title: Miranda July

text: July has acted in many of her own short films, including "Atlanta", "The Amateurist", "Nest of Tens", "Are You The Favorite Person of Anyone?", and her feature-length films "Me and You and Everyone We Know" and "The Future". She also made an appearance in the film "Jesus' Son" (1998). She appeared in an episode of "Portlandia" in 2012. She co-starred in Josephine Decker’s 2018 feature film, "Madeline's Madeline".


title: Miranda July

text: In 1998, July made "Love Diamond", her first full-length multimedia performance piece – in her description, a "live movie." This two-hour stage work had July playing multiple characters, humorously depicting women's perceived cultural roles. This was followed by a second full-length performance piece, "The Swan Tool", and a six-minute film, "Getting Stronger Every Day" (2001). The latter is an abstract view of a grown man and a little girl, seemingly taunted by indistinct floating shapes while an offscreen narrator recounts a tale of real-life pedophilia. "The Swan Tool" is another "live movie", a one-woman show in which July plays Lisa Cobb, a woman searching for her lost body. Although it's peppered with deadpan comedy, the surrealist story concerns "childhood sexual traumas, adult alienation, and persistent, unfocused guilt".


title: Miranda July

text: In 2006, after completing her first feature film, she went on to create another multimedia piece, "Things We Don't Understand and Definitely Are Not Going To Talk About", which she performed in Los Angeles, San Francisco, and New York. This stage show contained several ideas that would become key elements of her later film, "The Future.


title: Miranda July

text: In March 2015, July premiered her performance work "New Society" as part of the 58th San Francisco International Film Festival. In the program for the performance, July requested the audience not share details of the show, stating it is now "a rare sensation to sit down in a theater with no idea what will happen."


title: Miranda July

text: With artist Harrell Fletcher, July founded the online art project called "Learning to Love You More" (2002–2009). The project's website offered assignments to artists whose submissions became part of "an ever-changing series of exhibitions, screenings and radio broadcasts presented all over the world". Over 8,000 people participated in the project. In addition to its internet presentations, "Learning to Love You More" also compiled exhibitions for the Whitney Museum, the Seattle Art Museum, and other hosts. A book version of the project's online art was released in 2007. Starting May 1, 2009 the project's website stopped accepting assignment submissions. In 2010 the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art acquired the website, to preserve it as an archive of the project online.


title: Miranda July

text: July constructed a sculptural exhibition, "Eleven Heavy Things", for the 2009 Venice Biennale. Its assortment of cartoonish shapes, made sturdy with fiberglass and steel, were designed for playful interaction by visitors. The exhibition was also shown in New York City at Union Square Park and in Los Angeles at the MOCA Pacific Design Center.


title: Miranda July

text: In 2013 she organized "We Think Alone", an art project involving the private emails of public figures. Unredacted except for the recipients' names, the emails were freely donated by a disparate group of notable persons including author Sheila Heti, theoretical physicist Lee Smolin, basketball player Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, and actress Kirsten Dunst. July grouped selected emails by topic, and sent a new set to the project's subscribers every week for 20 weeks. As one reviewer described them, the emails are "simultaneously mundane and eerily revealing; they shed light on how people in the public eye craft their private identities... [they] also underscore, in some way, the way all of us present ourselves over email: excessively formal or passive-aggressive, lovey-dovey, flakey, overly excited."


title: Miranda July

text: In 2014 she created an iOS app, Somebody, which allows users to compose a message to be delivered to someone else in-person, or to deliver someone else's message in-person. When you send your friend a message through Somebody, it goes – not to your friend – but to the Somebody user nearest your friend. This person (likely a stranger) delivers the message verbally, acting as your stand-in. Somebody is a far-reaching public art project that incites performance and twists our love of avatars and outsourcing – every relationship becomes a three-way. The project was funded by Miu Miu. The app closed on October 31, 2015.


title: Miranda July

text: In 2022 July collaborated with Mack Books to create "Services", a limited edition book/sculpture composed of photographs and texts between July and Jay Benedicto, a trans woman living in the Philippines who offered services to increase the readership of self-published authors. The first six months of July and Benedicto's correspondence, which coincided with the first six months of North American lockdowns in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, were published in the book. Only 25 copies were made available for sale.


title: Miranda July

text: As much as a film-maker, July is also an author, mostly of short stories. Writing was something she did years before her first feature premiered. July in a 2016 interview explains that out of all the mediums she pursues, she is the least confident in her film making, partially because of the less familiar and hyper hierarchical and collaborative environment. She knows most people on her sets have never taken orders from a femme film director, and so she explains that there is an air of confidence you need to be that role.


title: Miranda July

text: Her short story "The Boy from Lam Kien" was published in 2005 by Cloverfield Press, as a special-edition book with illustration by Elinor Nissley and Emma Hedditch. Another short story, "Something That Needs Nothing", was published in the following year by "The New Yorker".


title: Miranda July

text: "No One Belongs Here More Than You," July's collection of short vignettes, was published by Scribner in 2007.


title: Miranda July

text: It won the Frank O'Connor International Short Story Award on September 24, 2007. In "The New York Times", Sheelah Kolhatkar gave the collection a mixed review: "A handful of these stories are sweet and revealing, although in many cases the attempt to create 'art' is too self-conscious, and the effort comes off as pointlessly strange."


title: Miranda July

text: While procrastinating the writing of her screenplay "The Future" in 2009, July criss-crossed Los Angeles accompanied by photographer Brigitte Sire to meet a random selection of "PennySaver" sellers, glimpsing thirteen surprisingly moving and profoundly specific realities, along the way shaping her film, and herself, in unexpected ways. The work received mixed reviews with fans citing the collection's "lasting impression" of realistic struggle and critics citing the mumblecore-influenced artist's writing style as a "cheap trick" in text-format.


title: Miranda July

text: July's first novel "The First Bad Man" was published by Scribner in January 2015. The narrative centers around Cheryl Glickman, a middle-aged woman in crisis whose life abruptly changes course when a young woman, named Clee, moves into her home. The novel explores the complex relationship between Cheryl and Clee.


title: Miranda July

text: In her review for "The New York Times Book Review", reviewer Lauren Groff writes "The First Bad Man" "makes for a wry, smart companion on any day. It's warm. It has a heartbeat and a pulse. This is a book that is painfully alive."


title: Miranda July

text: July was heavily inspired by the riot grrrl movement. She was friends with several of the bands who were part of the movement such as Bikini Kill, Excuse 17, and Heavens to Betsy.


title: Miranda July

text: Her films have a common theme of "intimacy." For example, many of her work's titles use pronouns ("me," "you," "we," etc.). July creates "slice of life" films using ordinary characters and giving them attention within her films. She describes this as her being, "desperate to bring people together." However, as she's aged she's become more interested in how people sabotage coming together.


title: Miranda July

text: July receives criticism for being too "niche" or trying too hard to seem "quirky." According to "The New York Times," "July has come to personify everything infuriating about the Etsy-shopping, Wes Anderson-quoting, McSweeney's-reading, coastal-living category of upscale urban bohemia that flourished in the aughts [sic]." She is often lumped in with directors like Wes Anderson and Noah Baumbach, but says she gets more push-back than them due to her films being so emotional and feminine, being called "precious" and "twee." In this same interview with "The New York Times," July explains that she likes the directors she's been compared to, but they never get criticized for making films about themselves, though she as a female film-maker is often labelled "self-obsessed." In a 2015 "Guardian" article, July adds, "Yes, it's pretty clear that ‘whimsical’ is a diminishing word, [...] I almost think asking the question is like I'm being asked to gossip about myself. I think it's kind of a female thing, being asked to gossip about yourself. I think I'm maybe done with that."


title: Miranda July

text: July also often includes the theme of sex in her films. "The New York Times" describes this theme "as both a sudden surprise and a way to illuminate the inner lives of her characters". July elaborates: “I was always interested in sex, even as a kid. Sex includes shame and humiliation and fantasies and longing. It’s so dense with the kinds of things I’m interested in.”


title: Miranda July

text: She has also expressed her interest in the rhythm and feeling of film, rather than being “inspired” by other filmmakers, and states that she wouldn't call herself a “cinephile.”


title: Miranda July

text: In between "Me and You and Everyone We Know" and "The Future", July began to incorporate some of the oddball avant-garde things she had done in theater performance into her films, some of which was easier to swallow on stage but not on screen, such as the talking cat in "The Future", which she was later criticized for by viewers.


title: Miranda July

text: July also has a strong interest in clothing and costume. She served as the lookbook creative director for Uniqlo UT's 2019 clothing line.


title: Miranda July

text: July is married to film-maker and visual artist Mike Mills, with whom she has a child, born in March 2012. July and Mills met at both of their first Sundance Festival premieres in 2005, and married in mid-2009.


title: Miranda July

text: In a 2007 interview with "Bust" magazine, July spoke of the importance which feminism has had in her life, saying, "What's confusing about [being a feminist]? It's just being pro-your ability to do what you need to do. It doesn't mean you don't love your boyfriend or whatever... When I say 'feminist', I mean that in the most complex, interesting, exciting way!" In another interview she had on Idaho's Public Television station, she explains that once she started confronting the racial issues addressed in current day politics, she started contacting publishers and revising her work, realizing not everything she had said was racially and politically sound.


title: Miranda July

text: She changed her last name to "July" when she was 15, after a character (based on her) in a story by her high school best friend, Johanna Fateman. She changed her name legally in her early 20s.


title: Miranda July

text: July describes her family as very "DIY", which probably accounts for some of July's makeshift style. Therefore, when July wanted to change her last name, her father was very accepting of the decision. Her father was a workaholic, which is something she believes she picked up from him. Her family also dabbled in practicing New Age religions and discussed spirituality while she was growing up.


title: Halina Reijn

text: Halina Reijn was born on 10 November 1975 in Amsterdam, Netherlands, to Fleur ten Kate and Frank Volkert Reijn (1931-1986). Reijn's parents were both artists. She is the middle child of three daughters, with an older sister named Leonora and a younger named Esther. Her father was gay despite being in a heterosexual marriage with her mother. Reijn grew up in an anthroposophy household, and her parents were followers of the Subud spiritual movement. In her early years, she grew up in a "Pippi Longstocking" house with her family in the tiny village of Wildervank, Groningen, which attracted many artists. They lived without television and never visited the cinema, instead they played music, drew and painted; her father built a theater room with a podium and flats for her. When she was around six or seven years old she and one of her sisters wanted to join the Catholic Church, to the shock of their parents. After they relented, the children would go to Sunday school, and when Reijn was twelve she was baptised.


