Elizabeth Corday
Encyclopedia
Elizabeth Corday, MBChB, FRCS (married name Greene) is a fictional surgeon on the television series ER
. She was played by Alex Kingston
and appeared from 1997 to 2004.
", Elizabeth Corday is an English surgeon who has moved to Chicago to gain more experience in trauma surgery. We learn in her first episode that she comes from a whole family of surgeons, Corday's grandfather was a surgeon, as is her father and, since there are no boys in her family, she took on that role. In a later episode we learn that her father is a top surgeon at St. Thomas' Hospital, London. Corday's mother (played by Judy Parfitt
) is an astrophysicist with whom she has a rather rocky relationship. Corday feels that her mother didn't spend enough time with her as a girl and that she was "raised by nannies and boarding schools", although she finds a more nuanced perspective on things once she becomes a mother herself. Though the two do seem to come to some kind of mutual agreement, the relationship is still strained.
Corday faces many problems in adjusting to the American way of life. In her first trauma, she completely baffles the rest of the staff by using lots of British terms not used in America - for example, she asks them to "bleep Benton" (page
Dr. Peter Benton
), order an "FBC" (US term "CBC
"), and perform a "tube thoracostomy" (US term "chest tube
"). She also introduces herself as "Miss Corday", as is customary for British surgeons, and not "Dr Corday". She becomes popular amongst the other staff though, both for her surgical competence and for her personality. She quickly gains a reputation for being unimpressed by status, for instance she greets one eminent surgeon, Dr. Sam Breedlove, with "I knew you were old but I didn't know you were so short!"
She becomes friends with many of the female ER staff, including Carol Hathaway
and Dr. Anna del Amico
; and later on Abby Lockhart
and Susan Lewis
. Despite her arrogant and opinionated exterior, she has a deeply caring side to her - she is there to provide support at critical moments for both staff and patients alike. Despite their long and adversarial history, she supports Robert Romano
through the ordeal with the loss of his arm; and similarly she overcomes her deep dislike of Kerry Weaver
to be supportive of her following the death of her lover Sandy Lopez, although they never really mend fences and this plays a large part in her exit from County.
Because of the strong ties she has made with Chicago, Corday decides to stay on after her fellowship is terminated, even though this means that she has to repeat her internship in order to get a license to practice in the United States during Season 5. This is a particularly trying time for her - she has to adjust to being at the bottom of the heap after enjoying so long at the top, and on top of that she is supervised initially by Dale Edson - described even by Romano as a weasel. During this time, she makes repeated attempts to become romantically involved with Benton, eventually succeeding. He even agrees to take over as her supervisor after a while. She faces further trouble when, at the end of a 36 hour shift, she makes a non-lethal mistake in calculating how much drug to inject into a patient. Fortunately, this doesn't put her off her stride, and she uses it to campaign for better conditions for junior medical staff. She also amicably ends her romantic relationship with Peter after that. However, the affair ends up haunting her later on when Dr. Maggie Doyle correctly accuses Dr. Romano of sexual harassment after he finds out she was gay and gives her a bad performance review; Elizabeth wants to go on the record to support Maggie's claims, but is forced to back down when Romano reveals he'd known she was dating Peter secretly while he was her supervisor.
After completing her internship at the end of Season 5, at the start of Season 6 Corday is offered the position of Associate Chief of Surgery by newly appointed Chief of Staff Romano, who announces the appointment without even asking her. She takes the job, however, and soon finds herself getting caught up in hospital politics.
In season 6, Corday saves the life of serial rapist and killer who starts to engage her in a series of mind games. When a victim's family wants to learn of their daughter's body's location, the killer manipulates Corday into euthanizing him in exchange for the location. At the last minute, Corday realizes that the killer was afraid of her for the power that she held over him and she spares his life, breaking his will and 'winning the game'.
during season 5, and in season 7 finds out that she is pregnant with his child. They marry and name their daughter Ella.
