“Six Feet Under” cast: Inside the stars' lives more than two decades after that unforgettable finale
“Six Feet Under” cast: Inside the stars' lives more than two decades after that unforgettable finale
Maggie FremontFri, June 19, 2026 at 3:00 PM UTC
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Fisher and Sons (and sisters, mothers, boyfriends, girlfriends, lovers, and business partners).Credit: Everett
In 2001, Alan Ball introduced us to Six Feet Under — and with it, the Fishers and their family-run Los Angeles funeral home. Over the course of five seasons, this beautifully dysfunctional brood deals (poorly) with its own grief while being in the business of helping the bereaved deal with theirs.
The Fishers — brothers Nate and Michael, little sister Claire, mother Ruth — became an intimate part of fans' Sunday night routine. The people who rotated in and out of their lives — lovers, coworkers, extended families, ghosts — were every bit as memorable. No wonder the show earned a permanent spot on "best of" lists, to say nothing of the numerous Emmys, Golden Globes, and SAG awards it won.
The show famously began every episode with a death — sometimes inevitable, often random; sometimes tragic, often darkly funny. The deceased would then wind up at Fisher & Sons' funeral home. The format carried through all the way to the iconic series finale.
The series premiered 25 years ago this month, and its award-winning cast has remained booked and busy since "Everyone's Waiting" capped off its five-year run in 2005. Let's check in with the cast of Six Feet Under.
01 of 10
Peter Krause (Nate Fisher)
Peter Krause as Nate Fisher / Krause in New York in 2024Credit: Everett; Getty
Peter Krause found a star-making role as Nate, the eldest of the Fisher children who — initially rudderless and defiant — gets begrudgingly roped into running the family business in the wake of his father's death. He earned three Emmy nominations for the performance.
"Alan brought me in to read for both Nate and David, and couldn't make up his mind. As luck had it, he really liked Michael Hall, who was the perfect choice for David. So the character of Nate swung my way," the veteran actor told EW in 2021, adding that the show had "one of the most perfectly cast families on television."
As a member of a handful of beloved TV families, Krause would know. He's made a career of going from one long-running series to another. The stage and sketch veteran, who got his small-screen start as a player on Carol Burnett's Carol & Company, saw his decade of guest and supporting work pay off with a lead role in Aaron Sorkin's Sports Night.
He followed his Six Feet Under breakthrough with another lead role, this time as part of the Braverman clan on Parenthood. He followed that Emmy-winning series with 9-1-1, alongside Angela Bassett. His role as a troubled fire captain on Ryan Murphy's wild action-drama lasted until just recently, when his character was killed off after eight seasons.
The Minnesota native recently signed on for the lead role on NBC's Protection.
Krause has a son, born in 2001, with his former girlfriend Christine King.
02 of 10
Michael C. Hall (David Fisher)
Michael C. Hall as David Fisher / Hall at a 'Dexter: Resurrection' screening in 2026Credit: Everett; Getty
Like his onscreen brother, Michael C. Hall's Six Feet Under role was just the start of a long television career.
Here, he was middle sibling David, the funeral director of the family business. When the show begins, he's still closeted, and many of his storylines revolve around his romantic relationships and eventual coming out. The performance earned him his first Emmy nomination—but definitely not his last.
Just one year after Six Feet Under ended, Hall was picked to headline Dexter as Dexter Morgan: Miami PD forensic analyst by day, vigilante serial killer by night. It's the character that defines him to this day — and adorned his mantelpiece with a SAG award and a Golden Globe, among other honors.
Since its conclusion, there have been three spinoffs, all of which Hall has appeared in, including the recent sequel series Dexter: Resurrection.
The North Carolina native has continually returned to his theater roots, taking on the roles of Billy Flynn in Chicago and Hedwig in Hedwig and the Angry Inch. He also performs with his band, Princess Goes.
Hall has been married to writer Morgan Macgregor since 2016.
03 of 10
Lauren Ambrose (Claire Fisher)
Lauren Ambrose as Claire Fisher / Ambrose at a 'Yellowjackets' season 3 premiere in 2025Credit: Everett; Getty
As Claire,the youngest of the Fisher siblings, Lauren Ambrose had the honor of leading the audience through one of the best TV finales of all time. It's her drive across the country to New York, set to Sia's "Breathe Me," that frames our travels across time as we see how each of the show's beloved characters ultimately winds up, well, six feet under.
"I got to grieve the thing that I was leaving and say goodbye to all of the people and the work that I got to do," Ambrose told EW in 2021. "That's the episode that everybody talks about to me still and says, 'Oh you left us with this beautiful ending.'"
Ambrose, a trained opera singer, began her career on stage in New York City before landing prominent movie roles in Can't Hardly Wait (1998) and Swimming (2000).