title: Halina Reijn

text: Reijn developed an interest in acting when her babysitter brought her along for a showing of "Annie", a film adaptation of the Broadway musical, at a local theater when she was six. She stated, "When I saw "Annie", I thought, I want that too. I was very jealous of her." With help of her mother, she joined a youth theater in Veendam. Reijn found it inadequate and thought the other children did not take it seriously enough, which led her mother to pursue an audition with the theater collective "De Voorziening" (precursor to the ) despite her young age.


title: Halina Reijn

text: When she was ten years old, and a year after her parents had amicably separated, her father died suddenly from suffocation caused by undiagnosed pulmonary embolism. Following her father's death, the family moved to a newly built neighborhood of Groningen in order to escape the isolation. She would spend her teenage years at the Vooropleiding Theater in Groningen, which was a grueling youth academy with a highly selective group, where they were giving lessons and had to rehearse every midday.


title: Halina Reijn

text: Halina Reijn was professionally trained at the Maastricht Academy of Dramatic Arts, where she graduated in 1998. In the middle of her second year in Maastricht, she was asked to join the ensemble at the where she was offered the role of Ophelia in "Hamlet", Subsequently, Theu Boermans, the artistic director, offered her a permanent place at the collective. Among her other performances for De Trust, her portrayal of Lulu in "Shopping and Fucking" she received the prestigious Dutch theater prize, the Colombina, as "Best Supporting Actress" in 1998. She also had parts in "The Cherry Orchard", "De laatsten", "Koons" and "Adel Blank", the latter one was a co-production with .


title: Halina Reijn

text: Throughout her student years, she had various minor roles on the small screen, and a lead role in ', a thirteen-part comedy series on the Veronica channel, that ran for a single season. She also had a role in a short called "Temper! Temper!" written and directed by Frank Lammers, which was part of Kort Rotterdams, a five-part series highlighting common elements of Rotterdam's society. In 1998, Reijn branched out into film, with the adaption of the Jan Wolkers's short story "De wet op het kleinbedrijf", where she had a principal role in the television film. The following year she starred in her first in ', an initiative started by the NPO in 1998 to produce films for public television, "De Trein van zes uur tien", a Dutch thriller directed by that was broadcast by AVRO. It was part of the 2000s Cologne Conference, where it was selected among the ten programmes at the TopTen section of the festival. That same year she played a bit part as a sex worker in Martin Koolhoven's breakout film, Suzy Q, which featured Reijn's lifelong friend Carice van Houten in the title role. Despite its warm critical reception and launching the careers of the people involved, the movie was never released on home video, in theaters or shown outside its home country due to music license issues with artists like The Rolling Stones and Jimi Hendrix among others.


title: Halina Reijn

text: Reijn made her big screen acting debut in "De Omweg" (also known as "The Detour"), a semi-autobiographical drama directed and written by Frouke Fokkema. It opened in Dutch theaters on 7 November 2000. On 1 January 2001, 3 years after Reijn joined, De Trust would fuse with another theater company named "Art & Pro", they would continue under the new name of de Theatercompagnie. The fusion, however, did not prove fruitful in the long term, the newly formed company was steeped in financial difficulties, infighting between the co-founders, overworked actors and in the later years there would be conflict with the government over subsidies. Further that year, she would star in Nanouk Leopold's directorial debut, tragicomedy "", it follows the dysfunctional lives of three friends who all recently turned thirty. The lowbudget film was part of No More Heroes, an initiative started in order to produce films from upcoming Dutch filmmakers. The film was selected for and first premiered at the 2001's International Film Festival Rotterdam, where it was nominated for the Tiger Award. Between her two film releases in 2001, she also participated in "De acteurs", a seven part weekly series where fourteen young actors were interviewed and paired up with each other to rehearse scenes from a miniseries created by Kim van Kooten. that same year, Reijn gained further notoriety with her role in the tragicomedy, "Zus & Zo", alongside De Trust peers, which was written and directed by Paula van der Oest. The movie revolves around three sisters trying top stop their gay brother from marrying a woman and in doing so securing the family's seaside estate for his own. Reijn played the unsuspecting fiancée. The movie was nominated for Academy Award for Best International Feature Film at the 75th Academy Awards, even though it received mixed reviews. She also starred in her second short, "Flicka", as the title role, in which she played a computer programme who is in relationship with a lonely building supervisor, it was produced as part of NTR . And lastly she appeared in the VARA TV Movie "Herschreven vriendschap".


title: Halina Reijn

text: In 2002, Reijn featured in four projects. First she played a minor part in Frank Van Passel's "Villa des Roses", her first role in an English/French language international co-production, based on the novel of the same name by Willem Elsschot. Her next two projects were on television with the short TV drama "De afrekening" and the TV Movie "Ware Liefde". She also had a very small role in "Moonlight", Paula van der Oest's follow-up movie, an English-language thriller. Meanwhile, back on stage she performed her first role for Toneelgroep Amsterdam, with Ivo van Hove as director she took on the role of courtesan Poppea in "Con Amore". At the time, while she was still connected with De Trust, she got 'loaned out' to TGA. For De Theatercompagnie she returned to the role of Ophelia in Hamlet, a character she played previously, for a new rendition of the Shakespearean classic.


title: Halina Reijn

text: In 2003, she joined the ensemble at Toneelgroep Amsterdam, under the direction of future long-time collaborator Ivo van Hove. Around that time she also completed her final performance for De Theatercompagnie, with a new production of "The Seagull", where she played Nina. In her first year, with the Toneelgroep Amsterdam, she starred in two plays: She played Irina in the "Three Sisters", based upon the play of Anton Chekhov of the same name, and Eugene O'Neill's "Mourning Becomes Electra", a co-production with the Toneelschuur, for the latter performance, in which she played Lavinia, she was nominated for a Theo d'Or for "Best Female Actress" in 2004. On television she starred in two telefilms, she played Ewouds's girlfriend in "Boy Ecury" and Hostess Patty in "Het wonder van Máxima", they were aired on public television on 2 and 9 April respectively.


title: Halina Reijn

text: Reijn had three big screen releases in 2003. Her first appearance was as Polleke's mother, Tina, in the family film Polleke, a film adaption of Guus Kuijer's children's book. At first, she was bewildered why she approached by director Ineke Houtman for the role of Polleke's mother, at the time she viewed herself too young to play a mother, but later accepted the role when delving into the character's story. The movie premiered on October, 11 as the opening film of the Cinekid festival. Her next feature film was with director-writer Alex van Warmerdam, called "Grimm", in which she had the female leading role. The story is loosely based on Grimm Brothers's "Brother and Sister", in which a brother and sister are abandoned by their father in a forest; in a note their mother urges them to go to Spain to meet up with their uncle. The movie was first shown at SSIF, before released nationwide in the Dutch theaters in early December. Compared to the directors earlier work, "Grimm" was a critical and financial disappointment. Dissatisfied with the original cut, director Alex van Warmerdam together with editor Job ter Burg went back to the original and reworked the entire film. The new cut premiered at 2019's Netherlands Film Festival. Reijn then starred in Maarten Treurniet's directorial debut "Father's Affair", where she played Ellen, the girlfriend of Peter Paul Muller's character and best friend of his deceased wife, who is notified by his GP that he is infertile, which leads to a desperate search for the biological father of his fourteen-year-old son. For her performance as Ellen, Reijn was nominated for best actrice at the Golden Calfs. In March 2004, both "Polleke" and "Father's Affair", were awarded the Golden Film by the Netherlands Film Festival for having sold 100,000 tickets at the box office.


title: Halina Reijn

text: Compared to her previous years, 2004 was a year of rediscovery and recuperation for Reijn. During a production of "Mourning Becomes Electra" she approached and told Ivo van Hove: "Take me out of everything, remove me from all your plans, because I can't handle it anymore". She started to resent her work and needed a time-out from her work, friends and home. She was granted unpaid leave by Toneelgroep Amsterdam. In April of that year, on invitation of Renée Missel, who she met at the Oscars that spring, she travelled to Los Angeles. While staying in Los Feliz, and with a scholarship of the VandenEnde Foundation and Fonds Podiumkunsten, she attended an actors and directors lab under the guidance of Judith Weston. The following year, she returned to the stage with Shakespeare's "The Taming of the Shrew", where she played the title character. The new interpretation of the play received glowing reviews, Reijn in particular got acclaim for her part as Katherina. Reijn also took part in "Masterclass", a hidden camera fake documentary-style television film written and directed Hans Teeuwen. It follows Pierre Bokma playing as himself giving a master class together with his reclusive former mentor Peer Mascini to six theatre students. In the film, Reijn is one of the actors interviewed about their previous experiences with Mancini, the actors involved, however, aren't made aware that they are secretly being recorded. Also in 2005, she starred in Erik de Bruyn's poetry short "Lentelied", based upon the poem "Frühlingslied" by J.C. van Schagen.


title: Halina Reijn

text: In 2006, she starred in "A Thousand Kisses", directed by Willem van de Sande Bakhuyzen, the final film before his death. It was released on March 9 in Dutch theaters. That same week, "Huis van de toekomst" (House of the Future) had its premiere at the Compagnietheater, Amsterdam. The multimedia play, written and directed by Carina Molier, stars a group of actors living in Big Brother-style house playing fictionalized versions of intellectuals, who Molier had previously interviewed, engaging in a science experiment. The piece also included video that was recorded prior and the actors could be viewed from every angle by the audience, who were also followed by a camera crew. Reijn played a media expert named Anna Tabaknikova that was based on Maja Kuzmanovic. She next played as the central character in "Hedda Gabler". In contrast with other portrayals, Reijn approached the character in a more messy, unkept way who is more direct and frank in her dealings with others. While her performance received praise, the play itself was viewed less favourably.


title: Halina Reijn

text: Reijn then starred in "Black Book", a World War II drama-thriller co-written and directed by Paul Verhoeven and co-starring Carice van Houten and Sebastian Koch. Set in Nazi occupied Netherlands, the film featured her as Ronnie, an opportunist who prioritizes her own luxury and survival during the war in contrast with Rachel Steinn (van Houten), a Jewish woman on the run, who gets involved with the Dutch resistance. She originally auditioned for the lead role, but was passed over in favour of van Houten and was given the part of Ronnie instead; Verhoeven found her appearance a better match for the latter character, they wanted a softer less pronounced look for the protagonist. The international co-production, with a total production cost of 21 million dollars, is the most expensive Dutch film every made. The movie had its world premiere at the 63rd Venice Film Festival, where it was nominated for the Golden Lion. It was the 2007's Dutch entry for the Academy Awards as Best Foreign Language Film, but was not selected. For her performance, she was nominated for her second Golden Calf and a Rembrandt Award. She would return to the stage with "Oresteia", where she portrayed the character of Elektra under the direction of Johan Simons. "Oresteia" was collaboration between TGA and the Belgian theatre company NTGent.


