Larissa Weems

Shapeshifting principal and former roommate who becomes Wednesday Addams's spirit guide.

Larissa Weems serves as the shapeshifting principal of Nevermore Academy, a private institution established for outcasts and monsters in Jericho, Vermont. A former student herself, she was once Morticia Addams's roommate during their time at the school. In the series, Gwendoline Christie portrays this authoritative figure who clashes with Wednesday Addams due to her cold, emotionless personality and defiant nature. While she appears primarily in season 1, the character returns in a supporting capacity for season 2 as Wednesday's spirit guide, revealing they are 13th cousins twice removed. Oliver Wickham also appears in the cast list portraying a young version of Larissa Weems.

Quick Facts

Role: Principal
Affiliation: Nevermore Academy
First appearance: Season 1
Species: Shapeshifting

Lore & Background

As the head administrator of Nevermore Academy, Larissa Weems manages a faculty and student body composed entirely of supernatural beings. Her role involves maintaining order within the school located in Jericho, Vermont, ensuring that the outcast community remains separate from human society. Her history as a former student who attended alongside Morticia Addams, establishing a generational connection to the institution. The lore surrounding Weems includes her unique ability to shapeshift, distinguishing her from many of the other faculty members who are human or possess different magical traits.

Her tenure as principal is marked by tension with Wednesday Addams, whose refusal to conform to school norms frequently puts her at odds with the administration. Despite these conflicts, Weems's position requires her to balance disciplinary action with the safety of students possessing dangerous abilities.

Reader's Guide

In season 1, she functions as the primary authority figure challenging Wednesday's autonomy. Her interactions with Wednesday are defined by mutual suspicion; she views Wednesday as a potential threat to school safety, while Wednesday sees her as an obstacle to independence. By season 2, Weems's role transforms into that of a spirit guide. The source specifies that this guidance is rooted in their blood relation as 13th cousins twice removed. Additionally, the casting of Oliver Wickham as a young Weems provides context for her origins at Nevermore before she became its leader.