Dharma Montgomery

Dharma Freedom Montgomery (nee Finkelstein) is a main character in Dharma and Greg. She is portrayed by Jenna Elfman. She is the wife of Gregory Montgomery, daughter of Larry Finkelstein and Abby O'Neil, sister of Harry Finkelstein, and daughter-in-law to Edward and Kitty Montgomery.

Biography
Dharma was born to Abby O'Neil and Larry Finkelstein, two free-spirited hippies with unconventional parenting tactics. Dharma was homeschooled and raised around the country and globe, learning from life experiences and not a textbook.

In 1977, Dharma and her parents exited the subway just as their polar opposites boarded. The two families came face-to-face, with Dharma greeting the well-dressed boy, and the boy returning the greeting. Their parents ushered the kids past one another, both making remarks on how much they detest the other class. Dharma couldn't help but look back at the subway as she climbed the stairs, while the boy pressed his face against the subway glass to catch another glimpse of the girl.

As they years went by, Dharma adapted to her surroundings and took on many different jobs around the world. She is open with her sexuality and expression, often making friends with unique people. She is a dog walker and yoga instructor.

Spontaneous marriage
Dharma encounters Greg on the subway and he attempts to speak with her, but the subway leaves before he can. He spends the remainder of his day tormented by the thought that the girl is gone. He goes into his office to find her sitting on his desk, having recognizes his picture in the newspaper. She drags him along to the Giants baseball stadium for the organ music and shouting with impunity, then next for pie- all the way to Reno, where they are married the same day. Their connection is instant and magical, contained with undeniable chemistry. The next day, their fairytale romance begins to become real when they face their first problems - meeting the in-laws. Greg is shocked by Dharma's promiscuous, hippie-loving parents Abby O'Neil and Larry Finkelstein. Larry disapproves of Greg solely because he's a lawyer, though his short-term memory lets him forget that fact. Dharma's outspoken attitude clashes with Greg's upper-class echelon parents who expected their Harvard-graduate son to marry a Country club member. They demand Greg annul the marriage, but the newlyweds love is stronger and they decide to give their marriage a real shot. After sleeping on the roof to celebrate the new-moon, the pair want to celebrate their new marriage, not believing a quick-wedding was fair to their friends and family. The couple has sex in the rain even though it goes against everything Greg believes, and he soon realizes the beauty in the rain. They also begin to learn more about one another, including their breakfast orders and living situations. Dharma invites both their parents to the affair, but Kitty is inclined to either cancel it or boycott it. Dharma tries to bond with Kitty by showing up wherever she is, following her everywhere, and inviting herself along to events. Kitty does her best to shake Dharma but the girl is persistent and shows up at the Country Club. When confronted with her friends opinions, Kitty pretends she and Dharma are close. What results is a wedding celebration at the Country Club with Montgomery-level extravagance. Abby and Larry protest the choices as they despise everything the Country Club stands for. After a series of negotiations, an exhausted Dharma and Greg take control of their wedding - for five minutes, before losing control to the in-laws. As Greg settles into Dharma's small apartment, he faces discomfort at nearly every turn. First, being naked when Dharma's date arrives, as she forgot to cancel with him - she had met him the day before she met Greg. Then, when he and Dharma take turns using the water in the bathroom to avoid it turning cold. When they forget to time their usage, Greg is sprayed with icy cold water. When Jane invites herself into the bathroom during Greg's bath, his discomfort grows into pure panic. Greg blurts out that he needs a shower to wash in the right order. Dharma decides to surprise him by installing a shower in the bathroom. She and Jane dress-up and head to the hardware store to purchase a shower. Before they leave, Kitty calls and misunderstands Dharma's plan to have a shower as a bridal shower. She invites herself over in a frenzy, only to be disturbed the truth, despite Abby's attempts to calm her. Dharma only wants Greg to be comfortable, so Kitty shows her the life Greg is used too - in the form of a lavish apartment. Abby goes along with the tour and is disturbed by the gross display of wealth, trying to keep Dharma grounded despite the temptations around them. Dharma finally caves and admits she wants the apartment. Meanwhile, Greg and his co-worker/friend Pete have the same idea of installing a shower. They encounter the shower in the bathroom after having bought their own, and Greg is touched by the sentiment. The men properly install everything and when Dharma returns, Greg admits he's happy with her apartment and has everything he could ever need. He's happy. Dharma, realizing that she got off-track from his happiness, chooses not to tell him about the Kitty-approved apartment. The two kiss happily in their tub, having found another balance in their relationship. To celebrate their "second marriage", Greg gives Dharma a diamond ring, and they plan a second wedding for their entire friends and family. Kitty takes over the wedding planning and has it at the Country Club, though some in-fighting threatens the ordeal. Dharma and Greg go along with everything to make others happy, even though Kitty's relentless attitude wears even Dharma's optimism down. Greg promises that after today, they never have to see half of these people again, an exciting prospect for both of them, and they gleefully attend the ceremony. In true Dharma and Greg fashion, things go sideways at the wedding and the newlyweds escape outside, where the collapse on the lawn. Greg fondly thinks that one day, when their parents are dead, they can look back on this day and not miss them. They make their own promises to one another, full of sweet sentiments and hopefulness, sharing a romantic kiss on the lawn.

