Tenenbaum
Royal is the much-maligned and difficult patriarch of the Tenenbaum family. He lives indulgently and selfishly, remaining absent from his children's lives for a long time, but coming back to get to know them when he finds himself out of money and with nowhere to go. Because he is so distrusted by his family, he devises a story about his imminent death in order to coerce his family into taking him back in and taking care of him. Even then, however, they don't really want to take care of him, since he's been such a louse his whole life. By the end, he has owned up to his own limitations as a father and repaired some of his relationships. He dies of a heart attack, after years of living rather recklessly, drinking, smoking, and eating hamburgers to excess.
Etheline Tenenbaum
Etheline is Royal's ex-wife, a sensible woman who has no time for Royal's antics. She and Royal divorced when the children were young, and she raised her kids with the best educations, pushing them to achieve success in their respective fields. In middle age, she has fallen in love with her accountant, Henry Sherman, who represents everything Royal isn't. Etheline is intelligent, elegant, and easily agitated by the drama that follows her ex-husband.
Richie Tenenbaum
Richie is one of the Tenenbaum children and was a pro tennis champion until he had a nervous breakdown and lost a crucial tennis match, soon after the wedding of his adopted sister Margot to her husband. Richie is kindhearted and compassionate, but also very eccentric and sensitive. After his breakdown, Richie spends his time on a cruise in the middle of the ocean, but when he hears that his father is terminally ill (or so he believes), he returns home and moves back into his old room. He is in love with his adopted sister, Margot, but very ashamed of his quasi-incestuous attraction. When he learns of all the affairs she has had, Richie slits his wrists, trying to commit suicide.
Chas Tenenbaum
Chas is the most neurotic and anxious Tenenbaum child. As a youngster he showed a special talent for business, breeding Dalmatian mice that he sold to pet stores in Little Tokyo. After enjoying a lot of success in business and starting a family, he lost his wife Rachel in a plane crash. This tragedy has made him especially antsy and post-traumatically fixated on safety. He fears that his children will be taken from him suddenly, just like his wife, and as a matter of safety, moves them all back into the Tenenbaum residence. Of all Royal's children, Chas feels the most malice towards his father.
Margot Tenenbaum
Margot was adopted by Etheline and Royal, and Royal never hesitated to remind her of this fact when she was growing up. As a child, she was a particularly precocious playwright, winning grants and getting her plays produced from an early age. In adulthood, she is experiencing writer's block, and cannot seem to write a new play. She is married to an academic, Raleigh St. Clair, who doesn't satisfy her, and she has had a number of affairs throughout her life, including one with childhood friend, Eli Cash. A longtime smoker, Margot has a rather cynical and world-weary view of the world, a view that is influenced partially by the revelation of Richie's love for her.
Eli Cash
Eli Cash is a childhood friend of the Tenenbaums and has always wanted to belong in the family. In adulthood, he is a novelist of middling success, and has gotten himself hooked on drugs. After Richie reveals his love for Margot to Eli, Eli tells Margot rather unceremoniously. On the day of Etheline's wedding to Henry, Eli is high on drugs and drives his car into the side of the Tenenbaum residence, a moment when he realizes he needs to change his drug-addicted ways. He ends up at a rehab facility in North Dakota.
Henry Sherman
Henry is Etheline's stable, kindhearted, and thoughtful accountant. He is everything that Royal is not, and takes a lot more responsibility for Etheline's well being than her ex-husband ever did. He is even patient with Royal, who often throws offensive and provocative insults at Henry.
Ari & Uzi
Ari and Uzi are Chas' young sons, who look like curly haired copies of their father. While Chas doesn't want them to have a relationship with their grandfather, they really enjoy spending time with their "Pappy," who teaches them how to live on the edge.
Pagoda
Pagoda is the Tenenbaum's butler and employee and a loyal ally of Royal's. He helps Royal insinuate himself back into his family home by upholding the lie about Royal's terminal stomach cancer. When Royal's antics get him fired, Pagoda stabs Royal in the stomach with a Swiss Army knife.
Raleigh St. Clair
Raleigh is Margot's husband, a neurologist collaborating on a book with a neurologically unusual test subject, Dudley. Raleigh is a stodgy, but loyal man, who becomes upset when he finds out that not only has Margot had numerous affairs, but she also smokes.