However, Corday's marriage to Greene is difficult for both parties. Corday faces struggles at work after she is sued for allegedly rushing an operation (leading to paralysis of the patient), and her pregnancy is nearly compromised when she goes into labor whilst on scene at a train wreck. Greene is diagnosed with a terminal brain tumor
, but is given hope of a reprieve though, when Greene finds a surgeon in New York who can remove the tumor. Corday accompanies Greene to New York City and is present in the operating room for the procedure, by his side all the time. The couple later get married (after a series of glitches with the transport for both parties) and appear to be very happy. Corday is heavily pregnant at the time of the wedding, and gives birth to baby, Ella, a short time later.
This happiness is not maintained for very long, however - Greene's daughter Rachel (from his marriage to Jen) has by now grown from a nice child into a troublesome teenager. After falling out with Jen, Rachel moves in with Greene, Corday and baby Ella. Things are not much better for her there, though - she and Corday are constantly arguing, culminating eventually in Ella swallowing ecstasy that belonged to Rachel. Corday is so furious that she tells Rachel to leave the house, and after Mark refuses to send Rachel back to Jen, or press charges, Corday moves out instead, taking Ella with her.
When Susan Lewis returns to County General after five years, Corday seems to be at odds with her. She is cautious because of the relationship that Susan and Mark once had. Later on after Mark's death, she and Susan strike up a friendship.
At about the same time, Greene learns that the tumor has returned, and that this time it was inoperable. On hearing the news through a third party and getting a dose-of-reality talk from Romano, Corday decides to move back in with him and Rachel. Greene eventually leaves Chicago to spend his final days with his daughter in Hawaii. On the walk home after a day of surfing, Mark suffers a seizure and in a panic, Rachel calls Elizabeth, who arrives in Hawaii soon after with Ella. The four spend Mark's last few days bonding and overcoming obstacles. Corday tells Rachel after the funeral that it would be ok for her to visit her sister, and later on she does so and Elizabeth bemusedly helps Rachel acquire birth control pills when her stepdaughter shows up with her teenage boyfriend.
Elizabeth returns to her job at County General soon after the start of season 9, where she becomes harsh with patients, curt with colleagues, and particularly clashes with Med Student Paul Nathan (Don Cheadle
) who is trying to become a physician despite advancing Parkinson's Disease
. Elizabeth later confronts her agony over Mark's death and also makes peace with Nathan during a horrifying case where the wife and son of a decent man have been killed by a drunk driver, and they are able to save his other son by doing a transplant from the dying son. Corday is saddened to see Romano losing his career due to his arm amputation/reattachment. An even bigger blow hits Corday later during Season 10 when Robert Romano is killed in a helicopter accident. Later in the season, Dr. Corday is appointed to Chief of Surgery by Kerry Weaver.
In her love life, she has some trouble moving on and making the right choices. She begins a relationship with a charismatic surgeon, Dr. Dorset (Bruno Campos
), which quickly ends when she discovers that he is married. Later, she begins seeing two men at the same time, another doctor at County (Paul Blackthorne
) and a teacher (Steven Culp
).
In Season 11, in the episode Try Carter Corday is convinced by Dr. John Carter
to perform an illegal donation procedure between two HIV
positive patients. This results in her facing the possibility of her losing her license and being dismissed from the staff. Weaver offers her the position of a clinical instructor with no possibility of tenure or future promotion. With her career all but over at County, Corday quits her job and moves back to England
. Corday's final appearance as a series regular was in Season 11, episode 4 Fear. She is replaced as Chief of Surgery by Dr. Lucien Dubenko, whom she had been adamantly opposed to hiring at County in the first place.
a closet wall where all the past doctors and employees have put their locker name tags. Amongst them, the tag "Corday" can be seen.
Elizabeth Corday returned to ER
on January 15, 2009. Four years since her exit, she appears in a one-episode return billed as a special appearance. Dr. Corday reveals that she took a position as Chief of Trauma Surgery at Duke University
following a return to her native England. In the season 15 episode "Dream Runner," she returns to interview potential employees including the surprised Neela Rasgotra
for positions at the University. She revealed to Neela that she lived in England for a few years but came back, saying that Chicago is her "true home." During the interview, she mentions having considered returning to County General briefly, but decided against it. She briefly meets Dr. Simon Brenner
after finishing her interview with Neela.
