| “ | How many times did I even see you, growing up, mother? How many holidays did we spend together? Are you surprised? Really? I mean, I thought... I thought you'd be proud of me. 'Cause after all you did to screw me up, I'm still my mother's daughter. | ” |
— Nico confronts her mother about their strained relationship, Level (7) With Me
| ||
Nicole "Nico" Slater is a recurring character in the first season and fourth season of Ugly Betty. She is portrayed by Jowharah Jones in the first season but was recasted with Yaya DaCosta in fourth season [1].
Early Life[]
Nico was born to Wilhelmina Slater and her ex-husband. She spent many years attending boarding schools and got kicked out by most, just like her mother. Like Wilhelmina, she is very rebellious and strong-willed. She is the granddaughter of Victoria Smith-Slater
Throughout Ugly Betty[]
Season 1[]
Nico returned to New York City to make things worse for her mother in the hopes of getting her attention. She is also a supporter of PETA, which infuriates the fur-loving Wilhelmina.
Nico further aggravates her mother by trying to win over her attention, attracting the press to MODE, and shoplifting from Bergdorf; but both situations were defused by her mother. This, angering Nico, prompted her to exclaim that Wilhelmina only cares for herself and the number one thing on her list should be to learn how to be a mother. Nico then says she will go to boarding school in Paris as her mother wants, but without a fight. She apparently gets this from her father.
Nico's attitude is also a spitting image of her mother. Wilhelmina admitted she also had a bad streak when she was Nico's age, although Nico saw it as a joke and thinks it's just a ploy to convince her Wilhelmina really cares. Nico goes to boarding school and Willie has Marc St. James prepare her a care package. However, when the package has perfume in it, an item Nico is allergic to, Nico realizes her mother refused to prepare the package. Willie, realizing her wrongs in motherhood, prepares a new package including a picture of the two and Nico's favorite gourmet jellybeans. Nico plans to return to New York for Thanksgiving. Arriving in "Four Thanksgivings and a Funeral" she finished off the feud with her mother after finding the Thanksgiving dinner her mother spent time and effort to prepare.
Season 2[]
In the second season, Nico decided not to go to Wilhelmina and Bradford's wedding, which Marc withheld information from until Wilhelmina found out after he told Amanda in the bathroom, which leads to Wilhelmina asking Victoria Beckham to take her place as the maid of honor, a move Wilhelmina would like to forget.
Season 4[]
In the fourth season, Nico came back, only to shock her mother when she showed up with blood all over her body. It turned out that she may have killed her boyfriend in self-defense after he tried to beat her. This turn of events has Wilhelmina taking all steps to keep her from being singled out as a prime suspect. After Nico shows up, Wilhelmina helps Nico clean the blood off the boat. They throw the weapon Nico used into the ocean. The detective believes the story that Wilhelmina made up. However, unbeknownst to them, they left a drop of blood on the boat. A detective later returns with the bloody fingerprint and threatens to blackmail them. Unknown to Wilhelmina, the "Detective" is actually the supposed dead boyfriend and he and Nico have created the whole scam to trick money out of Nico's mother, unaware that Wilhelmina doesn't have the money they need.
Her scheme would come undone by Marc after he witnessed Nico and Jonathan kissing and then talk about scamming Wilhelmina. When Wilhelmina confronted Nico, she claimed it was to talk the detective out of blackmailing them and Wilhelmina believed her story over Marc's. But hours later after Wilhelmina showed Nico a family pendant that she would sell off so she would give the artificial detective the blackmail money, Nico, sensing a opportunity, tried to steal it. But after she opened the contents and discover that the pendant was removed, Wilhelmina confronted her red-handed, now that she knows how deceiving Nico has become as Nico claimed that Wilhelmina is never wanted to bond with her by sending her off to boarding schools and was using the scheme to get back at her mother. Wilhelmina in turn threw Nico out and told her not to return, even though Nico explains that after seeing Wilhelmina eye to eye this war between mother and daughter is far from over.
Appearances[]
Season 1[] |
Season 4[] |