Quinn Fabray
Quinn Fabray | |
---|---|
Glee character | |
File:Quinnfabray.jpg | |
First appearance | "Pilot" |
Created by | Ryan Murphy Brad Falchuk Ian Brennan |
Portrayed by | Dianna Agron |
In-universe information | |
Occupation | High school student |
Family | Russell Fabray (father) Judy Fabray (mother) |
Children | Beth |
Religion | Christian |
Quinn Fabray is a fictional character from the Fox musical comedy-drama series Glee. The character is portrayed by actress Dianna Agron, and has appeared in Glee since its pilot episode, first broadcast on May 19, 2009. She is a cheerleader at the fictional William McKinley High School in Lima, Ohio, as well as a member of school's glee club. In the first episode, Quinn is introduced as an antagonistic queen bee stock character. She joins the school glee club as a spy for cheerleading coach Sue Sylvester (Jane Lynch), and remains part of the club after she is removed from the cheerleading team, the "Cheerios", due to her pregnancy. Over the course of the first season, her character matures and builds friendships with the other outcasts who make up the glee club. Quinn gives birth to a baby girl, named Beth. In the second season, she forms a bond with newcomer Sam Evans (Chord Overstreet), and later romances her first boyfriend Finn Hudson (Cory Monteith), reigniting her animosity with club co-captain Rachel Berry (Lea Michele).
Quinn was developed by Glee creators Ryan Murphy, Brad Falchuk and Ian Brennan. The last character to be cast, initial responses to her were positive, though soured across season one as the pregnancy storyline continued. Songs performed by Agron as Quinn have been released as singles, available for download, and also feature on the show's soundtrack albums. The role saw Agron nominated for the Teen Choice Award for "Breakout Female Star" in 2009, and a Screen Actors Guild award that same year. She is described by Agron as Rachel's enemy, and "terrible, the meanest girl".[1]
Storylines
Quinn is introduced as the head cheerleader at William McKinley High School, and with a background coming from a conservative Christian family.[2] She is also president of the celibacy club, and the girlfriend of Finn Hudson (Cory Monteith), the star quarterback of the football team.[3] When Finn joins the school glee club, New Directions, Finn fears his growing attraction to the group's star, Rachel Berry (Lea Michele). An antagonism develops between Quinn and Rachel. After making an enemy of the glee club coach Will Schuester, cheerleading coach Sue Sylvester (Jane Lynch) has Quinn and her friends, Santana (Naya Rivera) and Brittany (Heather Morris), join the club to help her destroy it from the inside.[4] Quinn discovers that she is pregnant, and tells Finn that he is the father, despite the fact that they never actually had sex. She convinces Finn that she became pregnant after he ejaculated in his swimsuit while they were making-out in a hot tub. However, the real father is Puck (Mark Salling). Puck tells Quinn that he will take care of her and the baby, but she rejects his offer, believing him to be irresponsible."[5] Quinn decides to have the baby adopted, and agrees to give it to Terri (Jessalyn Gilsig), the wife of glee club director Will Schuester (Matthew Morrison), who is faking a pregnancy.[6]
When Sue learns that Quinn is pregnant, she removes her from the "Cheerios" cheerleading team. Quinn faces further struggles when other students begin to find out about her pregnancy, and she becomes isolated from some of her peers.[7] Quinn pressures Finn to find a job and help to pay her medical expenses. Puck tries to prove that he would be a good father, and offers her money that he steals from the glee club bake sale. Quinn refuses the money, but thanks him and apologizes for calling him a "Lima loser."[8] When Quinn's parents learn of her pregnancy, they throw her out of their home and she moves in with Finn and his mother.[9] Quinn begins to re-consider having her baby adopted, and gives Puck a chance to prove himself by helping her to babysit Terri's triplet nephews. After a situation with Puck, Quinn returns to her original plan of giving the baby to Terri.[10] When the school yearbook photos are taken, Quinn attempts to rejoin the cheerleading team so she can be in their pictures. She succeeds in convincing Sue Sylvester to let her join, but she ultimately decides she would rather be in the glee club, where she feels accepted.[11] Rachel begins to suspect that Puck is the father of Quinn's baby, and tells Finn. When Finn confronts her, Quinn admits the truth, and Finn attacks Puck. Puck again offers to be a supportive partner to Quinn, but she turns him down and tells him that she wants to be alone.[12] Quinn moves in with Puck when he offers support after Finn learns the truth,[13] but soon forms a friendship with Mercedes Jones (Amber Riley), which starts when she helps Mercedes deal with the pressures of staying thin as a cheerleader. Quinn eventually moves in with Mercedes' family.[14] Quinn goes into labor at Regionals and gives birth to a daughter. The baby is named Beth by Puck (after the Kiss song "Beth"), and adopted by Shelby Corcoran (Idina Menzel), coach of rival glee club Vocal Adrenaline and biological mother of Rachel Berry.[15]
