Karen Walker (Will & Grace)
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- For the New Zealand fashion designer, see Karen Walker (designer).
| Karen Delaney St. Croix Popeil Walker | |
|---|---|
| First appearance | "Pilot; Love and Marraige" |
| Last appearance | "Finale" |
| Cause/Reason | Series End |
| Information | |
| Nickname(s) | Kare; Miss Karen; |
| Aliases | Anastasia Beaverhausen |
| Species | Human |
| Gender | Female |
| Age | 39 at series begining |
| Year of birth | February, 1959 |
| Occupation | Personal Assistant |
| Title | Ms. Karen Walker (Formerly Mrs. Karen Walker, Mrs. Karen Popeil, Mrs. Karen St. Croix, and Miss Karen Delaney |
| Relationships | Mr. St. Croix (ex-husband) Dick Popeil (ex-husband) Stanley Walker (ex-husband) Lyle Finster {ex-husband) |
| Children | (Stepchildren) Mason and Olivia Walker |
| Relatives | Sylvia Walker (Mother-in-Law) Kimmie Walker (Sister-in-law), Kathy Walker (Stan's Ex-Wife) |
| Episode count | All of series |
| Portrayed by | Megan Mullally |
Karen Delaney St. Croix Popeil Walker (born Karen Delaney) was a fictional character on the American television sitcom Will & Grace (1998-2006). She was portrayed by actress and singer Megan Mullally.
Karen, originally meant to be a supporting character on the show, has emerged as a favorite of viewers and thus made more of a focal point on the show. She was a multi-millionaire thanks to her marriage to obese and extremely wealthy husband Stan Walker until discovering he was broke.
Contents |
[edit] Character history
[edit] Early years
Karen's childhood was a rocky road, thanks in part to her unstable relationship with her mother, Lois Whitley (played by Suzanne Pleshette), a con artist who incorporated her young daughter into her schemes. Karen is often cruel to her staff at home, training them to run when she enters a room, and firing someone to make herself feel better. Other times she chews them out, but somehow this comes across as an act of affection.
Although she tries to keep her age secret, her good friend Jack McFarland revealed that she was 42 in 2001, meaning she was born in February 1959. She has been married four times — her first husband's surname was St. Croix, her second was named Popeil (a reference to the American culinary businessman/entrepreneur Ron Popeil), her third was Stan Walker (married since 1995), and she was married for 20 minutes to Lyle Finster (John Cleese) in May 2004, although she is still married to Stanley (see below), who has two children of his own, Olivia and Mason. Karen also goes under the alias "Anastasia Beaverhausen," and, by her own words, she used the alias Pilar Palabundo to "beat up businessmen for cash in Chinatown." Her real name may not, in fact, be Karen, as she changes her name from time to time to throw off the "Feds." Her mother refers to her as "Kiki", which was her childhood nickname. She is noted also for her shrill/squeaky voice and her addiction to pills and alcohol.
[edit] Getting the job
To entertain herself, Karen took a job as personal assistant to interior designer Grace Adler. Though she never accomplishes any work (she cannot name a computer or a fax machine), she does not quit because the job gets her "away from Stan and the kids," as she once told an intern. Grace does not fire her because Grace's business benefits from Karen's social contacts; Karen also pays for Grace's health insurance. Karen also appears to pay Grace's Christmas bonus, unlike the usual employer paying the employee the bonus. For a long time, Karen never cashed any of the paychecks she was given because she didn't need to, instead keeping them in a box on her desk because she thought they were "pretty pieces of paper." When Stan stopped giving her an allowance, she cashed all her paychecks at once, nearly bankrupting Grace (Karen paid the money back in the end). Karen and Grace became very close over the years, and Karen's love/hate relationship with Will even turned to friendship. She also developed a best/fake-romantic friendship with Jack McFarland, an effeminately gay struggling actor.
For the first few seasons of the show, Karen lived with husband Stan Walker, an obese man whose business possibly keeps Taco Bell and Pizza Hut afloat and who has been wearing a toupee since his teens, Stan was an unseen character during the show's run, despite being mentioned in many episodes. His two children, Mason (known to Karen as "the fat one") and Olivia, by Stan's previous wife (described by Karen in one episode as "that bitch Kathy!"), were often in the incompetent care of Karen.
