Lisa Cuddy

Dr. Lisa Cuddy, played by Lisa Edelstein

Dr. Lisa Cuddy is a fictional character, portrayed by Lisa Edelstein, on the American medical drama House. Dr. Cuddy is the Dean of Medicine and hospital administrator at Princeton-Plainsboro Teaching Hospital, where the show takes place. She is often at the behest of Dr. House's outlandish requests, and is usually left to deal with the consequences of his erratic behavior. She also has to force him to complete his required weekly duty at the out-patient clinic. Her position often requires her to make extremely difficult moral and ethical decisions regarding patient care (particularly in situations where Dr. House insists that highly dangerous and often illegal procedures are a patient's only chance at survival).

There is a degree of sexual tension inherent in her relationship with Dr. House. While it may be inferred that the two have had a sexual relationship, nothing has been confirmed, and both characters are currently single. Thus far, viewers are left to provide their own interpretations on the subject.

Little is known about Dr. Cuddy's personal history. The episode "Three Stories" reveals that she treated House when he suffered the infarction in his leg. She is presumably Jewish-a menorah can be seen on her desk- (as is Dr. Wilson), and attended the University of Michigan around the same time as Dr. House. She was an undergraduate and he was already a "legend." While all doctors have a medical specialty, Dr. Cuddy's has never been alluded to. During the episode "Histories", however, Dr. House asserts that she is not a neurologist.

Template:Spoiler-about Recently, Dr. Cuddy asked her colleague Dr. James Wilson out on a date (2.22, "Forever"). Afraid that Dr. Cuddy might be attempting to find a way to ask about the possibility of cancer, because Dr. House had found an empty container in her trash for an herbal supplement that some believe can help fight cancer, Dr. Wilson swiped her spoon to test her saliva for cancer markers, but the result came back clean. The result also revealed that her female hormone levels were extremely high, piquing Dr. House's curiosity. Dr. House remembered that the herbal supplement is also used to boost fertility, and confronted Dr. Cuddy to ask if this was why she was taking it. Dr. Cuddy admitted that she wants a child and was deciding if she wanted to ask Wilson "for a donation". Dr. House agreed to keep her secret.

Since that time, Cuddy has relied greatly on House as her ally in her mission to conceive a child (mostly due to his knowledge of her efforts). These efforts have included a series of injections as well as helping her screen potential sperm donors (all of whom House subsequently rejected). More recently, it was suggested that she is now considering him as a donor (which some have proposed as House's actual objective, as he seems to be going out of his way to reject any 'competition').