Hollyhock Manheim-Mannheim

Lore & Background

Hollyhock enters BoJack's life in Season 4 when she tracks him down at his grandparents' summer lake house in Michigan, believing he might be her biological father. The truth is more complicated: she is actually BoJack's half-sister, conceived through an affair between BoJack's father and the family's maid. This revelation reshapes their relationship from potential father-daughter to sibling bond. After meeting, Hollyhock moves in with BoJack for a time. Their household is disrupted when BoJack's mother, suffering from dementia, comes to live with them after being kicked out of her nursing home. The situation turns dangerous when BoJack discovers his mother has been spiking Hollyhock's drinks with dangerous weight loss pills out of dismay for her weight. This leads to Hollyhock passing out on BoJack's bathroom floor and being hospitalized. BoJack responds by placing his mother in a different nursing home. Hollyhock's presence in BoJack's life represents a chance at genuine family connection, though it comes with complications inherited from the Horseman family's toxic history.

In Their Own Story

The summer lake house in Michigan was quiet, dust motes floating in the afternoon light. Hollyhock stood in the doorway, watching the horse who might be her father stare out at the water. She had come looking for answers, for a connection to the man who helped bring her into the world. What she found instead was a half-brother drowning in guilt and regret. She didn't know yet about the pills her new caretaker was slipping into her drinks, or the hospital visit that would come. For now, she just wanted to know if there was anyone in this family who could be trusted.

Reader's Guide

Hollyhock Manheim-Mannheim is introduced in Season 4 as a young horse who believes BoJack Horseman may be her biological father. She finds him at his grandparents' summer lake house in Michigan, where he has been hiding from the public after Sarah Lynn's death. The truth emerges: she is actually BoJack's half-sister, the result of an affair between BoJack's father and the family's maid. After meeting, Hollyhock stays with BoJack. Their time together is disrupted when BoJack's mother, suffering from dementia, moves in after being kicked out of her nursing home. The situation escalates when BoJack discovers his mother has been secretly putting dangerous weight loss pills in Hollyhock's drinks, causing Hollyhock to collapse and be hospitalized. BoJack then places his mother in a different nursing home. Hollyhock's role in the series is as a family connection that offers BoJack a chance at redemption, though their relationship is complicated by the Horseman family's history of dysfunction and abuse.

Did You Know?

• Hollyhock is BoJack's half-sister, not his daughter, resulting from an affair between BoJack's father and the family's maid.
• She first appears in Season 4 at BoJack's grandparents' summer lake house in Michigan.
• BoJack's mother spiked Hollyhock's drinks with dangerous weight loss pills, causing Hollyhock to pass out and be hospitalized.
• Hollyhock initially believed BoJack was her biological father before the truth about their sibling relationship was revealed.