Spencer Carlin
| Spencer Carlin | |||||||||
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| Portrayed by | Gabrielle Christian | ||||||||
| First appearance | Secret Truths | ||||||||
| Last appearance | On the Precipice | ||||||||
| Profile | |||||||||
| Occupation | Student at UCLA and Later Film Director | ||||||||
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| Parents |
Paula Carlin (mother) Arthur Carlin (father) |
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| Siblings |
Glen Carlin (brother) Clay Carlin (adoptive brother, deceased) |
| Spouse | Ashley Davies (wife) |
| Children | Clay (son with Ashley, sperm by Aiden) |
Spencer Carlin is a fictional character from the television series South of Nowhere. Spencer attends King High, the central setting for the show. She is portrayed by Gabrielle Christian, and has a tempestuous romantic relationship with Ashley Davies. She was included in AfterEllen.com's Top 50 Favorite Female TV Characters.
Actress Gabrielle Christian was immediately noted by South of Nowhere casting directors as having significant chemistry with costar Mandy Musgrave when both went in to audition for the series. This led to the producers pairing the two as their main lesbian romance of the show. The relationship is often seen as unpredictable, with Spencer and Ashley going through periods where they need to be away from each other. Christian detailed, "I think like most high school relationships, even though Ashley and Spencer usually end up coming back to each other, there are periods where Ashley makes a wrong decision and Spencer makes a wrong decision and we take our little breaks."
Ashley gives Spencer a different outlook on life and teaches her to be more independent. Spencer subsequently learns how to be strong and not so repressed all the time, and how to make decisions for herself instead.
"She definitely becomes a lot more confident and more determined to figure out where she's going with her future and figure out what she's going to do with her life," Christian stated. "And with that goes learning the independence of what she's going to do — with or without a relationship. And it's what every high school senior goes through, which I really like because it's a totally different route for Spencer."
Spencer Carlin and her family move from a small town in Ohio to the big city Los Angeles, where she quickly forms a friendship with bad-to-the-bone Ashley Davies. Her mother doesn't like Ashley so when she befriends Kelly, her mom is happy but the friendship ends when Kelly tries to make a move. Spencer soon realizes that she is gay and confides in Ashley. At first, she is afraid of how the world will treat her. Throughout the season, Spencer's friendship with Ashley soon builds into a romantic relationship. At first, Spencer tries to run from her love for Ashley. She goes on a date with Aiden, but realizes that she wants to be with Ashley. She leaves her date and goes to help a drugged out Ashley. They spend their first night together. The next day, Ashley begins to pull away, but in the last episode of the season, Spencer and Ashley talk about their feelings and eventually make love.
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