Lyla Garrity 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 person, ...

, portrayed by

Minka Kelly Minka Kelly (born June 24, 1980) is an American actress and model. Her first starring role was in the NBC drama series '' Friday Night Lights'' (2006–2009) and she has also appeared on the shows '' Parenthood'' (2010–2011), ''Charlie's Ang ...

, in the Friday Night Lights TV series. She is the daughter of Buddy Garrity and Pam Garrity. She is the former girlfriend of

Jason Street Jason Mitchell Street is a fictional character in the NBC/DirecTV ( The 101 Network) television drama '' Friday Night Lights'', portrayed by Scott Porter. Introduced as the small town "All-American," Jason is the starting quarterback of the Dillon ...

and of

Tim Riggins Timothy "Tim" Riggins is a character in sports drama '' Friday Night Lights'', portrayed by actor Taylor Kitsch. Tim Riggins is the fullback/running back of the Dillon Panthers in the television series. His character is similar to Don Billingsle ...

Characterization and background

Lyla is portrayed as an "All-

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

" golden girl with a seemingly perfect family. The oldest of three children, she has a younger sister, Tabby, and younger brother, Buddy, Jr. She is good-natured, compassionate, popular and is the girlfriend of the star

quarterback The quarterback (commonly abbreviated "QB"), colloquially known as the "signal caller", is a position in gridiron football. Quarterbacks are members of the offensive platoon and mostly line up directly behind the offensive line. In modern Ame ...

. Her parents divorce, causing her to fall down the social hierarchy and become a target of ridicule amongst her schoolmates and fellow

cheerleader Cheerleading is an activity in which the participants (called cheerleaders) cheer for their team as a form of encouragement. It can range from chanting slogans to intense physical activity. It can be performed to motivate sports teams, to ente ...

s. During much of the show, she use to be frequently seen around Tim and Jason, the three having known each other since childhood. After her cheating with Tim, things between her and Jason are tense, but by season three, they are on speaking terms, as she is the first person he confides in about moving to

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

Storylines

Season 1

In the

pilot episode A television pilot (also known as a pilot or a pilot episode and sometimes marketed as a tele-movie), in United States television, is a standalone episode of a television series that is used to sell a show to a television network or other distri ...

, Lyla is introduced as the

girlfriend A girlfriend is a female friend, acquaintance or partner, usually a female companion with whom one is platonically, romantically, or sexually involved. In a romantic context, this normally signifies a committed relationship where the indi ...

of star quarterback,

. After Jason's accident, she cheats on him with Riggins, his best friend, while Jason is in the

hospital A hospital is a health care institution providing patient treatment with specialized health science and auxiliary healthcare staff and medical equipment. The best-known type of hospital is the general hospital, which typically has an emerge ...

. Jason find out about the affair and confronts both Lyla and Riggins. For some time, the relationship between her and Jason is strained, but they get back together as he admits that he still loves her despite everything that has happened and he proposes to her. Her parents' messy

divorce Divorce (also known as dissolution of marriage) is the process of terminating a marriage or marital union. Divorce usually entails the canceling or reorganizing of the legal duties and responsibilities of marriage, thus dissolving the ...

and her father's affair being made public takes a toll on her and, during the father-daughter dance, she takes out her anger at her father's infidelity by vandalizing her father's car dealership and the cars on sale. Her troubles are exacerbated when she catches Jason with a woman he has met while training for the

Olympic Olympic or Olympics may refer to Sports Competitions * Olympic Games, international multi-sport event held since 1896 ** Summer Olympic Games ** Winter Olympic Games * Ancient Olympic Games, ancient multi-sport event held in Olympia, Greece b ...

trials in

Austin Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of Texas, as well as the seat and largest city of Travis County, with portions extending into Hays and Williamson counties. Incorporated on December 27, 1839, it is the 11th-most-populous city ...

and breaks off the

engagement An engagement or betrothal is the period of time between the declaration of acceptance of a marriage proposal and the marriage itself (which is typically but not always commenced with a wedding). During this period, a couple is said to be ''fi ...

. She eventually quits the cheerleading squad after being incessantly ridiculed by her peers at school and does some soul-searching.

Season 2

In the season premiere, Lyla becomes a devout

Christian Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...

. She is

baptized Baptism (from grc-x-koine, βάπτισμα, váptisma) is a form of ritual purification—a characteristic of many religions throughout time and geography. In Christianity, it is a Christian sacrament of initiation and adoption, almost ...

in the first episode of the season and becomes involved in various ministries such as a Christian

radio show A radio program, radio programme, or radio show is a segment of content intended for broadcast on radio. It may be a one-time production or part of a periodically recurring series. A single program in a series is called an episode. Radio networ ...

and

prison A prison, also known as a jail, gaol (dated, standard English, Australian, and historically in Canada), penitentiary (American English and Canadian English), detention center (or detention centre outside the US), correction center, correc ...

ministry Ministry may refer to: Government * Ministry (collective executive), the complete body of government ministers under the leadership of a prime minister * Ministry (government department), a department of a government Religion * Christian ...

