Betty Applewhite is a fictional character played by actress Alfre Woodard on the ABC television series Desperate Housewives.
Regarding Betty Applewhite and the mystery storyline of her family, series creator Marc Cherry stated: "They come on the street; they seem like nice people — but they've got a secret.
[3] While the Applewhites are regarded as the first major black characters on the series,[4][5] Cherry stated that the role of Betty was originally offered to two white film actresses, both of whom turned it down due to financial and time commitment issues.
[2] Betty Applewhite is the first African-American housewife to be a major character on Desperate Housewives, and is described as a "deeply religious, overbearing single mother".
Betty begins her recurring role in the final two episodes of the show's first season, when she buys a house on Wisteria Lane from Edie Britt over the phone and moves during the night.
Betty is an astute woman not to be trifled with, as revealed in unpleasant and threatening exchanges with Bree.
Her reasons for moving from Chicago to Wisteria Lane are mysterious due to the fact she has locked up her son Caleb, who is somewhat "slow" and lacking in social skills, in her basement.
As Bree escapes the hospital, Matthew and Danielle head back to the neighborhood to grab some things.
While Danielle attempts to break into her mother's safe, Matthew heads to the Applewhite home to pick up some cash.
As soon as Woodard accepted the role of Betty Applewhite, she reported experiencing heavy media attention.
[7] Woodard's portrayal of Betty was praised and resulted in a nomination for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series.
In a review of the second-season premiere, Michael Slezak of Entertainment Weekly thought that the Applewhite mystery would help reduce the show's chances of falling into a sophomore slump.
In his review of the fourth season premiere, Matt Roush of TV Guide complimented the addition of Katherine Mayfair (Dana Delany), writing "while she's obviously harboring a dark secret, at least there's no one trapped in the basement.
"[10] While reviewing the third episode of the fifth season, Tanner Stransky of Entertainment Weekly hoped that, after finding the truth behind the mystery of Dave Williams (Neal McDonough), the audience would not feel "Applewhited", commenting that "After episodes of buildup and rattling chains coming from her basement, the story line was such a disappointment.
"[11] Four episodes into the sixth season, Ken Tucker of Entertainment Weekly declared that the mystery storyline of Angie Bolen (Drea de Matteo) was suffering from the lack of interaction between the character and the other leading women, similar to Betty's storyline in season two.
I think it was just so implausible and just an image that Black folks don't want to see: their child chained and shackled in the basement.