Abbey Bartlet

Abbey Bartlet
The West Wing character
Stockard Channing as Abbey Bartlet
First appearance	"The State Dinner"
Last appearance	"Tomorrow"
Created by	Aaron Sorkin and Paul Redford
Portrayed by
Information
Occupation	First Lady (Seasons 1-7) Ex-Doctor
Family	Annie Westin (granddaughter) Gus Westin (grandson) Unnamed Faison (grandchild)
Spouse(s)	Josiah Bartlet
Children	Elizabeth Bartlet Westin Eleanor "Ellie" Bartlet Zoey Bartlet
Relatives	Doug Westin (son-in-law) Vic Faison (son-in-law) Thomas Broom Weathergill (ancestor)
Religion	Roman Catholic
Nationality	American

Abigail Anne "Abbey" Bartlet is a fictional character played by on the television serial drama, The West Wing. The role earned Channing the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series in 2002. Throughout the series, Abbey is the First Lady of the United States, the wife of President Josiah Bartlet.

Abbey is a "world-class physician" (in her husband's words) and wife of more than thirty years to President Bartlet. In the first season episode "Five Votes Down," President Bartlet mentions to Charlie that they have been married 32 years, meaning they were married in 1967. The location of her undergraduate education is unknown. However, President Bartlet once confides in C.J. Cregg (his then press secretary) that he had changed his mind about becoming a priest during his undergraduate years at Notre Dame after meeting Abbey.

Abbey received her M.D. from Harvard Medical School. She began practicing medicine some twenty-five years before the start of the series, and is on the staff of both Boston Mercy Hospital (fictitious) and Columbia Presbyterian Hospital. She is Adjunct Professor of Thoracic Surgery at Harvard Medical School.

She and her husband have three daughters: Elizabeth Bartlet Westin, Eleanor Emily Bartlet (called Ellie), and Zoey Patricia Bartlet. In the Season 2 episode "Ellie", President Bartlet wistfully says that his middle daughter is "all Abbey's" and hasn't been close to him. Ellie eventually marries Victor, "the fruit fly guy", an entomologist; the development comes as something of a surprise to Abbey and Jed, as they assumed Ellie was a lesbian based on her prior lack of interest in romance. In the fourth season episode "Inauguration: Over There", it is established that Abbey never let the children have sugar (specifically candy) growing up, but that Jed gave it to them all the time behind her back.