title: Halina Reijn

text: Following a three-year absence of the play, she would reprise her role in "Mourning Becomes Electra" for a new season in the first half of 2007. Also that spring, at the 57th Berlin International Film Festival, Reijn was one of the actors selected by the European Film Promotion for the annual Shooting Stars Award. Her next film role was in Tamar van den Dop's first feature film, "Blind". In the film she played a withdrawn albino woman, whose face is fully scarred and who has severe insecurities about her appearance that one day gets hired to read for a recently gotten blind man. The role was noted to be a departure for Reijn, at the time she was primarily known for portraying extroverted characters.


title: Halina Reijn

text: In 2008, she portrayed Margarethe von Oven in "Valkyrie" starring Tom Cruise. In 2010 she starred as Lara in "", the Dutch version of the Israelian "BeTipul", and in two Dutch book adaptions. "De Eetclub", directed by Robert Jan Westdijk and "Isabelle" by director Ben Sombogaart. In the summer of 2011 Halina is added to the cast of "Goltzius & The Pelican Company", directed by Peter Greenaway. In 2013 she plays the title role in the weekly TV series "Charlie", a Dutch remake of Showtime's "Nurse Jackie". In 2014 she could be seen in box office hit "Pak van mijn hart", a romantic comedy for the holiday season.


title: Halina Reijn

text: In 2016/2017 she could be seen in the musical film "De Zevende Hemel", It was released in theaters to a mixed critical reception. On stage in the play "Obsession" next to Jude Law, this play was a coproduction between Toneelgroep Amsterdam and the Barbican Centre London.


title: Halina Reijn

text: In 2019 she released "Instinct", her debut feature as a film director starring Carice van Houten in the leading role. The film won the Variety Piazza Grande Award and received a special mention for best first feature at the Locarno Film Festival and was selected as the Dutch entry for the 92nd Academy Awards. Following the release of Reijn's English-language directorial debut, "Bodies Bodies Bodies", A24 acquired rights for the film.


title: Halina Reijn

text: Reijn has a close friendship with fellow Dutch actress Carice van Houten, whom she has known since about 1994. They worked together in movies "Black Book" and "Valkyrie".


title: Halina Reijn

text: In 2013 the two published a book together called "Anti Glamour", a (mock) style guide and a celebration of their friendship, as well as a candid look into the unglamourous back-stage side of their lives. Although the two occasionally kiss on camera, and have joked about being lesbians, there is no actual romantic involvement.


title: Roy Williams (basketball coach)

text: Roy Allen Williams (born August 1, 1950) is an American retired college basketball coach who served as the men's head coach for the North Carolina Tar Heels for 18 seasons and the Kansas Jayhawks for 15 seasons. He was inducted into the College Basketball Hall of Fame in 2006 and the Basketball Hall of Fame in 2007.


title: Roy Williams (basketball coach)

text: Williams started his college coaching career at North Carolina as an assistant coach for Dean Smith in 1978. Four years later, North Carolina won the national championship. After ten years as Smith's assistant, Williams became head coach at Kansas in 1988, taking them to 14 consecutive NCAA tournaments, four Final Four appearances, two national championship game appearances, collecting an .805 winning percentage, and winning nine conference titles.


title: Roy Williams (basketball coach)

text: In 2003, Williams left Kansas to return to his alma mater North Carolina, replacing Matt Doherty as head coach of the Tar Heels. In an 18-year period at North Carolina, Williams won three national championships, reached a total of five Final Fours, finished first in the Atlantic Coast Conference regular-season standings nine times, won three ACC tournament championships, one AP National Coach of the Year award, and two ACC Coach of the Year awards. He is third all-time for most wins at Kansas behind Phog Allen and Bill Self, and second all-time for most wins at North Carolina behind his legendary mentor Dean Smith. On January 25, 2020, with a 94–71 win over Miami, Williams reached 880 wins surpassing Smith's 879 win total.


title: Roy Williams (basketball coach)

text: With a total of 903 wins, Williams took his teams to nine Final Fours in his careers at Kansas and North Carolina. Williams is the fifth NCAA Men's Division I head coach to reach 900 wins, and reached the mark in fewer games than any other head coach with 900+ wins. He is the only coach in NCAA history to have led two different programs to at least four Final Fours each and the only basketball coach in NCAA history to have 400 or more victories at two NCAA Division I schools. He is also 14th all-time in the NCAA in win percentage among men's college basketball coaches.


title: Roy Williams (basketball coach)

text: With Williams as an assistant coach under Smith, North Carolina won the 1982 national championship. As a head coach, Williams coached in a total of six NCAA championship games (1991, 2003, 2005, 2009, 2016, and 2017) including both Kansas and North Carolina. On April 4, 2005, Williams won the first national championship of his career as the Tar Heels defeated the University of Illinois in the 2005 NCAA championship game. He again led the Tar Heels to a national title on April 6, 2009, against Michigan State. Williams won his third and final national championship on April 3, 2017, when he led the Tar Heels to victory against the Gonzaga Bulldogs. Williams is one of six NCAA Men's Division I college basketball coaches to have won at least three national championships.


title: Roy Williams (basketball coach)

text: Williams was born in Marion General Hospital in Marion, North Carolina, and spent his early years in the small western North Carolina towns of Marion and Spruce Pine. As a child his family relocated to nearby Asheville, where he grew up. Williams lettered in basketball and baseball at T. C. Roberson High School in Asheville, North Carolina, all four years. In basketball, playing for Coach Buddy Baldwin, he was named all-county and all-conference for two years (1967 and 1968), all-western North Carolina in 1968 and served as captain in the North Carolina Blue-White All-Star Game. Williams has stated that Coach Baldwin was one of the biggest influences in his life.


title: Roy Williams (basketball coach)

text: Williams went on to play on the freshman team at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and study the game under coach Dean Smith. When Williams was a sophomore at North Carolina, he asked Smith if he could attend his practices and would sit in the bleachers taking notes on Smith's coaching. Williams also volunteered to keep statistics for Smith at home games and worked in Smith's summer camps.


title: Roy Williams (basketball coach)

text: Williams' first coaching job was in 1973 as a high school basketball and golf coach at Charles D. Owen High School in Black Mountain, North Carolina. He coached basketball and boys' golf for five years and ninth-grade football for four years, and served as athletic director for two years.


title: Roy Williams (basketball coach)

text: In 1978, Williams came back to the University of North Carolina and served as an assistant to Dean Smith from 1978 to 1988. During his tenure as assistant coach, North Carolina went 275–61 and won the NCAA national championship in 1982, the first for Smith and the second for North Carolina. One of Williams' more notable events came as assistant coach when he became instrumental in recruiting Michael Jordan.


title: Roy Williams (basketball coach)

text: In 1988, Williams left North Carolina and became the head coach of the University of Kansas Jayhawks basketball team replacing former North Carolina assistant and UCLA head coach Larry Brown, who had taken the position as head coach of the NBA's San Antonio Spurs. He was hired just months after the Danny Manning-led Jayhawks won the 1988 NCAA championship. Weeks after Williams took the position, KU was placed on probation for violations that took place prior to his arrival. As a result, the Jayhawks were barred from postseason play for the 1988–89 season.


title: Roy Williams (basketball coach)

text: Williams coached 15 seasons at Kansas (from 1988 to 2003). During that time he had a record of 418–101, a .805 winning percentage. At the time of his departure, he was second on Kansas' all-time wins list behind only Phog Allen; he has since been passed by current coach Bill Self. Williams' Kansas teams averaged 27.8 wins per season.


title: Roy Williams (basketball coach)

text: Kansas won nine regular-season conference championships over his last 13 years. In seven years of Big 12 Conference play, his teams went 94–18, capturing the regular-season title in 1997, 1998, 2002 and 2003 and the postseason tournament crown in 1997, 1998 and 1999. In 2001–02, KU became the first, and so far only, team to go undefeated (16–0) in Big 12 play. In 1995–98, Kansas was a combined 123–17 – an average of 30.8 wins per season.


title: Roy Williams (basketball coach)

text: Williams' teams went 201–17 (.922) in Allen Fieldhouse, and won 62 consecutive games in Allen from February 1994 to December 1998. Kansas was a regular in the Associated Press Top 25 from 1991 to 1999, placing in the poll for 145 consecutive weeks. Williams' teams were ranked in the Top 10 in 194 AP polls from 1990.


title: Roy Williams (basketball coach)

text: Kansas led the nation in field goal percentage and scoring in 2002 and in scoring margin in 2003; they held opponents to the lowest field goal percentage in the country in 2001 (37.8 percent); led the nation in winning percentage in 1997 and 2002; shot better than 50 percent from the floor for the season seven times; and led the country in field goal percentage in 1990 at 53.3 percent, and in 2002 at 50.6 percent; shot a combined 49.4 percent from the floor in 15 seasons; led the nation in assists in 2001 and 2002 and was seventh in the nation in 2003; scored 100 or more points 71 times (once every 13 games); averaged 82.7 points per game in 15 years; averaged 90 or more points in two seasons (92.1 in 1990 and 90.9 in 2002). Kansas was also the winningest team of the 1990s, despite failing to win any NCAA championships during the decade.


title: Roy Williams (basketball coach)

text: Williams had Kansas in the AP Top 25 in 242 of 268 weekly polls. Kansas reached the No. 1 ranking in the country in six different seasons and was ranked at least No. 2 in the nation in 11 of the 15 seasons.


title: Roy Williams (basketball coach)

text: Under Williams, the team had several deep runs in the NCAA Tournament, making it to four Final Fours and appearing in the national championship game in both 1991 and 2003, losing both, to Duke and Syracuse respectively. The 1996–97 team featured future NBA players Paul Pierce, Jacque Vaughn, Raef LaFrentz, and Scot Pollard. Entering the NCAA Tournament with Pollard (foot stress fracture) and starting shooting guard (later Kansas and UNC assistant coach, and current head coach at Stanford) Jerod Haase (broken wrist) trying to play with injuries, the team was upset in the Sweet Sixteen by the eventual champion, the Arizona Wildcats.


title: Roy Williams (basketball coach)

text: Except for his first season at Kansas (when the team was on probation), all of Williams' teams made the NCAA tournament. From 1990 to 1999 Kansas compiled a 286–60 record, giving them both the most wins and best winning percentage of any team in that decade. From 1994 to 1998, the Jayhawks won 62 consecutive home games at Allen Fieldhouse, which was the longest such streak in the NCAA at the time. The seniors of 1998 (LaFrentz, Billy Thomas, and C. B. McGrath) went 58–0 at home during their KU careers.


