I initially wrote and published this post as Top Five in honor of our fifth birthday (for which we published a series of Top Fives), ten years ago, partially in honor of Alex Vega, co-founder of Autostraddle Dot Com, but also in honor of the popularity of the name “Alex” for queer characters. Since 2014 we have all grown and changed, but Alexes have continued to multiply on television,Ā as addressed briefly in How To Name a Lesbian or Bisexual TV Character.
But, friends, I do believe the tide is shifting. I do believe our period of Peak Alex is over. I have recently become mildly obsessed with playing “baby names” games on Sporcle and have been shocked to witness the slow decline of “Alexandra.” (Girls simply named “Alex” have always been rare and never managed to rank in the top 1000. “Alex” is most usually a nickname.) (A nickname for a lesbian.)
“Alexandra” literally peaked as a baby name in the 90s, after a swift rise that began in the 80s ā but it has fallen 252 spots since then, with similar fates suffered by the less popular Alexa and the more popular Alexis. It’s hard to say what lesbians of the future will be named, Perhaps they will be Harpers, Peytons, Addisons, Olivias, Parkers, Emmas and Bradleys. Perhaps they will be Olivias who change their names to “Alex.”
But for now, we live in a field of Alexes, Alexandras and Alexises. They’re especially popular for guest characters, which make sense ā it’s the easiest thing to name a random, low-stakes lesbian. But nowhere do Alexes thrive quite like they do on lesbian webseries ā LezWatchTV lists a whopping 20 characters named Alex in web-first properties! Today however we will focus on mainstream television. Let us begin!
15. Alex Portnoy, Light as a Feather
2018 – 2019
“The Lesbian Storyline on ‘Light as a Feather’ Ended Up Being Stiff as a Board‘ is one of my favorite headlines we’ve ever published and absolutely ensured I personally would not view this show. It sounds like things were going well for this Alex and then they stopped going well for this Alex, so I am mostly just sorry to this Alex! Brianne Tju is fantastic though and has also played gay in I Know What You Did Last Summer.
14. Alex (Shannyn Sossamon), Mistresses (US)
2013
If you’ve ever wondered, “what would Shannyn Sossamon look like in a sunddress?” This storyline from Mistresses in 2014 is your big chance to find out.
13. Alex (Anna Torv), Mistresses (UK)
2008 – 2010
Before there was the US version of Mistresses, there was the UK version of Mistresses. As with most things, the UK edition was way better. This particular Alex was more into plaid than sundresses, however, as I recall.
12. Alex Bates (Sydney Morton), ManifestĀ
2018 – 2023
This Alex missed being on the mysterious disappearing-reappearing flight at the center of Manifest by failing to show up for her escape to Jamaica with her girlfriend, Saanvi Bahl, for whomst she planned to leave her husband. But when the passengers return, Saanvi reaches out for help, and feelings remain. Her husband should’ve known when they got married that she was a lesbian character due to her name being “Alex,” so that is sort of on him, sorry.
11. Alexis Simms (Sepideh Moafi), Falling Water
I will watch Sepideh Moafi do just about anything, including apparently play a cop at least three times, including her stint as the only non-dreamer in Season Two of Falling Water, a two-season USA television show that never really succeeded either conceptually or critically. I’ve watched nearly the entire series and I am still really unclear on what happened or is happening. To be honest it’s on right now as I work on this though so maybe I should’ve been paying more attention.
10. Alexa (Grace Edwards), Modern Love
2021
I think the world would’ve really fallen for Alexa if she’d had more than five minutes of screen time in the 22-minute installment of Modern Love dedicated to the lesbian experience. Despite being based on an essay about a writer coming out to herself in her late twenties, Modern Love set this self-discovery story in high school. There’s a lock-in and it’s pretty cute.
9. Alex (Ashley Romans), Shameless
2019
Shameless had a rocky road with lesbian characters and we braced ourselves when Debbie Gallagher seemed to decide she hated men enough to become a lesbian ā and it was Alex who ended up being her first experiment in sapphistry. The thing about Alex is that Alex was really hot, and the writers really blew it with their whole narrative. But Debbie meets Alex on the job as a welder, where Alex passes as male to earn respect on the job. Such a classic Alex trope: playing with the androgyny of the name like that. She’s also one of three Alexes on this list we’ve seen in overalls.
8. Alex Neilson (Zoe Ventoura), Home & Away
2019 – 2020
I’m not personally privy to the universe of legendary Aussie soap opera, Home & Away, but the relationship between Dr. Alex Neilson and Willow Harris aka #willex was certainly beloved by the program’s fans, who were of course devastated when Alex left Summer Bay for a new job in 2020. But the couple’s most notable scandal was when fans realized a kiss between the two women that aired in New Zealand had been edited out of its Australian broadcast version (the network disputes this intentionality). More important to us all here now is that the YouTuber who first reported these differences was, of course, also named Alex.
