Sherry Palmer

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24 character
Sherry Palmer
Gender:	Female
Jobs held:	Unspecified
Affiliation:	David Palmer
Family:	Keith Palmer(Son) Nicole Palmer (Daughter) Wayne Palmer (Brother In-Law) Sandra Palmer (Sister In-Law)
Spouse:	David Palmer (Ex-Husband) (Deceased)
Current status:	Deceased
Portrayed by:	Penny Johnson Jerald
Seasons:	1, 2, 3

Sherry Palmer was a fictional character on the television series 24, played by Penny Johnson Jerald. Her character was often likened to Lady Macbeth by fans and critics.

[edit] Season one

Originally a recurring guest character, she was married to U.S. Senator David Palmer — the first African-American with a chance at the White House. Over the course of the first season (taking place over one day, as each season of the show does), she revealed herself to be willing to do anything, including treason and murder, to secure her husband's presidency. At the end of the day, Palmer told her he was going to file for divorce.

[edit] Season two

Sherry Palmer was one of the most popular characters among fans, and so was brought back in the second season — now as a main character — showing up unexpectedly at her ex-husband's Oregon bunker on the day of a nuclear threat to Los Angeles. At first, Palmer trusted her claims, which did help him unravel a conspiracy against him from within the government. However her questionable actions led some — including Palmer's aide Lynne Kresge — to be suspicious of her. By the end of the day, she had proven that she still had feelings for her husband when she assisted CTU agent Jack Bauer in bringing down the terrorists. Although arrested for her acts of treason, Palmer would later assist her in discreetly being released.

[edit] Season three

Season three began with President Palmer in Los Angeles for a debate against his political opponent, Senator John Keeler. Midway through the season, Sherry Palmer returned — this time at Palmer's bidding to help him shake off Alan Milliken, a key campaign contributor who was now threatening Palmer's health care bill. Her connections made her an asset to Palmer, so much so that after she was involved in Milliken's death, Palmer lied to the Chief of Police and gave her an alibi. He then told her to get out of his life forever.

Close to the end of the season, she went to Keeler and offered him proof that Palmer had sent her to Milliken, and was thus an accessory to murder. Keeler could then use this to blackmail Palmer into discreetly leaving the presidency, allowing Keeler an easy win in the upcoming election. Palmer and his Chief of Staff Wayne Palmer found out about this, and Wayne snuck into her home to try and steal the evidence while Palmer distracted her elsewhere. Sherry, however, grew suspicious and returned home. Wayne and his co-conspirator fled the house with the evidence, but Wayne's lover — Milliken's wife Julia — had been left as the only suspect in the murder of her husband, and arrived at the house, shooting Sherry dead and then shooting herself. Although Palmer now had the evidence, his potential implication in the deaths of Milliken, Julia and Sherry forced him to discreetly leave the presidency. Ironically, she achieved in death her ultimate goal to ruin her husband. In interviews with the show's producers, it was stated that the way she was shot was deliberate in case they wanted to bring her character back.

[edit] The many returns

Sherry Palmer was one of the most popular characters from season one, so her return to 24 in seasons two and three were done to appeal to television critics and fans of the show who enjoyed the character and her manipulations. However, many of the writers disliked the notion of Sherry becoming a regular character on the show after season one and killed the character off towards the end of season three.

[edit] Costumes

Given that each season of the show takes place over the course of one day, most characters on 24 are restricted to one or two outfits. Sherry, however, was a notable exception as she wore at least six different costumes in season one, two in season two, and three in season three.