title: Roy Williams (basketball coach)

text: Williams had the opportunity to return to North Carolina in 2000, when Bill Guthridge left the head coaching position vacant. After national media sources such as ESPN prematurely announced Williams would take the position, they quickly backed off as it became clear that Williams' mind was not made up. North Carolina media continued to report that he had accepted the position. After a week of this back-and-forth, Williams held a press conference at Memorial Stadium in Lawrence, Kansas, where he announced that he was staying at Kansas.


title: Roy Williams (basketball coach)

text: Williams took the 2003 Kansas team to the NCAA championship game against Syracuse. Syracuse defeated Kansas, 81–78, to win the championship. The end of the season brought a cloud of uncertainty over KU, as Williams' future was up in the air. During CBS' exit interview with Williams, he was consistently asked if he was taking the North Carolina job instead of his current Kansas team's effort, eventually inspiring him to say to the reporter "I could give a shit about North Carolina right now" to the live mic. Chancellor Robert Hemenway fired Kansas athletic director Al Bohl, and while he cited Bohl's involvement in an academic scandal at Fresno State, many perceived the move as a desperate move to keep Williams at KU, as the relationship between Bohl and Williams was very poor. Bohl reacted angrily, accusing Williams of engineering the firing.


title: Roy Williams (basketball coach)

text: Williams accepted the North Carolina head coaching position following the controversial three-year run of ex-Tarheel championship-winning forward Matt Doherty, who prior to coaching at North Carolina had been an assistant at KU under Williams. He left Kansas as the second-winningest coach in school history, behind only Hall of Famer Phog Allen, who, like Williams, is a member of a coaching tree dating back to the game's inventor, James Naismith. However, he has since been passed by current coach Bill Self.


title: Roy Williams (basketball coach)

text: With Williams' return to North Carolina, he became the school's third coach in six years. The previous two coaches, Smith and Frank McGuire, had covered a 45-year period. The Tar Heels were coming off of a mediocre season and two years before had suffered the worst season in school history. Nevertheless, the team still had top talent, including McDonald's All Americans Sean May, Rashad McCants, and Raymond Felton. In Williams' first season as the Tar Heels' head coach, the 2003–04 season, North Carolina finished a respectable 19–11 and returned to the national rankings for the first time since the early part of the 2002–03 season. They were knocked out in the second round of the NCAA tournament by Texas.


title: Roy Williams (basketball coach)

text: In Williams' second year, the Tar Heels returned to national prominence. With the arrival of freshman Marvin Williams, Williams led North Carolina to a National Championship in 2005, which was his first national title as a head coach.


title: Roy Williams (basketball coach)

text: After winning the championship, the team's top seven scorers all left, either via graduation or opting to go to the NBA early. Despite the loss of talent, the Tar Heels proved to be surprisingly successful in 2005–06, in part due to freshman Tyler Hansbrough. Williams was named Coach of the Year for his ability to turn around such a new team to such a high level of success.


title: Roy Williams (basketball coach)

text: Williams quickly reloaded the team with top talent, bringing in recruits like Brandan Wright, Ty Lawson, Wayne Ellington, and Deon Thompson. On December 9, 2006, Williams won his 500th game with a 94–69 win over High Point. The 2006–07 team tied as ACC regular season champions, earning the tiebreak over the Virginia Cavaliers. With the #1 seed, the Tar Heels won the ACC tournament. After earning a #1 seed in the East Region in the 2007 NCAA Tournament, Williams' team won its first-round game against Eastern Kentucky Colonels 86–65 and its second against Michigan State 81–67. North Carolina then defeated the USC Trojans 74–64 to advance to the Elite Eight. On March 24, 2007, North Carolina fell to the Georgetown Hoyas in overtime in the East Regional, ending its post-season run. Following the 2006–2007 season, Williams announced on July 18, 2007, that he had vertigo, a condition that occasionally forces him to sit down suddenly during games.


title: Roy Williams (basketball coach)

text: The 2007–08 season was just as successful, culminating in another ACC regular season and tournament championship. Williams led the Tar Heels to a school-record 36 wins, the #1 overall ranking in the final AP poll, a #1 seed in the East Region of the tournament, the tournament's overall #1 seed, and the 2008 Final Four. The Tar Heels' run ended with an 84–66 loss in the Final Four to Kansas, Williams' former team. Two days after the defeat, he attended the tournament final between Kansas and Memphis, sporting a Jayhawk sticker on his shirt.


title: Roy Williams (basketball coach)

text: With Tyler Hansbrough returning to Chapel Hill for his senior season, they were tapped by numerous prognosticators as the favorites to win the NCAA championship. The Heels started the season #1 in both polls—including the first-ever unanimous preseason #1 ranking in the history of the AP Poll—becoming the first team to have back-to-back preseason #1 rankings since UNLV in 1991. They won their first 13 games before being upset by Boston College 85–78. Two games later, they fell at ACC rival Wake Forest 92–89, but went on a winning streak, including a defeat of archrival Duke by 101–87, Williams' fourth straight victory at Cameron Indoor Stadium. In defeating Duke 79–71 in the season finale, the Tar Heels secured their third straight ACC regular season title and fourth in Williams' six seasons as head coach at UNC. Although they lost in the second round of the ACC Tournament to Florida State, they still garnered the top seed in the NCAA South Region—the fourth time in Williams' six-year tenure in Chapel Hill that the Tar Heels had been a #1 seed. North Carolina defeated Radford in the first round of the NCAA tournament, then LSU in the second round, and Gonzaga in the Sweet 16 round, followed by a 72–60 defeat of the Oklahoma Sooners in the Elite 8 that gave North Carolina its second straight berth into the Final Four in Detroit, Michigan. An 83–69 victory over Villanova vaulted the Tar Heels into the national championship game. They played the Michigan State Spartans in the National Championship game and Williams won his second title with an 89–72 victory. This capped off one of the most dominating runs in the history of the tournament. The Tar Heels only trailed for a total of 10 minutes out of a possible 240 minutes of playing time. They also won every game by at least 12 points—all the more remarkable since they upended four teams in the top 15 of the final AP Poll (#10 Gonzaga, #7 Oklahoma, #11 Villanova and #8 Michigan State).


title: Roy Williams (basketball coach)

text: In 2010 an academic scandal began to be uncovered. The University of North Carolina academic-athletic scandal involved alleged fraud and academic dishonesty committed at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC). The scandal involved basketball players as well as other athletes and students.


title: Roy Williams (basketball coach)

text: North Carolina finished the regular season at 16–15, dropped to third in all-time wins, and bowed out in the first round of the ACC tournament. On November 29, 2009, Williams won his 600th game with a 80–73 win over Nevada. The Tar Heels did not receive a post-season tournament bid by the NCAA—the only time in Williams' coaching career that his team didn't take part in that tournament when eligible to do so. However, they did receive a bid to the NIT. The Tar Heels made it to the NIT championship game versus Dayton, which was played on April 1, 2010, at Madison Square Garden. The Tar Heels lost by a score of 79–68, bringing their overall tally to 20–17 for the 2009–10 season. This 20-win season however kept Williams' streak of 20-win seasons alive. Williams stated that the season was "the biggest frustration and the biggest disappointment of my professional life". In addition to frustrating play, Williams was criticized for comparing the season to the disaster in Haiti by stating, "Our massage therapist told me, she said 'You know, Coach, what happened in Haiti is a catastrophe. What you're having is a disappointment.' And I told her that depends on which chair she was sitting in, because it does feel like a catastrophe to me, and that's because it is my life." Williams later apologized for his comments, stating that he misspoke and "neglected to say that it puts basketball in perspective."


title: Roy Williams (basketball coach)

text: The Tar Heels started out slow during the 2010–11 season, dropping early games to Minnesota, Vanderbilt, and Illinois, and also being blown out by twenty points at Georgia Tech. It was not until Williams made the difficult decision to start freshman point guard Kendall Marshall over junior Larry Drew II that the Tar Heels returned to their dominant winning ways. The Heels won the ACC Regular Season Championship after beating Duke in their final regular season game in Chapel Hill. It was Carolina's fifth ACC Regular Season title in eight years under Coach Williams. However, Carolina lost to Duke a week later in the ACC Tournament Championship game. Coach Williams was selected as the ACC Coach of the Year for the second time since becoming head coach at North Carolina for overcoming the adversity of losing some players to transfer and dismissal and winning the ACC regular season title. After defeating Long Island, Washington, and Marquette, the Heels (29–8, 14–2) lost to the Kentucky Wildcats in the Elite Eight.


title: Roy Williams (basketball coach)

text: The 2011–12 season for the Tar Heels was more successful despite numerous injuries to key players. With losses to UNLV, Kentucky as well as a 33-point defeat against Florida State, Williams guided his Heels to another ACC Regular Season Championship after defeating Duke at Cameron Indoor Stadium to close out the regular season (Duke won the first meeting in Chapel Hill). UNC entered the 2012 ACC Tournament as the #1 seed. The Heels beat Maryland in the quarterfinals and NC State in the semifinals. John Henson injured his wrist in the Maryland game and did not play in the semifinals or championship game where UNC lost to Florida State, 85–83. UNC was then awarded the #1 seed in the Midwest bracket of the 2012 NCAA Tournament. Without Henson, Dexter Strickland and sixth-man Leslie McDonald (who were both sidelined with season-ending injuries) Carolina beat Vermont in the second round of the Tournament. Henson returned to the lineup for the third-round game against Creighton. The Heels defeated Creighton, however starting PG Kendall Marshall injured his wrist in the second half of that game. Marshall had to undergo surgery and was unable to play for the rest of the season. Carolina turned to first-year PG Stilman White who helped lead the Heels to an OT win over the Ohio Bobcats in the Sweet 16. Carolina then faced #2 seed Kansas in the Elite Eight. Greatly undermanned, the Heels played Kansas close but Kansas pulled ahead late for the win. Roy Williams' 2011–2012 team finished the season with a record of 32–6, 14–2 in the ACC.


title: Roy Williams (basketball coach)

text: The 2012–13 season for Roy Williams and his Tar Heels was a great surprise with respect to a new starting lineup in the latter half of the season. Unlike traditional Carolina teams, the Heels played more guard heavy and relied mostly on their perimeter game to score points. Coach Williams reached 700 total NCAA career head coaching victories after the Tar Heels beat Villanova 78–71 in the opening round of the tournament. Unfortunately, the Tar Heels were not able to advance after a 70–58 loss to Kansas in the round of 32. It marked the third time Carolina had lost to the Jayhawks during March Madness since 2008. The Tar Heels completed their season with 25 wins and 11 losses (overall) including 12 wins and six losses against conference opponents.


