Who is Cheryl David in Curb Your Enthusiasm?

Show

Curb Your Enthusiasm

Played by

Cheryl Hines

First episode

“The Pants Tent”Season 1, Episode 1, aired October 15, 2000

Role

Main cast

Network

HBO

Occupation

Larry's wife, then ex-wife

Show run

2000 to 2024

Also known as

Cheryl

Cheryl David is Larry's wife for the first stretch of Curb Your Enthusiasm and the person most often left apologizing for him. Played by Cheryl Hines, she is warm, sensible, and endlessly patient, until the day she is not.

On Curb Your Enthusiasm, Cheryl David's story runs through Larry David (Ex-husband), Jeff Greene (Friend), Susie Greene (Friend), and Leon Black (Former Houseguest).

Who is Cheryl David?

Cheryl is married to the fictionalized Larry David, the co-creator of Seinfeld, and lives with him in their Los Angeles home. When the series begins they have been together for years, and she is a regular companion on the dinners, parties, and charity events where Larry manages to offend someone new each week.

She is the show's most reasonable person. Where Larry argues about tipping rules, sample etiquette, and the proper length of a hug, Cheryl simply wants him to be polite and get along with people. That gap between them drives a huge share of the show's comedy and, eventually, the end of their marriage.

Personality and comedy

Cheryl is upbeat, sociable, and genuinely fond of Larry, which makes her reactions to his behavior all the funnier. Her signature look is the long-suffering stare of a wife watching her husband dig himself deeper at a dinner party.

Curb is largely improvised from story outlines, and Cheryl Hines plays the straight role so naturally that the audience tends to side with her. She is rarely the butt of the joke, and when she does lose her temper, viewers usually feel Larry had it coming.

Key storylines

For their tenth anniversary in season four, Larry and Cheryl renew their vows. Their real trouble comes in season six. Caught on a terrifying, storm-tossed flight, Cheryl calls Larry to share what might be her last wishes, and Larry, busy with the TiVo repairman, asks her to call him back. She leaves him, most of their friends take her side, and he spends the rest of the season trying to win her back.

In season seven, Larry stages a Seinfeld reunion partly so he can cast Cheryl as George Costanza's ex-wife and spend time with her. The plan nearly works, and they briefly reunite at the end of the season, until Larry's fixation on a ring stain Cheryl left on Julia Louis-Dreyfus's table drives her away again. Season eight opens with their divorce, in which Cheryl gets the house. In later seasons she dates Ted Danson, and she and Larry stay close, if complicated, exes.

Behind the scenes and legacy

Cheryl Hines was a regular for seasons one through seven and nine through twelve, with a guest appearance in season eight. She received two Primetime Emmy nominations for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series for the role.

Cheryl's sister Becky is played by Kaitlin Olson, who went on to star as Dee on It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia. Cheryl remains the emotional anchor of Curb's early seasons, and her exit from the marriage reshaped the show's later years.

Cheryl David: frequently asked questions

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