Ellie Andrews
Ellie Andrews is a young millionaire heiress whose overbearing father has never allowed her to have the freedom she's desired in her life. As a result, she has grown rebellious and impetuous. At the beginning of the movie, she has been kidnapped by her father and confined on a yacht for having recently eloped with a playboy named King Westley. She escapes the clutches of her father and sets out for New York to be reunited with her husband. While she is willful and confident, Ellie does not really know how to take care of herself and has been spoiled by wealth. She expects the world to bend to her will because that's what it has always done in the lap of luxury. When she meets Peter Warne, he disarms her by handing her a sharp critique of her spoiled attitude. She slowly falls in love with him and by the end, is leaving King at the altar to go and be reunited with Peter, a man who both respects her and challenges her.
Peter Warne
Peter Warne is a clever and cynical newspaperman who always has a snappy word for everything. He doesn't take anything very seriously and likes to maintain a certain amount of independence. When we first meet him he has been recently fired from the newspaper he works for. While he is very talented and clever, he appears not to be the most reliable employee, preferring the lifestyle of a maverick to anything else. He is intrigued by Ellie Andrews and has an immediate desire to look after her. As affectionate and protective as he feels towards Ellie, he also wants to bring her down to earth and off the pedestal that her excessive wealth has placed her on. He lets her know that just because she comes from a wealthy family doesn't mean she's special. This rather tough love treatment of the heiress marks his respect for her, and draws her in in a way that no other man ever has. In spite of his cynical exterior, Peter is a rather poetic and dreamy guy, and he longs to go to the beach in the Pacific and become "one" with nature.
Mr. Andrews
Mr. Andrews is Ellie's millionaire father and at the start of the film he is outrageously protective of his daughter, keeping her under a tight watch, having recently kidnapped her to talk her out of getting married to King Westley. When she escapes and goes on the run, he becomes all the more protective and unleashes a barrage of detectives to go in search of her. Her absence and vulnerability worry Mr. Andrews to no end, and he wants badly to see her returned home safely. Once Ellie is home, Mr. Andrews becomes a softer presence in her life, a confidante for her worries and despair about having had to leave Peter. When he learns about her love for Peter and meets Peter for himself, Mr. Andrews decides that Peter is a much better match for his daughter than King Westley, and encourages Ellie to return to Peter, even if it means ditching her own wedding in a dramatic fashion. In the end, Mr. Andrews wants nothing more than to see his daughter safe and happy.
King Westley
King Westley is the rich playboy that Ellie has recently eloped with at the start of the film. We do not meet him until later on, but his reputation precedes him. Mr. Andrews, while he eventually consents to letting Ellie marry King, doesn't respect King much and thinks that he's only interested in his daughter for the money. Peter knows about King by reputation, and when he hears that Ellie recently married him, calls King a "phony." King is a charming society man, but he doesn't have much depth or integrity.
Mr. Shapeley
Ellie sits down next to the sleazy Mr. Shapeley on the second night bus that she takes to New York, and he immediately launches into a lecherous monologue. He makes a lot of creepy advances towards her, and the more she resists him, the more he wants to flirt with her. He eventually backs off when Peter lies that he is Ellie's husband. Later, he recognizes Ellie from the newspaper, and talks to Peter about wanting to turn her in to the authorities and splitting the reward money. Peter scares him off easily, however, by suggesting that if he wants to go into business with him, Shapeley will be getting involved in some organized crime. Shapeley pleads with Peter not to hurt him, explaining that he has a wife and kids.
Zeke
Zeke owns the motel that Ellie and Peter stay at on their final night before saying goodbye. He is a kindhearted man who seems pretty bullied by his domineering wife.
Zeke's Wife
Zeke's wife is especially domineering and immediately skeptical of Peter and Ellie. She cannot believe that they are actually married, and she stays up all night suspiciously, at which point she sees Peter leave in the middle of the night. Taking this as a sign that Peter and Ellie aren't married, she barges into their room, which wakes up Ellie.
Joe Gordon
Joe Gordon is Peter's editor at the newspaper. He has a love-hate relationship with Peter. In some ways, Peter is his star reporter, and in others, he is unreliable and messy. Their relationship is both warm and contentious.