After Six Feet Under, which earned her two Emmy nominations, the Connecticut native returned to the stage, making her Broadway debut in 2006 before later taking on roles such as Juliet, Ophelia, and Eliza Doolittle. The latter performance, for the 2018 revival of My Fair Lady, landed the actress her first Tony nomination.
In recent years, the veteran actress found a second wind on the small screen. She starred on the M. Night Shyamalan-produced Apple series Servant and moved on to Yellowjackets as the present-day version of Liv Hewson's Van.
Ambrose has two children with her husband Sam Handel.
04 of 10
Frances Conroy (Ruth Fisher)
Frances Conroy as Ruth Fisher / Conroy at AFI Fest in 2021Credit: Everett; Getty
Frances Conroy spent five seasons navigating the emotional extremes of the often unpredictable matriarch of the family, Ruth.
By that time, she was arguably the most accomplished member of the regular cast. Aside from being a familiar face on film — you can spot her in Dirty Rotten Scoundrels (1988), Scent of a Woman (1992), Sleepless in Seattle (1993), and a handful of Woody Allen movies — she was a regular on the stage. Her Broadway résumé dates back to the early 1980s and she was both a Drama Desk winner and Tony nominee.
The award recognition continued with Six Feet Under. Conroy won a SAG award and a Golden Globe for her performance in addition to four Emmy nods. During that time, she played Katharine Hepburn's mother in Martin Scorsese's The Aviator (2004) and had a meaty supporting role in Jim Jarmusch's Broken Flowers (2005).
Since the series left the air, the New Yorker has found a new TV home thanks to Ryan Murphy, who cast her in the originalAmerican Horror Story and seven subsequent installments. She went on to earn two more Emmy nominations for her AHS work.
Aside from the Murphy-verse, Conroy has recently popped up in maternal roles in Joker (2019) and the Best Picture-winning The Power of the Dog (2021).
Conroy has been married to Jan Munroe since 1992.
05 of 10
Rachel Griffiths (Brenda Chenowith)
Rachel Griffiths as Brenda Chenowith / Griffiths at the Australian Open in 2026Credit: Everett; Getty
Rachel Griffiths' brilliant but unhinged Brenda was a lightning bolt on the show. The tumultuous relationship between Nate and Brenda became an anchor and highlight of the series.
"We needed somebody sexy and smart and unapologetic but appealing, very confident in her own skin," Ball told EW in 2002. "We had a hard time casting Brenda, but when we heard Rachel was interested we were thrilled."
At the time, she was a recently minted Oscar nominee, having earned a nod for her performance in Hilary and Jackie (1998). The Melbourne native debuted on film a few years earlier in the acclaimed Aussie comedy Muriel's Wedding (1994), playing the best friend of Toni Collette's titular Muriel, before scoring appearances in American studio fare like My Best Friend's Wedding (1997) and Blow (2001).
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Her performance as Brenda earned her a Golden Globe and two Emmy nominations. She then went from the explosive Chenowith brood to a somewhat less edgy TV family on Brothers and Sisters, alongside Sally Field, Calista Flockhart, and Matthew Rhys. As the eldest of the Walker children, she earned multiple Emmy and Golden Globe nominations.
The veteran actress later made her Broadway debut in the critically lauded Other Desert Cities, but shortly afterward decided to move back to Australia full-time. She's stayed busy ever since, taking roles on the Australian series Total Control and Aftertaste. She also made her feature directorial debut with Ride Like a Girl (2019).
She hasn't left Tinseltown behind completely; she appeared as the autobiographical basis for Mary Poppins in Saving Mr. Banks (2013) and as Sydney Sweeney's mother in the rom-com Anyone But You (2023).
Griffiths lives in Australia with husband Andrew Taylor, a painter. They got married in 2002 and share three children.
06 of 10
Mathew St. Patrick (Keith Charles)
Mathew St. Patrick as Keith Charles / St. Patrick in Beverly Hills in 2018Credit: Everett; Getty
Given the sheer volume of ups, downs, and turmoil Keith went through as David's love interest — they marry and adopt two boys before the series concludes — it feels right that Mathew St. Patrick's career began in soap operas.
The Philadelphia-born actor spent two years as Lt. Adrian Sword on All My Children, earning two NAACP Image Award nominations. After five years of Six Feet Under, he moved on to the short-lived murder mystery Reunion.
St. Patrick went on to stints on Sons of Anarchy and Hawaii Five-0. He hasn't acted on screen since 2019.
07 of 10
Freddy Rodriguez (Federico Diaz)
Freddy Rodriguez as Federico Diaz / Rodriguez at the International Emmys in 2017Credit: Everett; Getty
Nobody knows the Fishers' business better than Rico, the mortician who works under David before eventually becoming a partner at Fisher & Sons.
Freddy Rodriguez, who made his foray into Hollywood with supporting parts in A Walk in the Clouds (1995) and Dead Presidents (1995), remained a series regular throughout the show's run and earned one Emmy nomination.
