Bree Van de Kamp - Character Profile

Character Profile

Bree Van de Kamp is one of the four main protagonists in Desperate Housewives. Bree grew up in Rhode Island when her father married a woman named Eleanor, after her mother's death, with whom she did not get along. In order to escape her stepmother's demands, Bree left for Lake Forest College near Chicago. Bree also mentioned on one of Eleanor's visits that she had to work for every kind word she ever was given from her step-mother. Bree met Rex Van de Kamp at a meeting of the Young Republicans. After they graduated, they married and had two children, Andrew and Danielle, and moved to Fairview.

Bree is recognized for her perfectionist attitude and work ethic, which at times border on neurosis and obsessive–compulsive disorder. While the writers have shied away from an official diagnosis, the character is recognised as suffering from obsessive–compulsive personality disorder. The character herself refers to her "quirks" in terms of anal retentiveness but Rex once mentioned it by the name. Bree's perfectionism may stem from when her mother was killed in a hit and run: a 10 year-old Bree cleaned her blood off the road outside the house. She said that once everything was spotless, she felt much better.

Bree is known for her homemaking talents on the level of Martha Stewart, particularly her gourmet meals, breakfast treats and pineapple bran muffins. She is also well-versed in firearm training; she owns four guns and is a card-carrying member of the National Rifle Association. Bree supports the Republican Party, as stated in the season 3 opener, and is also known for being a member of the local Presbyterian Church, as shown in the episode Sunday. Her neighbours Angie Bolen, Gabrielle Solis and Renee Perry have nicknamed her 'Nancy Reagan' on occasions. She has lived at 4354 Wisteria Lane in Fairview since 1994 and is also said to have a timeshare residence in Aspen that she never uses. Bree is based on creator Marc Cherry's own mother, and the Van de Kamp family is based on the family in which he grew up. Bree's family was based on Marc Cherry's teen years, while Lynette Scavo's family is based on Marc Cherry's childhood years. Bree and her first husband, Rex, were both named after the overtly vain characters on two of Marc Cherry's previous failed sitcoms, The 5 Mrs. Buchanans (Bree) and The Crew (Rex).

Both of Bree's marriages have broken down and ended in divorce (Rex, however, passed away before their divorce was finalized). Following the request for divorce, both of Bree's former husbands attempted reconciliation with her. Rex succeeded, whereas her second husband Orson Hodge did not. During the breakdown of her second marriage, Bree had an affair with Karl Mayer, her divorce lawyer and ex-husband of her friend, Susan Mayer. Bree, however, did remarry in the series finale to her lawyer, Trip Weston, making him her third husband.

Bree is the only one of the main four housewives to not appear in every episode, and the only one to have not been pregnant over the course of the series (ironic given that Bree's absence from several episodes was due to Cross's real-life pregnancy). However, Bree was the first to become a grandmother. Bree's hair color has been implied as not being natural, although several flashbacks seem to misprove this.