Bill Henrickson

Bill Henrickson is the central protagonist of the HBO show Big Love. A Mormon polygamist born on the Juniper Creek compound, he has three wives, ten children, and one grandchild.

Pre-Series
William "Bill" Orville Henrickson was born to Frank Harlow and his second wife, Lois Henrickson, on the Juniper Creek compound. He had two full siblings, Joey and Maggie, and an indeterminate number of half-siblings (including Frankie). His maternal grandfather, Orville Henrickson, had been the prophet of Juniper Creek until he was ousted by Roman Grant.

At the age of fourteen, he was thrown out of the compound by his father Frank Harlow. (As an adult, he would learn that this was due to instructions from Roman Grant, who felt threatened by Bill's similarities to his grandfather Orville.) He then resorted to petty theft and other crimes to survive as a lost boy.

He eventually was able to attend the University of Utah, where he met Barbara "Barb" Henrickson, a devout Mormon. The two fell in love and were married, and Bill turned to the LDS church as a source of comfort and strength. The two went on to have three children: Sarah, Ben, and Tancy.

Soon after Tancy's birth, Barbara was diagnosed with uterine cancer. While she was sick, Bill took in Nicolette "Nicki" Grant, the daughter of Juniper Creek prophet Roman Grant, to help look after Barb and take care of their children. He struck a deal with Roman Grant to marry Nicki, expecting to soon be widowed and wanting a mother for his children. Barb survived, and Bill decided to return to polygamy and take Nicki as his second wife. Although the cancer left Barb unable to have any more children, Bill and Nicki went on to have two children: Wayne and Raymond.

Throughout all of this, Bill opened Henrickson's Home Plus, a hardware store similar to Lowe's or the Home Depot. It was through his store that he met Margene Heffman, a young employee who did not do well at the store, and hired her to be a babysitter for his children. The two fell in love, and Bill took Margene has his third wife. They went on to have three children Aaron, Lester, and Nell.

At some point early in his marriage with Margene, the family purchased three houses in Sandy, Utah - one for each wife. The houses were all next door to each other and had a shared backyard. Bill also opened a second Home Plus location.