She realizes that she is being used, to an extent, because he is unlikely to leave his wife for her.

Nell

Nell, another interviewer and employment counselor. She is dating two men, one of whom wants to marry her. She is afraid that if she marries him, she will have to give up her career.

Shona

Shona, an applicant. She is confident and has an impressive résumé. Nell discovers that she is a gifted charlatan with no actual business experience.

Angie
Angie is Joyce's sixteen-year-old adopted daughter. She is actually the biological daughter of Marlene, who gave her up at birth because she was only seventeen and had career aspirations. In Act 1 of Top Girls, Angie comes to the realization that Marlene is her mother, though this has not been explicitly revealed to her. Both Marlene and Joyce have low expectations for Angie’s future, believing she has limited prospects. Angie has already dropped out of high school without any qualifications and was placed in remedial classes. Her closest friend is Kit, who is four years younger. Angie harbors deep frustration and even contemplates murdering her mother. Instead, she decides to run away to London to live with her aunt. Angie previously deceived Marlene into visiting her and Joyce. Although Angie is a source of embarrassment for Marlene, she also represents a connection to the women at the dinner party.

Isabella Bird
Isabella is one of Marlene's dinner party guests in Act 1, Scene 1. A Scottish woman from the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, Isabella traveled extensively in her later years. In Top Girls, Isabella is the first to arrive at the dinner party and tends to dominate the conversation with her self-centered storytelling. She talks at length about her travels, her complicated relationship with her sister Hennie, her clergyman father, her husband, her illnesses, her religious beliefs, and her childlessness. Although Isabella does listen and respond to the other guests, her primary focus is on understanding her own life and its significance. She always felt overshadowed by her sister but found happiness in her adventures. Isabella is one of the key characters who help Marlene define herself.

Dull Gret
Dull Gret is another guest at Marlene's dinner party in Act 1, Scene 1, and is the third to arrive. She is based on the subject of Brueghel's painting “Dulle Griet,” which depicts a woman wearing an apron and armor, leading a group of women into hell to battle devils. Throughout most of the dinner, Gret remains mostly silent, speaking only when directly addressed and making occasional side comments. Near the end of the scene, she delivers a speech about her journey to hell and the fight with the devils. Like the other dinner guests, Gret's story mirrors aspects of Marlene's life.

Jeanine
In Act 1, Marlene conducts an interview with Jeanine for a placement by Top Girls. Jeanine is engaged and saving money for her upcoming marriage. Marlene is unsupportive of Jeanine’s ambitions to work in advertising or in a job that involves travel, instead categorizing her based on what she believes Jeanine can realistically achieve.

Pope Joan
Pope Joan is one of Marlene's dinner guests in Act 1, Scene 1, and she is the fourth to arrive. She is a woman from the ninth century who is said to have served as the pope from 854 to 856. Joan is somewhat distant, making insightful and intelligent comments throughout the conversation. When the discussion shifts to religion, she points out heresies, including her own, without trying to convert anyone. Joan shares parts of her life story: she began dressing as a boy at the age of twelve to continue her studies and lived the rest of her life as a man, even having male lovers. Eventually, she was elected pope but became pregnant by her chamberlain lover and gave birth during a papal procession. For this, she was stoned to death. At the scene's end, Joan recites a passage in Latin. Like all the dinner guests, Joan's life and perspective reflect aspects of Marlene.

Joyce
Joyce is Marlene's older sister and Angie's mother. Unlike Marlene, Joyce stayed in the area and social class where she grew up. She is unambitious and unhappy. She was married to Frank but told him to leave three years ago because he was unfaithful. Joyce supports herself and Angie by cleaning houses.

Since Joyce seemed unable to have children, she adopted Angie as a baby when Marlene decided to give her up. However, Joyce soon became pregnant and miscarried due to the demands of raising Angie. Joyce resents both Angie and Marlene, partly because of her miscarriage. She refers to Angie as a lump and useless. Joyce views Marlene as too ambitious and clever.

Despite this, Joyce has pride. She refuses to accept Marlene's money and does not cater to her tears. Joyce maintains her working-class loyalty and stands firm when Marlene praises Margaret Thatcher. Despite their differences, Marlene and Joyce are very similar. Both believe they are right and do what they must to survive in their respective worlds.

Mrs. Kidd
Mrs. Kidd is the wife of Howard, the man who was passed over in favor of Marlene for the managing director position at Top Girls. In Act 2, Mrs. Kidd visits the office and tries to persuade Marlene to decline the position. She hopes Marlene will understand how much it would damage Howard's pride and livelihood. Marlene is unimpressed by her pleas, and Mrs. Kidd leaves after insulting Marlene for being a tough, working woman.