Abby's pregnancy and marital growth
On the drive back from a wine tasting at Napa, a bored Dharma has a vision of a baby floating by her and Greg's car. When she awakens, she questions if Greg is ready to have children, and he is. She believes the child she saw was the unborn spirit of their future child, who is waiting to be born. She and Greg leap into trying to get pregnant, and over the next 28 days, they indulge every fertility method they can find. As Dharma tries to get pregnant, Abby believes she's going through menopause and is supported by the women in her life, including Dharma and a fearful Larry. During a family portrait, Dharma's skin turns orange from one of the tonics Abby brewed. As they struggle with the portrait, in a shocking turn of event, Abby announces she isn't going through menopause - she's pregnant. Dharma, while disappointed to not have a child, instead embraces the fact that she saw the spirit of Larry and Abby's baby, not her and Greg's. She admits to Greg that she's happy with just the two of them for now. Dharma continues to support her mother through her pregnancy, but begins to second guess her own childhood when Abby admits she made mistakes with raising Dharma. Abby strives to do things differently, such as using a cradle instead of a rope with a banana leaf and moss. Dharma becomes conflicted over whether her childhood was as amazing as she believed, or just an elaborate lie fed to her by her parents. As realization sinks in, including the fact that her "shoe boat" was just a worn-out sneaker, she unloads on a supportive Greg that Abby doesn't deserve to have another baby. That night, Abby is rushed to the hospital with complications, leaving Dharma guilt-ridden and heartbroken. She breaks down in the chapel as she asks whatever God is awake to help her mother. George's spirit visits her for the first time in two-years. As she vents, he reminds her that she asked for insight but is doing all the talking. He wonders if her childhood really was amazing to her, but was also a series of wonderful mistakes. After all, maybe children who played with real boats can't talk to dead Indians. Once George leaves, Dharma has more clarity on her childhood and embraces the wackiness that ensued. Larry reveals that Abby is fine but has to stay a few days for observation. Dharma vehemently apologizes to Abby for her actions and outbursts, with Abby admitting that she will need all the help she can get with this baby. Dharma embraces her role as a big sister.

As things settle down, Dharma and Greg butt heads over her wanting to take a trip to Mexico to paint a sign. He refuses to let her go, resulting in a fight, before relenting that he can't stop her. She decides not to go without his blessing, so to appease both of them, Greg decides to come along. His attitude clashes with the consensus of the trip, and despite Dharma's best efforts, they both end up on the side of the road walking back to San Francisco. She wasn't going to let him go through the exile alone, and they end up closer then before in their 200 mile trek. Things go awry when Dharma coaches a softball team with her co-op, only for Greg to corrupt them with competitive instincts. As he slowly takes over the game, Celia confides in Dharma her fear that Edward's gleeful mood is the product of an affair. Dharma believes she has confirmation during a lunch with Edward, and rather reluctantly tells Kitty of the ordeal. Now on a murderous rampage, Dharma helps Kitty find the truth - Edward is playing Bingo and other board games with a group of elders. Dharma encourages Kitty to partake in the events, unknowingly ruining Edward's fun, before heading back to the softball game. Even though she doesn't score, she runs the bases gleefully as she simply doesn't care. Her team lifts her on their shoulders in celebration of hitting the ball.

