Penelope Blossom

"No, Cheryl. As always, it's what you wanted. I hope you enjoyed yourself. 'Cause after tonight, there will be no more River Vixens. And if not for the fact that no one would have you, I'd be shipping you off to a boarding school in Europe tonight."

- Penelope to Cheryl

Penelope Blossom is a recurring character on Riverdale. She is portrayed by Nathalie Boltt.

She is the mother of Cheryl and the late Jason Blossom, as well as the wife of Cliff Blossom.

Early life
Penelope grew up in Riverdale. She attended the local high school, there she forged a rivalry with Hermione Lodge. To this day, the two ladies are still bitter rivals. Penelope later went on to marry Cliff Blossom and the two had a set of twins, named Cheryl and Jason.

Season 1
Upon being alerted of the death of her son, Jason, she and Cliff joined the local authorities in retrieving their daughter, Cheryl from the edge of Sweetwater River. She attempted to calm Cliff down as he became verbally aggressive towards the police as they failed to find her son, despite dragging the river. The following week, Jason's body turned up at the shore of Sweetwater. she and Cliff were forced to stand aside as their son's body was taken to the ambulance.

Penelope, Cliff and Cheryl were brought down to the morgue in order to identify Jason's body. As the cloth was pull off his head, both Penelope and Cheryl turned away in horror. In spite of all that has happened, she and Cliff decide to attend the football game, they sat in the front row of the bleachers during the pep-rally as Mayor McCoy dedicated the night's event to the memory of Jason. Shortly after the performance of the River Vixens and Josie and the Pussycats, she became concerned as Cheryl ran off the stage in tears.

Penelope and Cliff interrupted Sheriff Keller's interrogation of Cheryl in a state of anger, Cliff demanded to know why his daughter is a suspect in his son's murder case. As they rushed Cheryl out of the office, Penelope asked why Cheryl didn't contact them, yet she does not answer, her silence spoke volume. Despite the recent tragedy, The married couple decided to attend the first annual Taste of Riverdale, in which Penelope had a brief, but a violent run-in with Alice Cooper. Penelope slapped Alice on sight, appalled that she would dare print Jason's autopsy in the Register.

The Blossoms were interviewed by Sheriff Keller as he continued his investigation of Jason's death. Everyone in town had their own suspicions, neighbor suspecting neighbor. During which time, Riverdale bared a striking resemblance to Salem, during the.

Penelope stood in the doorway of Jason's room, she watched Cheryl, while she slept in his bed. As her daughter awakened, she told her there would be no more sleeping in Jason's bed. Cheryl explained that she dozed off while working on the eulogy, unfortunately, Penelope abruptly put an end to that, she told Cheryl that she would not be allowed to speak at Jason's memorial, as she would only run the risk of embarrassing the family. The next day, Penelope led Sheriff Keller into the room in which Jason's memorial would be held, afterward, they would bury him in the cemetery on Thorn Hill ground. She then informed the sheriff of the list that she and Cliff composed, which consisted of all suspects in the murder of Jason, she believed there was a very strong possibility that the killer would be in the room for Jason's memorial.

That night, the Blossom family ate dinner together, they were joined by Veronica Lodge, Cheryl invited her, yet Penelope has no idea why. Cheryl commented on the subject of her being prevented from speaking at Jason's memorial, which caused Penelope to remind her that she already said her goodbyes to Jason, when she rowed him over Sweetwater River, to his death. The day of the memorial, Penelope stood by the door, greeting each guest as they entered, when face to face with Hermione Lodge, things took a nasty turn, she accused Hermione of being happy over Jason's death. Before the service began, Archie Andrews approached her, offering the family Jason's old jersey from his time on the Riverdale Bulldogs, she couldn't help but notice the similarities between Archie and Jason, brushing his hair back, and caressing his face, then accepting the jersey. Furious with Cheryl over her disobedience, Penelope explained to her that she'd no longer be on the River Vixens, and if not for the fact that no one wanted Cheryl, she'd be shipped off to boarding school in Europe. As planned, Penelope laid Jason to rest in the cemetery, following the memorial.

