text: susan mayer susan mayer is a fictional character played by teri hatcher on the abc television series desperate housewives . the character was created by television producer and screenwriter marc cherry . she first appeared in the pilot episode of the series on october 3 , 2004 , and appeared in every episode until the series finale on may 13 , 2012 . susan resides on the fictional wisteria lane in fairview , eagle state , the primary setting of the show . one of four lead characters , susan is characterized as being a " notoriously clumsy " romantic with a " magnetic charm . " her storylines tend to focus on her romantic relationships , most notably with mike delfino ( james denton ) , whom she marries twice in the series . cherry originally created susan as a girl next door archetype and intended for the character to provide an emotional anchor for the series . when developing the character , cherry drew upon his personal experiences as well as those of single women in his life . the role was originally written for mary - louise parker , who turned it down ; as a result , hatcher was cast in early 2004 . hatcher 's portrayal of the character is both comedic and vulnerable . during the series ' debut season , both the character and hatcher 's performance received positive critical reception ; however , as the series has progressed , the character has been received less favorably by critics and fans . hatcher has received both a golden globe award and screen actors guild award for her performance in the series . development and casting while developing the series , desperate housewives creator marc cherry envisioned susan as a girl next door and chose her to convey this image . in the original pilot , the character 's surname was spelled " meyer " but had to be changed to " mayer " for clearance purposes . cherry commented , " i knew susan was going to be my anchor character , and i didn 't really know my take on her at first . and then it occurred to me that one of these women should be divorced ... i thought there was something so real about a woman saying , ' i don 't have much time left , ' and when this available hunky guy moves onto the street , something in her saying ' let me at him ' " . the character is a compendium of single mothers in cherry 's life " desperate to land a man " . he also drew upon his own personal experiences while creating the character . julia louis - dreyfus expressed interest in the role , but abc executives felt she was not right for the part . actors originally considered for the role include courteney cox , calista flockhart , heather locklear , mary - louise parker , and sela ward . cherry wrote the part with parker in mind , but she rejected the offer , later explaining " it just didn ’ t feel like i was gonna [ sic ] serve it as well as someone else might " . teri hatcher auditioned for the role in january 2004 and impressed cherry immediately . after a second audition , hatcher read for the role in front of network executives . cherry praised her performance , saying " it was the best audition i 've ever seen in network " . hatcher later commented , " i don 't think they were hot to hire me for susan ... i was maybe on a b - list , certainly not an a - list " . despite her reservations , hatcher was the third reported cast member to have been cast in the series on february 18 , 2004 . personality and characteristics susan is primarily characterized as the girl next door . teri hatcher stated " i ’ m not exactly her , but i get her . i get her insecurities , her flaws . " she called the character " a great representation of what [ everyone ] deals with daily . our responsibilities can be overwhelming and things often don 't go as you planned , so you have to roll with it . susan celebrates rolling with it " . she is a hopeless romantic and often expresses her more openly and vulnerably than the other characters in the series . the series begins a year after susan 's first divorce , when she is still emotionally raw . throughout the series , several other characters have confronted susan about her inability to live happily and without drama . susan has a close relationship with her daughter , julie ( andrea bowen ) , who often acts as the parent figure in the relationship . susan 's accident - proneness is commonly used throughout the series to provide comic relief . her susceptibility to bad luck and embarrassing situations have created some of the series ' most memorable moments , including accidentally burning down edie 's house and being locked out of her own house completely naked . susan 's poor cooking skills have also become a running gag in the series . history past susan bremmer was raised by single mother sophie bremmer ( lesley ann warren ) . she was told her father was a united states merchant marine who died in the battle of hanoi during the vietnam war . she was a cheerleader in high school and graduated as valedictorian of her class . she graduated from community college with an art degree . eventually , susan began writing and illustrating children 's books , the first of which was ants in my picnic basket . in her early twenties , susan married karl