In the second season, Quinn tries out for the Cheerios again. Initially, Sue Sylvester rejects her, but after discovering Santana's summer breast enhancement surgery, she reinstates Quinn as head cheerleader. Santana then attacks Quinn for revealing her surgery, and calls her a 'slut', leading to an all-out fight. In the episode "Britney/Brittany", after Rachel and Finn fight, Rachel asks Quinn to try to seduce Finn to see if he loves her. He turns her down, and Quinn confirms this to Rachel.[16] In the episode "Duets", Quinn and the newest member, Sam, partner up to perform a duet. But when Sam tries to kiss her, she backs out, wishing to focus purely on herself and avoid any further situations that could get her into trouble. She changes her mind, however, when Rachel corners her in the bathroom and convinces her to perform with Sam. The two perform "Lucky", and with Finn and Rachel's votes, win the competition. When they are out at a popular restaurant called Breadstix, Quinn hints that she is willing to start going out with Sam.[17][18] In the episode "Furt", Sam asks Quinn (on one knee) to officially date him and wear a promise ring that he acquired for her. He pledges to be a good boyfriend and not to disappoint her. Quinn accepts his offer. When New Directions performs at their second sectionals competition, Quinn and Sam sing "(I've Had) The Time of My Life" together as the lead performers.[19] In "The Sue Sylvester Shuffle", Quinn, Santana and Brittany are asked to make a choice between glee club and the Cheerios, all three choose the Cheerios to stay popular. They later end up choosing the glee club over the cheerio squad.[20] In "Silly Love Songs", Finn sets up a kissing booth. At first, Quinn refuses to kiss Finn, but does after Sam insists. The kiss further re-ignites Finn and Quinn's feelings for one another, and they begin an affair. In "Comeback", Quinn chooses Sam over Finn, but when Santana Lopez convinces Sam that Quinn cheated on him, he breaks up with her. In "Sexy", Finn and Quinn get back together.
Development
Casting and creation
Quinn is regularly portrayed by actress Dianna Agron. In casting Glee, series creator Ryan Murphy sought out actors who could identify with the rush of starring in theatrical roles. Instead of using traditional network casting calls, he spent three months on Broadway looking for unknown actors.[21] Agron was the last primary role to be cast, having won the role only days before the pilot began filming.[22] Agron auditioned for Glee coming from a background in dancing and acting. She has been taking dance classes since the age of three, appeared in many music theatre productions and has appeared in television roles for Skidmarks, CSI: New York and Heroes.[23] Agron said in a 2009 interview pertaining to her casting session: "I nearly bailed on my audition for the show. I was so nervous". With her wholesome good looks, Agron certainly looked the part, but the producers wondered if she appeared too innocent. Agron said in an interview: “They told me to come back with straight hair and to dress sexier. Later that week, I started work.”[24] Agron auditioned with Frank Sinatra's "Fly Me to the Moon".[22] The Glee producers said "we really lucked out in finding Agron to play Quinn".[22]
In December 2010, Ryan Murphy announced that the cast of Glee would be replaced at the end of the third season to coincide with their graduation.[25] Ryan Murphy said: "Every year we're going to populate a new group. There's nothing more depressing than a higher schooler with a bald spot." He also revealed that some of the original cast will leave as early as 2012: "I think you have to be true to the fact that here is a group of people who come and go in these teachers' lives."[25]
Characterization
Quinn is described by Agron as Rachel Berry's (Lea Michele) enemy, and "terrible, the meanest girl".[1] Agron said that her favorite part of Quinn is that "she's smart. But she's also human, and through her tough exterior, she's often a little girl lost."[26] Interviewmagazine.com's Lauren Waterman has described her as being "lovable, but occasionally a manipulative deposed queen bee."[24] Agron commented: "Yes, there is a stereotype with these characters and it wouldn't be fair if [those stereotypes] didn't exist a little bit. But [co-creator] Ryan Murphy has a way of taking everything and turning it upside down. That's the great thing about this show and these characters: nobody is one note, which is amazing."[27] Quinn was originally conceived as the antagonistic queen bee head cheerleader, a parallel to Agron's actual high school experience. Agron said in an interview with HitFix: "I definitely wasn't cool in high school. I really wasn't. I did belong to many of the clubs and was in leadership on yearbook and did the musical theater route, so I had friends in all areas, but I certainly did not know what to wear, did not know how to do my hair, all those things."[28] She added: "I think that it shows that regardless of who you are and what group you belong to, that there are so many emotions behind each person in high school. Sometimes with teens, writers or directors, anybody, short-changes them and makes them be simple, simple individuals, you're either the jock or the popular kid or the nerd. They don't show those shades. Everybody has those shades to them. This show, it really expands upon vulnerability and excitement and anger all the experiences that you probably actually go through in high school."[28]