title: Roy Williams (basketball coach)

text: The 2013–14 season for the Tar Heels ended with a round of 32 loss to Iowa State in the NCAA Tournament after narrowly slipping past Providence in the opening round. The overall record ended up 24–10, which included a 13–5 conference record.


title: Roy Williams (basketball coach)

text: John R. Wooden Award candidate Marcus Paige came back for his junior season. With early season losses to unranked Butler and Iowa, the Tar Heels intensity and strength were questioned. The Tar Heels grabbed a four seed in the NCAA Tournament with wins against Harvard and Arkansas, but ended their run with a loss to Wisconsin in the Sweet Sixteen. The Tar Heels finished their season 26–12 with an 11–7 ACC record.


title: Roy Williams (basketball coach)

text: During the 2015–16 season, Williams guided the Tar Heels to their fourth Final Four of his tenure, as well as winning the regular season and ACC tournament titles.


title: Roy Williams (basketball coach)

text: In the 2016 NCAA tournament, North Carolina beat Florida Gulf Coast, Providence, Indiana, and Notre Dame, and Syracuse in the Final Four, to earn a spot against Villanova in the national championship game. North Carolina lost 77–74 when Villanova sank a three-point buzzer beater. The Tar Heels completed their season with a 33–7 overall record.


title: Roy Williams (basketball coach)

text: Williams led his Tar Heels to their second consecutive ACC regular season championship. On January 16, 2017, Williams won his 800th game as a head coach after defeating Syracuse 85–68. Justin Jackson won ACC Player of the Year. In the 2017 NCAA Tournament, North Carolina defeated Texas Southern 103–64, Arkansas 72–65, Butler 92–80, Kentucky 75–73, Oregon 77–76 and Gonzaga 71–65 to win its third national title in the Roy Williams' era. The Tar Heels completed their season again with a 33–7 overall record.


title: Roy Williams (basketball coach)

text: On February 12, 2018, in a North Carolina home win against Notre Dame, Williams garnered the same number of wins (418) in the same number of seasons (15) that he accumulated at Kansas.


title: Roy Williams (basketball coach)

text: Despite a slow start to the season, North Carolina had another impressive ACC conference record in the Williams era. After a dismal 21 point loss to the Louisville Cardinals, the Tar Heels would lose only one more game, finishing the regular season 26–5 overall, 16–2 in the ACC, tied atop the conference with the Virginia Cavaliers. Season highlights include a sweep of rivals Duke and North Carolina State as well as going 9–0 in conference road games. Adding great and consistent offensive production during the season, Coby White averaged 16.1 PPG in his freshman year as a Tar Heel. Williams was named the USA TODAY Sports National Coach of the Year.


title: Roy Williams (basketball coach)

text: The Tar Heels made it to the Sweet Sixteen of the NCAA tournament before falling to 5 seed Auburn 97–80.


title: Roy Williams (basketball coach)

text: On November 27, 2019, Williams tied Adolph Rupp for 5th in all-time wins with his 876th career victory after a win over Alabama 76–67. He took sole possession of 5th place in all-time wins with his 877th victory with a 78–74 win over Oregon two days later in the consolation game of the Battle 4 Atlantis tournament.


title: Roy Williams (basketball coach)

text: On December 30, 2019, Williams tied Dean Smith for 4th in all-time wins with his 879th career victory after a win over Yale 70–67, and on January 25, 2020, North Carolina defeated Miami in Chapel Hill 94–71. The victory brought Williams to a total of 880 career wins, moving him past Smith and placing him fourth on the NCAA's all-time Division I coaching wins list, behind only Bob Knight, Jim Boeheim, and Mike Krzyzewski.


title: Roy Williams (basketball coach)

text: North Carolina concluded the regular season with a 13-18 (6-14) record, losing eight games by four points or fewer. The Tar Heels lost to Syracuse in the ACC Tournament, the last ACC game played before the season and post-season were cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, finishing 14-19 and giving Williams his first losing season in his college coaching career.


title: Roy Williams (basketball coach)

text: On February 27, 2021, Williams won his 900th game, becoming the fastest men’s coach to reach the milestone in D-1 history, after an upset win over #11 Florida St., 78–70, in Chapel Hill.


title: Roy Williams (basketball coach)

text: On March 11, 2021, Williams won his 903rd game, passing coach Bobby Knight for third on the all-time D-1 wins list after a win over Virginia Tech 81–73 in the quarterfinals of the ACC Tournament.


title: Roy Williams (basketball coach)

text: The Tar Heels concluded the season with a blowout loss to Wisconsin 85–62 in the first round of the NCAA tournament. The loss marked the first time Williams had lost in this round in his head coaching career, dropping him to 29-1 all time in NCAA tournament first-round games.


title: Roy Williams (basketball coach)

text: On April 1, 2021, Williams announced his retirement after 48 years as a coach, 33 as a head coach and 18 years at North Carolina. His overall record was , including going at Kansas, and at North Carolina). The university held a press conference that afternoon which was attended by several current and former Tar Heel coaches, players, and members of the Carolina Family and university community. He was replaced four days later by one of his assistant coaches, Hubert Davis, whom Williams had been mentoring for a head coaching job much like Dean Smith had done to him.


title: Roy Williams (basketball coach)

text: He and his wife, Wanda, a 1972 UNC graduate, have a son, Scott, a daughter, Kimberly, and three grandsons. Scott earned a business degree from UNC and was on the Tar Heels' varsity roster in 1997–98 and 1998–99. Kimberly was a member of the UNC dance team in 2000 and 2001 and owns The Dance Spot in Huntersville, North Carolina.


title: Roy Williams (basketball coach)

text: In 2009, Algonquin Books published Williams' autobiography, "Hard Work: A Life On and Off the Court", co-written by Tim Crothers. In the book, Williams discusses his life, including that of his difficult childhood, the highs and lows of his successful coaching career and the difficult and agonizing decision to leave Kansas for North Carolina in 2003.


title: Roy Williams (basketball coach)

text: In March 2021, Williams and his wife Wanda donated $3 million to the University of North Carolina, to support various scholarships for UNC. Williams also donated $600,000 in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic to provide scholarships for an extra year of eligibility for UNC spring sport athletes who had their 2020 seasons cut short.


title: Roy Williams (basketball coach)

text: Several former players and assistant coaches of Williams have gone on to their own careers in coaching.


title: Roy Williams (basketball coach)

text: On December 8, 2021, the North Carolina State Board of Transportation approved naming Interstate 40 between North Carolina Highway 86 and U.S. 15-501 "Roy Williams Highway".


title: Bree Van de Kamp

text: Bree Van de Kamp is a fictional character on the ABC television series "Desperate Housewives". She is played by actress Marcia Cross, who has received multiple awards and nominations for her portrayal, including an Emmy Award nomination, three Golden Globe Award nominations, and two Screen Actors Guild Awards. Cross' portrayal of Bree has been widely praised by critics and fans.


title: Bree Van de Kamp

text: Cross auditioned for the role of Mary Alice Young, but series creator Marc Cherry thought she was better suited for the role of Bree. Dana Delany, who eventually was cast as Katherine Mayfair, was chosen for the role but turned it down, saying it was too similar to her role in "Pasadena".


title: Bree Van de Kamp

text: Bree's main struggle throughout the series has been her attempts to maintain a perfect life despite various obstacles such as widowhood, divorce, and alcoholism hindering her. She has been married to Rex Van de Kamp (Steven Culp), Orson Hodge (Kyle MacLachlan), and Trip Weston (Scott Bakula), and has had relationships with various other men.


title: Bree Van de Kamp

text: Bree Van de Kamp is one of the four main protagonists in "Desperate Housewives". Bree grew up in Rhode Island when her father married a woman named Eleanor, after her mother's death, with whom she did not get along. In order to escape her step-mother's demands, Bree left for Lake Forest College near Chicago. Bree also mentioned on one of Eleanor's visits that she had to work for every kind word she ever was given from her step-mother. Bree met Rex Van de Kamp at a meeting of the Young Republicans. After they graduated, they married and had two children, Andrew and Danielle, and moved to Fairview.


title: Bree Van de Kamp

text: Bree is very much written as an exaggerated version of the characteristics often attributed to White Anglo-Saxon Protestant Americans; she has been called a "hyper-uptight WASP". Bree is recognized for her perfectionist attitude and work ethic, which at times border on neurosis and obsessive–compulsive disorder. While the writers have shied away from an official diagnosis, the character is recognized as having obsessive–compulsive personality disorder. The character herself refers to her "quirks" in terms of anal retentiveness but Rex once mentioned it by the name. Bree's perfectionism may stem from when her mother was killed in a hit and run; a 10-year-old Bree cleaned her blood off the road outside the house. She said that once everything was spotless, she felt much better.


title: Bree Van de Kamp

text: Bree is known for her homemaking talents on the level of Martha Stewart, particularly her gourmet meals, breakfast treats and pineapple bran muffins. She is also well versed in firearms; she owns four guns and is a card-carrying member of the National Rifle Association. Bree supports the Republican Party, as stated in the season 3 opener, and is also known for being a member of the local Presbyterian church, as seen in the episode "Sunday". Her neighbors Angie Bolen, Gabrielle Solis and Renee Perry have nicknamed her "Nancy Reagan" on occasions.


title: Bree Van de Kamp

text: Bree has lived at 4354 Wisteria Lane in Fairview since 1994 and is also said to have a timeshare residence in Aspen that she never uses. Bree is based on creator Marc Cherry's own mother, and the Van de Kamp family is based on the family in which he grew up. Bree's family was based on Marc Cherry's teen years, while Lynette Scavo's family is based on Marc Cherry's childhood years. Bree and her first husband, Rex, were both named after the overtly vain characters on two of Marc Cherry's previous failed sitcoms, "The 5 Mrs. Buchanans" (Bree) and "The Crew" (Rex).


title: Bree Van de Kamp

text: Both of Bree's marriages have broken down and ended in divorce (however, Rex died before their divorce was finalized) following the request for divorce, both of Bree's former husbands attempted reconciliation with her. Rex succeeded, whereas her second husband Orson Hodge did not. During the breakdown of her second marriage, Bree had an affair with Karl Mayer, her divorce lawyer and ex-husband of her friend, Susan Delfino. However, Bree did remarry in the series finale to her lawyer, Trip Weston, making him her third husband.


