Teresa Lisbon is a fictional character on the CBS crime drama The Mentalist, portrayed by Robin Tunney. Lisbon is a former senior agent and leader of the "Serious Crimes Unit" for the California Bureau of Investigation (CBI). After leaving the CBI, she served as a sheriff for a small town in Washington state, but left that position to join the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).
Character background
In the episode "Red Badge", it is revealed, whilst talking with her psychiatrist, that Lisbon's mother was killed by a drunk driver when she was twelve, and later in the same episode it is mentioned that Lisbon was formerly an inspector (detective) for the San Francisco Police Department (SFPD), and at the time worked for then-SFPD Lieutenant Sam Bosco. She also accidentally admits that after her mother's death, her father was sometimes abusive towards her and her three younger brothers, and that he would suffer blackouts from his alcoholism. Her father eventually committed suicide. In the episode "Red Tide", it was implied that the young Teresa had to take over the maternal role and care for the family after her mother's death.
In the episode "Code Red", it is revealed one of Lisbon's brothers is named Tommy, and in the episode "Red Hot", it is revealed that another brother is named James. In the same episode, her mother is said to have been a nurse and her father a fireman. In the episode "Ring Around the Rosie", she states she was raised in Chicago.
In the episode "Where in the World Is Carmine O'Brien" her brother Tommy is introduced, who apparently has gone through a succession of unsuccessful jobs and has become a bounty hunter, allowing his daughter Annabeth ("Annie") to tag along. The sibling relationship seems loving but strained, with Lisbon acting as almost a surrogate mother figure.
In the episode "So Long, and Thanks for All the Red Snapper" Lisbon is briefly reacquainted with a former fiancé.
In the episode "The Desert Rose", Lisbon is captured by Red John.
In episode “Little Yellow House” (season 7) it is revealed that Lisbon’s 3rd brother is named Stanley and Lisbon is the oldest. It is also revealed while Lisbon and Jane are looking for her brother James, that Stanley was renovating the old family home in Chicago so he could move in with his family.
Her name was taken from the character of Therese Lisbon from The Virgin Suicides.
Relationships
Lisbon and the CBI's consultant Patrick Jane have a very intense working relationship which has, over the course of the show's seasons, developed into a personal relationship as well. Lisbon also had a close and platonic relationship with the late Samuel Bosco, who was eventually revealed to have unrequited feelings of love for her. In season 2, the millionaire Walter Mashburn persistently makes passes at Lisbon, though he is rebuffed. Later, in season 3, Mashburn reappears, and at the end of the episode it is revealed that Lisbon liked Mashburn. Mashburn, who then leaves for Europe, has not reappeared in the series altogether. In the season 6 finale of The Mentalist ("Blue Bird"), Jane openly admits his love towards Lisbon and at the end of the episode, they finally kiss.
Lisbon is well-liked by the rest of her team: Grace Van Pelt, Wayne Rigsby, and Kimball Cho, portrayed by Amanda Righetti, Owain Yeoman and Tim Kang respectively. Her old boss Virgil Minelli also had an amiable relationship with her, and appeared to tolerate her occasional inability to rein in Jane's unorthodox behavior. In the season 2 episode "The Red Box", Madeleine Hightower joins the CBI, replacing Minelli as Chief of the CBI. Lisbon's relationship with Hightower is much more adversarial than with Minelli. Hightower makes Lisbon responsible for Jane's behavior, threatening to sanction Lisbon for Jane's missteps. The threat that Hightower made becomes reality for Lisbon in the episode "Blood Money" when Hightower suspends Lisbon for five days for not controlling Jane and his behavior, despite Jane's effort to stop this.