‘Hereditary’s Graham Family Tree Explained

The Big Picture

• Hereditary tells the story of the Graham family’s descent into madness and terror.
• Ellen, the matriarch of the family, was the leader of a sinister cult and the events of the film are a direct result of her worship of the demon, Paimon.
• Annie, the main character, struggles with loss and struggles to keep her family afloat amongst the horrific things going on around them.

One of the best things horror can do is play into the fears of its audience, whether that be through childhood fears such as the dark or clowns, or a classic haunted house story. But one of the most subtle ways to really get under the skin is to depict a seemingly normal family’s descent into madness and terror – and Hereditary does just that with finesse. The film follows the Graham family, led by Annie (Toni Collette) and Steve (Gabriel Byrne), as they navigate the complicated feelings surrounding the loss of Annie’s mother, Ellen (Kathleen Chalfant). On the surface, the Grahams seem like your typical family; a mother and father, their son and daughter, and a dog. But as Hereditary goes on, we discover that the Graham family is anything but normal and the secrets that run throughout their bloodline are much more sinister than they seem. But how exactly does each member fit into the family?

Ellen Taper Leigh

Ellen is, in a way, the main character of Hereditary. Her death is what kicks off the series of tragic events that unfold throughout the film. Ellen was married to Martin Leigh, with whom she had two children, Charles and Annie. Both Martin and Charles passed away before the events of the movie, which leads Ellen to have a strained relationship with her daughter Annie, who describes her as secretive, manipulative, and stubborn. Their strained relationship resulted in Annie cutting ties with her upon the birth of her son Peter (Alex Wolff), though she was let back into Annie’s life after the birth of her daughter Charlie (Milly Shapiro), to whom Ellen became very attached.

Ellen had Dissociative Identity Disorder, and dementia, which led to her moving in with Annie and her family so they could care for her. She passes away at the age of 78, leaving behind an entire trove of secrets. There are many hints throughout the film that offer clues as to what Ellen’s big secret is, and it’s eventually revealed that she was the leader of the cult of Paimon, where she was referred to as “Queen Leigh,” up until her death. Her attachment to Charlie was not one of grandmotherly love but to prepare Charlie to become a vessel for Paimon.

Martin Leigh

Martin was the husband of Ellen Leigh, and the father of Annie and her late brother Charles. Not much is known of him, but according to Annie, he had psychotic depression and he starved himself to death as a result of it. It’s never explicitly stated but it’s very well hinted that Martin’s death was not a result of depression, but a way to keep Ellen from using his body as a vessel for Paimon. Starving himself caused his body to be malnourished and weak, making him an unsuitable host for Paimon.

Charles Leigh

Charles is the son of Ellen and Martin, and the brother of Annie. Like Martin, not much is known of Charles and what we do know is told through Annie. She reveals that Charles had schizophrenia, which led him to commit suicide in Ellen’s bedroom at the age of 16. His suicide note accused his mother of “putting people inside of him.” Again, it’s hinted that his death was not because he had schizophrenia but because Ellen was really trying to put people inside him, as he said. It’s likely that after Martin’s death, Ellen attempted to use Charles’ body as a vessel for Paimon.

Annie Graham

Annie is the protagonist of Hereditary. We see everything through her eyes and learn about the other characters from her. Annie is a miniaturist and we see her work throughout the film. She creates a mini-scale of the Graham family’s home, as well as a morbid recreation of her daughter Charlie’s untimely death, and more. Due to her being a female, she was never targeted by her mother to become a vessel for Paimon, but their relationship became strained due to Ellen’s secretiveness and her manipulative manner. This led Annie to cut Ellen out of her life for a period of time after giving birth to her first child, Peter, but the guilt of doing so caused her to let her back in upon the birth of her daughter Charlie.

