Carla Espinosa
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Carla Espinosa | |
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| First appearance | My First Day |
| Information | |
| Gender | Female |
| Age | Mid-30s |
| Occupation | Nurse |
| Family | Spouse: Christopher Turk Daughter: Isabella Turk Mother, deceased Brother: Marco Espinosa 2 Sisters |
| Portrayed by | Judy Reyes |
| Created by | Bill Lawrence |
Nurse Carla Espinosa-Turk is a fictional character in the American sitcom Scrubs, portrayed by Judy Reyes.
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[edit] Profile
Carla is a nurse who works at Sacred Heart Hospital, in which the main action of the show takes place.
She was born and raised in Chicago. Her family is from the Dominican Republic. It is revealed in Season 5 that she is 36, which suggests that she was born in 1969 or 1970.
Carla started dating Christopher Turk in the show's pilot episode, and married him at the end of Season 3. She speaks Spanish. Despite Elliot Reid's best efforts, Carla didn't feel particularly close to her at first, although they have since become good friends. Conversely, she and series protagonist J.D. (whom she refers to affectionately as "Bambi") have a fairly close friendship. She is protective of J.D. and stands up for him when chief attending physician Dr. Cox shouts at him for no reason.
She is somewhat of a "know-it-all," and gives unwanted advice to all of her friends. She calls bossing people around "her crack" in the fifth season. Despite her personal foibles, no one dares makes fun of her; when anyone does, she humiliates them in front of the entire hospital.
Throughout the fifth season, she and Turk tried to conceive a baby. Initially, they were unsuccessful, but finally got pregnant toward the end of the season. She eventually gave birth to a baby girl, whom they named Isabella (or Izzy).
It is revealed in the episode "My Day at the Races" that Carla is an ex-smoker who used hypnosis to quit. In the same episode, J.D. reveals that the apartment in which Carla and Turk reside is located at 56 Walnut Drive.
She has two sisters and a brother (who hates Turk). One of the sisters is a model. Her mother died in the episode "My Drama Queen", in Season Two.
[edit] Relationships with other characters
[edit] J.D.
She claims that of all the interns she has worked with, J.D. is the only one whose approval she actually cared about, to the extent that she feigned an interest in black-and-white photography so he would think she was more intelligent.
While Carla sometimes complains that Turk and J.D. are a better couple than she and Turk, there has been no real rivalry between Carla and J.D. for Turk's attention, and both seek to encourage Turk to do the right thing as a husband and friend, respectively. Furthermore, it seems that at times J.D. is a closer friend to Carla than Turk, as he happily engages in girl-type gossip with her. During an episode Turk asked J.D. to help him and Carla out. She and J.D. ended up getting drunk and kissed each other.
[edit] Turk
Carla married Turk in the season finale of season 3. They had dated for almost the entire run of the show, and constantly prove to have a solid relationship. However, Carla frequently comments that she wished Turk would love her as much as he loved J.D. From the start of season 5 Carla and Turk had attempted to conceive a child. Carla finally became pregnant in episode 5.16, "My Bright Idea".
Carla was initially hesitant to accept Turk's proposal in Season 2. Earlier, when Carla found out that Turk had been hiding his knowledge of Dr. Cox's crush on her from her, Turk was relegated to J.D.'s room ("My Overkill").
For a brief period in Season 4, Carla and Turk underwent a separation, after Carla discovered that Turk was still talking to his ex-girlfriend without telling her he was married. She moved in with Elliot for a while. Following some couples' therapy and some frank discussions with Turk and J.D., however, the couple reunited and immediately began trying to conceive. She gave birth to a girl, Isabella (Izzy) , through a Caesarian section, in episode 6.2, "My Best Friend's Baby's Baby and My Baby's Baby".
[edit] Elliot
At the beginning of season one, Elliot and Carla clashed because Elliot maintained a 'holier-than-thou' attitude. The two gradually became best friends, however, after overtures from both sides. Series creator Bill Lawrence has said on DVD commentaries that this mirrored Reyes' and Sarah Chalke's real-life relationship.
While they are close friends, however, their relationship is not without friction; Carla sometimes resents Elliot's neurotic perfectionism and (unintended) insulting remarks about her family background. In "My Lucky Charm", the two got into a vicious "catfight" (much to the delight of the male employees) over what had started as a minor disagreement.
Although Elliot was not on the list of invited guests to Turk and Carla's wedding, she subsequently is revealed to be a bridesmaid. Later on, Carla says that she feels closer to Elliot than she does to her own sisters.
[edit] Dr. Cox
Dr. Cox has always had a soft spot for Carla, as she is not afraid to stand up to him. In one episode, it is noted that they even went out on a date early in Carla's career at the hospital (presumably either before Dr. Cox and his ex-wife Jordan became involved, or more likely, after their divorce). When Carla confessed how fearful she was of being a parent after watching after his son, Cox happily tells Carla that he knows she'll be a terrific mother.
[edit] Ted
In many episodes Carla is seen calling on Ted, Sacred Heart's milquetoast attorney, to assist with legal matters. Ted seems to be in love with her; he once admitted it to her (she didn't hear him), and even asked at one point how exclusive her relationship with Turk is. Ted's a capella band also sang at Turk and Carla's wedding.
[edit] The Janitor
Carla is assumed to be the only person whom the Janitor fears. The Janitor has put down almost every other person in the hospital — including his own boss, Bob Kelso — but doesn't dare go near Carla after she repeatedly stands up for other members of the hospital in front of him. Janitor's fear of Carla originated when she threatened to force feed him a cup of urine.
[edit] Trivia
- Carla's last name could be a reference to the Spanish word esposa, which means marriage. Carla and Turk were the first couple to get married over the course of the show.
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| Episodes • Sacred Heart Hospital | ||||
| Main characters | ||||
| John "J.D." Dorian • Elliot Reid • Christopher Turk • Carla Espinosa • Perry Cox • Bob Kelso • Janitor | ||||
| Supporting characters | ||||
| Jordan Sullivan • Todd "The Todd" Quinlan • Ted Buckland • Keith Dudemeister | ||||
