Laura Palmer

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Laura Palmer is a fictional character played by Sheryl Lee on the David Lynch/Mark Frost television series Twin Peaks. Her death was the catalyst for the events of the series.

Laura was her town's favorite daughter; she volunteered at Meals on Wheels, was the high school Homecoming queen, and was (apparently) the darling of her parents, Sarah and Leland. However, Laura led a double life - she was a cocaine user, a victim of child abuse and had briefly worked at One-Eyed Jack's, a casino/brothel just north of the Canadian border.

The discovery of Laura's body in the pilot episode of Twin Peaks brought Special Agent Dale Cooper to town and the investigation of her death, and the effects it had on those around her, propelled the first 15 episodes of the series. Laura remained prominent afterward, as her death had exposed many secrets related to her, and also - in some cases - unrelated, such as the Packard mill conspiracy.

Laura's diary was uncovered in the first episode, but her secret diary was not recovered until later, and it contained passages suggesting that she had long been the victim - sometimes willingly - of abuse from a malevolent entity named BOB, who wanted to be close to her, or even be her.

During the second season, the identity of her murderer was revealed: her father, Leland, who had been possessed by BOB and made to molest, rape, and kill his own daughter. When Leland dies in prison, it is implied that Laura appears before him in a vision, forgiving him and welcoming him to the afterlife.

[edit] Notes

• Sheryl Lee also played Laura's cousin, Maddy Ferguson, who arrived in town in the third episode for Laura's funeral. At one point Maddy poses as dead Laura to lure Dr Jacoby.
• One of the best-known themes of the show was the leitmotif Laura's Theme, composed by Angelo Badalamenti.
• Jennifer Lynch wrote an official series tie-in, The Secret Diary of Laura Palmer, which was sold from 1990 and was the diary used in the series.
• Swallow the Sun, a doom metal band, wrote a song called "The Ghost of Laura Palmer", probably derived from the character.

Twin Peaks
Episodes | Actors | Invitation to Love
Characters
Main Characters
Dale Cooper | Laura Palmer Andy Brennan | Bobby Briggs | Donna Hayward | William Hayward | Ben Horne | Audrey Horne | Ed Hurley | James Hurley | Norma Jennings | Shelly Johnson | Catherine Martell | Pete Martell | Lucy Moran | Josie Packard | Leland Palmer | Harry Truman
Recurring Characters
Annie Blackburn | Garland Briggs | Denise/Dennis Bryson | Gordon Cole | Windom Earle | Thomas Eckhardt | Maddy Ferguson | Tommy "Hawk" Hill | Jerry Horne | Nadine Hurley | Doctor Lawrence Jacoby | Hank Jennings | Leo Johnson | The Log Lady | Man from another place | Evelyn Marsh | Andrew Packard | Sarah Palmer | Albert Rosenfield | The Renault brothers | Harold Smith | Dick Tremayne | BOB