Elizabeth McCord | |
---|---|
Madam Secretary character | |
Téa Leoni portrays Elizabeth McCord
|
|
First appearance | "Pilot" September 21, 2014 |
Created by | Barbara Hall |
Portrayed by | Téa Leoni |
Information | |
Full name | Elizabeth Adams McCord |
Nickname(s) | Bess, Lizzie |
Species | Human |
Gender | Female |
Occupation | Diplomat College professor (former) CIA Analyst (former) |
Affiliation | United States Department of State |
Title | United States Secretary of State |
Family | Mr. Adams† (father) Mrs. Adams† (mother) Will Adams (brother) |
Spouse(s) | Henry McCord (m. 1990) |
Children | Stephanie "Stevie" McCord Allison McCord Jason McCord |
Relatives | Sophie Adams (sister-in-law) Annie Adams (niece) Patrick McCord† (father-in-law) Mrs. McCord† (mother-in-law) Maureen (sister-in-law) |
Religion | Catholic |
Nationality | American |
Elizabeth McCord | |
---|---|
United States Secretary of State | |
Assumed office September 21, 2014 |
|
President | Conrad Dalton |
Deputy | Steven Cushing |
Preceded by | Vincent Marsh† |
Personal details | |
Born | Virginia |
Children | 3 |
United States Secretary of State Elizabeth "Bess" Adams McCord is a fictional character and the protagonist of the CBS TV series Madam Secretary. She is portrayed by Téa Leoni.
Born in Virginia, Elizabeth attended Houghton Hall Boarding School, where she was co-captain of the debate team alongside Bahrainian Crown Prince Yousif Obaid (Aasif Mandvi). She attended the University of Virginia, and one of her professors was future Chief Justice of the United States Frawley (Morgan Freeman). It was also where she met her future husband.
In 1990, Elizabeth married Henry McCord (Tim Daly). They have two daughters, Stephanie "Stevie" (Wallis Currie-Wood) and Alison (Kathrine Herzer), and a son, Jason (Evan Roe). She also has a brother, Dr. Will Adams (Eric Stoltz), who is married to Sophie Adams, and with whom he has a 5-year-old daughter, Annie; both of her parents died when she was young, in a car accident. She speaks fluent French, German, Arabic, Persian and "a year of high school Spanish".
Elizabeth worked for the CIA as an analyst for 20 years until she resigned from her position due to an ethical dilemma, just as she was being considered for promotion to Station Chief, Baghdad. She then taught at the University of Virginia as a Political Science Professor. After the death of Vincent Marsh (Brian Stokes Mitchell) in a plane crash, President Conrad Dalton (Keith Carradine) (her former mentor at the CIA) asked her to be the US Secretary of State. Not a natural politician, Elizabeth frequently clashes with the White House Chief of Staff Russell Jackson (Željko Ivanek).