The Bluth family are the focal characters of Arrested Development. Residing in Newport Beach, California, the Bluths became an affluent family due to real estate mogul George Bluth, Sr.'s formation of the Bluth Company.
Together with his wife Lucille Bluth, they welcomed two sons into the world: George Oscar "G.O.B." Bluth and Michael Bluth. They also adopted Lindsay at age three. Lucille mothered Byron "Buster" Bluth and the supposed father is George's twin brother Oscar Bluth. Decades later, Lucille and George adopted a Korean child, Annyong Bluth.
Lindsay married Tobias Fünke as an act of rebellion and together they, with the help of science, conceived Mae "Maeby" Fünke. Michael married his college sweetheart Tracy Bluth and had a son, George Michael Bluth. G.O.B. fooled around a lot and fathered at least one known son, Steve Holt. G.O.B. briefly was married to an unnamed woman.
Other than the immediate family, other family members have been mentioned and seen. Lucille is mentioned having a deceased, unnamed, mother ("Nana"), as well as a sister, whom George slept with. A family friend, Jack Dorso, is referred to as "Uncle Jack", or "Fake Uncle Jack". G.O.B.'s puppet Franklin Delano Bluth is often considered a member of the family.
Family tree[]
Parents[]
- George Bluth is the patriarch of the Bluth family. After founding the Bluth Company in 1953, George stole his soon-to-be-wife Lucille from his twin brother Oscar and forced him out of the real estate business. In 2003 he was arrested by the SEC for stealing money from his company but was ultimately pardoned by the CIA.
- Lucille Bluth is the matriarch, and to a degree the puppet master of the Bluth family (no, not including Franklin). Using insults as a form of parenting, Lucille longs for others to be jealous of her and is a functional alcoholic. She is manipulative and cold, but at times displays warmness and protection for her children. She was arrested after George's pardon for masterminding George's fraud.
Children[]
- G.O.B., short for George Oscar Bluth, is the oldest of the five Bluth children. Named after his father, G.O.B. inherited none of George's intelligence or motivation. His greed led him to the life of a magician, among other quick-income professions such as male stripping. After receiving media attention revealing how an illusion worked, G.O.B. was blacklisted from magic and struggled to make his way back into the inner circle. G.O.B.'s most serious relationship was marrying his unnamed wife during a drunken stupor and separating shortly after. G.O.B. may have fathered several children, but only knows of one — Steve Holt. He was engaged to Ann Veal for a few months but skipped out on the wedding. More recently he has experimented sexually with rival magician Tony Wonder.
- Michael Bluth is the hard working (and therefore self-righteous) member of the Bluth family. Never getting the natural favor that his older brother received, Michael worked hard to gain his father's approval. His father, meanwhile, decided to never show favor as a motivation technique. Michael married his college sweetheart Tracey and they became happy parents to George Michael Bluth. Tracy passed away (presumably due to Ovarian cancer) and Michael and his son helped George run the Bluth company until George's retirement when Michael was put in charge. After Lucille was arrested, Michael decided to start his own real estate company, but his plan was thwarted by the California real estate market crash, putting him in debt for $700,000. He attempted to make a feature film based on his family to re-coop losses.
- Lindsay Bluth Fünke, né Nellie, was adopted by the Bluth family at age three and told she was a fraternal twin to Michael. Appreciated only for her looks by her parents, Lindsay began acting out in rebellion, including moving to Boston, marrying Tobias Fünke and hosting charity dinners to spend her time. Lindsay and Tobias had to turn to a doctor to get pregnant but eventually gave birth to Maeby Fünke. Lindsay continued her charitable acts after moving back to California but has more recently realized she may be more like her mother than she'd like to admit.
- Buster Bluth, real name Byron, is the baby of the Bluth family, despite being in his thirties. He is extremely dependent on his mother Lucille, perhaps because he spent 11 months in her womb. Although raised to believe George was his father, he eventually learned that Oscar Bluth, George's identical twin brother, was having an affair with Lucille and is probably his biological father. Buster was a scholar until the family went broke, and served in Army for a moment until his left hand was bitten off by a loose seal. He has been in love four times (outside of his love for his mother): his mother's best frenemy Lucille Austero, Bluth Company secretary Starla, his nurse Julia Adelaide, and mother figure Ophelia Love. He also once slept with his mother's robot vacuum. When she saw this, he responded by telling her that he was also a machine due to his hook-hand.
