Gemma Teller Morrow (née Madock) is a fictional character on the FX television series Sons of Anarchy, played by Katey Sagal. Gemma is the widow of John Teller, a founding member of the Sons of Anarchy Motorcycle Club Redwood Original (SAMCRO). At the beginning of the series, she is the matriarch of the club and wife of club President Clay Morrow and mother of Vice President Jax Teller. She is unapologetic about the lengths she'll go to in order to protect the club and is beloved by all of its members. Throughout the series, however, she has a tumultuous relationship with her daughter-in-law Tara Knowles, continuously affecting her relationship with Jax. Her character is based on Gertrude; the Queen of Denmark and Prince Hamlet's mother from William Shakespeare's play Hamlet.
Biography
Gemma was born on September 15, 1957, to Nate and Rose and is a native of Charming, California; her maiden name is Madock. According to Police Chief Wayne Unser, she left Charming when she was sixteen and returned "ten years later with a baby and a motorcycle club". She was married to John Teller, a Vietnam War veteran and founder of the Sons of Anarchy Motorcycle Club, with whom she had two children: Jackson in 1978 and Thomas in 1984. Gemma has a scar on her chest which is explained when her grandson Abel has surgery. Gemma has a genetic heart disorder from her mother's side which she passed on to her children — Thomas died in 1990 from complications of the disorder, and Abel nearly died from heart complications and maternal drug abuse after his premature birth. After John was hit by a semi-truck and died in 1993, she quickly married John's friend and club member Clay Morrow. Her tough, but relatively classy, image includes hair highlights and a tattoo on her breast.
Sons of Anarchy
Season 1
Gemma Teller Morrow is the queen of Charming and the matriarch of SAMCRO, Charming charter. A Machiavellian schemer and expert in psychological manipulation, Gemma is extremely protective of her son Jax and grandson, and she longs for the day when Jax, in her eyes, will be ready to assume control over SAMCRO to ensure the organization's survival for future generations. She adores her husband, Clay, and does her best to make things work out his way. Many of SAMCRO's plans succeed because of Gemma's quiet intervention (e.g., finding out who raped the little girl at the carnival in the episode "Fun Town", and surveillance of L.O.A.N. in season two). She generally has a hostile attitude toward all of Jax's female friends and partners, including his ex-wife Wendy; his on-again, off-again girlfriend Tara (although Gemma later takes Tara under her wing); and the club "groupies" with whom she occasionally has intercourse with. Nord boss Ernest Darby indicated that he had a prior romantic interest in her. She claims to be part Jewish "on the angry Russian side."
Season 2
Early in season 2, Gemma is raped by Sons of Anarchy rival AJ Weston and two other unknown men wearing white masks. During the assault, Gemma is told to tell Clay that it will happen again if he does not end his dealings with minorities. Later, Gemma realizes Weston is one of her rapists, when she recognizes his tattoos. When her friend Unser finds her at the rape scene, Gemma demands that he not tell Clay or Jax about the rape so as not to play into AJ Weston and Ethan Zobelle's plans to get Clay and/or Jax to do something rash. Unser complies and further covers up the source of Gemma's injuries by crashing her car into a road divider and taking her to the hospital. The only other person whom Gemma confides in about the rape is Tara Knowles, Jax's girlfriend. Unser later realizes that Chief Deputy Hale is starting to become more involved with Zobelle and his people and tells Hale about Gemma's assault. This causes Hale to re-evaluate his dealing with Zobelle. The rape leaves Gemma with significant and visible emotional trauma, which causes problems in her marriage with Clay. She also feels somewhat paranoid that AJ might try to attack her again. Her paranoia is further compounded when someone from L.O.A.N. mails one of the rapists' white masks to her.