He didn't slow down after the HBO drama's acclaimed run. He had a substantial guest arc as a love interest for America Ferrera's Betty Suarez on Ugly Betty before joining the main casts of The Night Shift and Bull, the latter of which became his full-time gig for five years.
On the big screen, you may have spotted him mixing it up with Christian Bale in Harsh Times (2005), working out one half of his body in M. Night Shyamalan's Lady in the Water (2006), or fighting zombies in Planet Terror (2007). But the Chicago native has been particularly busy as a voice actor, playing characters on Teen Titans, Kaijudo, and Scavengers Reign.
Rodriguez and his wife Maria Elsie Rivera, who married in 1995, have two children.
08 of 10
Justina Machado (Vanessa Diaz)
Justina Machado as Vanessa Diaz / Machado at the 'Swapped' premiere in 2026Credit: Everett; Getty
Justina Machado played Rico's wife Vanessa, a nurse.
Like her onscreen husband, Machado's story begins in Chicago. After a stint at the Latino Chicago Theater Company, she made her way to New York City and L.A. in the early 1990s, taking on guest roles on NYPD Blue, Arsenio, and Angel.
Playing Vanessa proved to be Machado's big break. Over the course of five seasons, the character went from a supporting player to a major one, dealing with mental health issues, addiction, and a fractured marriage along the way.
Machado continued to make her mark in television in subsequent years, earning an ALMA nomination for her recurring stint in ER's final season, stealing scenes as ambitious matchmaker-turned-reality star Darci Factor onJane the Virgin, and landing a regular role in the first season of Queen of the South.
In 2017, she booked the lead role in Norman Lear's reimagining of One Day at a Time, alongside Rita Moreno.
Machado has also made a name for herself on stage, including a stint in Lin-Manuel Miranda's In the Heights. She recently starred in the Broadway adaptation of Real Women Have Curves, earning her first Tony nomination.
09 of 10
Jeremy Sisto (Billy Chenowith)
Jeremy Sisto as Billy Chenowith / Sisto at a 'Law & Order' anniversary celebration in 2026Credit: Everett; Getty
Sure, Jeremy Sisto's turn as Brenda's chaotic, codependent, bipolar brother Billy earned raves, but let's not forget the guy had one iconic screen moment to his name already: the "rolling with the homies" scene in Clueless (1995).
Sisto was a prolific actor throughout the '90s, appearing in Lawrence Kasdan's Grand Canyon (1991), Ridley Scott's White Squall (1996), and Willard Carroll's Playing by Heart (1998). The California-born, Chicago-bred actor leveled up once Six Feet Under hit it big, scoring major roles in Angel Eyes (2001), Wrong Turn (2003), and the Oscar-nominated Thirteen (2003).
By 2006, Sisto landed on Broadway and starred as Keri Russell's abusive husband in the indie classic Waitress (2007). From there, he joined the hallowed ranks of Law & Order cops as Jesse L. Martin's new partner.
After three seasons in New York, Sisto left to join Suburgatory, for which he earned a Critics' Choice nomination. In recent years, the actor has found himself back in Dick Wolf's procedural world on FBI.
Sisto has two children with wife Addie Lane.
10 of 10
Richard Jenkins (Nathaniel Fisher)
Richard Jenkins as Nathaniel Fisher / Jenkins at the 'DTF St. Louis' premiere in 2026Credit: Everett; Getty
The pilot of Six Feet Under begins with the death of Nathaniel Fisher, the family patriarch and proprietor of the family business, Fisher & Sons Funeral Home.
The role went to esteemed character actor Richard Jenkins — and it wasn't just a one-off. He appears to his family members as figments of their imaginations and in flashbacks throughout the series. His presence looms large from beginning to end.
Jenkins launched his acting career in Rhode Island, working in the Trinity Repertory Company out of Providence for years while also earning small film roles.
His work runs the genre gamut, from bawdy comedies (There's Something About Mary,Step Brothers) to Coen brothers classics (The Man Who Wasn't There,Burn After Reading) and twisted genre movies (Let Me In,The Cabin in the Woods).
Jenkins led Tom McCarthy's indie darling The Visitor (2007), which earned him an Academy Award nomination for Best Actor. A decade later, he received another Oscar nod for Guillermo del Toro's Best Picture winner The Shape of Water (2017). He reunited with the filmmaker for Nightmare Alley (2021).
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On the small screen, Jenkins followed Six Feet Under with an Emmy-winning turn in the miniseries Olive Kitteridge (2014), opposite Frances McDormand. He scored another nomination for playing Jeffrey Dahmer's father in Ryan Murphy's Monster.
Jenkins and his wife, Sharon Friedrick, have been married since 1969 and have two children.
on Entertainment Weekly
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