mayer ( richard burgi ) and gave birth to their daughter , julie , at age 26 . in 1992 , the family moved to wisteria lane in fairview , eagle state , where susan befriended mary alice young ( brenda strong ) , her new neighbor . susan became close friends with bree van de kamp ( marcia cross ) , lynette scavo ( felicity huffman ) , and gabrielle solis ( eva longoria ) when they moved to wisteria lane . in 2003 , karl left susan for his secretary , brandi ( anne dudek ) . the two divorced and agreed to share custody of julie , although she chose to live primarily with susan . season 1 a year after her divorce , susan takes an interest in mike delfino ( james denton ) , a plumber who has recently moved in across the street . susan begins dating mike , despite competition from edie britt ( nicollette sheridan ) . meanwhile , susan begins investigating mary alice 's suicide after she and her friends discover a blackmail note addressed to her . later , susan discovers that mary alice 's husband , paul ( mark moses ) , had their son , zach ( cody kasch ) , committed to a youth mental institution after he broke into the van de kamp house and decorated it for christmas , julie begins corresponding with zach without susan 's knowledge and hides him in her room when he escapes from the institution . when susan finds zach in her home , she and mike return him to paul ; however , julie and zach continue dating . paul fabricates unconvincing lies to thwart susan 's efforts to discover his family 's secrets too . as her relationship with mike progresses , susan becomes suspicious of his past , especially when she finds a gun and large sums of money in his kitchen cabinets . additionally , evidence connecting mike to the murder of wisteria lane resident , martha huber ( christine estabrook ) , surfaces . susan ends the relationship when police inform her that mike was convicted of manslaughter and drug trafficking . however , susan learns the murder was accidental and the two renew their relationship and agree that mike will move into susan 's house . while mike is away on business , susan finds zach , armed with a handgun , in mike 's house . he vows to kill mike when he comes home as he believes mike killed paul . season 2 when mike arrives home , zach 's murder scheme backfires and he runs away . mike informs susan that he recently learned that zach is his biological son . susan agrees to help mike search for zach and finds him in a nearby park . when zach expresses hope of rekindling his romance with julie , she gives him money to look for paul in utah . when mike finds out about her betrayal , he ends their relationship . susan decides to write an autobiography following the break - up . while researching her father , she learns that her mother lied and her father is local business owner addison prudy ( paul dooley ) . she tries to establish a relationship with her reluctant father , but her attempts are effectively unsuccessful . meanwhile , susan is dismayed to learn that karl has moved in with edie . she begins dating her doctor , ron mccready ( jay harrington ) , who informs her that she has a wandering spleen and will need a splenectomy . when susan learns that her health insurance will not cover the operation , karl offers to remarry her for his medical benefits . they agree to keep their sham marriage a secret from edie and ron . while under anesthesia before her operation , susan professes her love for mike to ron , which prompts ron to break up with her . soon after , karl leaves edie , as his love for susan has resurfaced . upon learning that susan is the other woman , edie intentionally sets susan 's house on fire . in this time of need , both mike and karl vie for susan 's affections . she chooses to rekindle her relationship with mike and karl signs the divorce papers . susan and mike then make plans to meet for dinner at nearby torch lake , where mike plans to propose . on his way to dinner , mike is a victim of a hit - and - run at the hands of orson hodge ( kyle maclachlan ) , a dentist whom susan had recently befriended . season 3 as a result of the hit - and - run , mike falls into a coma . having waited six months for mike to wake up , she reluctantly enters a relationship with ian hainsworth ( dougray scott ) , a british man whose wife , jane ( cecily ) , has been in a coma for years . when mike finally awakens , doctors conclude that he now suffers from retrograde amnesia . while susan is out of town , edie convinces mike that susan was horrible to him during their relationship . mike turns susan away when she returns to fairview . having lost hope , susan continues her romance with ian . meanwhile , susan is suspicious of orson , who has married bree and is accused of killing his missing ex - wife , alma ( valerie mahaffey ) . when mike is arrested for the murder of monique ( kathleen york ) , orson 's former mistress , edie breaks up with him , leaving him without bail . susan defends mike , which frustrates ian . he promises to pay for mike 's bail if susan breaks off all contact with him . mike is eventually acquitted for the crime . following jane 's death , susan accepts ian 's marriage