Quinn's role as head cheerleader is central to understanding her character. Agron said that she had never had any prior cheer experience before the pilot. "If I had been [a cheerleader], I would've ended up on crutches," she told Emmy magazine.[26] In an interview with HitFix she said, "I have new respect for the craft, because I slightly hurt myself during the pilot, coming down from one of the stunts. It's better now. I didn't tear something in my knee, but I strained it. Knees are very sensitive, I've learned. It's crazy, because I've been dancing since I was three on my toes and all these things. And you should never say this, but I've never injured myself ever. I'd seen gnarly injuries with dance and all these things. You shouldn't say that, though, because every day is an opportunity to fall, hurt yourself, so that was my experience."[28]
Reception
Quinn has received mixed reviews from critics. The role saw Agron nominated for the Teen Choice Award for "Female Breakout Star" star in 2009.[29] She and the other cast members were awarded the Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series in 2010, and nominated in the same category the following year.[30][31]
The character's accidental pregnancy storyline received mixed reviews from critics. Tim Stack for Entertainment Weekly deemed it "a good dramatic twist", but hoped that it would not be a long-lasting storyline.[32] Reviews of her storyline became increasingly negative,[33] though Agron was praised for her dramatic acting during the confrontation scene with Quinn's parents in "Ballad".[34] Gerrick D. Kennedy, writing for the Los Angeles Times, was critical of the ongoing pregnancy plot in the episode "Hairography", and noted that he cringed whenever Quinn appeared on screen.[35] Conversely, Bobby Hankinson of the Houston Chronicle enjoyed Quinn in the episode, and wrote: "I love that she can keep her Mean Girls edge while being heartbreakingly sad or as joyful as she was singing "Papa Don't Preach".[36] Reviewing the episode "Journey", Entertainment Weekly's Darren Franich called Quinn's birthing scenes—interspersed with Vocal Adrenaline performing Queen's "Bohemian Rhapsody"—both "brilliant" and "terrible". He wrote, "If nothing else, it was definitely the most visually arresting way to represent the birthing process I've ever seen outside of The Miracle of Life. But I kind of liked it. Somewhere, Freddie Mercury is nodding proudly, and saying, "World, I forgive you for We Will Rock You."[37]
Brett Berk, writing for Vanity Fair, was positive about the scripting of the Quinn character in the second season premiere, now that the pregnancy storyline was over, and was happy to see the return of "evil Quinn".[38] Joel Kelly of TV Squad criticized the decision to pair Quinn with Finn again in the Valentine's Day oriented episode. He saw it as a regression of the characters, and commented: "Yes, it feels like Glee Classic, because the series started with the two of them together. But both of them have changed—Quinn more so than Finn—and having them dating again seems like they're going back to the days when Quinn was the icy lead Cheerio and Finn was the nice but dumb star quarterback."[39]
Musical performances
Several songs performed by Agron as Quinn have been released as singles, available for digital download, also featured on the show's soundtrack albums.[40][41] Agron made her musical debut at the end of the episode "Showmance" where she performed Dionne Warwick's "I Say A Little Prayer".[40] Quinn sang her first solo in the episode "Throwdown", where she performed The Supremes "You Keep Me Hangin' On".[40] The song was released as a single.[40] Flandez deemed the cover of "Keep Holding On", the ensemble performance on the episode, an "emotionally satisfying showstopper", however was critical of Quinn's cover of "You Keep Me Hangin On", which he called "thin and jarring".[42] Aly Semigran of MTV observed that Quinn spontaneously bursting into song brought Glee "dangerously close to High School Musical territory".[43] Agron later performed a solo in the episode "Hairography" singing Madonna's "Papa Don't Preach" after her father learns she is pregnant. This performance by Agron was released as a single .[40] She performed a rendition of James Brown's "It's a Man's Man's Man's World" in the episode "Funk".[41] CNN's Lisa Respers France was "slightly disturbed" by Quinn's "weird" performance of "It's a Man's Man's Man's World" using pregnant teenagers as backing dancers.[44]
References
- ^ a b "Glee - Dianna Agron". FoxSource. YouTube. May 18, 2009. Retrieved June 2, 2009.
