Cecilia Lisbon
Thirteen-year-old Cecilia is the youngest Lisbon sister. Her suicide attempt signals the tragedy of the Lisbon sisters. She is shy, known as the strange one by her sisters. She invokes the Virgin Mary and often wears an old wedding gown that is cut short. More information on her character is revealed in her detailed diary entries that are discovered after her death. She first attempts at suicide by slitting her wrists, which is unsuccessful. She finally kills herself by jumping out a window and impaling herself on the spiked fence.
Lux Lisbon
The second youngest Lisbon sister. Lux is sly, beautiful and promiscuous and forms the major attraction of the neighbourhood boys. She is a secret smoker and is the most rebellious of all the sisters. She begins having sex with strange men on her roof after the girls are forbidden to leave the house. Lux loses her virginity to Trip Fontaine. Lux dies from carbon monoxide poisoning.
Bonnie Lisbon
Fifteen-year-old Bonnie is the quiet, obedient and pious middle sister. She kills herself by hanging.
Mary Lisbon
The second oldest sister. Mary is very concerned with her appearance and spends most of her time in front of a mirror. She is unsuccessful in her suicide pact but kills herself by ingesting sleeping pills a month after her sisters's deaths.
Therese Lisbon
Seventeen-year-old Therese is the oldest sister. She is intellectual and spends her time reading science textbooks. She kills herself by ingesting gin and sleeping pills.
Mrs. Lisbon
Mrs. Lisbon, the girls' mother, is domineering and forceful. She is incredibly pious and sets strict rules for her rules. Mrs. Lisbon locks the girls in the house and withdraws them from society after Lux breaks curfew.
Mr. Lisbon
Mr Lisbon is the girls' father and the math teacher at their high school. Though he loves his family, he is emasculated by his wife and daughters.
Trip Fontaine
The best looking boy in high school. He has sex with Lux.
The neighbourhood boys
The boys are the narrators of the text, dedicating themselves to the mystery of the Lisbon sisters. They are obsessed with the sisters (even when they are adults).