proposal . as he slowly regains his memory , mike recalls his feelings for susan and challenges ian for her affections . when susan learns that the two had made a bet on her in a game of poker , she calls off the wedding and declares that she does not want to see either of them again . realizing that letting both of them go is a mistake , susan decides to take ian back . however , he tells her that he cannot spend the rest of his life wondering if she is still in love with mike , and he leaves . susan and mike reunite and become engaged . the couple get married in a private ceremony in the woods , with julie as their only guest . season 4 in the fourth season premiere , one month after her wedding , susan learns that she is pregnant . while looking into their medical histories for the baby 's interest , mike is forced to tell susan that he lied about his father being dead . susan visits mike 's father , nick ( robert forster ) , who is in jail for murder . nick warns susan that mike is still troubled by demons of his past . with the stress of finances for the baby , mike begins working overtime , despite an injury resulting from the hit - and - run over a year ago . he begins relying heavily on painkillers . susan confronts mike about his addiction , threatening to leave him if he does not enter rehab ; he agrees to admit himself . after a devastating tornado hits wisteria lane , bree , orson , and their newborn , benjamin , move into susan 's house temporarily . during his stay , orson develops a sleep walking habit and unconsciously admits to running over mike with his car . susan feels extremely betrayed and bree , unable to forgive orson , asks him to move out . shortly after , susan gives birth to a boy , whom she names maynard , after mike 's deceased grandfather . five - year jump in the five years that take place between seasons four and five , susan and mike are involved in a car crash that kills a mother and her daughter . although susan was driving , mike takes the blame , as susan did not have her license with her at the time . susan feels incredibly guilty for taking the lives of lila ( marie ) and paige dash ( madeleine michelle dunn ) , but mike insists it was not their fault . the argument over the topic becomes so great that it results in divorce . giving up on love , susan engages in a casual relationship with her house painter , jackson braddock ( gale harold ) . season 5 while susan manages to keep her relationship with jackson a secret from her friends and her son , nicknamed m.j. , jackson seeks a deeper connection with her . soon enough , mike and m.j. learn about the relationship . jackson makes the sudden announcement that he is moving to nearby riverton for work and asks susan to come with him . after much consideration , susan decides that she is unsure of what she wants and turns down jackson 's offer . also , mike moves across the street from susan and begins dating her close friend and neighbor , katherine mayfair ( dana delany ) . realizing she cannot keep mike from being happy , she gives the couple her blessing , despite still feeling uncomfortable . susan and mike decide to enroll m.j. in private school , and susan takes a job as an assistant art teacher at the school to help pay for the tuition . with both susan and mike employed , m.j. spends more time under katherine 's care , which makes susan uneasy . she is heartbroken to learn that mike and katherine have decided to move in with one another and become engaged . susan attempts to console edie 's husband , dave williams ( neal mcdonough ) , following edie 's death . she explains the truth behind her own accident , completely unaware that lila and paige dash were dave 's wife and daughter , respectively , and that he had been seeking revenge on mike since moving to wisteria lane . meanwhile , jackson returns to fairview and proposes to susan , revealing that his visa has expired and he needs to marry an american citizen . when susan learns that mike , who is engaged to katherine , will no longer have to pay alimony once she is married , she explains the false pretenses of her engagement . dave , who now understands that susan was driving the car that killed his family , overhears this and reports jackson to immigration officials . with jackson out of the picture , dave invites susan and m.j. on a fishing trip , planning to kill m.j. just like susan killed his own child . mike discovers dave 's plans and is able to save susan and m.j. after the ordeal , susan and mike share a brief , yet romantic kiss . dave is sent to a psychiatric hospital in boston and two months later , mike marries an unidentified bride . season 6 susan is identified as mike 's bride in the sixth season premiere . her marriage to mike destroys her friendship with katherine . after the wedding , julie is strangled outside of susan 's home . julie slips into a coma following her attack . while waiting for her to awaken , susan learns that julie had dropped out of medical school , was involved with a married man , and had a pregnancy scare before her attack . when julie awakens , she refuses to identify the married man she was seeing . later in the