Middlesex Characters

Cal (Calliope) Helen Stephanides

Cal is a "former field hockey goalie [...] and, for most of [his] adult life, an employee of the...

Desdemona and Eleutherios (Lefty) Stephanides

This brother and sister duo, Cal's grandparents, are like the Wonder Twins, but with fewer...

Miltiades "Milton" Stephanides and Theodora "Tessie" Zizmo Stephanides

Cal's parents couldn't decide whether they wanted a boy or a girl. They wanted both and, well,...

Bob Presto and His Mermaids

Bob Presto picks up Cal while Cal is hitchhiking from New York to California. Cal believes that...

Chapter Eleven

Chapter Eleven is the only name we know Cal's brother by. Here's how Cal describes him: "Pasty,...

Dr. Luce

Dr. Luce is the head of the Sexual Disorders and Gender Identity Clinic at New York Hospital. His...

Dr. Nishan Philobosian

Dr. Philobosian has a bad life—his entire family is murdered in Greece, and he almost gets...

Father Michael Antoniou and Zoë Helen Stephanides

Father Mike and Aunt Zo are like the alternate reality version of Milton and Tessie—they're...

Julie Kikuchi

We only get select glimpses at Julie Kikuchi as present-day Cal slowly courts her. He describes...

Marius Wyxzewixard Challouehilczilczese Grimes

This mouthful is named after an Ethiopian Nationalist, and he hangs out near Milton's bar saying...

The Obscure Object and Jerome

Cal can only refer to the Obscure Object with literary and pop culture references at first. He...

Sourmelina "Lina" Papadiamandopoulos and Jimmy Zizmo (Zisimopoulos)

Lina is Lefty and Desdemona's cousin who lives in America; she's also the mother of Tessie, Cal's...