The boy Beth Dutton takes in and effectively adopts on Yellowstone is Carter, played by actor Finn Little, a troubled orphan who finds a home and family with Beth and Rip, growing into a ranch hand and a son figure for them.
After finding himself orphaned, Carter ends up getting taken in by Beth, and in turn Rip, as a worker on the ranch and a nascent adoptive son. Little will reprise his role as Carter in the Beth and Rip spinoff.
Carter did connect with Beth outside of the hospital and allowed her to come with him to see his father who was dying. He was later taken in by the Duttons, and put to work on the ranch after being arrested Sheriff Donnie Haskell after attempting to rob a gas station.
She started to rebel by drinking alcohol and smoking cigarettes. She started hanging out eventually courting Rip Wheeler when he arrived at the ranch. Beth became pregnant by Rip and, fearing for what would happen to Rip and her from her father, she kept this information from Rip.
Though not technically a Dutton by blood, Carter (Finn Little) has been all-but adopted by Beth and her husband Rip, who took in the troubled teen following the death of his father and a bout in the foster care system.
She explained it in an interview that Beth was going to the jail to kill someone and she did not think she would be back. So she did not want Carter to loose a second "mother" and live with that.
After he loses his father due to drug addiction, Beth and Rip become his guardians, giving Carter work on their ranch. Beth, unable to have children due to a forced sterilization, is uninterested in being a mother. However, she and Rip form a bond with the hard-working young man who remained with them.
Beth's mom wanted to toughen her up. So she could succeed in a man's world. In season one episode seven, when Beth 'becomes a woman' her mother says “I have to turn you into the man most men will never be … You're gonna hate it, sweetheart.”
What did Beth whisper to the casket? The Dutton family finally has a service for John, where Beth once again promises to avenge her dad. After laying a white rose on his casket, Beth leans down and whispers, "I will avenge you," then leaves the service.
In the first season, I assumed they were both in their mid-40s because that's how old they look and act IMO, and that's how old the actors actually are. But in season two Beth reveals that she is 34 and because of their relationship starting in their teens, we can assume Rip is around the same age.
1 Elsa Dutton
Elsa Dutton's death is doubtlessly the saddest in the Yellowstone franchise.
Beth Blames Herself For Her Mother's Death
A petrified Beth spooks her horse, which in turn startles Evelyn's. Evelyn is thrown, and her horse falls on top of her, crushing her to death.
Alright, so Tate Dutton is the son of Kayce and Monica Dutton, and the grandson of John Dutton. Talk about a legacy! From the moment he appears on screen, you can see how much he means to the whole family. He's basically the glue that holds everything together, especially when things get rough.
"I mean, it's phonetically written, [Teeter] just speaks the way her family speaks," the Hollywood figure said in the special look, which she shared to her Instagram. She expanded on this thought on "The Bobby Bones Show" podcast, explaining that show creator Taylor Sheridan had written the accent into the script.
John Dutton III
He's the eventual governor of Montana and a father of four: Lee, Beth, Kayce, and (the adopted) Jamie. His wife, Evelyn, died in a horseback-riding accident. He was the patriarch of the Dutton ranch until his tragic death in Yellowstone season 5.
The staff told Jamie that when performing abortions, they were also required to sterilize the patient (forced sterilization is still legal in the U.S. today). Jamie agreed to this without telling Beth, and she didn't learn until later. She never told Rip because she knew he would kill Jamie for it.
After Beth and Rip began their romance as teenagers, Beth decided to make Rip jealous by going on a date with an older cowboy named Rowdy (Kai Caster).
Eventually, Sheila Mosconi tells April the truth about Beth Ann. April confronts Beth Ann and Rob, before Rob is shot by Ralph Vlasin.
The actress Kelly Reilly does indeed wear a wig for her role as Beth Dutton in Yellowstone. In an interview, Reilly revealed that she wears a wig to achieve Beth's signature hairstyle and color.
A flashback to 1997 shows Evelyn went riding with two of her children, Beth and Kayce. During a moment of Beth's hesitation, Evelyn fell from her horse. Her horse fell onto her and crushed her. Though she did not succumb immediately, Evelyn died within a few hours.
Jamie did not inform Beth that she would be sterilized during her early abortion. This led to her not being able to embrace motherhood anymore.
Beth Dutton: BPD with ASPD traits
Her father ensured that any remnants of softness in her were burned away, leaving her with BPD-level emotional volatility but ASPD-level detachment when necessary.
All of Beth's cigarette smoking. "I don't smoke, so all those cigarettes are the herbal cigarettes," Reilly told ET in an interview back in January 2022. "I hate them so much and he [Taylor Sheridan] has it in the script when she's smoking and when she takes a drag, it's all written.”
Beth also had to comfort Carter and reassure him that the death was not his fault, and he does have a family at the ranch who care for him. It was all so sad, especially when Rip had to admit that things were not OK, right before having to carry Colby's body out into the wilderness for the wolves to eat.