season , julie 's attacker is revealed to be eddie ( josh zuckerman ) , a local young adult who is also responsible for a handful of murders in fairview . prior to the attack , susan had taken eddie on as an art student and he developed a crush on her . when he discovered that she was remarrying mike and that she did not see him as a romantic suitor , he attacked julie , mistaking her for susan . katherine continues to pursue mike , believing that he is still in love with her . mike warns her to leave his family alone and claims he never truly loved her . after he leaves , katherine calls 9 - 1 - 1 asking for an ambulance , and then stabs herself with a knife with mike 's fingerprints on it . katherine frames mike for her wound . susan , realizing that katherine has suffered a total nervous breakdown , calls katherine 's daughter , dylan ( lyndsy fonseca ) , who comes to town and has her mother committed for psychiatric observation . susan later forgives katherine once she recovers from her breakdown . soon after , mike reveals that he has accumulated an immense debt in the past year . unable to balance their debt , susan and mike decide to move off wisteria lane and rent their house out temporarily . they move into an apartment across town while paul young rents their house on wisteria lane . season 7 susan accepts an offer from her landlady , maxine rosen ( lainie kazan ) , to appear on a website in which she does housework in her lingerie in order to make ends meet , though she keeps her new job a secret from her friends and family . soon after , maxine 's site is merged with a larger company that uses susan 's image to advertise the website on billboards across the country . susan pays the company $ 9 , 000 to have the billboards removed . as a result , she begins working for the website 's video chatting services to earn back the money . paul discovers her secret and threatens to expose it unless she sells him her home , in which he now lives with his second wife , beth ( emily bergl ) . hoping to derail paul 's blackmail scheme , susan tells mike about her job on the website . paul retaliates by spreading the word about susan 's involvement with the website , causing her to lose her teaching job . for money , mike accepts a job on an oil rig in alaska and susan becomes lynette 's nanny . after purchasing a majority of the houses on wisteria lane , paul announces that he plans to open a halfway house for ex - convicts on the street . a protest against his plan escalates into a violent riot and susan is trampled by the unruly crowd . as a result , susan loses a kidney and learns that her second kidney is deformed and she is at severe risk of renal failure . susan reluctantly agrees to undergo dialysis while waiting for a transplant . after paul throws her out , beth submits paperwork indicating that in the event of her death , her kidney would be given to susan , and then commits suicide . despite initial refusal , paul allows the operation to move forward and he and susan reconcile . after discovering that paul has been depressed following beth 's suicide , susan begins cooking meals for him with the assistance of felicia tilman ( harriet sansom harris ) , beth 's mother and martha huber 's sister , who secretly adds antifreeze to the food in an effort to kill him . paul nearly dies as a result of the poisoned food . unaware that felicia is helping prepare his meals , paul has susan arrested for attempting to kill him . eventually , susan is released , paul confesses to the murder of martha huber , and felicia presumably dies in a car crash while fleeing town . susan and her family move back onto wisteria lane . during a dinner party , gabrielle 's former stepfather , alejandro ( tony plana ) , who raped her during her childhood , attempts to harm gabrielle until her husband , carlos solis ( ricardo antonio chavira ) kills him . susan , lynette , and bree agree to help cover up the crime . season 8 susan begins to withdraw from her friends and family out of guilt for having helped cover up alejandro 's death . she bonds with carlos over their mutual guilt . when mike begins suspecting susan and carlos are having an affair , they agree to tell him the truth about the cover - up . soon after , susan begins taking an art class with renowned painter , andre zeller ( miguel ferrer ) , and discovers that her guilt has given her a renewed artistic ability . in a series of paintings , susan depicts the scene of alejandro 's death and subsequent burial , arousing the suspicion of detective chuck vance ( jonathan cake ) , bree 's embittered ex - boyfriend assigned to investigate alejandro 's disappearance . she briefly considers moving to new york to explore new career opportunities , but ultimately decides against it . in an effort to ease her guilt , susan visits alejandro 's wife and stepdaughter , claudia ( justina machado ) and marisa ( daniela bobadilla ) , respectively , and write them a check to help their financial misfortune , which only arouses claudia 's suspicions . claudia confronts susan and gabrielle about alejandro 's disappearance , but agrees to stop prying after learning that he had been sexually