Me Before You characters

Also known as Lou

Appears from the start

A young woman from a close, financially strained family in a small English town. Louisa is talkative, warm, and known for eccentric clothes, but she has arranged her life within a narrow familiar radius. When the café where she has worked for years closes, she reluctantly accepts a temporary job caring for a disabled man.

Also known as Treena

Appears from the start

Louisa's younger sister, a bright single mother raising her son in the crowded Clark home. Treena is more academically ambitious and often more direct than Lou, offering practical advice even when the sisters' competing needs put strain on the family.

Appears from the start

Louisa's long-term boyfriend, whose life increasingly revolves around running, training, and measurable fitness goals. Patrick assumes their familiar relationship will continue unchanged and has limited patience for demands that interfere with his competitions.

Appears from the start

Louisa's father, whose jokes help the Clark household manage constant financial pressure. His insecure employment makes Louisa's wages important to the entire family and narrows the range of jobs she feels able to refuse.

Also known as Mrs. Clark

Appears from the start

Louisa and Treena's mother, a protective and conventional presence in the crowded Clark household. She centers her life on caring for the family and worries when Louisa's new work draws her into unfamiliar situations.

Appears from the start

A wealthy business executive whose life is organized around work, travel, sport, and personal independence. While leaving his London home in heavy rain, he is struck by a motorcycle, abruptly ending the future he expected.

Also known as Mrs. Traynor

First appears in chapter 2

Will's mother, a magistrate who hires Louisa for a six-month position as her son's companion. Camilla appears controlled and formal, but her careful instructions and insistence that Will never be left alone reveal intense anxiety about his safety.

First appears in chapter 3

Will's professional nurse, responsible for medical care that lies outside Louisa's companion role. Nathan is capable, candid, and physically confident around Will, and he helps Louisa learn how to assist without treating Will as a child.

Also known as Mr. Traynor

First appears in chapter 5

Will's father, a businessman whose manner is less guarded than Camilla's but whose relationship with his wife is strained. He contributes to decisions about Will's care while spending much of his time away from the annex where Will lives.

Appears from the start

Will's girlfriend at the time of his accident, part of the active and affluent London life he expects to continue. She is away on work when he leaves home on the morning that changes his life.

First appears in chapter 13

Will's sister, who returns to the family home when decisions about his future become impossible to ignore. Georgina is angry, outspoken, and unwilling to disguise how deeply her brother's choices affect the rest of the family.