title: Bree Van de Kamp

text: Bree is the only one of the main four housewives not to appear in every episode. Appearing only as a stand-in in "My Husband, The Pig", Bree is totally absent in its six following episodes ("Dress Big", "Liaisons", "God, That's Good", "Gossip", "Into the Woods" and "What Would We Do Without You?") due to Cross' pregnancy.


title: Bree Van de Kamp

text: Bree Mason is born in 1962. When she was 10 years old, her mother taught her a lesson about "masking" so she could hide true feelings and emotions, which prevented her from being able to be hurt by men. Shortly after, during Christmas 1972, her mother died in hospital after a car accident. Bree stayed at home and cleaned her mother's blood from the driveway. She felt relieved after that. Her father then married Eleanor (Carol Burnett). Bree had to earn respect from her stepmother and so worked very hard. Eleanor said to her stepdaughter that she was very lucky and possessed beauty, wit, cunning and insight: weapons all women needed to survive in the world. Her dad took care of his daughter and tried to raise her to be a classic lady.


title: Bree Van de Kamp

text: She got engaged to her boyfriend, Ty Grant, but met Rex Van de Kamp and the two fell in love during college. Bree and Rex got married in 1987. Bree gave birth to her son Andrew in 1988 and daughter Danielle in 1989. The family moved in 1994 to 4354 Wisteria Lane, Fairview. She gave a bad first impression to Mary Alice Young and Susan Mayer, local neighbours and friends, after Andrew stole a ceramic frog from the Youngs' backyard. Bree, Susan and Mary Alice become close friends. In 1998 Lynette Scavo joined the group. 5 years later, after a short and difficult first impression of Gabrielle Solis, all four women accepted the ex-model as their friend.


title: Bree Van de Kamp

text: Bree Van de Kamp is introduced as the "perfect" wife and mother. However, it becomes apparent that her emotional coldness and obsession with appearances makes her family resent her, and as her husband Rex puts it, "I just can't live in this detergent commercial anymore".


title: Bree Van de Kamp

text: She insists she and Rex have marriage guidance counseling with Dr. Albert Goldfine (Sam Lloyd) when he wants a divorce, and demands that Andrew and Danielle refuse presents from their father if they want to continue living with her. Unfortunately, in Andrew's case, this leads to him drink-driving and accidentally running over Juanita Solis, leaving her in a coma. Rex and Bree conceal this to protect him but Bree is soon disappointed with his lack of remorse. Determined to make him realize that there are consequences to his actions, she gets him kicked off the swimming team by planting marijuana in his locker and then anonymously tipping off his coach.


title: Bree Van de Kamp

text: Bree is determined to keep her family together until Rex has a heart attack, leading her to discover that he regularly visits a prostitute. Worse still, the prostitute turns out to be an acquaintance of hers, Maisy Gibbons (Sharon Lawrence), who is later arrested for living off immoral earnings. Maisy is persuaded to cut a plea deal with the district attorney, naming her clients and despite a request from Bree, does not remove Rex's name. Furious, Bree tells Rex she will divorce him but is "persuaded" by Andrew and Danielle to look after him while he recuperates. Initially wanting to hurt him, Bree starts dating their pharmacist, George Williams (Roger Bart), but ends things when Rex asks her to give their marriage another chance. She and George agree to be just friends. Wanting to deter Rex from visiting prostitutes, she reluctantly takes part in S&M scenarios with him.


title: Bree Van de Kamp

text: Concerned about Andrew's worsening behavior, she is cheered when Rex backs her up on one occasion. Unfortunately this fails to make any difference, so Rex and Bree feel that they have no choice but to send Andrew away to a boot camp. While there, Andrew reveals to his parents that he is gay. Bree initially tells him that she will always love him regardless but quietly insists to Rex that they take Andrew home immediately, worried about what he might be doing with the other boys at night, and asks their vicar to give Andrew some counseling on lifestyle, believing that his soul is in danger. This has disastrous results, as Andrew thinks she doesn't love him and deliberately hurts her. Bree continues to confide in George about her family problems but, after Rex makes it clear that Bree will stay with him, George begins tampering with Rex's medication. This is uncovered when Rex has a second heart attack. Believing Bree was responsible, Rex writes a note forgiving her and dies. Bree's final scenes in the season involve her receiving the bad news and breaking down in tears.


title: Bree Van de Kamp

text: Bree's mother-in-law, Phyllis (Shirley Knight), visits for her son's funeral. She annoys Bree with her constant sniping and excessive displays of grief to the point that Bree refuses to let her attend Rex's funeral, but Andrew persuades her to. The final straw, however, is when she discovers Phyllis reported her friendship with George to Rex's life insurance provider. Bree sends Phyllis home and is questioned by the police about meddling with Rex's medication. She is cleared and is furious when she discovers the note Rex had left her which claimed he thought she murdered him, and she starts dating George. However, George constantly tries to rush things, making her uneasy. When George places an announcement of their engagement in the newspaper, an ex-fiancée of his, Leila Mitzman, visits Bree to warn her about him. Bree is horrified and sends the woman away but she is proved right when George loses his temper upon seeing Bree dance with Ty Grant, and she also finds out that he assaulted Dr. Goldfine for suggesting to Bree that she take their relationship slowly. George tries blackmailing her into a reconciliation by taking some pills and admits to killing Rex. Devastated, Bree says that she has called an ambulance and it will be there soon, but in reality, she hasn't. She watches him die and tells Andrew, who tries blackmailing her for his trust fund.


title: Bree Van de Kamp

text: Events with Rex, George and Andrew take their toll and she starts drinking heavily. She realizes she has a problem when she loses Lynette's children after passing out while babysitting. Andrew later begins making accusations about Bree physically abusing him and tries to seek emancipation rights, which Bree refuses. In denial, but not wanting Andrew to get his trust fund or give up on him, Bree joins AA but only takes it seriously after passing out in a shop changing room and not waking up until late at night. Her AA sponsor, Peter McMillan (Lee Tergesen), and a security guard let her out. Bree also faces more turmoil when she discovers her new neighbors, the Applewhites are hiding from the police and is blackmailed into silence. To distract herself from her alcoholism, she has a brief relationship with Peter, who is addicted to sex. However, Andrew discovers this and seduces Peter to get revenge on Bree for denying him his trust fund. She dumps Peter and throws Andrew out after discovering that they slept together and in her bed.


title: Bree Van de Kamp

text: Bree's mental health deteriorates rapidly following this and nobody can help her as her behavior becomes erratic and spirals out of control including creating a scene at Danielle's birthday party. Danielle, meanwhile, starts dating Matthew Applewhite and moves out to be with him. However, Matthew's mother, Betty Applewhite, realizes Matthew murdered an ex-girlfriend, Melanie Foster. She tells Bree, who has checked herself into a psychiatric unit and later escapes after they refuse to let her leave. Bree and Betty rush to Bree's house to find Matthew and Danielle have taken money from Bree's safe. Bree confronts Matthew about Melanie and refuses to let them leave, so he threatens to shoot her, only to be shot dead by a police sniper. Bree's final scenes involve her beginning a new friendship with the mysterious Orson Hodge.


title: Bree Van de Kamp

text: After a six month relationship, Bree marries Orson, but their marriage is troubled by the belief that Orson physically abused his first wife, Alma (Valerie Mahaffey), and murdered her. She becomes overwhelmed with guilt to see Andrew on TV, reduced to living on the streets, and tracks him down only to be rebuffed. Shortly after the wedding, Orson persuades Andrew to come home and they reconcile.


title: Bree Van de Kamp

text: However, the arrival of Orson's mother, Gloria (Dixie Carter), and Alma's return, cause more trouble. They drug and rape Orson but Bree intervenes, learning that Gloria murdered Orson's mistress, Monique Polier, so he would stay with Alma. Gloria tries to kill Bree but Orson intervenes. Gloria has a severe stroke after Orson holds her head under water to get her to let go of the knife she is trying to kill Bree with. Orson carries Gloria's body outside and places it next to Alma's body, Alma having died when she fell off the roof of her house while trying to escape to warn Bree about Gloria.


title: Bree Van de Kamp

text: Danielle, meanwhile, finds herself pregnant by Edie's nephew Austin McCann (Josh Henderson). She is sent away so the neighborhood won't learn of her pregnancy and Bree and Orson decide to fake a pregnancy so they can raise Danielle's child as their own.


title: Bree Van de Kamp

text: Bree is not in episodes 3.16 to 3.22 as she is on honeymoon with Orson and Danielle. Bree returns for Gabrielle and Victor's wedding, heavily pregnant or so it seems...


title: Bree Van de Kamp

text: Bree and Orson struggle to make people think she is pregnant but is dismayed by people wanting to feel the baby move. Phyllis discovers Bree's pregnancy hoax and tries convincing Danielle to raise the child herself. Bree and Orson, however, persuade Danielle to give them the baby by offering to send her to college and buy her a convertible. Danielle has a baby boy and gives him to Bree — who names him Benjamin Tyson Hodge (surname later changed to Katz) — and agrees that Bree and Orson will raise him.


title: Bree Van de Kamp

text: Bree develops a rivalry with new neighbor, Katherine Mayfair (Dana Delany). Bree and Katherine are very similar, leading to a series of feuds before eventually becoming friends and go into business together, catering dinner parties.


title: Bree Van de Kamp

text: After a tornado damages Bree's house, she, Orson and Benjamin stay with Susan. During this time, Orson begins sleepwalking, twice being caught naked by Susan. Things come to a head when Julie catches him confessing to running over Mike. While Mike and Susan are willing to forgive Orson for his crime, Bree is horrified and kicks him out. During their separation, Edie Britt comes onto Orson, leading to a feud between her and Bree. Edie discovers Benjamin is Bree's grandson and attempts to blackmail her. Bree, however, tells the other housewives the truth, so they all snub Edie.


title: Bree Van de Kamp

text: In the season finale, Katherine saves Bree's life by telling her ex-husband, Wayne Davis (Gary Cole), her secrets. When Katherine kills Wayne, Bree and the other housewives tell the police that Katherine was terrified of a stalker so she doesn't go to prison.


title: Bree Van de Kamp

text: When the events of the series shift ahead by five years in the fourth-season finale, it is revealed that Bree is now a famous cookbook author, and Andrew works with her as her assistant. Bree and Orson have evidently worked out their problems and are still together.


title: Bree Van de Kamp

text: Bree has just published her own cookbook, and is successfully running the catering business. She and Orson reconcile after he went to prison for running over Mike. A flashback sequence reveals that while Bree awaited Orson's release, Danielle returned and took Benjamin, leaving her completely alone. Devastated, Bree relapsed into alcoholism but overcame it, thanks to Katherine.


