As the longest-serving president in U.S. history, elected to an unprecedented four terms, Franklin D. Roosevelt guided the nation through two of its greatest challenges: the Great Depression and the Second World War. Below, meet some of the people most important to America’s 32nd president, and tap or mouse over the photos to see how they appear in The HISTORY® Channel’s three-part documentary event “FDR.” Click on a category below or scroll through all.
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All
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Family
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Friends & Advisers
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Cabinet Members
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Allies
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Generals
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Remarkable Women
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VPs
1
Mary McLeod Bethune
Educator, Humanitarian & Activist
The 15th child of formerly enslaved parents, Bethune became a close friend of Eleanor Roosevelt and, through her, a trusted advisor to FDR. A powerful advocate for the rights of Black Americans, she was called the “First Lady of the Struggle.”
Played by: Lebogang Sekete
2
Winston Churchill
UK Prime Minister
FDR’s fellow wartime leader was both an ally in the fight against Hitler and a personal friend who often visited the White House. When Roosevelt died in 1945, Churchill eulogized him as “the greatest American friend we have ever known.”
Played by: Adrian Galley
3
Dwight D. Eisenhower
General & Future President
As the U.S. and its allies prepared for the D-Day invasion of Europe, FDR put the West Pointer in charge as supreme commander of allied forces. Eisenhower returned from the war a hero and was elected 34th president in 1952.
Played by: Nicholas Pauling
4
Fala
Beloved Dog & Political Tool
A Scottish terrier born in 1940, Fala became the president’s constant companion and a national celebrity. In a famous speech, Roosevelt rebuffed critics by saying, “I don't resent attacks, and my family doesn't resent attacks, but Fala does resent them."
5
Henry Ford
Industrial Titan
The inventor and industrialist fought FDR’s New Deal labor reforms and opposed U.S. entry into World War II. But when war came, his automotive assembly lines geared up to produce B-24 Liberator bombers, eventually turning out one every 63 minutes.
Played by: Anthony Watterson
6
John Nance Garner
First VP
A longtime Texas congressman nicknamed “Cactus Jack,” Garner served as Roosevelt’s vice president for two terms, before (unsuccessfully) challenging him in the 1940 presidential primary. According to legend, he said the vice presidency wasn’t “worth a bucket of warm spit.”
7
King George VI
British Monarch
In June 1939, the king became the first reigning British monarch to visit the U.S., an event engineered by FDR to symbolize the ties between the two nations. The president also introduced the king and queen to American hot dogs.
Played by: Matt Newman
8
Lorena Hickok
Journalist
An Associated Press reporter, Hickok covered Eleanor Roosevelt during the 1932 election. They became so close that “Hick” soon quit, unable to reconcile her fondness for the first lady and duty to write objectively. The relationship, including years of ardent correspondence, continued until Eleanor’s death.
9
Harry Hopkins
Top Advisor & Commerce Secretary
A social worker by profession, Hopkins was a friend and trusted advisor to both Eleanor and FDR, who gave him a series of top White House posts. He was with the president when they learned of the Pearl Harbor attack.
Played by: Anthony C. Hyde
10
Louis Howe
Chief Advisor
A newspaperman by trade, Howe met the young FDR in 1911 and soon became his confidant, top political advisor and a mentor to Eleanor. Totally devoted to “The Boss,” Howe remained at his side until his own death in 1936.
Played by: Pierre Malherbe
11
Cordell Hull
Top Advisor & Secretary of State
The one-time U.S. senator from Tennessee served for more than 11 years as FDR’s secretary of state, still the longest tenure on record for that job. Instrumental in creating the United Nations, he received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1945.
Played by: Robin Smith
12
Harold Ickes
Interior Secretary
A progressive Republican, Ickes became Roosevelt’s interior secretary and head of the Public Works Administration. Known for being blunt, he oversaw massive construction projects, desegregated his department and, one writer noted, “guarded the nation's natural resources like a pit bull.”
Played by: Aubrey Shelton
13
Missy LeHand
Aide, Advisor & Gatekeeper
Marguerite “Missy” LeHand was FDR’s personal secretary and close confidant for two decades, until a stroke forced her to leave the post in 1941. Though she never had the title, she’s often credited as the first female chief of staff.
Played by: Amy Louise Wilson
14
George Marshall
General & Statesman
Named Army chief of staff by FDR in 1939, the general became his most trusted military advisor during World War II. Later, as President Truman’s secretary of state, he spearheaded the Marshall Plan to rebuild war-ravaged Europe.
