Mary Alice Young

Mary Alice Young
Desperate Housewives character
Portrayed by	Brenda Strong
Duration	2004–12
First appearance	"Pilot" 1x01, October 3, 2004
Last appearance	"Finishing the Hat" 8x23, May 13, 2012
Created by	Marc Cherry
In-universe information Other names Angela Forrest Occupation President of the Homeowners Association Housewife Nurse Husband Paul Young (until 2004; widower) Adoptive sons Zach Young

Mary Alice Young (previously Angela Forrest) is a fictional character from the ABC television series Desperate Housewives. The character was created by television producer and screenwriter Marc Cherry and is portrayed by Brenda Strong, who also serves as the narrator of the series from beyond the grave; the character's suicide in the pilot episode served as the catalyst of the series. The narration provided by Mary Alice is essential to the tale of Wisteria Lane, as the series revolves around her sharing the secrets of her friends and neighbors. Her narration technique is akin in style to Edgar Lee Masters' Spoon River Anthology (1915).^[1]

Mary Alice is considered the most mysterious of the housewives as only parts of her story are originally known.^[2] A loving, doting wife and mother who was generous to her family and neighbors, she was the last person any of them expected to commit suicide. In death, Mary Alice sees things she would not have seen when she was alive: her friends' vulnerabilities, lies, and secrets. She does not judge them so much as love them more because of their foibles, pitying them for the ways they manipulate and hurt those they care about most.

Although deceased since the pilot episode, Mary Alice continued to have a leading storyline throughout the first and second seasons of the series, with the story being led by her husband Paul Young (Mark Moses) and son Zach (Cody Kasch). Thereafter, Strong continued to make sporadic appearances as Mary Alice in flashbacks, dreams and as a ghost to other characters while narrating almost every episode of the series. Strong was the subject of acclaim for both her portrayal and narration as the character, with some critics describing her voice as one of the most recognizable on television at the end of the series. She was nominated for two Primetime Emmy Awards for Outstanding Voice-Over Performance for her narration as Mary Alice and received two Screen Actors Guild Awards as a cast member of Desperate Housewives.