Lydia Deetz is the daughter of Charles Deetz and the stepdaughter of Delia Deetz. She’s mostly referred to as a "goth" girl. Beetlejuice plans on marrying her, so he can return to the world of the living. She’s the main protagonist of the Beetlejuice movies and the deuteragonist of the animated series. It is revealed in the second film that Lydia's biological mother isn't dead, which is what people initially theorized happened to her mother for Delia to end up her stepmother. In fact, in the musical, the plot is primarily a modified version of the original film's story where Lydia's mother passes away.
Biography[]
Lydia Deetz a 15-year-old gothic girl who is from New York City and moved with her family to Winter River, Connecticut after her father decided to take a break from his real estate business and Delia needs a new inspiration for her art gallery. She takes a liking to the house and disapproves of Delia changing it into a gothic piece of art. She defines herself as strange and unusual, and quickly noticed the Maitlands in the attic window on moving day. She finds the Handbook For the Recently Deceased in the attic and is able to understand it. When the Maitlands failed to scare Delia and then were leaving her room, Lydia photographed them in the hall, thinking they were her parents playing a kinky game. The photos revealed nothing but the sheets and she realizes they were ghosts, and formally introduced themselves. They tell her of them being trapped in the house and we’re trying to scare the family out of the house. Lydia sympathizes with them and agrees to try to convince her parents the ghosts are real during dinner, helped by the Maitlands possessing the parents and guests into singing and dancing. However, they are excited and want to exploit the ghosts to the public. Beetlejuice manifests into a snake to terrorize the family and scares Lydia before the Maitlands summon him back into the town model.
Lydia accuses the Maitlands of deceiving her and becomes more depressed than before. She writes a suicide letter and tries to leave it for the Maitlands when she finds Beetlejuice in the town model. They start talking and he asks her to help him get out, to which she replies she wants him, perplexing him. He offers to help her if she says his name 3 times and plays charades with her to help her learn his name. However the Maitlands stop her and comfort her that being dead doesn’t make things better.
When Otho steals the handbook to try and summon the ghosts, Lydia is not worried at first until they appear and begin decaying, as he had unintentionally performed an exorcism. Lydia goes to the model to ask for Beetlejuice to save them. He agrees if she agrees to marry him because, by marrying a living person, he can escape from the Netherworld for good. She agrees and summons him. He then dons himself and Lydia into wedding attire and tries force the wedding ceremony to go through despite her protests. The Maitlands stop the marriage when a Sandword devours Beetlejuice.
In the aftermath, Lydia is adjusting well and is living happily with her parents and the Maitlands, who become secondary parental figures to her.