title: Bree Van de Kamp

text: Bree puts her career first, alienating her friends at times and causing a rift between her and Orson. As revenge, Orson begins stealing - initially to punish people who he feels have been rude, and to hurt Bree. Orson agrees to stop stealing, but when he is injured while attempting to rob an old woman (and indirectly causes Edie's death when she crashes her car into a telephone pole trying to avoid him) and tries to convince people that the old woman is senile, she decides she has had enough. She hires Karl Mayer as her divorce lawyer, who convinces her to stage a fake burglary so she can hide her precious/expensive things in a storage unit and not risk losing them in the divorce proceedings. However, Orson discovers her plan, threatening to send her to prison for insurance fraud unless she stays with him. Bree agrees reluctantly but shares a passionate kiss with Karl.


title: Bree Van de Kamp

text: Initially, Bree is unwilling to sleep with Karl, despite her marriage being strained. Orson, however, is determined to salvage their relationship, commenting that guilt is sometimes necessary for happiness, and defending his use of blackmail so that she'll stay with him. Bree takes this motto as her own and consummates her affair with Karl.


title: Bree Van de Kamp

text: When Julie is hospitalized after being attacked, Bree worries that she will lose Susan's friendship upon hearing that Susan would hypothetically no longer talk to a friend who dated Karl. However, Karl's fragility convinces Bree he needs her and she begins falling for him, acknowledging her feelings when they attend the same event and Karl brings another woman. This distracts her from her business, meaning she only realizes the extent of Katherine's instability when an event is ruined. Bree dismisses her and, after getting to know new neighbor Angie Bolen (Drea de Matteo), hires her instead. Meanwhile, Karl's romantic gestures make their affair harder to hide. Suspicious, Orson gets Angie to spy on Bree. She discovers the affair, and helps Bree hide Karl when Orson comes home early and attempts to catch them in the act, but afterwards challenges Bree about her feelings for these two men. As Bree sees it, she connects intellectually with Orson but sexually with Karl, and is worried that their relationship will only ever be physical, despite his promises to change.


title: Bree Van de Kamp

text: Bree's fears are realized when Susan catches her and Karl together at a motel. They fight, but despite her initial unhappiness, Susan eventually gives them her blessing. In order to get away from Orson, Karl suggests Bree threaten him, which she does by hiring an ex-con Orson met in prison to meet with him, and capturing the meeting on a hidden camera. She takes the pictures to Orson, which serve as proof of him breaking his parole, and demands a divorce. Stunned, Orson tells Bree that he wouldn't send her to prison for fraud and goes to pack, but discovers her affair with Karl when Karl confesses to him at the annual Wisteria Lane Christmas block party, in part due to the fact that he'd hired a plane to fly a banner over the party with a message asking Bree to marry him. A fight breaks out between the two men, and Bree tries intervening, to no success. The fight is ended when the pilot of the banner plane suffers a fatal heart attack at the controls and the plane subsequently crashes into the party, killing Karl and leaving Orson paralyzed.


title: Bree Van de Kamp

text: Feeling guilty, Bree insists Orson come home so she can look after him but he is disgusted by her infidelity and takes advantage. Angry about his lack of manners and personal hygiene, Bree hoses him down but stops when he explains how angry he is with the way his life is now. Wanting to help, Bree gets two disabled men to visit, but Orson asks her to let him kill himself, telling her that he wants to die because no one loves him. When asked, Bree can't say the words, but seeing Orson trying to drown himself at a party of an old married couple with such passion causes Bree to realize that she still wants things to work with Orson. She stops him by telling him how much she cares and wants to recapture what they once had, and they reconcile.


title: Bree Van de Kamp

text: A young man named Sam Allen (Samuel Page) visits Bree, offering himself as a new assistant. Impressed by Sam's skills, Bree promotes him to vice-president, much to Andrew's anger. While visiting Sam's home, Bree is stunned to see a photo of Rex and Sam. Sam admits Rex was his father and that he spent years watching Bree's family, wondering why Rex chose them over him, and after his mother's death, came to see Bree. Shocked by this, Bree welcomes Sam into her life but finds herself at odds with Andrew, who suspects Sam has an ulterior motive. Sam plots to make Bree fire Andrew, which she does, but after she reveals that she and Andrew have a love-and-hate relationship, it's likely that Andrew will return. After she tells Orson about a sabotaged dinner, suspecting Andrew, Orson points out that Andrew couldn't be responsible because it was well planned, making Bree suspect Sam's true intentions. She discovers that Sam's mother is still alive and reveals that Sam found a letter from Rex, offering to take full custody of him. Bree confronts Sam about his lies and he angrily smashes a vase before leaving. She apologizes to Andrew but tells him and Orson she's not firing Sam for fear of how he might react.


title: Bree Van de Kamp

text: In the season finale, Bree does try firing Sam but he retaliates by revealing he knows how Andrew ran over Carlos' mother years before (a drunken Danielle told him). He threatens to tell the police unless Bree turns over control of the company to him. Bree agrees to do so and then says she feels sorry for Sam for losing his chance to be part of a family and suspects no one will ever truly care for the man. Orson, who had not known what Andrew did, calls out Bree on the hypocrisy of demanding he go to jail for his hit-and-run of Mike but hiding Andrew's crime. He is both appalled and furious at Bree for this and announces he's moving out. Bree tells Andrew she now knows Orson was right and is seen about to confess to Gabrielle.


title: Bree Van de Kamp

text: Bree confesses to covering up the demise of Carlos' mom Mama Solis (Lupe Ontiveros). Gabrielle chooses not to tell her husband. After discovering her ex-husband has a new girlfriend only a week after they separated, Bree decides to redecorate the ground floor of her house, hiring Keith Watson (Brian Austin Green), to help but finds herself attracted to him. While looking at him from her car, she does not see Juanita Solis (Madison De La Garza) behind her before reversing, leading to Juanita being admitted to hospital. Upon finding out that Keith has a girlfriend, she agreed to go out clubbing with Renee Perry. She finds out that Keith broke up with his girlfriend, but he is instead going home with Renee. Bree sabotages their night and eventually asks Keith on a date. This begins Bree and Renee's fight over Keith.


title: Bree Van de Kamp

text: Later Bree only mentioned to Richard Watson, father of Keith, that she's finally a divorcee. Learning this, Richard, who has been having feelings for Bree, tries to make a move to destroy Bree's and Keith's relationship so that he could have Bree instead. Keith attempts to propose to Bree and after the second failed attempt, Keith begins to question his relationship with Bree. Richard manipulates Keith's mind by warning him that Bree might be using him as a diversion from her actual feelings after her divorce from Orson. As a result, Keith begins to avoid Bree. Richard then kisses Bree all of a sudden and after he leaves, Bree tells Keith everything about his father's attempts to tear them apart. Later, Keith confronts Richard about this and has a fistfight with him but when rioters, who are opposing Paul Young's plan to open a halfway house for ex-convicts on Wisteria Lane, see the two fight, they mistaken him as an ex-convict due to his tattoos and ex-convict-like clothing and begin to beat Keith up. Bree breaks up the fight by firing a gun into the sky and this triggers fear and panic among the rioters and supporters for the halfway house alike, thinking this is an assassination attempt, proceed to flee, resulting in a riot that goes out of control.


title: Bree Van de Kamp

text: Bree is thrown when Orson returns, claiming he was dumped by his girlfriend. Keith is annoyed at how Bree is willing to let Orson stay with them. Over dinner, Orson makes it clear he doesn't think Keith is a good choice for Bree as they have nothing in common and Orson understands her more, the two throwing food at one another. Bree goes to see Orson's ex, who reveals that Orson was the one who broke up with her as he's still in love with Bree. She confronts him and Orson confesses how he feels and thinks Bree is too good for Keith. Keith is angered at Bree continuing to want Orson to stay with them, saying that she's still in love with Orson. Bree responds by shoving him down in her manure-covered lawn, getting herself dirty to prove how much she's changed. When one of Keith's old girlfriends comes by, Bree is suspicious and discovers the woman has been raising Keith's son. She mentions children to Keith, who seems unsure whether he is father material. Bree goes to the girlfriend, lying about how Keith doesn't want to know the child. Keith finds her cutting up her roses as she says "you have to be ruthless to protect what you want." Bree meets the woman later to lend her money and when she leaves her son in Bree's care, Keith drops by the pizza parlor. Seeing Keith and the boy instantly bonding, Bree is overcome with guilt and confesses to Keith that the boy is actually his son. Keith desperately wants to be with his son, but he doesn't want to leave Bree, he pitches the idea of moving to Florida with Bree but she refuses to leave her home and friends. The next day Bree makes the ultimate decision and tells Keith that he must go to Florida for his son. She sacrifices their relationship and Keith leaves.


title: Bree Van de Kamp

text: Bree discovers that Andrew has started drinking again, so much so that his husband leaves him. She encourages Andrew to go into rehab but is jarred when he decides to make amends by telling Carlos about running over his mother. When Carlos invites Andrew on a camping trip, Bree and Gabrielle fear the worst and follow them. Seeing Carlos with a bloody towel and a dirty shovel, Bree blurts out what Andrew did, just before her son enters the cabin. Carlos is outraged over this but eventually forgives Andrew. However, when Bree comes to thank him for not pressing charges, Carlos coldly tells her he won't forgive her for hiding the truth all these years and that they're no longer friends and that she and Gabby can no longer be friends. Bree ends up taking Gabby and her daughters into her house when Gabby leaves Carlos after telling him that she will not end her friendship with Bree. While the Solis' are staying with Bree she has a run in with Detective Chuck Vance (Jonathan Cake) who was on Wisteria Lane to check on parolee Felicia Tillman. Juanita Solis calls the police and tells them that Bree is trying to kill her and Celia (after Carlos tells her Bree's involvement in her grandmother's death). Chuck responds to the call at Bree's home and Carlos sorts everything out, explaining that the girls misunderstood what he had told them. Chuck leaves and gives Bree his number and the Solis' move out of Bree's and back with Carlos.


title: Bree Van de Kamp

text: Chuck later returns to give Bree his number again after assuming she'd lost it since he hasn't received a call from her. Bree then agrees to go out on a date with him that night and when Bree tells this to Renee, Renee runs a background check on Chuck and reveals to Bree that he's still married (though he had filed for divorce a year ago). At dinner, Bree confronts Chuck with this information but Chuck retaliates by telling her that he had also run a background check on her, therefore becoming more aware of Bree's past. Offended, Bree abruptly ends their date and as Chuck drives her home, Chuck catches a hooker in the street and brings her back to the women's center. There, Chuck tells the hooker (who believes that she'll be a hooker forever) that she can turn her life around, pretending to reveal that Bree once was a prostitute and she had turned over a new leaf by going to school and starting a massive catering company. Moved by Chuck's sincere words, Bree gives Chuck a second chance and the two agree to go out on another date afterwards.


