Alexis Meade

Alexis Meade
Ugly Betty character
Rebecca Romijn as Alexis Meade
First appearance	"Pilot" (episode 1.01)
Last appearance	"Betty Suarez Land" (episode 3.04)
Created by	Silvio Horta Marco Penette Myra Jo Martino
Portrayed by	Rebecca Romijn (episode 1.13–season three) Elizabeth Penn Payne (season one; as "Mystery Woman")
Information
Full name	Alexander Spencer Meade (birth name) Alexis Meade (full name; post-transition)
Gender	Female
Occupation	Former Editor-in-chief of Hudson Co-editor-in-chief of Mode (with Daniel Meade)
Title	Former CEO and chairman of the board (at Meade Publications)
Family	Bradford Meade (father; deceased) Claire Meade (mother) Daniel Meade (younger brother) Tyler Meade-Hartley (maternal half-brother)
Children	Daniel "D.J." Meade, Jr. (son)
Relatives	Molly Meade (sister-in-law; deceased)

Alexis Meade (born Alexander Spencer Meade) is a fictional character from the ABC dramedy series Ugly Betty, initially portrayed by Elizabeth Penn Payne (when she was listed in the credits as "Masked Lady") for the first twelve episodes of her appearance. Alexis was portrayed by Rebecca Romijn for the remainder of the series.

Alex Meade was a background presence in the series since its debut. The former editor-in-chief of Hudson magazine, he was believed dead by the world at large. His example as an editor was held over Daniel Meade's head by his father Bradford and his "death" cast a pall over the entire Meade family, contributing to his mother Claire's alcoholism. Alexis Meade appeared repeatedly since the first episode, swaddled in bandages. She had been conspiring with Wilhelmina Slater to take over MODE magazine from Daniel. She had also been actively trying to implicate Bradford in the death of former MODE editor-in-chief Fey Sommers. Dialogue between Alexis and Wilhelmina fueled speculation the mysterious bandaged woman was actually Sommers.

In the January 18, 2007 episode In or Out Daniel told Betty that Alex had been killed in a skiing accident. In the final moments of the episode, Wilhelmina told the mysterious bandaged woman, now out of her bandages, her "skiing accident" had done her a world of good, and called her "Alex Meade." The woman corrected Wilhelmina, advising her she was "Alexis" now.

Alexis attended Fashion Week in the episode I'm Coming Out. After initially flirting with Daniel, she told him her true identity, explaining she had felt from a very young age that she was "in the wrong skin." This revelation put Daniel into a state of shock. Wilhelmina insinuated Alexis into the MODE "up and coming designers" fashion show. Following the show, Bradford began a speech but Alexis interrupted him, announcing her former identity as Alex moments before police arrested Bradford for the murder of Fey Sommers.