- Annyong Bluth was adopted by George Lucille via the Korean Consulate of Child Services in 2004 as a tactic to appear more charitable to the SEC. The adoption papers were drunkenly signed and Lucille was ill-prepared to be a mother. Annyong was eventually sent to a private boarding school but finally got vengeance for his grandfather, whom George Bluth had copied a frozen banana stand to greater success.
In-Laws[]
- Tobias Fünke is the son-in-law to George and Lucille. He married Lindsay (although he might be gay) and had a life with her and their daughter Maeby in Boston until they moved back to California in 2003. Once a talented therapist (and analyst) Tobias lost his license to practice medicine while trying to revive a sleeping person. In California, Tobias discovered his dream job was to be an actor and tried several venues, including the Blue Man Group, to get a meaty role.
- Tracey Bluth is is Michael's deceased wife and George Michael's mother. Her death is what drives Michael to pursue a stronger relationship with their son George Michael. It is revealed that prior to her death, she was in a coma for several months. In "Shock and Aww" Michael mentions to Beth Baerly that he was previously married and his wife passed away. It is hinted that George was not that fond of his daughter-in-law, while Lucille was quite fond of her as seen in "Storming the Castle".
Grandchildren[]
- George Michael Bluth is the son of Michael and Tracy Bluth. A shy and introverted kid, George Michael doesn't often break out of his shell or make friends. Having low self-esteem, George Michael develops an incestuous crush on his cousin Maeby, and a homely girl named Ann Veal while in high school. George Michael and Maeby technically got married in 2006 during a fake wedding ceremony. George Michael attended UC Irvine where he founded the antisocial network/privacy software company Fakeblock under the pseudonym George Maharis.
- Maeby Fünke is the daughter of Lindsay and Tobias Fünke. Although her parents needed scientific help to conceive, she is definitely their biologic daughter. Because her parents are so self-involved, Maeby is often left to her own devices. She conned her way into a film producer job at Tantamount Studios for a couple of years before her 16th birthday. After losing her film career she decided to repeat her senior year of high school as a way to pass time.
- Steve Holt is the son of G.O.B. and Eve Holt, high school lovers. G.O.B. had no knowledge of Steve's existence and he often tries to roofie himself to forget. Sometimes described as a "moron jock" for having the repeat senior year of high school three times, Steve was pined after by Maeby and was therefore a rival to George Michael. After high school, Steve gained weight, began to bald, and started Steve Holt! Pest Control.
Uncles and Other family members[]
- Oscar Bluth is George's identical twin brother. A giant pot head, Oscar has never put in an honest day's work and therefore has never had stress (which explains why he has a beautiful head of hair.) He and Lucille had an affair, and he is the likely father of Buster. Prolonged consumption of maca root has recently given Oscar a testosterone boost, making him challenge George for dominance.
- Franklin Delano Bluth is G.O.B.'s African American puppet which G.O.B. introduced to make his act more hip. Franklin makes offensive wisecracks, and seems to take on a life of his own whenever he's brought out of storage.
- "Uncle" Jack Dorso was simply called "Uncle" as a ploy by George to get money out of him when the Bluth Company needed help. After starring in the Red McGibbon and Bullet: Nazi Hunters radio serial as a young man, Jack turned to fitness to give his life meaning. After injuring himself, he relied on Dragon to carry him around.
- Nana was Lucille's mother and was infrequently visited by the family. Lucille hid her death from the family so she could save the inheritance money to herself.
Possible family members[]
- George and his personal assistant Kitty Sanchez could have conceived a child. Kitty managed to get a sample of George's sperm, so she may have conceived without George's consent or knowledge. ("The One Where They Build a House") ("Spring Breakout")
- Michael and Sally Sitwell contemplate what their child could have looked like. ("Out on a Limb")
- After a whirlwind affair with Michael, Maggie Lizer takes a home pregnancy test and says, "You have got to be kidding me," implying that the test proved positive. ("Hand to God")
- For a moment, Michael believes Nellie was a Bluth child, but it turns out "N. Bluth" was "Nichael Bluth", a typo on Michael's birth certificate. ("Family Ties")
- G.O.B. has mentioned several times the possibility of having illegitimate children other than Steve.
- The mother in Spain is seen pregnant and may be carrying George Michael's child. ("It Gets Better")
- After sleeping with both G.O.B. and Tony Wonder, Ann has a son. She claims the child is Tony's, and she and Tony discuss child support in private. ("A New Attitude")