Role

Thing > Intangible > Role

Represents additional information about a relationship or property. For example a Role can be used to say that a 'member' role linking some SportsTeam to a player occurred during a particular time period. Or that a Person's 'actor' role in a Movie was for some particular characterName. Such properties can be attached to a Role entity, which is then associated with the main entities using ordinary properties like 'member' or 'actor'.

See also blog post.

Usage: Between 10 and 100 domains

[more...]

Leave public feedback on this term 💬
Check for open issues.
'Role' is mentioned in layer: core
'Role' is mentioned in extension layer: pending

Property	Expected Type	Description
Properties from Role
`endDate`	Date or DateTime	The end date and time of the item (in ISO 8601 date format).
`roleName`	Text or URL	A role played, performed or filled by a person or organization. For example, the team of creators for a comic book might fill the roles named 'inker', 'penciller', and 'letterer'; or an athlete in a SportsTeam might play in the position named 'Quarterback'. Supersedes namedPosition.
`startDate`	Date or DateTime	The start date and time of the item (in ISO 8601 date format).
Properties from Thing
`additionalType`	URL	An additional type for the item, typically used for adding more specific types from external vocabularies in microdata syntax. This is a relationship between something and a class that the thing is in. In RDFa syntax, it is better to use the native RDFa syntax - the 'typeof' attribute - for multiple types. Schema.org tools may have only weaker understanding of extra types, in particular those defined externally.
`alternateName`	Text	An alias for the item.
`description`	Text	A description of the item.
`disambiguatingDescription`	Text	A sub property of description. A short description of the item used to disambiguate from other, similar items. Information from other properties (in particular, name) may be necessary for the description to be useful for disambiguation.
`identifier`	PropertyValue or Text or URL	The identifier property represents any kind of identifier for any kind of Thing, such as ISBNs, GTIN codes, UUIDs etc. Schema.org provides dedicated properties for representing many of these, either as textual strings or as URL (URI) links. See background notes for more details.
`image`	ImageObject or URL	An image of the item. This can be a URL or a fully described ImageObject.
`mainEntityOfPage`	CreativeWork or URL	Indicates a page (or other CreativeWork) for which this thing is the main entity being described. See background notes for details. Inverse property: mainEntity.
`name`	Text	The name of the item.
`potentialAction`	Action	Indicates a potential Action, which describes an idealized action in which this thing would play an 'object' role.
`sameAs`	URL	URL of a reference Web page that unambiguously indicates the item's identity. E.g. the URL of the item's Wikipedia page, Wikidata entry, or official website.
`url`	URL	URL of the item.

More specific Types

More specific Types available in extensions

LinkRole

Examples

Example 1

Without Markup Microdata RDFa JSON-LD

A basic Role example in JSON that
shows how to qualify the 'member' property
by adding an intermediate Role entity.

<div itemscope itemtype="http://schema.org/Organization">
  <span itemprop="name">Cryptography Users</span>
  <div itemprop="member" itemscope
        itemtype="http://schema.org/OrganizationRole">
    <div itemprop="member" itemscope
            itemtype="http://schema.org/Person">
      <span itemprop="name">Alice</span>
    </div>
    <span itemprop="startDate">1977</span>
  </div>
</div>

<div vocab="http://schema.org/" typeof="Organization">
  <span property="name">Cryptography Users</span>
  <div property="member" typeof="OrganizationRole">
    <div property="member" typeof="Person">
      <span property="name">Alice</span>
    </div>
    <span property="startDate">1977</span>
  </div>
</div>

<script type="application/ld+json">
{
  "@context": "http://schema.org",
  "@type": "Organization",
  "name": "Cryptography Users",
  "member": {
    "@type": "OrganizationRole",
    "member": {
    "@type": "Person",
    "name": "Alice"
    },
    "startDate": "1977"
  }
}
</script>

Example 2

Without Markup Microdata RDFa JSON-LD

A JSON example of an OrganizationRole being used to qualify
the 'alumni' property. Note that we use startDate to indicate
when the alumni situation began, which was the date of leaving
the organization.

<div itemscope itemtype="http://schema.org/CollegeOrUniversity">
  <span itemprop="name">University of Cambridge</span>
  <link itemprop="sameAs" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/University_of_Cambridge"/>
  <div itemprop="alumni" itemscope
        itemtype="http://schema.org/OrganizationRole">
    <div itemprop="alumni" itemscope
            itemtype="http://schema.org/Person">
      <span itemprop="name">Delia Derbyshire</span>
      <link itemprop="sameAs" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Delia_Derbyshire"/>
    </div>
    <span itemprop="startDate">1959</span>
</div>

<div vocab="http://schema.org/" typeof="CollegeOrUniversity">
    <span property="name">University of Cambridge</span>
  <link property="sameAs" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/University_of_Cambridge"/>
  <div property="alumni" typeof="OrganizationRole">
    <div property="alumni" typeof="Person">
      <span property="name">Delia Derbyshire</span>
      <link property="sameAs" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Delia_Derbyshire"/>
    </div>
    <span property="startDate">1959</span>
</div>

<script type="application/ld+json">
{
  "@context": "http://schema.org",
  "@type": "CollegeOrUniversity",
  "name": "University of Cambridge",
  "sameAs": "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/University_of_Cambridge",
  "alumni": {
    "@type": "OrganizationRole",
    "alumni": {
      "@type": "Person",
       "name": "Delia Derbyshire",
      "sameAs": "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Delia_Derbyshire"
    },
    "startDate": "1959"
  }
}
</script>

Example 3

Without Markup Microdata RDFa JSON-LD

A JSON example of an OrganizationRole being used to qualify
the 'alumniOf' property (which is inverseOf 'alumni').
Note that we use startDate to indicate when the alumniOf
situation began, which was the date of leaving the organization.

