| Carlos | Acosta | A ballet dancer. |
| Janet | Allen | Sue's friend. |
| Salvador | Allende | 28th president of Chile. |
| Elizabeth | Arden | Founder of American cosmetics, and fragrance company. |
| Martha | Argerich | An Argentine/Swiss pianist. |
| Vladimir | Ashkenazy | A Russian-born Icelandic pianist and conductor. |
| Laura | Ashley | A Welsh designer of textiles, clothing, and home furnishings. |
| Kate | Atkinson | An English writer of novels, plays and short stories. |
| Francis | Bacon | An Irish-born British painter. |
| Cecilia | Bartoli | An Italian singer. |
| Sean | Bean | An English actor. |
| David | Beckham | One of Britain's most iconic athletes. |
| Frank | Berger | Ella's new client. |
| Marion | Berger | Frank's wife. |
| Ted | Blake | Honey's father. |
| Cate | Blanchett | Australian actress. |
| Marc | Bohan | A French fashion designer. |
| Alfred | Brendel | An Austrian pianist, poet, and author. |
| Pierce | Brosnan | An Irish actor and film producer. |
| Ken | Bruce | A Scottish broadcaster. |
| Celine | Burke | Ella's client. |
| Victor | Burke | Celine's husband. |
| Iris | Carr | Sophia's mother. |
| Helena B. | Carter | A British actress. |
| Caroline | Charles | A British fashion designer. |
| Winston | Churchill | British statesman served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. |
| Eric | Clapton | English musician, singer, songwriter, and guitarist. |
| Ossie | Clark | A British fashion designer. |
| Grace | Clarke | A cyclist. |
| Joan | Collins | An English actress, author and columnist. |
| Sean | Connery | A Scottish actor. |
| Leonardo | da Vinci | An Italian polymath who was active as a painter. |
| Edgar | Degas | A French artist famous for his pastel drawings and oil paintings. |
| Christian | Dior | A French fashion designer. |
| John | Donne | An English poet, scholar, soldier and secretary. |
| Miss | Drake | Polly's acquaintance. |
| Albrecht | Dürer | A German painter, printmaker, mathematician, and theorist. |
| Sarah | Ferguson | A British-Australian journalist. aka: Fergie. |
| Lucian | Freud | A British painter and engraver. |
| Eva | Frost | Chloe's friend. |
| Indira | Gandhi | Indian politician and a central figure of the Indian National Congress. |
| Francisco | Goya | A Spanish romantic painter and printmaker. |
| Maria | Grachvogel | A fashion designer. |
| Chloe Susan | Graham | Ella's sister. |
| Ella | Graham | A painter. |
| Gabriella | Graham | An outstanding young artist. |
| Roy | Graham | An orthopedic surgeon. |
| Sue | Graham | Ella's mother. |
| Ruth | Grant | Chloe's grandmother. |
| Baroness | Hale | The first woman Law Lord. |
| Norman | Hartnell | A leading British fashion designer. |
| Vladimir | Horowitz | A Russian-born American classical pianist and composer. |
| Reverend | Hughes | The vicar. |
| Elizabeth | Hurley | An English model and actress. |
| P. D. | James | An English crime writer. |
| Mike | Johns | Ella's client. |
| Angelina | Jolie | American actress and filmmaker. |
| Gareth | Jones | One of Sue's acquaintances. |
| Keira | Knightley | A British actress. |
| Guy | Lennox | A successful portraitist. |
| Peter | Loden | An oil trader. |
| Paul | McCartney | An English singer-songwriter, bassist of The Beatles. |
| June | Mendoza | A portrait painter. |
| Gamal Abdel | Nasser | The Second president of Egypt. |
| Clive | Owen | A British actor. |
| Camilla | Parker Bowles | Second wife of Charles, Prince of Wales. |
