Zoey Pierson is George Van Smoot's (aka the captain) ex-wife and Ted Mosby's ex-girlfriend.

Zoey is an activist for the issues she believes are important. She had previously chained herself to a 100-year-old redwood, stolen a police horse at an anti-war rally, set a car on fire after the Guns 'n Roses 2009 concert, and stolen a whole van of white rabbits from a beauty company. However, she became a nuisance to Ted as a protestor against the destruction of The Arcadian, an old hotel in NYC which would be torn down to be replaced by the new Goliath National Bank office headquarters of Ted's design.

Later both get into relationship but While they're dating, Ted finds that his relationship with Zoey becomes increasingly strained because they constantly argue about everything. Despite their attempts to avoid talking about the Arcadian, Ted expresses his anger and frustration that Zoey will not support his dream to build a new skyscraper in New York City despite the fact he has acknowledged her reasons for wanting to save the Arcadian. When Ted realizes that he cannot have both Zoey and his dream of building a skyscraper, he chooses his dream over Zoey, who breaks up with him for refusing to save the Arcadian.