50 Fun Facts About Ugly Betty

Who plays Betty Suarez?

The role earned her a Golden Globe, a SAG Award and an Emmy, and a place on TIME's 100 most influential people list in 2007.

On which network did Ugly Betty air from 2006 to 2010?

NBC had originally planned to adapt it as a half-hour comedy in 2001, but the idea never got past planning.

The series is based on a telenovela from which country?

The original was the first telenovela to be remade around the world.

What is the title of the original telenovela?

It aired on RCN from 1999 to 2001, starring Ana María Orozco as an economist in love with her playboy boss.

Which actress's production company, Ventanarosa, produced Ugly Betty?

She also guest-starred as Sofia, earning an Emmy nomination for the role.

Who developed the American series?

He signed a two-year, seven-figure deal with ABC Studios in 2008 that guaranteed the show's future.

In which New York borough does Betty live with her family?

The show's production also ended up in Queens, at Silvercup Studios, where the pilot had been shot.

What is the name of the fashion magazine where Betty works?

It belongs to Meade Publications, the empire owned by Bradford Meade.

Why does Bradford Meade hire the inexperienced Betty as his son's assistant?

Betty only later learns the real reason she got the job.

Who plays Daniel Meade, the editor-in-chief of Mode?

In the finale, Daniel finally realises he has feelings for Betty and asks her to dinner.

Whose death opens the editor-in-chief job that Daniel is handed?

The former editor was Bradford's long-time mistress, and she died when her car's brake lines were cut.

Who plays the scheming creative director Wilhelmina Slater?

The role brought her three consecutive Emmy nominations and a Teen Choice award for Best TV Villain.

What was Wilhelmina's name before her transformation into a fashion queen?

As Fey Sommers's assistant in 1981 she had cosmetic surgeries paid for by Fey in exchange for keeping a pregnancy secret.

Who plays Wilhelmina's loyal assistant Marc St. James?

The plan was for Wilhelmina to have a different assistant every episode, so he was originally billed as a guest star.

What did Becki Newton (Amanda) and her Marc co-star team up to make for CBS in 2019?

The project was created by Sex and the City's Michael Patrick King.

Betty's ally Christina McKinney works at Mode as what?

The character was written as American until the producers heard Ashley Jensen's accent and made her Scottish.

Why was Christina McKinney made Scottish?

Jensen was best known at the time as Maggie in Ricky Gervais's Extras.

What is the job of Betty's love interest Henry Grubstick?

He leaves for Tucson at the end of season one when his ex, Charlie, says she is pregnant.

Who plays Betty's father, Ignacio Suarez?

The Cuban-American actor is also the voice of Manny Calavera in the video game Grim Fandango.

Ignacio Suarez emigrated to the US from which country?

His undocumented status is one of the early storylines.

What business does Betty's sister Hilda run?

The actress who plays her, Ana Ortiz, originally auditioned for Betty herself.

Who is Justin Suarez?

His coming-out is one of the show's key character arcs.

Which former Who's the Boss? star plays Claire Meade, first seen in prison for murder?

She won a Prism Award for the part; Claire, it turns out, killed Fey Sommers.

Rebecca Romijn joined the cast in January 2007 as Alexis Meade. Who is Alexis?

The role was an early portrayal of a transgender character on network television.

Which former Neighbours actor plays publishing magnate Bradford Meade?

He was Jim Robinson in the Australian soap and Caleb Nichol on The O.C.

How does Bradford Meade die?

He collapses just as he is about to say 'I do'.

Where was the pilot filmed, before production moved for the first two seasons?

The show returned there for seasons three and four, partly for a state tax credit.

The production's move to New York prompted California to pass a tax-incentive law nicknamed what?

Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger signed it in February 2009.

At which studio complex, where the pilot was also shot, was the show produced in its final seasons?

The move cost several Los Angeles crew members their jobs.

ABC briefly announced the series under what alternative title before reverting in July 2006?

The change back to Ugly Betty was made on July 14, 2006, two months before the premiere.

How many episodes did the first season end up with?

The finale was called 'East Side Story'; season two was cut to 18 by the writers' strike.

Which two Golden Globes did the show win in January 2007?

A congresswoman saluted Ferrera in the House two days later for raising the profile of the Latino community.

How many Emmy nominations did the show earn in 2007, the most of any comedy that year?

It won three: casting, directing for the pilot, and lead actress.

Which honour did the show win in 2007 'for demonstrating that wit and humanity never go out of style'?

The same year GLAAD named it Outstanding Comedy Series.

Which Nobel Peace Prize laureate has cited Ugly Betty as an early influence on her feminism?

Her father encouraged her to watch it to improve her English.

In the third-season finale, Betty and Marc compete for an editor's job. How is the tie decided?

Betty gets the promotion.

In the series finale, Betty leaves Mode for a job in which city?

Daniel follows, and she jokes that she is looking for an assistant.

Which slot was the show moved to in October 2009, worrying fans it was being killed off?

It shifted again to Wednesdays in January 2010, and the cancellation followed that month.

Roughly how far did the average audience fall between the third and fourth seasons?

The decision to end the show was announced jointly by Horta and ABC in January 2010.

Which UK broadcaster premiered the show in January 2007 to nearly 4.9 million viewers?

The third episode hit 5.5 million there.

Betty's ex-boyfriend Walter dumped her for which neighbour?

The neighbour only used him to get a TV, which she then broke.

Betty's UK counterpart in the Mode After Hours webisodes is called what?

The webisode series was a spin-off set around the magazine.

Which network first planned a half-hour US adaptation of Betty la fea in 2001, before ABC picked it up?

The Columbia TriStar project never left the planning stage; ABC and Salma Hayek's company retooled it as an hour-long comedy drama in 2004.

Who created the original Colombian telenovela Yo soy Betty, la fea?

The US version was developed by Silvio Horta, who signed a two-year, million-dollar-plus ABC Studios deal in 2008.

Which actor plays Matt Hartley, Betty's sports-editor-turned-artist boyfriend in season four?

Matt starts as a sports editor, and his insecurity and jealousy strain his relationship with Betty.

How many episodes did the strike-hit second season end up with?

Plans for a musical episode and a Lindsay Lohan storyline were pushed to season three as a result.

Which Australian network's debut airing drew 2.03 million viewers, beating 60 Minutes?

In Britain, Channel 4's third episode hit a high of 5.5 million viewers.

Both Salma Hayek and Judith Light lost the 2007 guest-actress Emmy to which Broadway legend?

Hayek had played Sofia, and the show still took three Emmys including Outstanding Lead Actress for America Ferrera.

Which California congresswoman saluted America Ferrera in Congress in January 2007?

Months later TIME named Ferrera one of the 100 most influential people for defying stereotypes with the show.

What was the title of Ugly Betty's season-one finale, a play on a famous musical?

ABC had expanded the first season from 22 to 23 episodes after strong premiere ratings.