Ellen Parsons is a

fictional character In fiction, a character (or speaker, in poetry) is a person or other being in a narrative (such as a novel, play, radio or television series, music, film, or video game). The character may be entirely fictional or based on a real-life perso ...

on the American

legal thriller The legal thriller genre is a type of crime fiction genre that focuses on the proceedings of the Criminal investigation, investigation, with particular reference to the impacts on courtroom proceedings and the lives of characters. The courtroom ...

series ''

Damages At common law, damages are a remedy in the form of a monetary award to be paid to a claimant as compensation for loss or injury. To warrant the award, the claimant must show that a breach of duty has caused foreseeable loss. To be recognised at ...

''. The character was created by the writer trio of Glenn Kessler,

Todd A. Kessler Todd A. Kessler (born 1972) is an American screenwriter, playwright, television producer and director. Career Kessler wrote and produced the second and third seasons of HBO's ''The Sopranos'', Michael Mann's ''Robbery Homicide Division'' and ...

, and Daniel Zelman. Ellen's transformation from ambitious, idealistic and somewhat naïve law school graduate to a sophisticated, ruthless attorney is one of the main themes of the show. The mentor-protegee relationship between her and

Patty Hewes Patricia "Patty" C. Hewes is a fictional character on the American legal thriller ''Damages'', portrayed by Glenn Close. Being described as "ruthless", "master manipulator" and "brilliant", Patty is a high-stakes litigator managing her own law firm ...

shapes and advances the character throughout the show. After working for Patty, being an

informant An informant (also called an informer or, as a slang term, a “snitch”) is a person who provides privileged information about a person or organization to an agency. The term is usually used within the law-enforcement world, where informant ...

for the

FBI The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic intelligence and security service of the United States and its principal federal law enforcement agency. Operating under the jurisdiction of the United States Department of Justice, t ...

, and joining the public attorney's office, she finally opens her own law firm and builds a name for herself. In the series finale, Ellen gives up being a lawyer after learning that she is pregnant and becomes a happy wife and mother. Patty enters a shop where Ellen and her daughter are happily looking at goodies. Ellen sees Patty but ignores her. We see Ellen and her child leaving the store and talking about going to see "daddy" who we assume is Chris. Back in her car, Patty fantasizes that Ellen approaches the car and through the window thanks her for all she's done for her. Patty pulls herself back to reality and is last seen contemplating her life...successful, yet entirely alone. The character was widely praised, as well as Byrne's portrayal. Byrne was nominated twice for a Primetime Emmy Award for

Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series This is a list of winners and nominees of the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series. In early Primetime Emmy Award ceremonies, the supporting categories were not always genre-, or even gender-, specific. Begin ...

in 2009 and 2010, and twice for a Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress – Series, Miniseries, or Television Film in 2008 and 2010.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Parsons, Ellen Fictional lawyers Fictional characters from New York City Television characters introduced in 2007 Damages (TV series)