Kit
Kit is Angie's twelve-year-old best friend. Unlike Angie, Kit is intelligent and aspires to be a nuclear physicist. The girls have been friends for years, though Kit sometimes gets annoyed by Angie's limitations. In some ways, Kit is a younger version of Marlene.

Louise
In Act 2, Louise is interviewed by Win for a placement at Top Girls. Louise, a forty-six-year-old woman trapped in middle management, feels she's been overlooked for promotions and undervalued by her current employer. Win doesn't show much encouragement for Louise's ambitions to leverage her experience elsewhere and provides little hope for a better position. Similar to Marlene, Win assesses Louise based on what she believes Louise can achieve.

Marlene
Marlene is the main character in Top Girls. She is a successful businesswoman who has recently been promoted to managing director of Top Girls, an employment agency. To celebrate, she hosts a dinner party at a restaurant with five guests, all of whom are either deceased or fictional women from literature and art. Marlene's life has notable similarities with these women.

Marlene's adult life has been centered around her career, often at the expense of everything else. She previously worked in the United States and has achieved considerable success. Marlene has minimal contact with her family. Her alcoholic father has passed away, and her long-suffering mother resides in a care facility. Marlene does not get along with her sister Joyce, who has remained in the working class and still lives in their childhood neighborhood.

Marlene allowed Joyce to raise her daughter, Angie. Marlene became pregnant at seventeen, and since Joyce, who was married at the time, did not have children, she adopted the baby. Marlene shows little respect or interest in Angie, similar to Joyce. Like the women she interviews at Top Girls, Marlene believes Angie's future is limited. However, Marlene's own life is equally constrained, albeit in different ways. Her success has come at a significant cost, sacrificing both her empathy and her relationships.

Nell
Nell is one of the employees at the Top Girls employment agency. She is pleased that Marlene was promoted over Howard, but she has her own career ambitions and might seek a job with better opportunities. Meanwhile, her boyfriend, Derek, has proposed to her, but she is uncertain about accepting. Her career seems more important to her than marriage. During the play, Nell conducts an interview with Shona, whom she initially thinks might be a good fit for Top Girls. However, Nell is disappointed to discover that Shona has fabricated everything on her application.

Lady Nijo
Lady Nijo is one of Marlene's dinner party guests in Act 1, Scene 1, and the second to arrive. She was a thirteenth-century Japanese courtesan for the Emperor of Japan, who later became a Buddhist monk. Like Isabella, Nijo exhibits some self-centered traits, though not as strongly. Nijo recounts her life story to the others, sharing details about her father, her lovers, her four children (only one of whom she ever saw), her symbolic clothing, and her experiences as a traveling monk. Despite her self-focus, she listens attentively to others' stories and acknowledges her own flaws. Nijo cherished her silk garments and the comfortable life she had with the Emperor. By the scene's end, Nijo is in tears. Her life story, like those of the other dinner guests, mirrors aspects of Marlene's life.

Patient Griselda
Patient Griselda is another of Marlene's dinner guests in Act 1, Scene 1, and the last to arrive. She is a fictional character from "The Clerk's Tale" in Geoffrey Chaucer's The Canterbury Tales, among other stories. Upon her arrival, Marlene prompts Griselda to share her story. Griselda was a peasant girl who agreed to marry a local prince on the condition that she obey him without question. She bore him two children, who were taken away as infants, and she did not protest. Her husband then sent her back home with nothing but a slip to wear, and she complied without question. Later, he called her back to help plan his second marriage to a young French girl, and again, she returned without complaint. At a pre-wedding feast, he revealed that the young girl and her page/brother were their children, and all these events were tests of her loyalty. Like the other dinner guests, Griselda's story reflects a facet of Marlene's life.

Shona
Shona is interviewed by Nell for a position through the Top Girls agency in the second act. Shona attempts to present herself as a twenty-nine-year-old woman with sales experience, a claim Nell initially believes. However, as the interview unfolds, it becomes evident that Shona has fabricated her story. She is actually twenty-one and lacks any job experience. Despite her inexperience, Shona is confident that she can handle high-profile jobs, but Nell remains unconvinced.

Win
Win is one of the employees at the Top Girls employment agency. Like Nell, she is pleased that Marlene received the promotion over Howard, but she harbors her own career ambitions and may eventually move on. Win is relatively well-educated and has lived in several different countries. She spent the previous weekend with her married boyfriend at his house while his wife was away. Throughout the play, Win interviews Louise for a job and shares Marlene's indifferent attitude toward Louise.