In the fourth season, Stan was jailed for tax evasion and told Karen to date other men. She could not bring herself to do so until she met rich bachelor Lionel (Rip Torn), but just as their affair began, Stan was released from jail. However, after Karen caught him with his mistress Lorraine Finster (Minnie Driver)--a cafeteria worker at the prison--the couple separated, and Karen moved into a ritzy hotel. After beginning divorce proceedings at the end of the fifth season, Stan died suddenly.
During season six, Karen pursued romantic liaisons and ended up marrying Lyle Finster (John Cleese), Lorraine's father. However, after twenty minutes of marriage--a sudden ceremony in Las Vegas--she asked for a divorce.
Karen has been the head of Walker, Inc., since her husband's death. However, at the end of season seven, it was revealed that Stan faked his death and had actually been in hiding. Karen began dating Malcolm (Alec Baldwin), a government agent who had helped Stan do this. However, she ultimately reconciled with Stan, and Malcolm left on a government mission to Sri Lanka. Later in the eighth season, however, Karen and Stan experienced significant marriage difficulties. They finally chose to divorce, only for Karen to learn--in the show's series finale--that his money was borrowed and that, as a result, she was broke.
Karen then pressured Jack into a relationship with Beverley Leslie (played by Leslie Jordan), who was wealthy enough to support Jack--and in turn keep Karen in the lifestyle to which she was accustomed. The diminutive Leslie conveniently left his millions to Jack before being swept off a high balcony by a strong gust of wind. Jack then became the "sugar daddy" in his relationship with Karen, which has otherwise not changed. The series finale showed that--until at least 2026--Karen lived with Rosario and Jack in a happy relationship reminiscent of their old days, and, thanks to plastic surgery, she had also not aged a day.
[edit] Relationships
Karen met Stan Walker in 1985, brushing off three simultaneous relationships (with Martina Navratilova, Sultan Habibi Shoshani Padush Al-Kabir, and a gentleman named Clayton) to be with him only to learn that he was married. After going through two other marriages, she finally got together with Stan 10 years later. At some point before this, she also agreed to appear non-naked as the star of the fetishistic porn film Next to Godliness, a dominatrix flick.
Her relationship with her maid Rosario Salazar, whom she met and hired in 1985 and for whom she even arranged a marriage with Jack to help her get a Green Card, is very close. Although the duo often bicker and fight, it is only part of the bond they share. In the beginning of the series, it seemed that Rosario didn't speak much English, and Karen had a hard time communicating with her. Karen's way of giving Rosario orders was to add the letter "o" to the end of every word she'd say (e.g., "Enougho with the April Fresho. *hangs up the phone* Right now she's calling me a bitcho"). In another example of miscommunication, Karen used to end phone calls with Rosario by saying "hola," which means "hello" in Spanish and not "goodbye." When Rosario was first seen on-camera at the end of the first season, it was revealed that she spoke English quite well and that Karen was being patronizing. In a later season we see Karen forced to live in an apartment block she owns in Spanish Harlem for failing to bring the building to code. She is seen in this episode screeching at a child in the street in fluent Spanish leading Will to comment "And yet when you talk to Rosario it's 'Scrubbo the Tubbo".
Karen's arch rivals include, but are not limited to, Beverley Leslie (played by Leslie Jordan), Lorraine Finster (played by Minnie Driver), Candice Bergen (the actress, whom Karen refers to as "Candy"), Marlo Thomas (Karen hates her, but enjoys her husband, Phil Donohue. Marlo and Phil apparently live in Karen's apartment building but never actually appear in the series). We once see Karen greeting an off-set Marlo at a party by shouting "Marlo Thomas - look at you! Vintage 60's with a plunging neckline - oh and I love your dress too honey!". Further enemies include Scott Woolley (until he fell in love with her; played by Jeff Goldblum), and Candace Pruitt (whom Karen refers to as "Candy" Pruitt; played by Christine Ebersole), who once expressed her thoughts that Karen's voice sounded "like someone strangling an old macaw."
