| Character | Description | Lines |
| Sarah Breedlove | Madam C.J. Walker, born Sarah Breedlove, feisty, determined, goal oriented and savvy woman, very aware of beauty | 108 |
| Louvenia Breedlove | Sister of Sarah, practical, image conscious, more of a follower but a good nurturer, and strong in time of crisis | 26 |
| Alex Breedlove | Brother of Sarah, very concerned with survival and doing what’s proper in society, playful but with a quick temper | 5 |
| Minerva Breedlove | Mother of Sarah, efficient, hard-working, very interested in seeing her children better themselves | 13 |
| Owen Breedlove | Father of Sarah, hard-working, very concerned about the well-being of his family, sold on the value of education | 9 |
| A’Lelia McWilliams | Sarah’s daughter, very smart and as feisty as her mother and possibly even more stubborn | 14 |
| Mr. Johnson | A working man in St. Louis, good of heart. | 4 |
| Mr. Jefferson | A working man in St. Louis, good of heart. | 4 |
| Margaret Washington | Wife of Booker T. Washington, a strong, confident woman, a lecturer, very concerned with the advancement of black women. | 1 long speech |
| Audience Members | Members of the St. Louis community listening to Margaret Washington | no lines |
| Mabel | A friend of Sarah’s, about 35, a real busy body and somewhat of a gossip. | 8 |
| Kwesi | African man who is all wise and helpful | 13 |
| Charles J. Walker | Sarah’s second husband, a newspaper man, kind, loving, who is crazy about Sarah and supportive of her in her business | 18 |
| Eugenia Craig | Homemaker in Kansas City, very bubbly and positive about everything | 8 |
| Mrs. Crochit | Older woman homemaker in Kansas City, somewhat hard of hearing | 10 |
| Mrs. Jackson | Enterprising woman in Kansas City, who gets frustrated easily and has become suspicious of people claiming they will help her | 5 |
| Mrs. Spencer | Homemaker in Kansas City, who is interested in bettering her life, and willing to listen, but is not easy to convince about a new idea | 6 |
| Gladys | Prejudiced white woman working at the ticket window of the Iris Theatre in Indianapolis | 6 |
| F.B. Ransom, esq. | Lawyer to Sarah, in Indianapolis. He is a hard-nosed realist but with a great respect for Sarah | 10 |
| Booker T. Washington | Foremost black educator or Sarah’s generation, he does not yet see the value of women in the business world. | 11 |
| John McSorley | Well established black Indianapolis banker | 1 |
| Harley Jones | Well established black Texas banker | 1 |
| George Knox | Publisher of the The Freeman, a black owned Indianapolis newspaper | 2 |
| Audience members | Primarily black audience members of the business community at the National Negro Business Conference | no lines |