Fascinated by general Kirby's war memories praising his dad Edward, Greg decides to join the Army Reserve corps, which recruits top-graduates like him at the rank of Captain. Dharma is dead against anything military, but for once, Greg ignores her wishes to pursue his passion, regardless of Dharma's beliefs. He flies to Virginia for a course in procurement, while Edward's 'reassuring' remark of Greg landing in a war zone sends Dharma through a spiral. General Kirby assures her of the unlikeliness, and she comes to realize Greg's well-being counts for more than her political principles. She welcomes him home from his two-week leave with open arms.

When Abby's due date inches closer, Dharma goes into full mid-wife mode, only to learn that Abby has hired a celebrity midwife to help. The midwife, Chloe, takes over the entire situation and has Abby agreeing to entirely new terms. Dharma's frustration grows as her meticulous plan is quickly thwarted, which tests her pacifist nature. With Abby in labor, the passive aggressive tension between the two midwives escalates. Dharma finally snaps at Chloe to let her take the helm, and the two women end up bickering endlessly, more so than Larry and Edward who are debating the worth of a van Edward is trying to gift Larry. Dharma tries to coach Abby through the pain but Chloe is convinced she's doing it wrong. As the arguing fills the room, Kitty arrives and listens to Abby's request for an epidural, becoming the appointed midwife in the process.

With a newborn baby brother, Dharma steps into the role of doting sister with ease, even agreeing with Greg that the creative baby names aren't the best idea for a baby boy. Her attempts to help Abby and Larry with the baby turns into a full-time job, as they begin to take advantage of her readiness and eager attitude. Abby invites Dharma's childhood sitter Becky to help, though Dharma ends up taking care of both the newborn and a centenary Becky. She becomes overworked and sleep deprived, something Greg points out and even her yoga class notices. She assures Greg this is what is done for family. Not wanting to prove he's right, she gets coffee courtesy of Jane. Even Larry begins to take advantage of Dharma by treating her like a cook. Things boil over when Abby invites all her friends to see the baby, and takes credit for the house being clean, the dishes done, her glowing appearance, and the baby's health. Dharma explodes that it's her doing all the work and not Abby, so she's going home to her laundry, her dishes, and her husband. She storms home while Abby chocks up the attitude to Dharma being jealous.

When their work-life balance falls out of balance, Greg and Dharma are forced to go weeks without sex. They work through their issue by trying to help Pete, who is on the run from a crazy Jane that wants him dead. When Dharma sets Greg's secretary Marlene up with a new man that Greg doesn't approve of, their wanted passion comes out in arguments. In the end, Greg realizes he can't control Marlene's choices and settles for secretly threatening the man. Dharma and Greg finally have sex in his old bedroom of the Montgomery house, with an archbishop delivers a speech on sin downstairs. As Greg's birthday approaches, Dharma tries to throw him a surprise birthday party, but individual dramas threaten the guest list. She also bribes the man who makes the Sunday crossword puzzles to create a message that says "Dharma Loves Greg", though Greg's sudden aversion to completing the puzzle throws her through a loop. She tries to settle everyone's dramas; Kitty doesn't want to attend because Edward's ex-wife will be catering the party, using the 10,000 Edward loaned her without Kitty's knowledge, while Abby and Larry protest the Country Club's relocation of wild bees. Jane and Pete agree not to bring dates to the party, but when Jane changes her mind, it throws off the balance Dharma worked to create. She reminds Kitty how satisfying it will be watching Edward's ex-wife serve her at the club, convinces her parents that staying home isn't a protest as they won't be heard, but makes them promise not to protest or bring signs or honey to throw on people. She then sharply tells Pete to bring a date. Everything comes to together, though Greg still doesn't solve the puzzle, nor do the guests maintain the peace. Greg is ultimately touched by Dharma's gift and her attempt at throwing him a party.