Annie is seemingly plagued by loss throughout her life. First, it was her father and brother, then it was her mother, and later, Charlie dies in a gruesome and shocking scene. This haunts Annie for the rest of the film, and she starts going to a support group to cope with the loss, where she meets a woman named Joan (Ann Dowd), who helps her speak to Charlie in the afterlife. Unbeknownst to her, though, Joan is a member of the Paimon cult, and her intentions are anything but honorable. After uncovering her mother’s secrets, Annie’s life descends into terror, as she struggles to undo all the things her mother has done. She’s unsuccessful and is ultimately possessed by Paimon for some time, and the demon’s influence causes her to saw her own head off, marking the shocking death of our protagonist.

Steve Graham

Steve is the husband of Annie and the father of Peter and Charlie. Despite being one of the main characters, Steve is a much more reserved character. We don’t know much about him, but we do know that he is a psychiatrist and that he has much concern for Annie’s mental well-being. He’s a caring and devoted father but is ultimately unable to save his family from their impending fate. He meets a gruesome end towards the end of the film, when Annie attempts to burn Charlie’s sketchbook, which causes Steve to catch on fire and burn to death.

Peter Graham

Peter is the oldest child of Annie and Steve. He’s portrayed as an average teenager: he has a solid group of friends, with whom he regularly smokes weed during school, and he’s seen to have a crush on one of his classmates. He’s invited to a party at which his crush will be and is told to take his younger sister along with him. He leaves her to go get high with the girl he likes, leaving Charlie to her own devices, which ultimately leads to her ingesting some peanuts and having a severe allergic reaction. Peter drives her to the hospital but in his inebriated state swerves to hit a deer, causing Charlie — whose head is out the window in a desperate attempt for air — to be decapitated by a pole. His guilt over his sister’s death causes strain on his mental health and his relationship with his mother, who blames and resents him for Charlie’s death.

His vulnerable state makes him the perfect target for Paimon. After seeing a sinister vision of himself in his reflection, he repeatedly smashes his face off of his desk, breaking his nose and becoming all the more vulnerable. He’s targeted by his mother after she’s possessed by Paimon, and after seeing her saw her own head off, he leaps out the attic window to escape. The fall doesn’t kill him but does weaken him just enough for Paimon to take over his body. With Paimon finally having a male host in Peter’s body, he follows the headless body of Annie into the treehouse where he’s greeted by Joan and crowned Paimon, one of the eight kings of hell – letting us know that Peter is no longer himself and is now possessed by the demon.

Charlie Graham

Charlie is the youngest child of Annie and Steve, and quite a peculiar child at that. She doesn’t seem to talk to many people, and instead spends her time drawing in her sketchbook or making toys and sculptures out of garbage and the heads of animals. The death of her grandmother takes a toll on her due to their incredibly close bond. At the beginning of the film, it’s revealed that she has a severe nut allergy, which comes into play later when she attends a party with her brother Peter. She eats a slice of cake and unbeknownst to her, it has peanuts in it, causing her to have an extreme allergic reaction.

On the way to the hospital, Charlie is suddenly decapitated by a pole that is marked with the cult of Paimon symbol – meaning her death may not have been an accident after all. As it turns out, Ellen had put Paimon inside Charlie until they could find a suitable male host, meaning that Charlie was never really Charlie and has always been Paimon ever since she was a baby. When Charlie is decapitated, Paimon’s spirit is released, setting off the traumatic events that follow the Graham family.

Joan

While not a direct blood relative of the Graham/Leigh family, Joan is revealed to have known Ellen since they were young women. They became best friends and served in the cult of Paimon together. Joan meets Annie at a support group, where she soon befriends the woman and teaches her how to do a séance, which ends up setting off many more supernatural mishaps for the family. When Peter is possessed by Paimon at the end of the film and makes his way to the treehouse, he’s greeted by Joan, who is Ellen’s second-in-command. It turns out that all of the bonding she did with Annie over having lost her own child and grandchild was fake, and she was actually summoning Paimon. She crowns Peter as King Paimon and leads a chant of “Hail Paimon!” as the credits roll.

Hereditary is available to stream on Max in the U.S.

WATCH ON MAX