<div itemscope itemtype="http://schema.org/Person">
  <span itemprop="name">Delia Derbyshire</span>
  <link itemprop="sameAs" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Delia_Derbyshire"/>
  <div itemprop="alumniOf" itemscope
        itemtype="http://schema.org/OrganizationRole">
    <div itemprop="alumniOf" itemscope
            itemtype="http://schema.org/CollegeOrUniversity">
      <span itemprop="name">University of Cambridge</span>
      <link itemprop="sameAs" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/University_of_Cambridge"/>
    </div>
    <span itemprop="startDate">1959</span>
</div>

<div vocab="http://schema.org/" typeof="Person">
  <span property="name">Delia Derbyshire</span>
  <link property="sameAs" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Delia_Derbyshire"/>
  <div property="alumniOf" typeof="OrganizationRole">
    <div property="alumniOf" typeof="CollegeOrUniversity">
      <span property="name">University of Cambridge</span>
      <link property="sameAs" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/University_of_Cambridge"/>
    </div>
    <span property="startDate">1959</span>
</div>

<script type="application/ld+json">
{
  "@context": "http://schema.org",
  "@type": "Person",
   "name": "Delia Derbyshire",
   "sameAs": "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Delia_Derbyshire",
   "alumniOf": {
     "@type": "OrganizationRole",
     "alumniOf": {
       "@type": "CollegeOrUniversity",
       "name": "University of Cambridge",
       "sameAs": "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/University_of_Cambridge"
    },
    "startDate": "1959"
  }
}
</script>

Example 4

Without Markup Microdata RDFa JSON-LD

A JSON example of a PerformanceRole, in which
the Role represents the acting contribution made by
Bill Murray in the film Ghostbusters. The Role entity
allows us to additional information, such as the
character's name that he played in the film.

<div itemscope itemtype="http://schema.org/Movie">
  <span itemprop="name">Ghostbusters</span>
  <link itemprop="sameAs" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ghostbusters"/>
  <div itemprop="actor" itemscope
        itemtype="http://schema.org/PerformanceRole">
    <div itemprop="actor" itemscope
            itemtype="http://schema.org/Person">
      <span itemprop="name">Bill Murray</span>
    </div>
    <span itemprop="characterName">Dr. Peter Venkman</span>
  </div>
</div>

<div vocab="http://schema.org/" typeof="Movie">
  <span property="name">Ghostbusters</span>
  <link property="sameAs" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ghostbusters"/>
  <div property="actor" typeof="PerformanceRole">
    <div property="actor" typeof="Person">
      <span property="name">Bill Murray</span>
    </div>
    <span property="characterName">Dr. Peter Venkman</span>
  </div>
</div>

<script type="application/ld+json">
{
  "@context": "http://schema.org",
  "@type": "Movie",
  "name": "Ghostbusters",
  "sameAs": "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ghostbusters",
  "actor": {
    "@type": "PerformanceRole",
    "actor": {
      "@type": "Person",
      "name": "Bill Murray"
    },
    "characterName": "Dr. Peter Venkman"
  }
}
</script>

Example 5

Without Markup Microdata RDFa JSON-LD

A JSON example of an OrganizationRole, showing information
about a 'member' of a 'SportsTeam', including time qualfiers
(when he began and ended that role).

<div itemscope itemtype="http://schema.org/SportsTeam">
  <span itemprop="name">San Francisco 49ers</span>
  <div itemprop="member" itemscope
        itemtype="http://schema.org/OrganizationRole">
    <div itemprop="member" itemscope
            itemtype="http://schema.org/Person">
      <span itemprop="name">Joe Montana</span>
    </div>
    <span itemprop="startDate">1979</span>
    <span itemprop="endDate">1992</span>
    <span itemprop="roleName">Quarterback</span>
</div>

<div vocab="http://schema.org/" typeof="SportsTeam">
  <span property="name">San Francisco 49ers</span>
  <div property="member" typeof="OrganizationRole">
    <div property="member" typeof="http://schema.org/Person">
      <span property="name">Joe Montana</span>
    </div>
    <span property="startDate">1979</span>
    <span property="endDate">1992</span>
    <span property="roleName">Quarterback</span>
</div>

<script type="application/ld+json">
{
  "@context": "http://schema.org",
  "@type": "SportsTeam",
  "name": "San Francisco 49ers",
  "member": {
    "@type": "OrganizationRole",
    "member": {
      "@type": "Person",
      "name": "Joe Montana"
    },
    "startDate": "1979",
    "endDate": "1992",
    "roleName": "Quarterback"
  }
}
</script>

Schema Version 3.2