Dharma has a run-in with an obnoxious woman at a bar who begins to push her. In self-defense, Dharma punches the woman twice, sending her down a rabbit hole of self-loathing and questionable outlets for years of suppressed rage. Even her parents are disturbed by Dharma's aggression, as it goes against all Finkelstein beliefs. Greg suggests a healthier outlet, so Dharma decides to box with Jane. The encounter leads Jane to give Dharma some hard truth - she's making a big deal out of a normal human emotion because she believes herself to be better than everyone else. After a swift punch in the face, Dharma accepts her anger and learns to control it once again. She also realizes that she is human and how she's judged others unknowingly. When Dharma and Greg disagree on how Donald should spend his formative college years, an argument over who-saved-who in their marriage leads to them deciding to go Dutch on everything. Dharma throws herself into teaching yoga, while Greg struggles to have a fun social life without Dharma. After weeks of going Dutch, Dharma realizes she was careless with her income and isn't good at balancing things, while Greg realizes that Dharma is the only person looking out for his needs, desires, and the only fun he has in his life. They forego their arrangement and admit they saved each other, but completely forgot about Donald in the process.

After the couple breaks their bed frame and mattress during a passionate night, they decide its time to upgrade. In the process, Dharma finds a lockbox under Greg's side of the bed, becoming obsessed with learning its contents. At first, she wonders if she should even be curious, and decides to enlist the help of Jane and Abby. Dharma finally asks Greg what is inside the box, to which he admits it's not a secret but something he would prefer to keep private. This drives her crazy as she worries it should be something to be concerned about, or if it's really nothing to be concerned of, or if Greg thinks she would think it's concerning when it isn't concerning to him. She confronts Greg and he relents that, even though he does think he should be entitled to some privacy, that she can look in the lockbox if she wants. Now feeling tested, Dharma seeks counsel from a Catholic priest, releasing her sins in the process, and the priest looks inside for her. He advises her to talk to her husband instead. When Dharma finally admits that she's been struggling with it, she learns that Greg got rid of the box and put the items around the house, sending Dharma on a scavenger hunt to decide what is hers, what she's just never noticed, and what was really in the box.

Dharma steps up in her co-op only to learn they are suffering financial losses. She is forced to make changes to keep the place open, and goes to Edward for help. He recommends firing the instructors that aren't bringing in enough revenue, and goes to the co-op to help her stay on-track. She has trouble firing teachers and the others begin to resent her over the changes she's making to the place. Meanwhile, Greg's legal case strikes personal for him when Dharma reveals that she knows the opposing lawyer - they used to date. Greg, hoping to utilize this information, is shocked when the man ridicules and mocks Dharma. Greg begins to wonder if Dharma has been holding him back from his potential, and starts acting differently towards Dharma. When she confronts him over his attitude, he unloads his feelings and thoughts onto her. She reminds him that she would be there to support him not matter what, whether he made money or not. He wonders if her lack of pushing him to do better is holding him back, and she leaves out of anger. The co-op turn their backs on Dharma as they want to do things their way and don't care about the financial hinderances. The group decides to go all out and accepts their fate - bankruptcy in one month. Meanwhile, Greg goes to Kitty for advice and gets unusually helpful insight that makes him realize that he was wrong. He and Dharma make up, and the couple also accept their potential financial hardships.

When Donald gets sick, Dharma takes notes for him in class and comes to learn all of Larry's history lessons were wrong. Abby, happy her lessons were actually right, leaves it for Dharma and a perpetually confused Larry to discuss. Dharma ultimately decides that she wants to go to college but first, she has to get a real high school diploma as the one Abby cross-stitched for her won't cut it. When Greg is dismissive of her idea, she tells her History teacher, the recently divorced and charming Charlie, that she can't takes his class without passing the G.E.D. which is harder than she thought. He offers to tutor her, but she only accepts if it's in exchange for free yoga lessons, as she believes in a fair trade system. Now spending a lot of time together studying, talking, doing yoga, and confiding, the pair grow closer. She offers to be his plus one for a get together with all the faculty, as his ex-wife will be there and they can make her jealous by pretending to be a couple. While at the party, Dharma and Charlie see his ex-wife watching them as they overdramatize their movements. To seal the deal, the two share a spontaneous kiss.