Sometimes Karen unintentionally reveals to her friends a softer side that is carefully hidden. In one such incident, Karen's husband has a heart attack and may die. Karen discovers that her friends have placed a bet to see who can get her to cry first, so she elaborately punishes each of them by leading them on to think she might break down in their presence. In the end, she has an actual breakdown over the incident, which Grace stumbles in on and consoles her during. Another episode sees Karen and Jack in her mansions with her refusing to let him enter 'the forbidden room'. When Jack finally gains access he discovers it is a nursery which Karen had prepared during a pregnancy scare in an earlier season. Although she agrees to change the room into a liquor storage room, she quickly changes her mind and the audience see her facade crumble in a heartbreaking display of emotion.
[edit] Personality
With other staff and help, Karen is deliberately patronizing, referring to them solely by their title both in conversation and to their face: "Driver," "Butler," "Private Detective," "Pharmacist," "Back-Up Pharmacist," etc.
[edit] Popularity
Karen's popularity on the show grew mostly from her one-liners, zingers, and straight-forwardness. She is an emotionally complex character wrapped in a facade of disinterest for other people's problems, selfishness, and greed. Karen is an alcoholic, often indulging in prescription pills and booze. She often (albeit casually) mentions taking street drugs or being under the inluence of them. In one episode, she is complaing to Will about the way he approached her by saying: "You were acting all high-and-mighty....you know...all mighty while I was high!". Karen makes observations on others with an emotionless and often cruel eye. (For instance, when a woman glanced at her and Grace, because Grace had a mole frozen, which became enlarged, frightening Karen into believing it was "the herpes," in a store, she snapped, "What are you looking at, preggo?! Haven't you ever seen herpes before? Geez, fat people are so insensitive"; once she said to Jack, "Honey, you know what's really sad? Poor people with big dreams. Well, that's not so much sad as it is incredibly funny!") Compared to the pilot episode, Karen now has a much higher-pitched manner of speaking. She is also known for the excessive use of the word "honey" in her speech and for her "killer rack."
[edit] Sexuality
There have been many hints that Karen may have lesbian or bisexual tendencies, as she has little sexual feelings for her husband (although this may be due to his obesity). She occasionally has semi-sexual encounters with Grace (mostly kissing and touching) at work. In one episode, Karen said, in reference to Grace, "I woke up with red hair on my pillow and lesbian porn in the VCR." She also had the abovementioned relationship with the openly lesbian Navratilova (who was apparently straight before they met) and was once mocked by a roommate (played by Madonna) for her "weird, creepy bisexual vibe." Also, in a sixth-season episode, Karen said to a lesbian realtor, "Stay back, bulldozer, I'm engaged." To this, the realtor replied, "You were last time, too." She also makes many consistent, overzealous come-ons to Mira Sorvino when she guest stars as the only woman Will ever slept with. There was also an episode in which Grace was throwing a party and Karen hinted at wanting to get the women topless. She even went so far as to walk up to one Mira Sorvino's character and say "You're pretty...want to make-out?". A further episode hints that she has a lesbian experience with Candice Bergen once, and she constantly refers to her homosexual lifestyle at girls school 'Sarah Lawrence'. She has also been seen flirting with Rosario and suggesting they get together, to which Rosario responded "Lady, quit trying to unhook my bra". In the final episode, Grace has a fantasy dream in which Karen and Rosario are married.
[edit] Karen's staff
This list is not complete and it has been stated by Grace in Season 7 Episode 19 "Sour Balls" that she has a staff of more than 30 people.
[edit] Featured staff
[edit] Maids
- Rosario - Karen's primary maid who does a great deal for Karen including hosing her out of bed in the morning. In Season 3 Episode 9 "Lows In The Mid-Eighties", we see a flashback to how Karen met Rosario.
- Back-Up Maid - who was Lorraine Finster's maid in Season 5 Episode 23 entitled "23".
- Karumi - In Season 8 Episode 2 "I Second That Emotion", Karumi plays the violin to Karen and is then told to clean up sick with her bow.
- Leni - In Season 8 Episode 6 Love is in the Airplane Karen hires Leni (played by Millicent Martin), a British Maid to replace Rosario. She eventually fires her and brings Rosario back.
