USA
Teresa Lisbon is a fictional character on the CBS crime drama The Mentalist, portrayed by Robin Tunney. Lisbon is a former senioragent and leader of the "Serious Crimes Unit" for the California Bureau of Investigation(CBI). After leaving the CBI, she served as a sheriff for a small town in Washington state, but left that position to join the FBI.
Character background
In the episode "Red Badge", it is revealed, whilst talking with her psychiatrist, that Lisbon's mother was killed by a drunk driver when she was twelve, and later in the same episode it is mentioned that Lisbon was formerly an inspector (detective) for the San Francisco Police Department (SFPD), and at the time worked for then-SFPD Lieutenant Sam Bosco. She also accidentally admits that after her mother's death, her father was sometimes abusive towards her and her three younger brothers, and that he would suffer blackouts from his alcoholism. (Her father eventually committed suicide.) In the episode "Red Tide",[1] it was implied that the young Teresa had to take over the maternal role and care for the family after her mother's death.
In the episode "Code Red", it is revealed one of Lisbon's brothers is named Tommy, and in the episode "Red Hot", it is revealed that another brother is named James. In the same episode, her mother is said to have been a nurse and her father a fireman. In the episode "Ring Around the Rosie", she states she was raised in Chicago.
In the episode "Where in the World Is Carmine O'Brien" her brother Tommy is introduced, who apparently has gone through a succession of unsuccessful jobs and has become a bounty hunter, allowing his daughter Annabeth ("Annie") to tag along. The sibling relationship seems loving but strained, with Lisbon acting as almost a surrogate mother figure.
In the episode "So Long, and Thanks for All the Red Snapper" Lisbon is briefly reacquainted with a former fiancé.
In the episode "The Desert Rose", Lisbon is captured by Red John.