7. Alex (Rosie Dwyer), The A-List
2018-2021
The A-List is one of those teen shows that landed here without much fanfare ā about a summer camp on an island that holds dark secrets, with its first season on the BBC, and its second picked up by Netflix. But Alex, who loves ghosts and shies from attention in their flannels and hoodies and toques and overalls and plaid, was one of a very small cohort of non-binary characters when the series debuted. Their sweet romance with the more popular and outgoing Petal made the whole series worth watching, and its abrupt cancellation more devastating. It also addressed another key element of the name Alex: it’s a name that works for every gender!
6. Alex NuƱez (Deanna Casaluce), Degrassi
2003 – 2007
I had real actual feelings aboutĀ Alex NuƱez and Paige on DegrassiĀ and I really wanted Alex and her hoop earrings and white tank-tops to swoop into my life and bring me danger and intrigue. She transformed and challenged Paige. It was so unusual to witness a high school storyline like Alex’s when this one happened. South of Nowhere and The L Word had just entered the world and transformation of the entire television landscape felt imminent. Degrassi has always been a pioneer in representation, and despite multiple missteps in that area over the years, they remained committed to you know, always going there.
5. Alex (Ally Xue), Creamerie
2021 – 2023
Alexander may be a consistently more popular name for men than Alexandra is for women, but a world without men does not mean a world without Alexes. Nowhere is that more apparent than in Creamerie, a dystopian comedy from New Zealand set eight years after a virus that wiped out all men. Now under the thrall of an allegedly feminist organization called Wellness. Alex, who lives on a dairy farm with her two best friends, is an outspoken critic of Wellness who is perpetually causing trouble, as Alexes are wont to do.
4. Alex Vause (Laura Prepon), Orange is the New Black
2013 – 2020
Tall and mean and hot and honestly usually pretty terrible (though rarely as terrible as her beloved Piper), Alex Vause came into our lives like a wrecking ball, inspiring an entire community to want to smuggle drugs internationally in a bad wig. Ultimately, Vause absolutely goes down in history as one of the most legendary queer Alexes to ever appear on television, likely tied with the #2 character on this list for that particular honor. Furthermore, Piper and Alex’s shipper name #Palex unfortunately overlapped with Paige and Alex’s shipper name from Degrassi. That’s what happens when you get an embarrassment of riches like this many Alexes.
3. Alex Eastern (Janelle MonƔe), Homecoming
2020
The second season of the psychological thriller based on a podcast originally starring Julia Roberts gave Janelle MonĆ”e their first lead TV role, and although the writing often disappointed, it was thrilling to have them there. As Natalie wrote: “Aside from the fact that youād be hardpressed to find someone as imminently likable as MonĆ”e ā which endears you to her character before you even know anything about her ā this type of story is one that MonĆ”eās been telling for years.” In Homecoming, her possession of the generic Alex lesbian name, like her white v-neck tees and oversized button-up chambray shirts and her ponytail, is a blank slate for the mystery inside, one she herself spends the series trying to truly understand.
2. Alex Danvers (Chyler Leigh), Supergirl
2015-2021
For 126 episodes of network television, the iconic lesbian sister to Supergirl, Alex Danvers (Chyler Leigh), made and remade herself, fell in love and lost it, found it again, and ended the whole run with a gorgeous wedding, a happy family, a thriving sister. She protected her sister and protected the earth. Ultimately she is amongst all Alexes, the most Alex, the longest-running Alex in queer television history. She did extraordinary things.
1. Alex Kelly (Olivia Wilde), The O.C.
2005
I’m ending this epic list of Alex’s just as the original ended, because birthdays are a time for looking back. When this girl and her hairdo and her belts arrived on our television screens there were no Santanas or Emily Fields, let alone the 100-175 TV shows a year with queer characters we get these daysĀ ā but for like five episodes, we had Alex Kelly and Marissa Cooper, kissing in the rain! We had Marissa discovering her new confusing feelings! Alex was unapologetic about her bisexuality in a way so few were or could be in their real actual lives, back then. She wasn’t a brand new queer figuring her shit out in high school or Cook County General Hospital, she was a cool, worldly babe with an ex-girlfriend and everything.
She was Peak Alex.
my favourite fictional character named alex is alex vega.
Oh my god I have to go with Alex Kelly. I had so many queer feelings about her and Marissa in high school, back in those confusing, heady days when I’d never seen ladies kissing before. Oh, the memories.
My friends in high school tried to convince me to watch The OC, and I only gave in once I heard about Alex’s character.
(And now I may or may not own all 4 seasons on DVD, and I may or me not be in the middle of re-watching the series, and may or may not currently be on season 2, smack in the middle of the Marissa/Alex storyline…)
Aaah, I watched a whole, painful season of the O.C. after Marissa and Alex broke up, just hoping for a tiny bit more of queer girlness for my teenself to feast on
MY NAME’S ALEX.
