'Greenleaf' Favorite Characters

Greenleaf was released on OWN on June 21, 2016. The television drama series is about an African-American family that runs a megachurch in Memphis, Tennessee. The series surrounds the dynamics of both the large rich family and the megachurch where most of the family members served in the earlier seasons even though things had changed by the time season 4 ended on November 5, 2019.

Season 5 has been renewed, but the return date has not been announced yet. If Greenleaf follows previous return dates, the next season is speculated to premiere in the summer of 2020.

During the four seasons of the popular series, viewers have claimed some of the characters as their favorites. Perhaps you have a favorite of your own.

Bishop James Greenleaf

Keith David plays Bishop James Greenleaf, the patriarch of the Greenleaf family. When the series first aired, he was the leader of Calvary Fellowship World Ministries. At the time he was married, but over the seasons, his leadership at the church changed and so did his marital status.

Lady Daisy Mae Greenleaf

Lynn Whitfield plays the matriarch of the Greenleaf family. Daisy Mae Greenleaf was the first lady of the church when Bishop Greenleaf was the head of lead pastor and her husband.

Bishop Greenleaf and Lady Mae had four children with biblical names. Faith was the younger daughter who died before the series aired. The other three siblings are Grace "Gigi" Greenleaf, Jacob Greenleaf, and Charity Greenleaf.

Executive producer Oprah Winfrey said Whitfield is the first and only person considered for the part of Lady Mae because of her personality and aggressiveness. The two women worked together on the miniseries Women of Brewster Place. Not only does Winfrey and Whitfield have a history together, Winfrey like Whitfield's style. Lady Mae has disputes with members of her family, but she ends up putting them in their place.

Lynn Whitfield has won two awards for her supporting role in a drama series. No other cast member has won an award, but Keith David was nominated for his supporting role.

Grace "Gigi" Greenleaf

Merle Dandridge plays the part of Grace. She is the oldest child who returned home after 20 years following the death of Faith. Grace has a teenage daughter named Sophia, played by Desiree Ross.

Grace became interim pastor during the transition of Calvary Fellowship World Ministries merging with Harmony and Hope. In the last season, viewers found out that Grace has a son that the family did not know about. When he got out of prison, Grace helped him get settled. Things turned for the worse and Grace lied to keep him from going back to jail. What finally happened to AJ will be revealed when the series returns. The finale for season 4 had a cliffhanger that was a mystery to viewers.

Merle is biracial with an African-American father and a mother of Korean descent. She has received critical acclaim for her first leading screen role, but she has not received any awards yet.

Jacob Greenleaf

Lamman Rucker plays Jacob Greenleaf, the only son of Bishop Greenleaf and Lady Mae. He is married to Kerissa Greenleaf, played by Kim Hawthorne. She is ambitious and controlling. She resents living in the Greenleaf mansion under the same roof with the rest of the family. Jacob and Kerissa have two children. Zora Greenleaf is a rebellious daughter, played by Lovie Simone. She was promoted to a regular in the second season. The young boy Dinky plays only a small part who is not seen that much.

Jacob and Kerissa have had problems throughout their marriage. First, it was Jacob who was unfaithful. At the end of season 4, it was Kerissa who was unfaithful.

Charity Greenleaf

Charity Greenleaf is played by Deborah Joy Winans. She feels left out of the family dynamics when it comes to serving in a high position in the church. She is a worship leader and sings, but she want to preach like Grace. Being a worship leader seems to be appropriate for her because she is part of the musical Winans family. She is the niece of well-known singer CeCe Winans.

Charity feels that she is the underdog in her own family even though she makes wrong choices and brings disaster into her own life. Other than family problems, she has had difficulty with men. She was married to Kevin Satterlee, played by Tye White who was in charge of outreach at Calvary Fellowship. They divorced after he admitted he was gay. Kevin was in the series for only three seasons.

Charity has had lovers for only a short period of time before they left her. At the end of season 4, she was engaged for only one day before Phil Demars, played by Sean Blakemore, told her he was going to marry someone else.

Who Is Your Favorite Character?

Based on the above descriptions of the characters, who do you select as your favorite? According to the comments on social media, some people like Bishop Greenleaf because of his charisma. Lady Mae seems to be some people's favorite because she is a strong woman and because of her fashions. Some people choose Grace because of her ability to take charge and get results for some situations.

Not many people favor Kerissa because of her conniving ways to get what she wants. Jacob is not at the top of some people's list because Kerissa controls him on many occasions. Some people don't favor Charity because she betrays her family for personal gain. However, they feel sorry for her because Phil broke off their engagement so quickly.