| Ginny | Parks | A solicitor for a City law firm. |
| Charles | Perrault | A French author. |
| Henry | Purcell | An English composer. |
| Marc | Quinn | A British sculptor. |
| Gordon | Ramsay | A British chef. |
| Simon | Rattle | A British conductor. |
| Paula | Rego | A Portuguese visual artist. |
| Edith | Roche | Guy's wife. |
| Nathan Roberto | Rossi | Chloe's boyfriend. aka: Nate. |
| Vittoria | Rossi | Nate's mother. |
| Gioachino | Rossini | An Italian opera composer. |
| Franz | Schubert | An Austrian composer. |
| John | Sharp | Ella's father. |
| Sylvia | Shaw | An American artist. |
| Katarina | Sopuchova | A soprano. |
| Philip | Treacy | An Irish designer and milliner. |
| Euan | Uglow | A British painter. |
| Diego | Velazquez | A Spanish painter. |
| Amanda | Wakeley | A British fashion designer. |
| Fats | Waller | American jazz pianist and composer. |
| David | Walliams | A British actor, comedian and writer. |
| Thomas | Wallis | A young aspiring novelist. |
| Gok | Wan | A British fashion consultant, author and television presenter. |
| Hamish | Watt | A journalist. |
| Philip | Watts | The former chairman of the multinational energy company Shell. |
| Jonathan | Yeo | A British painter. |
| Agnes | | Iris' older sister. |
| Agnes | | Iris's sister. |
| Al | | John's old colleague. |
| Alessandra | | Ted Blake's wife. |
| Alison | | Worked at the Royal Society of Portrait Painters. |
| Annie | | A shop owner. |
| Ben | | Lola's father. |
| Bertie | | A Norfolk terrier. |
| Brett | | Lydia's husband. |
| Caravaggio | | An Italian painter. |
| Chopsy | | Nate's dog. |
| Clare | | A radio reporter. |
| Claudia | | Nate's niece. |
| David | | Ella's ex-boyfriend. |
| Don | | Trish's husband. |
| Doug | | Honey's husband. |
| Eleanor | | One of Sue's acquaintances. |
| Federica | | One of Nate's sisters. |
| Frances | | John Sharp's other woman. |
| Gabriel | | Sue's father. |
| George III | | King of Great Britain and King of Ireland. |
| Hannah | | Berger's daughter. |
| Henry | | Berger's son. |
| Honeysuckle | | Nate's first cousin. aka: Honey. |
| Hugh | | Iris' neighbor. |
| Ian | | Polly's new boyfriend. |
| Jack | | Pam's boyfriend. |
| James | | Nate's friend. |
| Jane | | One of Chloe's friends. |
| Jason | | Polly's acquaintance. |
| Katisha | | A cat. |
| Kay | | James' wife. |
| Keith | | Janet's husband. |
| Lara | | Ella's neighbor. |
| Livia | | One of Nate's sisters. |
| Lola | | Ella's goddaughter. |
| Lucy | | The gallery assistant. |
| Lydia | | Ella's half-sister. |
| Marcelle | | Celine's friend. |
| Maria | | One of Nate's sisters. |
| Mary | | Mrs. Carr's younger daughter. |
| Max | | Chloe's ex-boyfriend. |
| Michelangelo | | One of its greatest painters and architects. |
| Pam | | Chloe's neighbor. |
| Patrick | | Ella's ex-boyfriend. |
| Penny | | A baby sitter. |
| Polly | | Ella's best friend. |
| Rafael | | A cab driver. |
| Ralph | | Mrs. Carr's husband. |
| Raphael | | An Italian painter and architect. |
| Rembrandt | | Dutch painter and etcher. |
| Roberto | | Nate's father. |
| Sarah | | Mike John's wife. |
| Simonetta | | One of Nate's sisters. |
| Sophia | | Ella's acquaintance. |
| Suzanne | | Nate's first girlfriend. aka: Suze. |
| Tantalus | | A Greek mythological figure. |
| Trish | | One of Chloe's friends. |
| Twiggy | | A British model, actress and singer. |
| Valentina | | One of Nate's sisters. |