And my favorite is the Vause. Duh.
HI ALEX
^^^^^ Alright, I’ll be honest.
thank you for being honest
oh my GOD how am I a long-time Fringe fan and I never knew that Anna Torv played a lesbian???
Welp there goes the rest of my night.
This is how I feel. I saw the picture and first I was like, WAIT, WHEN WAS OLIVIA DUNHAM QUEER?
Yes girl! Anna Torv’s version of Alex on Mistresses is far superior to the US version IMO. And don’t forget that Anna Torv is going to be playing a lesbian again on Ryan Murphy’s new HBO show. Let us all pray that it doesn’t turn out to be as offensive to lesbians as my mind is telling me it’s going to be with Murphy in charge.
My thoughts exactly, Anna Torv in everything will always be awesome. I’m forced to find out if netflix has UK mistresses now.
I’m so glad to know that I’m not the only one who gets a little flustered whenever Anna Torv is on my teevee.
Also, they have cuts of just the Alex and Jessica storyline on youtube if you don’t feel like watching (or tracking down) the full episodes.
Loved Alex Kelly, definitely the best reason to watch the OC
I may or may not have moderated a Livejournal community dedicated to Marissa and Alex. I also may or may not have been way too old, even back then, to have been doing such a thing. Ahem.
Omg Alex Kelly omg. Revolutionized my little baby gay life. And then when Olivia Wilde played the bisexual Thirteen on House…so good.
Alex Vause gives me funny feelings in my underoos.
I’d totally forgotten about the Alex/Paige storyline from Degrassi and now I love that show all over again!
However, Alex from OITNB….FOREVER please. She’s the best
I may be showing my age here but Alex and Paige were my lesbian awakening when I was in middle school.
But what about Alex Mack?! I know I can’t be alone in this…
You’re not. YOU’RE NOT!
So not alone friend! I’m reading this in the library and I knew I would need to sign in to post some Alex Mack related feelings. On a side note – guy at the next desk: mind your business!
OMG YASSS. I was literally thinking the other day that Alex Mack in her backwards cap, sneakers and oversize flannels was probably one of the main reasons I am queer today. FEEELINGS!
This was the earliest Alex I liked, long before I had an inkling that I liked her (or girls) that way. I just thought Alex Mack was cool, with her Chucks and the plaid shirt tied around her waist and her ability to turn into a silver wet pool.
Oh man Alex Nunez, you taught me so many things.
I always loved Alex from Degrassi and not until years later did I realize why I had so many feelings about her, looking back I think she was my first girl crush so she has a special place in my queer heart
Alex Vause. Very confusing because I don’t feel like I’m supposed to like her (and she is problematic sometimes), but I like her. And also, damn she looks good in glasses.
THIS IS REALLY IMPORTANT TO ME RIESE. MARISSA AND ALEX DRIVING IN THE CAR AND LISTENING TO RILO KILEY WAS ABSOLUTELY EVERYTHING TO ME, A SOLID 4 YEARS BEFORE I EVEN KNEW I WANTED TO KISS A GIRL. PORTIONS FOR FOXES IS STILL A REALLY MEANINGFUL SONG TO ME. THAT IS ALL.
I LOVE YOU VANESSA
MARISSA REALIZING THAT SHE WANTS ALEX TO HOLD HER HAND WHEN THEY ARE FIRST SITTING ON THE COUCH WAS ABSOLUTELY EVERYTHING TO ME
I don’t even have to think about it. Alex Kelly for all time! I’m an Olivia Wilde lover from way back.
i was so convinced every tv show with queer characters needed an alex that i fully believed alice’s name WAS alex for the first 4 episodes of TLW i streamed at a low volume in my dorm room
I had a huge crush on Alex from Degrassi. I remember staying up super late to watch the show, and sitting in my living room with one hand on the remote and an eye on the door because I knew my mother would have a fit because *lesbians*.
My name is actually Alyx with a “y”. Do I get bonus points for an unconventional spelling?
Also, I had a hopeless crush on Olivia Wilde growing up that I didn’t realise was a crush until I’d come out. I just thought she was really pretty and fascinating and I didn’t understand why everyone else wasn’t constantly obsessed with her every action on-screen!
I would also like to remind people that a very popular lesbian name is Frank(y/ie). See: Franky Doyle from Wentworth and Frankie Alan from Lip Service. (To be honest I prefer the Frank(y/ie)’s to the Alex’s listed above…
And Skins!
Also, in my head, Alex Cabot. Gay until proven otherwise.
omg the gay names article just reminded me this existed! you guys should edit for Alex Danvers :)
*cough* ALEX DANVERS *cough*
Now we can add Alex from Supergirl to this!
Can’t forget Alex Danvers on Supergirl
Alex and Marissa meant so much to me back when I was 13 and watching The OC and had no clue that I was gay!
Can we add Alex Dunphy to this list?
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