Martha M. Masters is a fictional character on the

Fox Foxes are small to medium-sized, omnivorous mammals belonging to several genera of the family Canidae. They have a flattened skull, upright, triangular ears, a pointed, slightly upturned snout, and a long bushy tail (or ''brush''). Twelve sp ...

medical drama A medical drama is a television show or film in which events center upon a hospital, an ambulance staff, or any medical environment. Most recent medical drama (film and television), dramatic programming go beyond the events pertaining to the chara ...

television series ''

House A house is a single-unit residential building. It may range in complexity from a rudimentary hut to a complex structure of wood, masonry, concrete or other material, outfitted with plumbing, electrical, and heating, ventilation, and air condi ...

''. Masters is portrayed by American actress

Amber Tamblyn Amber Rose Tamblyn (born May 14, 1983) is an American actress and writer. She first came to national attention in her role on the soap opera ''General Hospital'' as Emily Quartermaine at the age of 11. She followed with a starring role on the pr ...

. She appears in a multi-episode arc of

season 7 A season is a division of the year based on changes in weather, ecology, and the number of daylight hours in a given region. On Earth, seasons are the result of the axial parallelism of Earth's tilted orbit around the Sun. In temperate and po ...

, and very briefly in the series finale, " Everybody Dies".

Biography

After graduating from high school at age 15, Masters obtained doctorate degrees in both

applied math Applied mathematics is the application of mathematical methods by different fields such as physics, engineering, medicine, biology, finance, business, computer science, and industry. Thus, applied mathematics is a combination of mathematical ...

and

art history Art history is the study of aesthetic objects and visual expression in historical and stylistic context. Traditionally, the discipline of art history emphasized painting, drawing, sculpture, architecture, ceramics and decorative arts; yet today ...

. In the episode "

Office Politics Workplace politics is the process and behavior that in human interactions involves power and authority. It is also a tool to assess the operational capacity and to balance diverse views of interested parties. It is also known as office politics and ...

", Dr.

Lisa Cuddy Lisa Cuddy, M.D., is a fictional character on the Fox medical drama ''House''. She is portrayed by Lisa Edelstein. Cuddy was the Dean of Medicine of the fictional Princeton-Plainsboro Teaching Hospital in New Jersey. Cuddy quit her job after the e ...

hires Masters, a

medical student A medical school is a tertiary educational institution, or part of such an institution, that teaches medicine, and awards a professional degree for physicians. Such medical degrees include the Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery (MBBS, MB ...

, for the position on Dr. House's diagnostic team left vacant by

Thirteen Thirteen or 13 may refer to: * 13 (number), the natural number following 12 and preceding 14 * One of the years 13 BC, AD 13, 1913, 2013 Music * 13AD (band), an Indian classic and hard rock band Albums * ''13'' (Black Sabbath album), 2013 * ...

. House once described Masters as having "nervous, anxious energy" when describing the list of candidates

Taub Taub is a surname. It may refer to: Persons * Abraham H. Taub (1911–1999), American mathematician and physicist * Ari Taub (wrestler) (born 1971), Canadian Greco-Roman wrestler * Ben Taub (1889–1982), American philanthropist and medical b ...

had to pick from to study with when being re-certified by the

American Board of Internal Medicine The American Board of Internal Medicine (ABIM) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, self-appointed physician-evaluation organization that certifies physicians practicing internal medicine and its subspecialties. The American Board of Internal Medicine is n ...

(ABIM). In the episode "

Family Practice Family medicine is a medical specialty within primary care that provides continuing and comprehensive health care for the individual and family across all ages, genders, diseases, and parts of the body. The specialist, who is usually a primar ...

", House threatens to have Masters thrown out of medical school if she tells Cuddy or her mother's physician about switching her medication. Despite this, she informs both groups and still retains her job. In the episode of " Last Temptation" she leaves House. Masters makes her final appearance in the series finale " Everybody Dies".

Personality

Masters appears to be reserved and awkward to her colleagues and is easily intimidated by them. Tamblyn believes that she may have

Asperger's Asperger syndrome (AS), also known as Asperger's, is a former neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by significant difficulties in social interaction and nonverbal communication, along with restricted and repetitive patterns of behavio ...

. She has a strong moral compass and refuses to lie to staff or patients, which means she is frequently at odds with Dr. House. Tamblyn opines that Masters "believes so strongly in the ethics of truth telling, to the point of a fault. Just in the same way that

ouse Ouse may refer to: Places Rivers in England * River Ouse, Yorkshire * River Ouse, Sussex * River Great Ouse, Northamptonshire and East Anglia ** River Little Ouse, a tributary of the River Great Ouse Other places * Ouse, Tasmania, a town in Au ...

believes so much in lying". Tamblyn also compares her character to Cuddy, stating that "I do think Martha is a young Cuddy, an extremist version of Cuddy". The character is based on Tamblyn's friend of the same name; in an interview, Tamblyn described that "my character is based on my real-life best friend, who is a med student and whose real name is Martha Masters. In fact, they made her sign a release that she wouldn't sue Fox."

References

External links

Martha Masters
at TVIV.org {{DEFAULTSORT:Masters, Martha House (TV series) characters Fictional physicians Television characters introduced in 2010 Fictional medical students Fictional female doctors