<Li> Stevie Kenarban, played by Craig Lamar Traylor (56 episodes), is Malcolm's best friend and classmate . He is wheelchair - bound and is missing a lung, requiring him to speak slowly and take deep breaths after saying a word . Though Malcolm is initially upset when Lois arranges a "playdate" for him and Stevie in the pilot episode, the boys immediately find common ground, particularly their love of comic books, and become friends . His parents are very overprotective of him, although Stevie displays in many episodes that he lives very comfortably with his disability and even has a dark sense of humor about it . </Li> <Li> Craig Feldspar, portrayed by David Anthony Higgins (39 episodes), is Lois' co-worker at the Lucky Aide . He is a hopeless romantic, and has unrequited feelings for Lois . He is very childish and is a coward . He plays the ukulele and the banjo, and he sings in a countertenor voice . By the end of the series, Craig becomes Reese's roommate . </Li> <Li> Piama Tananahaakna, played by Emy Coligado (29 episodes), is Francis' wife whom he met and married off - screen during his year in Alaska . Piama is about a year older than Francis, and before him, Piama had previously been married briefly . Primarily due to her being brought home under volatile circumstances, in which Francis (while still a minor, although emancipated) shocked the family with news of the marriage and thus disrupting Hal's birthday party, Lois disliked Piama from her introduction in the third season and into the fourth . However, after an embarrassing encounter with her wealthy in - law's, Lois has been much more respectful of Piama . She originally started off against having children, but by Graduation, Piama got over it after Reese's prank went awry ("We may as well go ahead and have kids now, I'm not afraid of changing diapers any more .") </Li> <Li> Victor Welker and Ida Kenzel - Welker, played by Robert Loggia (1 episode) and Cloris Leachman (11 episodes) respectively, are Lois' parents of a Croatian background . Victor dies some time before the events of the season two episode "Christmas", in which Ida is widowed . Ida harbors a strong dislike for both Francis and Lois, evident for the way she has been treated by them . She favors Reese, which allows him to love her . Ida belittles Malcolm for being weak in not standing up against his mother and largely ignores Dewey (although she did, on one occasion, save him from being hit by a car, causing her to lose a leg). Ida harbored resentment towards Victor's secret other family for stealing what was rightfully hers, until Lois discovered that she isn't blood related to Victor (and possibly Susan as well) and abandoned Ida . Ida acknowledged that her life growing up in Croatia under the Ustaše was difficult, possibly due to the Ustaše's policies . </Li>

Who plays francis wife in malcolm in the middle