With the discovery of Jason's vehicle on route 40, Penelope went down to the Sheriff Station wondering if they were any closer to solving the mystery. Cheryl then unexpectedly showed up at the station, offering a piece of information, but only if Penelope allowed her back on the River Vixens, to which she agreed. Cheryl revealed that Polly Cooper had escaped the Sisters of Quiet Mercy group home, so with Jason's vehicle being burned to a crisp, it's possible that she was the culprit of both the fire and the murder. Following the revelation of Polly Cooper's escape, the Blossom organized a witch hunt throughout Eversgreen Forest, where they had a run-in with the Coopers. Penelope informed Alice that the noose was tightening around Polly's neck, and the entire town would know it once they find her.

During the press conference held by Alice Cooper, she learned that Polly was pregnant with Jason's child. Penelope, Cliff, and Cheryl met up with Betty at Pop's Chock'lit Shoppe in order to discuss future plans with Polly and the baby. She and Clifford were relieved to learn that they were safe, Penelope wanted to offer emotional support, as well as financial. She asked where Polly was residing, but Betty refused to answer, Penelope reminded her that she and Polly were members of the Blossom family, and they'd be ferociously protected, as long as they all trusted each other. Back at Thornhill, Penelope asked Cheryl is she had ever seen Polly take drugs, which Cheryl wasn't sure of, Penelope explained that she wouldn't want an unfit mother to raise her grandchild.

Surprisingly, even after accusing Polly Cooper of being an unfit mother, the Blossoms were still invited to her Baby Shower, being held at The Pembrooke by Hermione Lodge. Penelope began the event with an apology for embracing the child and not her, she had hoped Polly could forgive her. The gift opening portion of the night had come, and Penelope insisted that Polly opens there's next, inside was a miniature rocking horse, it was a family heirloom that great-grandfather Blossom used to play with it. She and Cheryl then extended an invitation to Polly for her to stay with them at Thronhill, she and the child would want for nothing, which unsurprisingly, didn't go over well with Alice, leading to a momentary quarrel. Penelope was under the impression that Alice had disowned her daughter, considering that she as staying at the Pembrooke instead of the Cooper house.

Polly screamed at them both to stop with the non-stop hatred for one another, their constant bickering is what led to Jason's death, she claimed, simply because neither Penelope nor Alice would just allow them to be together. The next morning, she and Cliff welcomed Polly at the front door as she had accepted their invitation to stay at Thornhill.

Thicker than blood, and more precious than oil, Riverdale's biggest trade business had been maple syrup since the founding of the town, which the Blossoms had been in control of since the beginning. Following a flashback, where Penelope, Cliff, Cheryl and Jason sipped syrup almost as if it was fine wine, the Blossoms had to address a major problem. The death of her son precipitated a crisis within their family, with Jason gone, many wondered who would inherit the family business. With that in mind, the Blossoms awaited the arrival of the board of trustees, circling the wagon against possible attack from within their own rank. Later that day, after learning that Archie turned down Cheryl's invitation to the tree tapping ceremony, Penelope took matters into her own hands, informing Archie that she could get him into an exclusive summer music program if he escorted Cheryl.

She remembered how Archie brought her Jason's Riverdale Bulldogs jersey during his memorial, that was an act of kindness during a moment of despair, which made Archie a decent person in her eyes. Penelope eventually managed to persuade Archie into attending the tree tapping, and in return, she'd give Great-Uncle Harrison a call at the Brandenburg Music Academy. The next day, Penelope and Cliff were extremely nervous as Cheryl was to perform the ceremony in Jason's place, fortunately, the ceremony could not have gone better as Cheryl tapped the tree perfectly. Later that week, Penelope sat at Clifford's side as the banquet at the Belmont Lodge took place. Outside, she informed her husband that while the trustees appeared to be satisfied, uncle Bedford kept asking about the drive-in land.

Cliff promised that he would regain the land, but they never suspected that Hermione Lodge would be so resourceful. Penelope joked that maybe Cliff should have sent Hermione to prison instead of Hiram, unaware that Archie was listening in. As the trustees were leaving town the next day, Penelope wondered if they had been appeased but cliff assured her they weren't out of the woods just yet.

Physical Appearance
Penelope is an attractive middle-aged woman with tan skin, red hair, and light brown eyes. She is of medium height and a thin build. With the Blossoms being the most wealthy family in Riverdale, it should be a surprise to no one that she dresses very classy and has expensive taste.

Relationships

 * Penelope and Cliff
 * Penelope and Cheryl
 * Penelope and Alice
 * Penelope and Hermione
 * Penelope and Jason