Tamaki Suoh (須王 環 Suō Tamaki?), whose full name is René Tamaki Richard de Grantaine,[5] is a second-year student at Ouran Academy and the founder and president of the Host Club. He was born on April 8 (Buddha's birthday),[2] and is 16 years old at the beginning of the series.[6] Flamboyant and narcissistic, he is dedicated to his duties as a host. He is the princely type, who entertains customers with upper-class etiquette and shameless flattery. Tamaki is partial to classic piano music and plays exceedingly well. He refers to his club as his "family", with himself as the father figure; Kyoya, the mother; Haruhi, the daughter; Hikaru and Kaoru, the brothers; and Mori and Honey, the uncles.

Since Tamaki is the main comic relief character of the series, he is outspoken and naïve for his age, especially since he only views himself as an obsessive father figure to Haruhi, when he is really in love with her, even though he is very flirtatious with other girls, still. Mori and Honey point out Tamaki's naivete when it comes to how he truly feels about Haruhi, and the rest of the club sees this too. Although he is very perceptive to the feelings of others, which Hikaru and Kaoru both note, his naivete applies to his overall dense approach to his own feelings. He often becomes jealous of other boys who approach Haruhi and admires Haruhi's natural personality. When he is kicked out by Haruhi or made fun of, he has the tendency to grow mushrooms in either a closet or a corner, which appear like they were worked on for weeks.

Tamaki is half Japanese and half French, and lives under the custody of his father, the wealthy chairman of Ouran Academy. They are separated from his French mother because of a deal made between Tamaki's ill mother and his cold-hearted paternal grandmother. He lives at the Suoh family's second mansion, while his father stays at the main mansion with Tamaki's grandmother. Eventually, he is accepted into the main residence where his grandmother lives. At first, she does not acknowledge him and makes his life sour by "pulling him back to reality," but he manages to win her approval with his mind and kindness, and the two grow close. She also allows him to meet with his mother.

At one point in the manga, Tamaki realizes that he loves Haruhi as a woman and not a daughter. However, he does not act on it because of his own divided family, fearing that something similar will happen to the Host Club should he ever pursue Haruhi romantically. Thanks to his friends' efforts, however, he accepts that doing so would not hurt the club. Even then, though, he cannot find the courage to confess to her, frightened that she will not return his feelings. Later, upon hearing Haruhi's confession, he admits to his feelings and the two become a couple. Towards the end of the manga, he surprises Haruhi by going with her to America. The two move into a dorm building together, followed by the rest of the Host Club members, much to Haruhi's and Tamaki's surprise. While living in Boston, in a short chapter about Haruhi and Tamaki included in volume 18, Tamaki reads a book on how to be a good husband. It is confirmed in another extra in volume 18 that he is the Suoh heir, and in yet another extra, that he achieved his dream of having his whole family gather around a kotatsu; his post-Ouran High educational path is unknown. In the final pages of volume 18, a few scenes of Tamaki's and Haruhi's wedding are shown, along with a brief note from Hatori indicating that she definitely thought that they would get married (the wedding is later confirmed to have taken place about two years after Chapter 83 in a 16-page special chapter released in August 2011). In a paragraph discussing the future of Mori, Hatori revealed that Tamaki and Haruhi were the first in the club to have children. Throughout the series, the trio of Tamaki and the Hitachii twins are literally the only members of the Host Club with crushes on Haruhi.