- ^ Adly MacKenzie, Carina (June 1, 2010). "'Glee' introducing Christian character for Season 2". Zap2it. Tribune Media Services. Retrieved August 23, 2010.
- ^ Ryan Murphy (director, writer), Brad Falchuk (writer), Ian Brennan (writer) (September 2, 2009). "Pilot". Glee. Season 1. Episode 1. Fox.
{{cite episode}}
: Unknown parameter|episodelink=
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suggested) (help) - ^ Ryan Murphy (director, writer), Brad Falchuk (writer), Ian Brennan (writer) (September 9, 2009). "Showmance". Glee. Season 1. Episode 2. Fox.
{{cite episode}}
: Unknown parameter|episodelink=
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suggested) (help); Unknown parameter|serieslink=
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suggested) (help) - ^ Brad Falchuk (director, writer) (September 23, 2009). "Preggers". Glee. Season 1. Episode 4. Fox.
{{cite episode}}
: Unknown parameter|episodelink=
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suggested) (help); Unknown parameter|serieslink=
ignored (|series-link=
suggested) (help) - ^ Elodie Keene (director), Ryan Murphy (writer) (October 7, 2009). "Vitamin D". Glee. Season 1. Episode 6. Fox.
{{cite episode}}
: Unknown parameter|episodelink=
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suggested) (help); Unknown parameter|serieslink=
ignored (|series-link=
suggested) (help) - ^ Elodie Keene (director), Ian Brennan (writer) (October 21, 2009). "Mash-Up". Glee. Season 1. Episode 8. Fox.
{{cite episode}}
: Unknown parameter|episodelink=
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suggested) (help); Unknown parameter|serieslink=
ignored (|series-link=
suggested) (help) - ^ Paris Barclay (director) Ryan Murphy (writer) (November 11, 2009). "Wheels". Glee. Season 1. Episode 9. Fox.
{{cite episode}}
: Unknown parameter|episodelink=
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suggested) (help); Unknown parameter|serieslink=
ignored (|series-link=
suggested) (help) - ^ Brad Falchuk (director, writer) (November 18, 2009). "Ballad". Glee. Season 1. Episode 10. Fox.
{{cite episode}}
: Unknown parameter|episodelink=
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suggested) (help); Unknown parameter|serieslink=
ignored (|series-link=
suggested) (help) - ^ Bill D'Elia (director), Ian Brennan (writer) (November 25, 2010). "Hairography". Glee. Season 1. Episode 11. Fox.
{{cite episode}}
: Unknown parameter|episodelink=
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suggested) (help); Unknown parameter|serieslink=
ignored (|series-link=
suggested) (help) - ^ Elodie Keene (director), Ryan Murphy (writer) (December 2, 2009). "Mattress". Glee. Season 1. Episode 12. Fox.
{{cite episode}}
: Unknown parameter|episodelink=
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suggested) (help); Unknown parameter|serieslink=
ignored (|series-link=
suggested) (help) - ^ Brad Falchuk (director, writer) (December 9, 2009). "Sectionals". Glee. Season 1. Episode 13. Fox.
{{cite episode}}
: Unknown parameter|episodelink=
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suggested) (help); Unknown parameter|serieslink=
ignored (|series-link=
suggested) (help) - ^ Alfonso Gomez-Rejon (director), Ryan Murphy (writer) (May 11, 2010). "Laryngitis". Glee. Season 1. Episode 18. Fox.
{{cite episode}}
: Unknown parameter|episodelink=
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suggested) (help); Unknown parameter|series link=
ignored (help) - ^ Elodie Keene (director), Ian Brennan (writer) (June 1, 2010). "Funk". Glee. Season 1. Episode 21. Fox.
{{cite episode}}
: Unknown parameter|episodelink=
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suggested) (help); Unknown parameter|series link=
ignored (help) - ^ Brad Falchuk (director, writer) (June 8, 2010). "Journey". Glee. Season 1. Episode 22. Fox.
{{cite episode}}
: Unknown parameter|episodelink=
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suggested) (help); Unknown parameter|series link=
ignored (help) - ^ Canning, Robert (September 29, 2010). "Glee: "Britney/Brittany" Review". IGN. Retrieved October 4, 2010.