Played by: Andre Jacobs
15
Lucy Mercer
Lover
While serving as Eleanor Roosevelt’s social secretary, Mercer became romantically involved with FDR. After Eleanor found out in 1918, he vowed never to see her again, but they later met clandestinely and she was with him when he died.
Played by: Donna Cormack-Thomson
16
Frances Perkins
Labor Secretary
As Roosevelt’s secretary of labor, Perkins became the first female cabinet member in U.S. history and a driving force behind the New Deal and Social Security. “I came to Washington to work for God, FDR and the millions of forgotten, plain common workingmen."
Played by: Amanda Lane
17
Anna Roosevelt
Daughter
Eleanor and Franklin’s first child and only daughter, born in 1906, Anna often served as White House hostess in her mother’s absence and accompanied her father to the 1945 Yalta conference with Churchill and Stalin. She also wrote children’s books.
Played by: Melissa Haiden
18
Eleanor Roosevelt
Wife
The First Lady was FDR’s fifth cousin, once removed, and niece of Teddy Roosevelt. She traveled widely during her husband’s presidency, serving as his “eyes, ears and legs.” A passionate advocate for social causes, she later became U.S. delegate to the United Nations.
Played by: Alice Bounsall
19
Elliott Roosevelt
Son
Born in 1910, the Roosevelts’ third child was named for Eleanor’s beloved father. He had a difficult relationship with his parents and went on to a checkered, controversial career. During the war, however, he distinguished himself as a combat pilot.
20
Franklin Roosevelt Jr.
Son
His father’s namesake and fifth child, born in 1914, Franklin Jr. served in the Navy in the war and went on to a career in politics, including three terms in Congress. He later held posts in the Kennedy and Johnson administrations.
21
James Roosevelt
Father
A wealthy businessman-turned-gentleman farmer, FDR’s father was 26 years older than his wife and died when their son was 18. Their Hyde Park, New York, estate became the president’s beloved lifelong home as well as his and Eleanor’s final resting place.
22
James Roosevelt
Son
Named after his grandfather, James (a.k.a. "Jimmy") was Eleanor and Franklin’s second child and first son, born in 1907. He served in the Marines in World War II and went on to five terms in Congress, representing a district in southern California.
Played by: Ben Albertyn
23
John Roosevelt
Son
Born in 1916, the Roosevelts’ youngest son John served on an aircraft carrier in World War II. Rather than pursue a political career like his brothers, he became a businessman and, to his family’s horror, a Republican.
24
Sara Delano Roosevelt
Mother
FDR’s mother doted on her only child. Unable to talk him out of marrying Eleanor, she made the young bride’s life miserable. When polio struck FDR in 1921, Sara urged him to retire, while Eleanor encouraged him to stay in politics.
Played by: Adrienne Pearce
25
Teddy Roosevelt
5th Cousin & Role Model
The 26th president was Eleanor’s uncle and FDR’s fifth cousin. Though of opposing political parties, FDR and TR greatly admired each other. Teddy Roosevelt died in 1919, unaware that his distant cousin would one day follow him into the presidency.
Played by: Rufus Jones
26
Alfred E. Smith
New York Governor
FDR’s predecessor as New York governor, fellow Democrat Smith ran for president in 1928, losing to Herbert Hoover. Although he boosted Roosevelt’s early political career, Smith opposed his nomination for president in 1932 and went on to attack many New Deal policies.
Played by: Nicky Rebelo
27
Joseph Stalin
Soviet Dictator & Wartime Ally
Along with Roosevelt and Churchill, Stalin was one of the Big Three, the trio of leaders who led the fight against Hitler. Though they won the war, their relationship was uneasy, due to competing interests and mutual suspicion.
Played by: Dawid Minnaar
28
Harry S. Truman
Third VP & Future President
Truman was a senator from Missouri when Roosevelt made him his 1944 running mate. Thrust into office by FDR’s sudden death in 1945, he remarked, “I felt like the moon, the stars and all the planets had fallen on me.”
29
Henry Agard Wallace
Second VP
An Iowa-born editor and farmer, Wallace became controversial, largely because of his progressive political views. FDR eventually saw him as a liability, and at the 1944 Democratic convention, delegates voted to put Harry S. Truman on the ticket instead.
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