They try to brush it off as being a fake kiss, but the real feelings between them are apparent. She quickly tries to introduce him to Greg, who is heavily distracted from a hard day at work that included him being arrested. As a result, Greg brushes off Charlie and doesn't properly meet him. To ease her guilt over the kiss, she spoils Greg with a surprise picnic at the office with a side of Dharma for dessert. Dharma then goes to Charlie's to ensure he knows the kiss was platonic, but he doesn't believe it fully was platonic. He knows she's happily married but offers to be there if that should ever change. Next up on her list of people to convince, are her friends, who point out that she's never had a platonic guy friend before. Marcie thinks Dharma is kidding herself as men are beasts, with Susan and Jane agreeing with her. A study session threatens to turn romantic, so Dharma leaves to confide in her parents over her conflicting feelings. She has feelings for Charlie but her feelings for Greg haven't changed, as she might even love him more now than before. Abby reminds her that feelings don't have to make sense, and continuing to see Charlie while suppressing her feelings will cause her pain. Her suggestion to invite Charlie into her and Greg's bed is wild to Dharma, cementing that she does have a problem. When Greg comes home late, Dharma tries hinting that something could be going on between him and a female divorced client - who is the mother of Greg's client. Dharma passes her G.E.D. test the next morning and a small celebration is held at their apartment where everyone toasts to her success, including Greg and Charlie. Kitty picks up on the tension between them and talks to Dharma in private, excellently getting Dharma to admit that she had feelings for Charlie, though nothing happened between them. Kitty advises her to say goodbye before anything does happen. Dharma wants to tell Greg the truth about the feelings and kiss, but Kitty vehemently disagrees as it will only cause him unjust pain. She admits that Dharma isn't the type of girl that Kitty would have chosen for Gregory, but she is the woman he chose. She hopes Dharma will have the courage to bear her burden in silence. This is hard for Dharma as honesty is the root of her relationship and it will knock on her soul forever. Kitty reminds her that doing just that is called love. They return to the party for a group photo, where Dharma doesn't protest when Charlie says he has to go, even saying goodbye.

Relationship with the Montgomery's
When Edward decides it's time to retire, he throws a party to celebrate, calling all the Montgomery's together for the first time in years. Because Greg is passing on the right to inherit the company, Edward has to announce which of his family members will take over the company. Dharma is thrilled to meet more of Greg's family, but he warns her of the drama-filled world they all live in, advising her to stay out of it. Almost instantly, Dharma is enthralled with the soap-opera-like world of the Montgomery family. She becomes convinced that some of the family members are conspiring, and finds Larry exceptionally helpful in figuring out the complex conspiracy. She spirals deeper into the world and is convinced that three of the Montgomery's are conspiring to use their shares to take over the company when Edward retires. She tries to warn Greg and share the juicy secrets she's learned, but he wants no part in the antics of his family members. Dharma ends up fooled by more than one of the family members, and once more enlists the help of Larry, Jane, Abby, and Pete. She ultimately detangles the extremely complicated web and outs everyone's secrets at the family dinner, triumphantly announcing her victory to the entire family. Greg tells Dharma that what Edward was going to announce, before her outburst, is that he's staying with the company for a few more years at which point, Greg will reconsider inheriting the company. Now mortified, Dharma calmly takes her seat and the family agrees this will be just one more thing they never talk about.

Dharma and Greg attend a lecture about historical architecture, where their boredom inspires Dharma to attend a high school reunion across the hall. They each take one of the unclaimed name tags and enter under the pretenses of being completely different people. Greg's fake-self, Todd, is popular and easily fits in with the crowd. Dharma's fake persona of Judy isn't so lucky, as Judy was cruel to her classmates. After being shunned back to their apartment, Dharma decides to make amends with the classmates as Judy, but soon learns the depths of Judy's cruelty and the tenacity of the classmates grudges. Greg worries that she's becoming too invested in Judy and confusing her own self with Judy's issues, but Dharma is determined to fix everything. She decides to attend a party with "Todd" so the other classmates will see "Judy" as being redeemable and forgive her. Their plan quickly backfires when the classmates turn on "Todd", forcing the couple to admit their fraud. This makes things even worse and they barely escape the angry adults. Dharma, in a last-ditch effort, finds the real Judy and confronts her about the trauma she's caused her classmates. Judy claims to be working each day to better herself, revealing her new occupation as a nun. After Judy leaves, a fellow nun warns Dharma that Judy is the worst person on the planet.

