Taken from Senegal as an infant, Ourika is a young Black woman raised in French high society. She receives a comprehensive aristocratic education and excels in singing, dancing, and the arts. Her early childhood is insulated from the era's racial prejudices. She enjoys the protection of her guardian and the companionship of her peers before societal realities begin to isolate her.

An influential aristocratic woman in pre-Revolution France. She raises her grandsons and Ourika with immense care, treating the young girl with affection and providing her with an elite education. She functions as the center of a lively salon, projecting her refined character onto her friends. She shields her ward from the prejudices of the outside world, though this protection creates blind spots regarding the young girl's future.

The handsome and well-educated grandson of Madame la Maréchale de Beauvau. He shares a close, sibling-like bond with Ourika during their early years, treating her as an equal without regard to her race. As he matures and travels, his social circle expands into the conventional aristocratic sphere. He remains unaware of the specific racial isolation affecting his childhood companion.

A pragmatic and blunt friend of Madame la Maréchale de Beauvau. She observes the realities of late 18th-century French society with sharp realism. She firmly believes that raising a Black woman as a French aristocrat is a cruel mistake that guarantees social exile. Her bold observations force those around her to confront uncomfortable societal truths.

A young, modest, and charming woman orphaned by the violence of the Revolution. She represents the conventional aristocratic female ideal of the era. Her entrance into the family circle introduces new social dynamics, easily fulfilling the expected roles of a high-society woman.

An unnamed young French physician practicing in the years following the French Revolution. He carries anti-clerical prejudices from the Reign of Terror but sets them aside upon meeting his patient. He possesses a strong sense of empathy and becomes genuinely invested in understanding the psychological roots of his patient's physical decline.

Senegal's colonial administrator for the French Empire. He rescues an infant from a slaver after her mother dies. Rather than keeping the child, he transports her to France and gifts her to his aunt, setting the primary narrative in motion.