Tara Thornton

Tara Mae Thornton
First appearance	Dead Until Dark (television series: "Strange Love")
Portrayed by	Rutina Wesley
In-universe information
Occupation	bartender
Family	Lettie Mae (mother), Lafyette Reynolds (cousin), unnamed father

Tara Mae Thornton is a main character in True Blood,, however, in The Southern Vampire Mysteries a series of eight books written by New York Times bestselling author Charlaine Harris that were first published in 2001, she has played a secondary character who does not appear in the first book.

In the HBO series True Blood, which is based on the The Southern Vampire Mysteries, Tara is portrayed by actress Rutina Wesley

Family life

Not much is given in the novels about Tara's father, but her mother has been stated in the books. On the television show, Tara's mother, Lettie Mae, is described as an alcoholic who has brought nothing but misery to Tara's life. Even though Tara and her mother have an unstable relationship they do have a strong mother-daughter bond. Tara is also the cousin of Lafayette Reynolds, a chef at Merlotte's (Which is not stated in the books).

Living situation

In the beginning Tara lived with her mother but could not put up with her alcoholic rages, so Tara moved in with her cousin Lafayette but quickly moved out after discovering his bathroom has a web cam that watches the bathrooms users. At the moment Tara is living in an small apartment by herself.

Tara has had many jobs, but constantly got fired or quit after swearing at her boss. She currently has a job at Merlotte's as a bartender.

Relationships

Harris describes Tara a strong, proud African-American woman, which usually causes problems with most of the residents of Bon Temps.

Sookie is basically Tara's only friend, Tara is very protective of Sookie, especially when Sookie started getting involved with the supernatural. Tara has also harbored a crush on Sookie's brother Jason ever since he stood up for against her mother when they were little.

Tara had a better relationship with Sookie and Jason's grandmother Adele Stackhouse than she did with her own mother, stating that she was more of a mother than her own mother could ever be.

Tara had a one-night stand with her boss Sam Merlotte, ever since then the two of them have explored the possibilities of a relationship.

Bibliography

The character Tara Thornton appears in the following:

1. Dead Until Dark (2001, ISBN 0-441-00853-4)—also available in an audio editionLink closed.
2. Living Dead in Dallas (March 2002, ISBN 0-441-00923-9)
3. Club Dead (May 2003, ISBN 0-441-01051-2)
4. Dead to the World (May 2004, hardcover ISBN 0-441-01167-5, 2005, paperback ISBN 0-441-01218-3)
   • "Fairy Dust" from Powers of Detection (October 2004, ISBN 0-441-01197-7)
   • "One Word Answer" from Bite (2005, ISBN 0-515-13970-X)
5. Dead as a Doornail (May 2005, hardcover ISBN 0-441-01279-5, April 2006, audio book ISBN 1-4193-3730-0, paperback ISBN 0-441-01333-3)
6. Definitely Dead (May 2006, hardcover ISBN 0-441-01400-3, audio book ISBN 1-4193-9326-X)
7. All Together Dead (May 2007, hardcover ISBN 0-441-01494-1)
   • "Dracula Night" from Many Bloody Returns (September 2007, hardcover ISBN 0-441-01522-0)
8. From Dead to Worse (May 2008, hardcover ISBN 0-441-01589-4)