- ^ VanDerWerff, Todd (October 13, 2010). "Duets". The A.V. Club. Onion, Inc. Retrieved October 13, 2010.
- ^ Semigran, Aly (October 13, 2010). "'Glee' Recap: Episode 25, 'Duets'". MTV. Retrieved October 13, 2010.
- ^ Canning, Robert (November 24, 2010). "Glee: "Furt" Review - TV Review at IGN". IGN. Retrieved January 2, 2011.
- ^ Reiter, Amy (February 7, 2011). "'Glee' recap: A post-Super Bowl thriller?". Los Angeles Times. Tribune Company. Retrieved March 5, 2011.
- ^ Martin, Denise (April 26, 2009). "Video: 'Glee' team rewrites the school musical". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved May 19, 2009.
- ^ a b c "Glee Casting: Quinn". Hulu.com. Retrieved March 22, 2011.
- ^ "Dianna Agron Biography". TV Guide. Retrieved February 18, 2011.
- ^ a b Waterman, Lauren. "Dianna Agron". Interview Magazine.com. Retrieved February 18, 2011.
- ^ a b Sanders, Helen (December 2, 2010). "Lea Michele and Glee Cast to be replaced in 2012?". Entertainment Wise.com. Retrieved 14 February 2011.
- ^ a b Malcolm, Shawna (2010). "Role Call". Emmy. XXXII. North Hollywood, California: Academy of Arts and Sciences: 108. ISSN 0164-3495. OCLC 4629234.
{{cite journal}}
: Unknown parameter|isschnue=
ignored (help); Unknown parameter|month=
ignored (help) - ^ Ghosh, Korbi (September 30, 2009). "'Glee': Mark Salling, Lea Michele & Dianna Agron on pregnancy, lies & love". Zap2it.com. Retrieved February 18, 2011.
- ^ a b c "HitFix interviews the cast of 'Glee'". Hitfix.com. May 19, 2009. Retrieved March 18, 2011.
- ^ "Teen Choice Awards 2010 Winners : Full List". Celebglitz. August 8, 2010. Retrieved August 9, 2010.
- ^ "16th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards scorecard". Los Angeles Times. Tribune Company. January 23, 2010. Retrieved January 24, 2010.
- ^ "Nominations Announced for the 17th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards". www.sag.org. Screen Actors Guild. December 16, 2010. Retrieved December 16, 2010.
- ^ Stack, Tim (September 24, 2009). "'Glee' recap: Kurt comes out a winner!". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved 2009-10-28.
- ^ Tucker, Ken (October 14, 2009). "'Glee': Unwanted pregnancy?". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved 2009-10-27.
- ^ Goldman, Eric (November 19, 2009). "Glee: "Ballad" Review". IGN. Retrieved 19 November 2009.
- ^ Kennedy, Gerrick D. (November 26, 2009). "'Glee': A hairlicious distraction before Thanksgiving". Los Angeles Times. Tribune Company. Retrieved 26 November 2009.
- ^ Hankinson, Bobby (November 26, 2009). "Glee: Hair today, gone for 4 months tomorrow". Houston Chronicle. Hearst Corporation. Retrieved 26 November 2009.
- ^ FranichDa, Darren (June 9, 2010). "'Glee' recap: Journey to the Center of Birth". Entertainment Weekly. Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved March 20, 2011.
- ^ "The Gay Guide to Glee: Season 2 Episode 1, "Audition"". Vanity Fair. 2010-09-22. Retrieved 2010-09-24.
- ^ Kelly, Joel (February 8, 2011). "'Glee' Valentine's Day Episode Recap". TV Squad.com. Retrieved March 20, 2011.
- ^ a b c d e Linder, Brian (November 4, 2009). "Glee: The Music – Vol. 1 Review". IGN. Retrieved 5 December 2009.
- ^ a b Linder, Brian (December 8, 2009). "Glee: The Music, Vol. 2 Review". IGN. Retrieved 9 December 2009.
- ^ Flandez, Raymund (October 15, 2009). ""Glee" Season 1, Episode 7: TV Recap". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved October 27, 2009.
- ^ Semigran, Aly (October 15, 2009). "Glee Recap: Episode 7, A 'Throwdown!' And A Pregnancy Showdown". MTV. Retrieved 27 October 2009.
- ^ Respers France, Lisa (June 2, 2010). "'Glee' tears the roof off the mutha – The Marquee Blog - CNN.com Blogs". CNN. Retrieved June 2, 2010.