Altogether Ooky: The Addams Family Tree

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Addams family main cast in costume on a grey background. — Addams Family main cast, 1964. Source: Wikimedia Commons

Pet octopi, disembodied hands and zombie butlers: America’s favorite macabre household, the Addams family. Created by cartoonist Charles Addams, the spooky Addams family first appeared on the small screen in the famous 1964 series. Since then, the ghastly family has starred in numerous films and TV series, becoming a Halloween staple. Let’s explore the Addams family tree.

The Addams family’s lineup has slightly changed over the years since the unnamed family first debuted in comic strips. But all versions (beginning with the popular 1964 series) focus on husband-and-wife duo Gomez and Morticia Addams and their children, Wednesday and Pugsley.

“Grandmama” and Uncle Fester round out the blood relatives, though (as we’ll see) their relationships to the Addams line vary by adaptation. The household also includes Lurch, the family’s butler, and Thing, a disembodied hand.

The original television series added a handful of other recurring family members, including Gomez’s “Cousin” Itt (a shaggy monster-like creature); Morticia’s sister, Ophelia; and Morticia’s mother, Hester Frump. A 1977 TV movie based on the TV series introduced another Addams sibling: Pancho, Gomez’s brother.

The Addams Family tree has changed somewhat throughout the years. — *The Addams family tree (created in Ancestry.com) as it appeared in the original 1964 television series. In later adaptations, Fester is changed to be Gomez’s brother, rather than Morticia’s uncle.*

Other adaptations changed the Addams family tree, altering some ancestries and others adding new characters altogether. In the original sitcom, Fester was Morticia’s uncle, but he was later retconned in most adaptations to be Gomez’s brother instead.

Likewise, “Granny” in the popular 1990s films The Addams Family and Addams Family Values is Hester Frump, Morticia’s mother. (The camera catches Grandmama Addams’ name on a tombstone.) And in 1993’s Addams Family Values, Morticia and Gomez have a third child, Pubert.

The more recent computed-animated films (2019 and 2021) return to the original roster: parents Gomez and Morticia, children Wednesday and Pugsley, Gomez’s brother Fester and cousin Itt, and Gomez’s mother “Grandmama Addams.” (The voices of Morticia’s parents, Grandma and Grandpa Frump, can be heard via crystal ball during a séance.)

Most recently, Netflix TV brought Tim Burton on board for its live-action series centered on Wednesday Addams and also features Gomez, Morticia, Pugsley and Thing.

For more spooky genealogy fun, learn how to research your ancestors in cemeteries.

Last updated October 2024.