Major/Main Characters
Kevin Arnold - The series is told through his point of view, as we see him grow up in the late '60s/early '70s. --portrayed by Fred Savage (narration voiced by Daniel Stern)Jack Arnold - Kevin's father; Korean War veteran; worked at NORCOM before starting his own furniture business; died in 1975. --portrayed by Dan Lauria
Norma Arnold - Kevin's stay-at-home mother; finishes college late in the series, then gets a job with a software company. --portrayed by Alley Mills
Wayne Arnold - Kevin's older brother; enjoys inflicting pain upon Kevin and Paul; takes over the furniture business after Jack dies. --portrayed by Jason Hervey
Karen Arnold - Kevin's older, hippie sister; moves to Alaska with her husband later in the series. --portrayed by Olivia d'Abo
Paul Pfeiffer - Kevin's best friend; Jewish; extremely intelligent; allergic to dozens of things; goes on to Harvard. --portrayed by Josh Saviano
Winnie Cooper - Kevin's on-again-off-again girlfriend throughout the series; has lived next door to Kevin most of her life; her brother was killed in Vietnam; studied Art History in Paris for 8 years. --portrayed by Danica McKellar
Minor/Recurring Characters
Randy Mitchell (21 episodes) - Kevin's friend throughout junior high and high school, though lacking in intelligence, as evidenced by his 730 combined SAT scores. --portrayed by Michael TricarioDoug Porter (19 episodes) - Kevin's friend throughout junior high; has a love for junk food. --portrayed by Brandon Crane
Chuck Coleman (19 episodes) - Kevin's friend throughout high school; has a nervous tic. --portrayed by Andy Berman
Jeff Billings (15 episodes) - Kevin's good friend later in the series; has an out-of-town girlfriend and divorced parents. --portrayed by Giovanni Ribisi
Ricky Halsenbach (13 episodes) - Kevin's classmate; the first among the guys to get his driver's license. --portrayed by Scott Nemes
Craig Hobson (10 episodes) - Kevin's friend throughout junior high; dates Becky Slater; gets sent to military school. --portrayed by Sean Baca
Kirk McCray (5 episodes) - Winnie's boyfriend in junior high. --portrayed by Michael Landes
Brett (19 episodes) - Kevin's classmate. --portrayed by Jon Frear
Becky Slater (10 episodes) - Kevin's girlfriend in junior high; Kevin dated her only to make Winnie jealous, and when she found out, she punched him. --portrayed by Crystal McKellar
Carla Healy (12 episodes) - Paul's girlfriend in junior high. -- portrayed by Krista Murphy
Madeline Adams (4 episodes) - Kevin's junior high classmate, whom he later starts dating, but breaks it off after she badmouths Winnie. --portrayed by Julie Condra
Coach Cutlip (15 episodes) - Kevin's gym teacher, who comes across as a bit of a bully towards his students; took a part-time job playing a mall Santa. --portrayed by Robert Picardo
Mr. Cantwell (12 episodes) - Kevin's junior high science teacher; speaks in a monotone voice. --portrayed by Ben Stein
Mr. Diperna (10 episodes) - Kevin's junior high school principal; fires Norma after she is hired as a receptionist. --portrayed by Raye Birk
Miss White/Mrs. Heimer (7 episodes) - Kevin's junior high English teacher; Kevin develops a crush on her; goes into labor the day of Kevin's junior high graduation and needs him to drive her to the hospital. --portrayed by Wendel Meldrum
Wart (4 episodes) - Wayne's best friend; joins the Army; returns from Vietnam, suffering from PTSD. --portrayed by Scott Menville
Michael (4 episodes) - Karen's boyfriend-turned-husband; takes a job in Alaska in order to support his family, finally earning Jack's approval. --portrayed by David Schwimmer