Grace And Frankie: Every Main Character, Ranked By Intelligence

Netflix’s Grace and Frankie is packed full of quirky, yet relatable characters who can make audiences laugh just as much as they can make them cry. The series follows the Hanson and the Bergstein families as they navigate new and ever-changing chapters in their individual lives, which of course, affect their family life as well.

Each character in the series has been written so specifically, it’s easy to understand the family dynamics and everyone’s place and purpose on the show. Each character has their own strengths and weaknesses. Some of them are very bright, while others may be considered more “street smart” than “book smart.”

10 Coyote

Coyote was adopted by Frankie and Sol and, even as an adult, seems to need more taking-care-of than his siblings. Coyote is a recovering addict, but very committed to living a healthy and sober life now that he is out of rehab.

Coyote was a professor, so it’s safe to assume he is well-educated; however, he seems to lack some basic common sense. Coyote was fired from his teaching job after trying to buy cocaine from a student, and that’s not even the dumbest thing this character has ever done.

9 Nwabudike

Nwabudike, or “Bud” as his friends and family call him, is the more responsible adopted child of Frankie and Sol Bernstein. Bud works at his father and Robert’s law firm and is always there for his brother, Coyote.

Bud initially seems pretty smart and levelheaded, but his personal choices throughout the series prove otherwise, especially when it comes to his love life. Bud falls for Allison and seems to lose himself and his common sense as he works so hard to try and keep this relationship from falling apart.

8 Allison

Bud’s wife Allison is not the smartest or the most likable character on Grace and Frankie. Bud’s family tries to accept her and makes every effort to get along with her, especially once she and Bud are married and expecting their first child together.

Allison doesn’t make it easy on the other characters who have to see past a lot of quirks to welcome her into their family. One of Allison’s biggest quirks is the fact she seems to have every ailment and allergy a person can have, but someone with a little more knowledge may see this as attention-seeking behavior rather than legitimate medical issues.

7 Mallory

Mallory, the daughter of Grace and Robert, is a beautiful, smart woman, but doesn’t always make the most intelligent life choices. Mallory got married and had kids at a very young age and when we first meet her, it’s clear she is a do-it-all kind of woman, which on the outside, looks great.

Internally, Mallory is really struggling and it takes three seasons before she really comes into her own and starts to live a little for herself. Once Mallory leaves her marriage, she thrives as a single mother and seems excited by the new prospects in her life. It’s just a shame she didn’t get to this place sooner.

6 Jacob

Jacob is a nice guy and he was crazy about Frankie from the moment he met her. Jacob is smart and kind and would be a catch for any woman. He’s so nice he even has a good relationship with his ex-wife, chalking up their failed marriage to getting married too young.

The dumbest thing Jacob does is stay with Frankie for too long. Frankie is wonderful and the two seem like a perfect couple, but Frankie is clearly not ready to be with someone yet, and Jacob refuses to see that.

5 Sol

Sol is very smart. He’s a lawyer and has been practicing law for most of his adult life. He’s also well-versed in arts and culture and seems to have a lot of general intellect.

Of course, no one is perfect and Sol has some not-so-smart moments throughout the series. Sol can be pretty indecisive and has a tendency to cower when things get hard. He also makes an incredibly stupid mistake at the end of season one when he sleeps with Frankie a week before his wedding to Robert.

4 Grace

Grace is very put together and when it comes to keeping up appearances, Grace is the smartest person in the room. Grace knows how to dress and act in public to make everyone think things are exactly as she wants them to be, but behind closed doors, Grace has a tendency to fall apart.

Grace has to learn a lot and adjust quickly when her husband springs their divorce on her and though she doesn’t always do it gracefully, she does it nonetheless. Grace’s ability to roll with whatever life throws at her makes her one of the smartest characters in the series.

3 Robert

Robert has a similar skill set as Grace and is able to put on a show in public whenever he needs to. Robert is also very emotionally intelligent and he’s a great communicator in all of his relationships.

Though it wasn’t Robert’s proudest moment, he does manage to hide his affair with Sol from his wife and family for over a decade, and that takes a lot of street smarts. Robert occasionally uses his intelligence to make not-so-great choices, but that doesn’t negate the fact that he’s one of the show’s smarter characters.

2 Brianna

Brianna’s sassy, tell-it-like-it-is mentality mixed with her boss-like mindset makes her one of the smartest and funniest characters on the show. Brianna runs her own company, makes time for her personal life, and is always the first to set clear boundaries in all of her relationships.

Brianna is really a renaissance woman and a role model for viewers. Her intelligence also plays out in her witty one-liners and her ability to communicate with everyone in her life whenever she needs to do so.

1 Frankie

At first watch, it seems Frankie is the most aloof, absent-minded character in the hit Netflix series, but really, she’s the most intelligent. Frankie adopts a very  “go with the flow” way of living, which is crucial to surviving the heartache she goes through when Sol leaves her for Robert.

Frankie may struggle to remember what to get at the grocery store, but she never forgets the important stuff. Frankie’s prescience is always calming and sustainable and she’s often the one everyone turns to for advice and answers.

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