Kitty is dead-set on her family attending a Tulip festival, and after Dharma messes up her and Greg's secret signals, Kitty is hurt over her family lying to her. Dharma offers to play pool for the right to go or skip the festival. Kitty agrees and consequently demolishes Dharma in the game, as she often retreats to the room when her family annoys her. On the day of the festival, Edward mysteriously needs a dentist while Greg offers to take him, leaving the girls on their own. They decide to take a detour to a bar with a pool table, where they hustle unsuspecting men for cash. This becomes their newest bonding routine and they quickly rack up a high hustle. Meanwhile, Greg learns there's a rat in the apartment and sets out to kill it, much to Dharma's horror. He decides to humanly trap the rodent per Abby's suggestion, but is horrified when the rodent ends up dead in the trap. Fearing that Dharma will blame him for the death, he and Pete buy a domesticated rat from a pet store and switch it out with the trapped one. Dharma, however, is too busy trying to reign in a wild Kitty to notice her husbands antics. Kitty is drunk on power and confidence that she takes on "Sweet Lou", an esteemed pool player, and Kitty's brazen bets quickly get the best of her. After losing a $20,000 game, Kitty is forced to surrender her car to "Sweet Lou". She blames Dharma for the entire ordeal and refuses to speak with her until her annoyance wears off. When Dharma comes home, she and Greg release the rodent into the wild and he admits to feeling nice about doing the right thing, with her being proud of him. She also mentions that Kitty's behavior towards her when they first got married might be the good 'ole days now.

Greg leaves for deployment per his two-week a year military agreement, and Dharma convinces him to leave the law practice to Pete in the interim to help him gain confidence. She also decides to create a pass-through window to the kitchen, completely unaware that the wall in question contains all the electrical and plumbing for the apartment. As the project spirals out of control, she is forced to ask Larry for help in fixing the wall, all while trying to cover her tracks with Greg. Meanwhile, Marcie's landlord treats her unjustly, so Dharma convinces her to take the case to Pete. Pete's attempts to help Marcie get her locked out of her apartment, while Marlene laughs at Pete's complete lack of lawyer skills. Dharma lets Marcie stay with her until they can get her apartment settled, Pete fires Marlene, and Dharma is left to fix the power-crazed Pete she's created. When Pete files paperwork with the court that perjures himself and put Greg's law office in jeopardy, Dharma hurries to the clerk's office to fix everything, but is turned away by the clerk. She hops the desk and steals the paperwork, but is arrested for tampering with official documents. She calls Kitty and Edward to bail her out, but they aren't too interested in hearing her story of how she got arrested, just that she's fine now and Gregory is alright. When Greg returns, Dharma admits that she's found him a new client with a sheet of offenses, promising it isn't Pete this time.

Greg is dragged to a matching mother-son costume ordeal, though she fails to inform him that all of the other sons are under thirteen. Now embarrassed and fed-up with Kitty's antics, he unloads years of resentment and pent-up feelings onto her. Their fight spiral into weeks of not speaking to one another, leaving Dharma to attend the Montgomery outings alone with Edward and Kitty.

Personality
Overly cheerful and sensitive, Dharma is also more compassionate and forgiving than most people. However, despite her trust in the goodness of people and persistent good intentions, she is far from naïve. She understands the real world, employs sarcasm and receives it well. Dharma perseveres in expressing her personality and her identity even in the face of an overwhelmingly opposing world.

Dharma encourages Greg to seek happiness rather than fret about practical issues like money. She is named after the concept of dharma in Indian philosophy, and a Native American friend of her father once gave her the name "Crazy Man's Daughter". She was home-schooled by her parents, whom she addresses by their first names.

Trivia

 * According to Chuck Lorre's eleventh vanity card, he and Dottie Dartland originally conceived Dharma & Greg as "a series revolving around a woman whose personality is not a neurotic product of societal and parental conditioning, but of her own free-flowing, compassionate mind".
 * Dharma also teaches yoga.
 * She was scared of the dark until she and Abby buried the fear in the backyard.
 * All of her childhood pets, including a family of turtles and hamsters, are buried in the backyard of the Finkelstein house.