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| “ | I felt so angry. That their mediocre, spindly, pudgy, balding, middle-management sons were still alive, and my Perry, my Perry… I just wanted to scream. Do you want to hear my scream? AAAAAAAAAAHHHH. | „ |
| ~ Mary Louise to Celeste and her grandchildren. |
Mary Louise Wright is the main antagonist in the second season of the American drama series Big Little Lies.
She is the manipulative and controlling mother of Perry Wright and mother-in-law of Celeste who is determined to take custody of her grandchildren after Perry is pushed to his death.
She is portrayed by Meryl Streep, who also portrayed Jessica Lovejoy in The Simpsons, The Witch in Into the Woods, Aloysius Beauvier in Doubt, Chief Elder in The Giver, and Miranda Priestly in The Devil Wears Prada, Susan Orlean in Adaptation, Eleanor Shaw in the 2004 remake of The Manchurian Candidate, Janie Orlean in Don't Look Up, and Madeline Ashton in Death Becomes Her. In flashbacks, she is portrayed by Taylor Treadwell.
Personality[]
Mary Louise is initially presented as a pious Christian woman who is slightly timid. She is seemingly traumatised by the loss of her son, but despite this sought to threaten and intimidate Celeste and her friends. She is protective of her grandchildren. She is theatrically dramatic and exaggerative.
Physical appearance[]
Mary Louise is an older Caucasian woman with a dark-blonde bob, round glasses and a prominent overbite. She is seen dressed conservatively, usually in cardigans and blouses. She wears a crucifix around her neck.
Biography[]
Background[]
Mary Louise attended a boarding school as a child. Her father encouraged her to befriend bullies to survive. She later became the mother of Raymond and Perry Wright. When Perry was five-years-old, Mary Louise is revealed to have lost her temper with Perry while driving, which resulted in her crashing her car and blaming Perry. This resulted in the death of Raymond. This led to Mary Louise becoming deeply protective of Perry in spite of her blame of him.
Big Little Lies[]
After Perry's death, Mary Louise moves in with Celeste and her two twin sons feigning a sympathetic person. She witnesses Celeste have a nightmare about being raped and abused by Perry. As the series progresses, Mary Louise intends to alienate Celeste from her friends. First, she casts doubt over Madeline McKenzie's integrity over superficial characteristics such as her height or friendliness.
When Celeste tells Mary Louise that Perry is also the father of Ziggy Chapman, who was conceived after he raped his mother, Jane, she outright refuses to believe this. She also refuses to believe that Perry was capable of domestic abuse due to her view of him as a good, innocent man. She also turns on Renata Klein and insinuates that she is a bad mother due to her commitment to her career, and comments on her lack of furniture in the wake of her husband bankrupting them after committing fraud.
Mary Louise then agrees to rent out an apartment in the area to continue watching Celeste as she struggles with her grief and mental health. She files initially for shared custody to Celeste's shock, but ultimately files for sole custody whilst appearing to be altruistic. In court, Celeste defends herself and reveals to Mary Louise and the rest of the court video evidence of Perry's abuse which shocks Mary Louise.
That following day, Mary Louise speaks in court and claims she had no idea about the abuse Celeste experienced. She apologises to Celeste, but maintains the point of the case is about the safety of her grandchildren and that Celeste is ill, and unfit to have custody of her sons. However, Celeste rebuts this and tells the court that the reason for Perry's abuse is resultant from Mary Louise's parenting, and would equally be unfit for her custody too. This leads to Celeste maintaing custody of her children.
Quotes[]
| “ | That must be especially devastating for a working mom to lose her house, her belongings—because just to think about the sacrifice and all the missed dinners with kids and not being able to host the after school play dates, there are just so many many moments lost. And for what, a screening room, maybe a boat? | „ |
| ~ Mary Louise to Renata Klein after her husband bankrupts them. |
Victims[]
- Raymond Wright (indirectly) - killed in a car crash as Mary Louise was driving.
Gallery[]