. At the

radio station Radio broadcasting is transmission of audio (sound), sometimes with related metadata, by radio waves to radio receivers belonging to a public audience. In terrestrial radio broadcasting the radio waves are broadcast by a land-based radio ...

, she meets Chris (

Matt Czuchry Matthew Charles Czuchry (; born May 20, 1977) is an American actor. He is known for his roles as Logan Huntzberger on The WB television series ''Gilmore Girls'' (2005–2007) and Cary Agos on the CBS television drama ''The Good Wife'' (2009–2 ...

), and they begin dating. While on a visit to

juvenile detention In criminal justice systems, a youth detention center, known as a juvenile detention center (JDC),Stahl, Dean, Karen Kerchelich, and Ralph De Sola. ''Abbreviations Dictionary''. CRC Press, 20011202. Retrieved 23 August 2010. , . juvenile det ...

, she meets the gruff but polite, Santiago. She learns that he was born on American soil but his parents, being illegal immigrants, were

deported Deportation is the expulsion of a person or group of people from a place or country. The term ''expulsion'' is often used as a synonym for deportation, though expulsion is more often used in the context of international law, while deportation ...

back to

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

several years ago and that he lives with his relatives. She convinces her father to offer Santiago a job at the car dealership. Buddy later recommends him to Coach Taylor and Santiago tries out for the Panthers

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

team A team is a group of individuals (human or non-human) working together to achieve their goal. As defined by Professor Leigh Thompson (academic), Leigh Thompson of the Kellogg School of Management, " team is a group of people who are interde ...

with some help from Tim,

Matt Saracen Matthew "Matt" Saracen is a fictional character in the NBC/DirecTV (Audience Network, The 101 Network) television drama series ''Friday Night Lights (TV series), Friday Night Lights'' portrayed by the actor Zach Gilford. He is the former backup qu ...

, and

Brian "Smash" Williams Brian "Smash" Williams is a fictional character in the NBC/DirecTV( The 101 Network) drama television series '' Friday Night Lights'' portrayed by actor Gaius Charles. He is the starting running back of the Dillon High School Panthers. Consider ...

. Meanwhile, Jason and Tim have gone to Mexico because Jason wants to try an experimental procedure in hopes of regaining use of his legs. Lyla comes to Mexico at Tim’s request. The three go on a “booze cruise “ where Tim and Lyla plan to talk Jason out of the operation. Jason intentionally falls out of the boat, but swims safely to a beach. Lyla and Tim meet him at the beach and the three return to Dillon.

Season 3

Lyla is now a

senior Senior (shortened as Sr.) means "the elder" in Latin and is often used as a suffix for the elder of two or more people in the same family with the same given name, usually a parent or grandparent. It may also refer to: * Senior (name), a surname ...

and starting to plan for her future. Having made peace with Jason, she and Tim reconnect romantically. She fights with Buddy after he loses her

college A college (Latin: ''collegium'') is an educational institution or a constituent part of one. A college may be a degree-awarding tertiary educational institution, a part of a collegiate or federal university, an institution offering ...

fund

money Money is any item or verifiable record that is generally accepted as payment for goods and services and repayment of debts, such as taxes, in a particular country or socio-economic context. The primary functions which distinguish money are as ...

in a bad business deal, even living with Tim for a while, but they eventually reconcile. At the end of the season, she leaves Dillon for

Nashville Nashville is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the seat of Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the most populous city in the state, 21st most-populous city in the U.S., and the ...

to attend

Vanderbilt University Vanderbilt University (informally Vandy or VU) is a private research university in Nashville, Tennessee. Founded in 1873, it was named in honor of shipping and rail magnate Cornelius Vanderbilt, who provided the school its initial $1-million ...

. The

character Character or Characters may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Literature * ''Character'' (novel), a 1936 Dutch novel by Ferdinand Bordewijk * ''Characters'' (Theophrastus), a classical Greek set of character sketches attributed to The ...

was written out of the show as

actress An actor or actress is a person who portrays a Character (arts), character in a performance. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. The analogous Greek ...

Minka Kelly departed from the main cast for other

acting Acting is an activity in which a story is told by means of its enactment by an actor or actress who adopts a character—in theatre, television, film, radio, or any other medium that makes use of the mimetic mode. Acting involves a broad r ...

opportunities.

Season 4

Lyla returns to Dillon and attends the

funeral A funeral is a ceremony connected with the final disposition of a corpse, such as a burial or cremation, with the attendant observances. Funerary customs comprise the complex of beliefs and practices used by a culture to remember and respect th ...

of Matt's father. She reunites briefly with Tim, who admits that he is still in love with her, but realizes that asking her to stay will mean holding her back. They part ways amicably, and say their goodbyes as Lyla boards a

bus A bus (contracted from omnibus, with variants multibus, motorbus, autobus, etc.) is a road vehicle that carries significantly more passengers than an average car or van. It is most commonly used in public transport, but is also in use for cha ...

back to Vanderbilt. This is Minka Kelly's final appearance in the show.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Garrity, Lyla Friday Night Lights (TV series) characters Fictional cheerleaders Fictional characters from Texas Television characters introduced in 2006