abusing marisa . in " is this what you call love ? " , susan learns that julie is six months pregnant and has no relationship with the baby 's father . to her dismay , julie plans to put the child up for adoption . when susan discovers that lynette 's son , porter ( max carver ) , is the father , she supports his decision to raise the child himself . in " you take for granted " , mike is murdered by a vengeful loan shark . the final episodes of the series deal with susan grieving and eventually moving on from mike 's death . in the series finale , julie gives birth to a daughter , whom she now plans on keeping . susan sells her home on wisteria lane and she and m.j. move to help julie raise the baby . reception critical in the first season of desperate housewives , the character of susan was a critics ' favorite and generally regarded as the series ' most prominent role . hatcher 's portrayal as susan received praise in the series ' first year . tim goodman of the san francisco chronicle called hatcher 's performance in the pilot episode " a huge surprise , " commenting that she gives " self - effacing , disheveled and sadly hopeless susan a spirit that makes you root for her " . robert bianco of usa today declared that hatcher delivered " a revelatory performance " . heather havrilesky of salon.com was less enthusiastic , criticizing hatcher for overacting . in the series ' second season , susan becomes less important as bree " comfortably moves into position as the show 's lead " . many critics noted that the character suffered as a result of the declining quality of the second season . bianco wrote that the writers were making susan " too stupid " . hatcher continued to provide comic relief in the third season . by season four , critics thought that susan 's storylines were the least interesting and that she had not " operated at full potential since [ her ] pivotal role in the debut season " . bianco was more forgiving , stating that while " susan 's silliness sometimes spirals out of control , teri hatcher usually manages to keep her likable " . as a result of the five - year time jump between seasons four and five , a new direction was taken with susan 's character . the stat - legend 's alan sepinwall calls susan 's character arc in season five the " least annoying storyline she 's had in at least three years " . however , tanner stransky of entertainment weekly still felt the character was " ever - annoying " . in the series ' sixth season , stransky stated that susan was still " whiny " and he would have rather seen mike marry katherine , though he was not surprised when the mystery bride was revealed to be susan . entertainment weekly named her one of the " 21 most annoying tv characters ever " . awards hatcher won the golden globe award for best performance by an actress in a television comedy series in 2005 , beating out fellow cast members marcia cross and felicity huffman . also that year , hatcher received the screen actors guild award for outstanding performance by an actress in a comedy series . in 2005 , hatcher , along with cross and huffman , received a nomination for a satellite award in the best television actress in a musical or comedy series . she was also nominated for an emmy award for outstanding lead actress in a comedy series , but was beaten out by huffman . in 2006 , hatcher was once again nominated for the golden globe award in the same category , along with cross , huffman , and eva longoria . all four desperate housewives stars lost to mary - louise parker . hatcher was also nominated for a teen choice award for choice tv actress and a people 's choice award for favorite female tv star . controversy abc and the desperate housewives producers faced criticism following the september 30 , 2007 fourth season premiere in which the character of susan made a controversial remark about filipino doctors . when her gynecologist suggests that she may be entering menopause , susan responds " ok , before we go any further , can i check these diplomas ? just to make sure they aren 't , like , from some med school in the philippines ? " following its broadcast , viewers demanded an apology from the network . abc issued an apology on october 3 , but the controversy grew to an international concern and health secretary francisco duque iii of manila publicly sought an apology from the series ' producers . protests against the network and series were staged , prompting abc to remove the episode from digital and online platforms in order to apply edits . as a result , the line of controversy was removed from all future broadcasts of the episode , as well as from dvd productions . however , protests continued even after this action was taken . the scene with the line in question is still viewable on youtube . cultural influences and merchandise nicole parker portrayed susan in a desperate housewives parody on an episode of madtv . susan 's is mocked in the skit . colette whitaker voices susan in the desperate housewives computer game , which was released in october 2006 . in 2007 , madame alexander released a line of 16 - inch fashion dolls of the series ' main characters , including susan .