Pauline

Family

Petrova Fossil: Petrova is the closest in age to Pauline, and the two are very close because of this. They were the ones that decided that their last names should be Fossil, and it it Petrova and Pauline who earn most of the money for their family. Shy and reserved, Petrova is Pauline's exact opposite, and finds solace working on cars and talking with Mr. Simpson. She dreams of someday becoming a female pilot.

Posy Fossil: Posy is the youngest and the baby of the Fossil family. She is a show off and believes she is special from the second Madame Fidolia becomes her sole teacher. Pauline finds her annoying at times, but she does care for her sister. She buys Posy tickets to a ballet Posy wants to see more than anything in the world, and when Posy is offered the chance to study ballet in Czechoslovakia, Pauline pays for her to go.

Sylvia Brown: Sylvia is Gum's orphaned niece who he became the legal guardian of. In turn, she becomes the legal guardian of Pauline, Petrova, and Posy. Sylvia is money conscious and very worrisome, and she always asks for someone else's opinion when a big decision is to be made. She supports Pauline in whatever she does, even moving to Hollywood with her. In the 2007 film adaption, she marries a widowed Mr. Simpson.

Gum: Otherwise known as Great Uncle Matthew or Professor Matthew Brown, Gum is the entire reason for Ballet Shoes' story; without him, Pauline, Petrova, and Posy would never have come together. An explorer, Gum sets to traveling the world by sea after injuring his leg and having it replaced with a wooden one. After delivering Posy, he disappears for eleven years, reappearing only near the end of the story to solve the question of what will happen to Petrova. Gum is an almost legendary figure to the girls, who meet him for the first time the night Pauline signs her contract.

Alice Gutheridge (Nana): Nana, as she is called by everyone, was Sylvia's nurse when she was a child and later becomes her confidant and the nurse of Pauline, Petrova, and Posy. It is Nana who makes sure that the girls eat on time, are dressed nicely, and go to bed on time. Very forceful and strict, it seems her one weakness is babies. Every time she told Gum not to bring more babies home, he would, and she would cave the moment she saw them.