The following is a list of characters from the Lifetime supernatural drama Witches of East End, based on the book of the same name by Melissa de la Cruz. The series centers on a family of immortal witches known as the Beauchamps: Joanna (played by Julia Ormond) and her daughters Freya (played by Jenna Dewan-Tatum) and Ingrid (played by Rachel Boston), as well as her sister Wendy (played by Mädchen Amick).
Main characters
Joanna Beauchamp
Julia Ormond portrays Joanna Beauchamp, Ingrid and Freya's mother. She is an immortal witch who has lived for thousands of years, and has the powers of healing, telekinesis and limited weather control. Joanna and her sister Wendy (Mädchen Amick) originate from the magical world of Asgard, but they were banished by their father who became corrupt after coming into power. She also has a son named Frederick, who was left behind in Asgard. Joanna is cursed to watch her daughters Ingrid (Rachel Boston) and Freya (Jenna Dewan-Tatum) die young over and over again, but only to fall spontaneously pregnant again so the endless cycle can begin anew. After their thirteenth incarnation, Joanna decided to keep her daughters in the dark about their magical abilities in an attempt to protect them from the curse.
At the beginning of season one, evil shape shifter Penelope Gardiner (Virginia Madsen) disguises herself as Joanna and kills local elderly man Bill Thatcher. When Joanna gets arrested for the murder, she tells Ingrid that she and Freya are witches. After Bill's wife Maura (Gillian Barber) says she saw Joanna kill him, Wendy uses a memory spell to erase Maura's memory of the murderer. She is then discredited as a witness in her husband's murder and Joanna is exonerated. Her ex-husband and the father of her children, Victor (Joel Gretsch) returns to East End and they sleep together. In the season finale, she falls into Penelope Gardiner's trap. The woman reveals herself as Athena Browning, the daughter of Archibald Browning, the man Joanna killed in 1906, and injects her body with poisonous argentium. With Wendy's help, Joanna manages to kill Penelope and later witnesses Ingrid open the portal to Asgard.
In season two, Joanna is severely weakened by argentium. Her long-lost son, Frederick, appears on her doorstep and cures her, effectively winning back her trust and love. She introduces Frederick to her daughters and is happy to once again have her family back together, though Wendy is very distrustful of Frederick. Joanna later finds out that Freya and Victor have been kidnapped by two evil witches and goes to find them. Though she finds them, she finds Freya tied to deadly explosives and is forced to sacrifice one of her loved ones to save the other. In the end, Victor sacrifices himself, breaking Joanna's heart. When Ingrid and Freya die - again - she attempts to commit suicide, forcing Wendy to bring their father, Nikolaus, to their world to resurrect her daughters. Though he holds his end of the bargain, Joanna and the others are still distrustful of the man and travel back in time to collect a weapon to kill him. Her father sends Mason Tarkoff after them and she ends up only escaping with her life intact. However, by combining her powers with Freya's, Ingrid's and Wendy's, they manage to kill Nikolaus once and for all.
Wendy Beauchamp
Mädchen Amick portrays Wendy Beauchamp, Joanna's long-estranged sister. Wendy is a witch and is cursed with the ability to change into a black cat. She has died several times but comes back to life in a matter of hours, due to her having nine lives. Her powers are healing, telekinesis and limited weather control. Wendy and her sister Joanna (Julia Ormond) originate from the magical world of Asgard, but they were banished by their father who became corrupt after coming into power. When she accidentally kills Joanna's daughter Ingrid (Rachel Boston) in 1906, Joanna tells Wendy to leave East End and never come back.
At the beginning of season one, Wendy returns to East End to warn Joanna that her life is in danger, and that she will need help from Ingrid and Freya (Jenna Dewan-Tatum) to save her. After Joanna's daughters discover that they are witches, Wendy teaches them how to use their powers. Wendy later begins a romantic fling with an entomologist named Leo Wingate (Freddie Prinze, Jr.), after she steals his prized Himalayan Stamped Crown butterfly to use for a spell. When evil shape shifter Penelope Gardiner (Virginia Madsen) reanimates the corpse of Ingrid from 1906, she sends past Ingrid after Wendy and kills her. Although Wendy was eventually revived, Joanna notices that her necklace has turned red, which means she is now on her ninth and final life.