As the meaning of 'wife' evolves, so do television's portrayals of women in the role
Teri Hatcher, Marcia Cross, Eva Longoria and Felicity Huffman in Desperate Housewives.
The Real Housewives of Vancouver, from left: Reiko MacKenzie, Mary Zilba, Christina Kiesel, Jody Claman and Ronnie Seterdahl.
Kristin Davis, Cynthia Dixon, Kim Cattrall and Sarah Jessica Parker at the London premiere of the film Sex and the City.
Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz in an undated photo from I Love Lucy.
The Real Housewives of Orange County.
Beyonce and jay Z taken from Beyonce Tumblr site.
Julianna Margulies as Alicia Florrick in The Good Wife.
A wife who has sacrificed her own dreams to her husband's 30-year-old pursuit of rock superstardom and who indulges her pre-teen daughter swaps with a woman with nine children who runs her house with an iron hand and relies on her husband's total support, on "Wife Swap," on the ABC Television Network.
Jessica Pare and Jon Hamm in Mad Men.