title: Bree Van de Kamp

text: During the "progressive dinner party" celebrating Susan's return to Wisteria Lane, Bree (along with Lynette and Susan) walks into Gaby's house to discover that Carlos has murdered Alejandro Perez, Gaby's stepfather. She spearheads the decision to cover up the murder to protect Carlos, thus earning his forgiveness for keeping the secret about his mother's hit-and-run for all those years.


title: Bree Van de Kamp

text: Following their agreement to cover up the murder of Alejandro, Bree's relationship with Chuck begins to suffer. She finds herself constantly paranoid that he will discover her involvement, and uses sex as a way to distract him. She then receives a note exactly like the one Mary Alice received when she shot herself. She then seeks out the counsel of Paul Young, asking if he was the one who sent it. Upset over the fact that Bree may still judge him for his past he sends her away. However, he later calls her back urging her to tell the other housewives to spare her Mary Alice's fate, and reveals to her the only other person who he told about the note to was the cop who was looking into Martha Huber's death, Chuck. At first suspicious, Bree decides to break up with Chuck when he tries to propose. He does not take it well, telling her she is making a big mistake. Danielle returns, having been dumped by her husband and Bree is at first supportive until she finds her daughter is now selling adult swings to make money.


title: Bree Van de Kamp

text: Having avoided church over her guilt in hiding Alejandro, Bree is convinced to help Ben Faulkner in a soup kitchen. When a passing college student raves over her cooking, the kitchen is soon home to regular people, not the homeless and Bree realizes that's wrong. She tells everyone to leave, giving a speech on how this is meant to help the less fortunate. Ben is impressed and has Bree give a speech to the city council to convince them to let Ben build a homeless shelter in Fairview. At first happy about helping, Bree is horrified to realize the spot Ben is about to break ground on is where the girls buried Alejandro. She, Gabrielle and Lynette go to dig the body back up only to find it gone. It turns out Ben found it earlier, thinking he was just a drifter and Bree convinces him to help keep it quiet. However, Bree soon finds Chuck is suspicious and putting together clues to prove what the girls did. The pressure soon drives Bree to break her sobriety and pour herself a drink.


title: Bree Van de Kamp

text: Chuck starts to dig deeper into Gabrielle's stepfather's disappearance. Gabrielle tells Bree that Chuck brought them in for questioning and Bree snaps, causing her to head to a motel. When she arrives she sits at a table in her room, pulls out a bottle of wine and a gun, and begins talking to the spirit of Mary Alice. Bree asks her asking if she is happy after having killed herself who replies, "I'm not unhappy". Bree is ready to kill herself when Renee kicks in the door, mistakenly believing Bree is with Ben. After yelling, threatening to hit her and telling her she's "nothing more than a skank in a Nancy Reagan nightie", Renee notices the gun and the note. After reading it she takes Bree home and stays there to make sure she's okay. When Renee says she won't let a friend die, Bree points out they're not quite friends, hurting Renee. She confesses to Bree how her own mother committed suicide and makes Bree see it's not the way out. Bree is happy at first, more so when she hears Chuck was killed in a hit-and-run. However, when she opens her mailbox, she finds a note saying "You're welcome."


title: Bree Van de Kamp

text: Renee takes Bree to a bar, encouraging her to live a little and Bree ends up going with a man, skinny-dipping in a pool before the owner of the house comes home. Bree soon is going to bed with a succession of men which gets the Reverend concerned about her behavior. Determined to show he's wrong, Bree comes to the bake sale where she meets one of her lovers, only to discover he's married. When Karen McCluskey says that they do not know what Bree is really like, Bree decides to live up her reputation as the new town slut. Bree is soon bed-hopping to the point where she hits upon a man in a bar without remembering she had gone home with him just two nights previously. When they hear about Renee taking Bree to a bar, her friends try and stage an intervention at which point Bree reaches boiling point and blasts them for their less than friend like behavior recently. At the bar, she's approached by a man and realizes how far she's fallen, ready to go home. The man follows her to the parking lot, threatening to assault Bree only to be interrupted by a wheelchair-using Orson. He uses a taser to knock the man out, telling Bree her friends called him to help and if there's one thing they did well together, it was "cleaning up each other's messes." Orson soon convinces Bree that the girls are still angry at her and to go away with him for a weekend. What Bree doesn't know is that Orson has been stalking her for months, seeing the girls bury Alejandro's body and he was the one leaving Bree the notes as part of his warped scheme to win her back. Bree soon discovers the truth while visiting Orson's apartment and despite his claims he did it all for her, she says she wants nothing to do with him. Orson calls her later, claiming that their love requires sacrifice and Bree believes he's going to kill himself. Instead, Orson mails a folder of evidence to the Fairview Police.


title: Bree Van de Kamp

text: Bree is surprised when Andrew comes home, engaged to a woman named Mary Beth. Learning she's an heiress, Bree suspects Andrew is just marrying her for her money. Mary Beth tells Bree she knows Andrew is gay but is still willing to marry him as she's been unlucky in love. Bree convinces Mary Beth to find a man who truly loves her and she breaks up with Andrew. Andrew is upset at losing a chance at the money but Bree tells him he can stay with her and accept her help getting back on his feet.


title: Bree Van de Kamp

text: Meanwhile, the police become suspicious of Bree and the murder of Gaby's stepfather and the help of his cover-up, so they tread carefully in trying to get proof that she is one of the suspects. They interview her, and she says that she has nothing to do with it. But as she was drinking her cup of tea, her fingerprints were on the mug. The fingerprint that the police found on the body, and the fingerprint on Bree's cup match. The police go and talk to Ben, still about the murder of Alejandro. Ben keeps Bree's secret, and the police leave, with no more evidence than the fingerprint. But they do not stop there - a detective tracks down a call of Bree to Ben that night regarding Alejandro's murder, and they record it.


title: Bree Van de Kamp

text: In order to defend herself, Bree asks Bob Hunter for legal advice, but he tells her she needs a crime lawyer. He recommends lawyer Trip Weston, whom he calls a "shark". Bree goes to trial but does not tell Trip all the truth, and is about to go to prison until Mrs. McCluskey confesses the murder of Alejandro herself, after Bree and the girls agree to take care of her during her last days of life. Bree is acquitted of all charges. In the end, Bree marries Trip and moves to Louisville, Kentucky where she joins a club for conservative women. Later she is encouraged by Trip to run for the city council, then the following November she is elected to the Kentucky Legislature.


title: Bree Van de Kamp

text: Bree has received wide acclaim, both for the character's storylines, and for Cross' portrayal. In a review of the pilot, Tim Goodman from the San Francisco Chronicle called Cross "almost too perfect as uptight Bree", and applauds her for "managing to give the character more shadings than merely insanely perfect."


title: Bree Van de Kamp

text: At the commencement of the second season, Bree was widely considered the series' most prominent role, following the first year's emphasis on Susan Mayer. Though a drop in quality was noted in the second season, Bree's battles with alcohol, her teenage son, and her murderous pharmacist lover, while continuing to deal with the death of her husband, were well received, and considered the focal point of the series in light of the lagging Applewhite mystery.


title: Bree Van de Kamp

text: Cross retained her center-stage position for the show's third season, which widely focused upon the mystery surrounding her new husband Orson. Critics noted an improvement in quality from the second season to the third, and many deemed Bree's storyline to be the most satisfying of the season, as well as noting a "loss of steam" during Cross' maternity leave at the latter part of the season.


title: Bree Van de Kamp

text: Season 4's "fake pregnancy" storyline continued to satisfy critics, with one calling it the series' most "hysterical [storyline] yet", and singling Cross out for praise. Her friction with Katherine Mayfair was also noted as a highlight. Following the five year leap, a new direction was taken with Bree's character as she made the transition from housewife to author/businesswoman, a development which received positive reception.


title: Bree Van de Kamp

text: This change in character development was continued into season 6, with another side to Bree's personality being shown, which includes an affair with Karl Mayer. Critics lauded the comic relief provided by these developments, as well as the more poignant and emotional turn mid-season as Bree deals with Orson's paralysis.


title: Bree Van de Kamp

text: In Season 7, Bree finds herself newly divorced and embarks on a relationship with Keith Watson, a move which was praised for allowing "the for-so-long uptight Bree letting her hair down and having some fun for a change." By the climax of season 7, Bree is central in covering up the murder of Gabrielle's stepfather, a move which was praised as a sound set up for the final season.


title: Bree Van de Kamp

text: Marcia Cross has received widespread acclaim for her portrayal of Bree. For her work on the second season of the show, she garnered the Satellite Award for Best Actress - Television Series Musical or Comedy (her second nomination), and has also received the Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series twice as part of the cast (being nominated a further three times).


title: Bree Van de Kamp

text: In 2005, Cross was nominated for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series for her performance in the season one episode, "Running to Stand Still". She also made the Top 10 Pre-Nomination Finalist listing for the same award three subsequent times, for her work on the second-season episode "Next", third-season episode "Listen to the Rain on the Roof", and fourth-season episode "Now You Know". She has received three nominations at the Golden Globe Awards, for Best Actress in a Television Series - Musical or Comedy, for her work on the first three seasons of the show, and has also received three nominations at the Prism Awards (for Performance in a Comedy Series, in relation to Bree's alcoholism), and a nomination from the Television Critics Association for Individual Achievement in Comedy in 2005.


title: Bree Van de Kamp

text: Bree is spoofed in "MADtv" "Desperate Housewives" parody, in which they mock the character's plastic exterior and demeanor. In a 2006 interview with "Charmed Magazine", Michelle Stafford admitted that her character Mandi in "Charmed" episode "Desperate Housewitches" was almost entirely modeled on Marcia Cross as Bree. Looking at pictures and episodes of Bree to gain a sense of her posture and body language, she laughed, "I'm just mimicking her. I'm just ripping her off."


title: Bree Van de Kamp

text: In 2007, Madame Alexander released a line of 16-inch fashion dolls of the series' main characters, including Bree.


title: One-Eyed Jacks

text: One-Eyed Jacks is a 1961 American Western film directed by and starring Marlon Brando, his only directorial credit. Brando portrays the lead character Rio, and Karl Malden plays his partner, "Dad" Longworth. The supporting cast features Pina Pellicer, Katy Jurado, Ben Johnson and Slim Pickens.


title: One-Eyed Jacks

text: In 2018, the film was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress.