The 44 Greatest TV Teenage Characters of All Time

Slayers, schemers and sad-eyed narrators share this bracket with the Disney Channel kids a whole generation grew up alongside. A few were role models; most were gloriously messy.

1. 1
   Buffy Summers

   The Sunnydale High student and Chosen One of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, played by Sarah Michelle Gellar.
   1000pts
2. 2
   Veronica Mars

   The sharp-tongued teen private eye of Neptune High, played by Kristen Bell.
   871pts
3. 3
   Brenda Walsh

   The Minnesota transplant navigating West Beverly High on Beverly Hills, 90210, played by Shannen Doherty.
   745pts
4. 4
   Doogie Howser

   The teenage genius practicing medicine on Doogie Howser, M.D., played by Neil Patrick Harris.
   716pts
5. 5
   Elena Gilbert

   The Mystic Falls teen caught between two vampire brothers in The Vampire Diaries, played by Nina Dobrev.
   635pts
6. 6
   Kevin Arnold

   The suburban kid coming of age in the late 1960s on The Wonder Years, played by Fred Savage.
   635pts
7. 7
   Wednesday Addams

   The deadpan Nevermore Academy sleuth of Netflix's Wednesday, played by Jenna Ortega.
   586pts
8. 8
   Dylan McKay

   The sideburned rebel and 90s icon of Beverly Hills, 90210, played by Luke Perry.
   586pts
9. 9
   Hannah Baker

   The teen whose recorded tapes drive 13 Reasons Why, played by Katherine Langford.
   586pts
10. 10
    Blair Waldorf

    The scheming queen bee of the Upper East Side on Gossip Girl, played by Leighton Meester.
    532pts
11. 11
    Lindsay Weir

    The mathlete-turned-freak at the heart of Freaks and Geeks, played by Linda Cardellini.
    532pts
12. 12
    Matt Saracen

    The shy backup quarterback who becomes the Dillon Panthers' starter on Friday Night Lights, played by Zach Gilford.
    532pts
13. 13
    Nathan Scott

    The basketball star who matures from bully to husband on One Tree Hill, played by James Lafferty.
    469pts
14. 14
    Effy Stonem

    The enigmatic, near-silent wild child of Skins, played by Kaya Scodelario.
    469pts
15. 15
    Malcolm

    The gifted, put-upon middle son of Malcolm in the Middle, played by Frankie Muniz.
    469pts
16. 16
    Dawson Leery

    The Spielberg-obsessed aspiring filmmaker of Dawson's Creek, played by James Van Der Beek.
    469pts
17. 17
    Serena van der Woodsen

    The It girl whose return sets Gossip Girl in motion, played by Blake Lively.
    469pts
18. 18
    Moesha Mitchell

    The Leimert Park teen at the center of the 90s sitcom Moesha, played by Brandy.
    469pts
19. 19
    Will Smith (Fresh Prince)

    The West Philadelphia teen sent to live with his Bel-Air relatives, played by Will Smith.
    469pts
20. 20
    Hannah Montana

    Miley Stewart, the ordinary teen secretly living as a pop star, played by Miley Cyrus.
    469pts
21. 21
    Seth Cohen

    The comic-book-loving, fast-talking misfit of The O.C., played by Adam Brody.
    469pts
22. 22
    Angela Chase

    The introspective 15-year-old narrator of My So-Called Life, played by Claire Danes.
    397pts
23. 23
    Pacey Witter

    The wisecracking underdog who won Joey's heart on Dawson's Creek, played by Joshua Jackson.
    397pts
24. 24
    Steve Urkel

    The suspender-wearing nerd who took over Family Matters, played by Jaleel White.
    397pts
25. 25
    Zack Morris

    The scheming, fourth-wall-breaking Bayside schemer of Saved by the Bell, played by Mark-Paul Gosselaar.
    397pts
26. 26
    Chuck Bass

    The decadent heir and antihero of Gossip Girl, played by Ed Westwick.
    397pts
27. 27
    Kelly Kapowski

    Bayside High's head cheerleader and Zack's great love on Saved by the Bell, played by Tiffani Thiessen.
    397pts
28. 28
    Eleven

    The telekinetic runaway from Hawkins Lab in Stranger Things, played by Millie Bobby Brown.
    397pts
29. 29
    Jimmy Brooks

    The basketball star whose shooting left him in a wheelchair on Degrassi: The Next Generation, played by Drake.
    397pts
30. 30
    Maeve Wiley

    The fiercely clever outsider of Sex Education, played by Emma Mackey.
    397pts
31. 31
    Sabrina Spellman

    The half-witch high schooler of Sabrina the Teenage Witch, played by Melissa Joan Hart.
    397pts
32. 32
    Jackie Burkhart

    The spoiled, self-adoring cheerleader of That '70s Show, played by Mila Kunis.
    397pts
33. 33
    Willow Rosenberg

    Buffy's brainy best friend who grows into a powerful witch, played by Alyson Hannigan.
    313pts
34. 34
    Devi Vishwakumar

    The hot-headed overachiever of Never Have I Ever, played by Maitreyi Ramakrishnan.
    313pts
35. 35
    Rory Gilmore

    The bookish Stars Hollow daughter bound for Yale on Gilmore Girls, played by Alexis Bledel.
    313pts
36. 36
    Joey Potter

    The tomboyish girl next door at the center of Dawson's Creek's love triangle, played by Katie Holmes.
    313pts
37. 37
    Alex P. Keaton

    The Reagan-loving young Republican son of ex-hippies on Family Ties, played by Michael J. Fox.
    313pts
38. 38
    Eric Forman

    The scrawny, sarcastic Point Place teen of That '70s Show, played by Topher Grace.
    213pts
39. 39
    Rue Bennett

    The addicted, sardonic narrator of Euphoria, played by Zendaya in an Emmy-winning role.
    213pts
40. 40
    Tim Riggins

    The hard-living fullback of Friday Night Lights, played by Taylor Kitsch.
    0pts
41. 41
    Steve Harrington

    The popular jock turned beloved babysitter of Stranger Things, played by Joe Keery.
    0pts
42. 42
    Cory Matthews

    The everyman hero who grows up across seven seasons of Boy Meets World, played by Ben Savage.
    0pts
43. 43
    Lizzie McGuire

    The relatable junior-high everygirl of Disney Channel's Lizzie McGuire, played by Hilary Duff.
    0pts
44. 44
    Otis Milburn

    The awkward son of a sex therapist who opens a school clinic in Sex Education, played by Asa Butterfield.
    0pts

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