Grace Van Pelt

Grace Van Pelt
The Mentalist character
Amanda Righetti as Grace Van Pelt Rigsby
First appearance	Pilot
Last appearance	White Orchids
Created by	Bruno Heller
Portrayed by	Amanda Righetti
Information
Nickname(s)	Grace, Van Pelt
Gender	Female
Occupation	Private Investigator Former Agent for the California Bureau of Investigation
Title	Special Agent
Family	Amos Van Pelt (father; a football coach)
Spouse(s)	Agent Wayne Rigsby
Significant other(s)	Agent Wayne Rigsby (coworker; husband), Agent Craig O'Laughlin (fiance, person that almost killed her; deceased)
Children	Benjamin Rigsby (step-son) Maddy Rigsby (Daughter)
Relatives	Yolanda (cousin; supposedly a psychic),
Nationality	USA

Private Investigator

Grace Van Pelt is a fictional character on the CBS crime drama The Mentalist, portrayed by Amanda Righetti. Van Pelt is a former special agent in the fictionalized California Bureau of Investigation (CBI). She is currently a private investigator running a private investigation agency with her husband Wayne Rigsby.

Born on April 4, 1983 Van Pelt is from a small farming town in Iowa. She tends to be overly sensitive at times, but is very intelligent. Van Pelt works with Rigsby and Cho most of the time, but occasionally works with Jane or Lisbon. She is the rookie of the team, having started her job in the Pilot episode. Grace's cousin is supposedly a psychic, causing her to sometimes argue with Jane about matters of faith. In the episode "Bloodshot", Jane makes a remark about Van Pelt's character, stating, "... you're deeply repressed and emotionally shut down... because of a trauma in your past that you've never spoken of to anyone... ever... even yourself..." which Van Pelt's facial expression seems to confirm. In the second episode, "Red Hair and Silver Tape", she is used by Jane for bait due to a killer who is killing red-haired people, leading to her being in an uncomfortable situation with a suspect (although it is ultimately a different woman who is kidnapped by the killers, and saved by Lisbon).

In the season 2 episode "Throwing Fire", Van Pelt talks a woman out of suicide by describing the impact her sister's own suicide had on her. Later, when questioned by Rigsby, Van Pelt quickly claims "That just came out. I don't have a sister", abruptly looking away and changing the subject – leading the audience to believe she did in fact have a sister or a family member who committed suicide and merely did not wish to discuss the matter.

A recurring subplot is Rigsby's infatuation with Van Pelt. She is first shown to return the feelings in "Red Scare". In the next episode, "Black Gold and Red Blood", Van Pelt and Rigsby seem to be dating and greet each other happily at a crime scene; however, Rigsby reveals to Van Pelt that he thinks that Jane may know about their relationship. Later, in "Red Bulls", Van Pelt and Rigsby argue about him not wearing a bulletproof vest to canvass an apartment building. Van Pelt is shot multiple times in the chest while questioning a young woman but survives with a bulletproof vest on. While she is loaded onto an ambulance, Rigsby states he loves her. Van Pelt slaps Rigsby, telling him he should wear a bulletproof vest next time.