- Several other unnamed maids who vanish when Karen approaches; she often yells "Approaching!" or "I can see you!" (or once "I hear chewing!") as a warning, as they apparently do not deserve to see Karen.
[edit] Other
- Driver - who drives Karen's limo, boat, and plane except when Lyle did; he is very old. It can be assumed that Karen has had several drivers, as during Season Three she mentions that driver was killed by policemen.
- Pastry Chef - a pansexual who, as he put it, sexed Karen, Rosario, and Will in Season 7 Episode 18 "The Fabulous Baker Boy". Played by real-life straight ally Stuart Townsend)
- Gardener - In Season 2 Episode 23 "Ben? Her?" Jack found Rosario in bed with Gardener. In Season 7 Episode 9 "Saving Grace, Again (2)", Jack sets Karen up with Gardener who asks her not to tell Rosario because 'we have a little thing going on'. This implies that Gardener and Rosario have had an ongoing relationship from Season 2 to Season 7.
- Bodyguard - In Season 4 Episode 2 "Past & Presents", Karen brings Bodyguard to work to protect her from Grace who threatened to 'kick her ass' because Karen trumped Grace's present to Nathan.
- Pedicurist - In one episode Grace stays at Karen's house and has her toenails cleaned to their natural colour by Karen's Pedicurist.
[edit] Mentioned Staff
- Helicopter Pilot - In Season 2 Episode 5 "Polk Defeats Truman", Karen calls Stan and asks for him to send the helicopter to rescue her from an outlet shopping mall. However in Season 7 Episode 18 "The Fabulous Baker Boy", Will Truman fires Helicopter Pilot because because as he says to Karen 'you don't own a helicopter'.
- Butcher - Mentioned in Season 4 Episode 16 "A Chorus Lie"
- Jeweler - Mentioned in Season 4 Episode 17 "Someone Old, Someplace New"
- Baker - Mentioned in Season 4 Episode 19 "Cheatin' Trouble Blues". He cooked Will's parents an Anniversary cake.
- Pants Hoister - Mentioned in Season 7 Episode 18 "The Fabulous Baker Boy"
- Mustard Spreader - Mentioned in Season 7 Episode 18 "The Fabulous Baker Boy"
- Plastic Surgeon - Mentioned in Season 7 Episode 18 "The Fabulous Baker Boy".
- Karen 2 - Mentioned in Season 7 Episode 19 "Sour Balls". Karen 2 is a woman who looks just like Karen in case one of the kids requires a hug from 'mom' in the middle of the night.
- Private Detective - who followed Stan back and forth to Krispy Kreme when Karen thought he was having an affair.
- Pharmacist (or Pharmy)
- Back-Up Pharmacist (or Back-Up Pharmy)
- Optometrist
- Butler
- Manicurist
- Alibi
She also includes Will as a member of her staff ("Lawyer") at times and has also had Picasso working for her. She mentions that her staff are interchangeable, "Cook sometimes cleans, Cleaner sometimes cooks, Driver sometimes provides an alibi."
[edit] Karen and Rosario - Fights and Insults
Karen is known for her volatile arguments with her maid Rosario, where they screech over each other, ending simultaneously with a loud insult. A few seconds of silence follows before they embrace each other emotionally declaring their affection for each other, to the laughter of the audience. Their relationship is very much love-hate with each being brutally honest with the other, but at the end of the day still loving each other. The only low points were when Karen lost Rosario in a bet to her arch nemesis, the diminutive Beverley Leslie, and when Karen sacked Rosario after discovering she had hidden the truth about her husband Stanley Walker being alive. Rosario appeared in the last episode with her final words to Karen being "suck it, bitch"!
[edit] After Will & Grace
Walker's persona has appeared in advertisements for The Megan Mullally Show, which debuted in September 2006 and which was canceled in January 2007. In one, Karen asks Megan to take her along. In another, Karen tries to pass for Megan at a meeting with studio executives until she is caught by Mullally and they begin to physically struggle with each other.
[edit] External links
| Will Truman | Grace Adler | Jack McFarland | Karen Walker | Rosario Salazar | Supporting Characters
Episodes | Awards | Guest Stars | DVDs |
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