In the series finale, she and Rachel meet up with Carter, Weaver, Susan, and Peter after the opening of Carter's project the Joshua Carter Center. After the reunion, Peter walks her to her car in a scene where the spark of their previous relationship and later friendship can be seen once more.
ER (TV series)
ER is an American medical drama television series created by novelist Michael Crichton that aired on NBC from September 19, 1994 to April 2, 2009. It was produced by Constant c Productions and Amblin Entertainment, in association with Warner Bros. Television...
. She was played by Alex Kingston
Alex Kingston
Alexandra Elizabeth "Alex" Kingston is an English actress. She is most widely known for her roles as Dr. Elizabeth Corday on the NBC medical drama ER and as River Song in Doctor Who.-Early life and education:...
and appeared from 1997 to 2004.
Background
First appearing at the opening of season four in the episode "AmbushAmbush
An ambush is a long-established military tactic, in which the aggressors take advantage of concealment and the element of surprise to attack an unsuspecting enemy from concealed positions, such as among dense underbrush or behind hilltops...
", Elizabeth Corday is an English surgeon who has moved to Chicago to gain more experience in trauma surgery. We learn in her first episode that she comes from a whole family of surgeons, Corday's grandfather was a surgeon, as is her father and, since there are no boys in her family, she took on that role. In a later episode we learn that her father is a top surgeon at St. Thomas' Hospital, London. Corday's mother (played by Judy Parfitt
Judy Parfitt
Judy Parfitt is a BAFTA-nominated English theatre, film and television actress who began her career on stage in 1954.-Life and work:...
) is an astrophysicist with whom she has a rather rocky relationship. Corday feels that her mother didn't spend enough time with her as a girl and that she was "raised by nannies and boarding schools", although she finds a more nuanced perspective on things once she becomes a mother herself. Though the two do seem to come to some kind of mutual agreement, the relationship is still strained.
Corday faces many problems in adjusting to the American way of life. In her first trauma, she completely baffles the rest of the staff by using lots of British terms not used in America - for example, she asks them to "bleep Benton" (page
Pager
A pager is a simple personal telecommunications device for short messages. A one-way numeric pager can only receive a message consisting of a few digits, typically a phone number that the user is then requested to call...
Dr. Peter Benton
Peter Benton
Dr. Peter Benton is a fictional character on the television series ER for its first eight seasons. He was played by Eriq La Salle. Benton was often portrayed as arrogant, irritable, or even hostile, but he is nevertheless an exceptionally talented surgeon who is passionate about medicine...
), order an "FBC" (US term "CBC
Complete blood count
A complete blood count , also known as full blood count or full blood exam or blood panel, is a test panel requested by a doctor or other medical professional that gives information about the cells in a patient's blood...
"), and perform a "tube thoracostomy" (US term "chest tube
Chest tube
A chest tube is a flexible plastic tube that is inserted through the side of the chest into the pleural space. It is used to remove air or fluid , or pus from the intrathoracic space...
"). She also introduces herself as "Miss Corday", as is customary for British surgeons, and not "Dr Corday". She becomes popular amongst the other staff though, both for her surgical competence and for her personality. She quickly gains a reputation for being unimpressed by status, for instance she greets one eminent surgeon, Dr. Sam Breedlove, with "I knew you were old but I didn't know you were so short!"
She becomes friends with many of the female ER staff, including Carol Hathaway
Carol Hathaway
Nurse Carol Ross is a fictional character on the popular television show ER, portrayed by Julianna Margulies from 1994 to 2000. Julianna Margulies' removal from the main cast opening credits was in the final episode of season 6....
and Dr. Anna del Amico
Anna Del Amico
Dr. Anna Del Amico is a fictional medical doctor from the television series ER. She was portrayed by Maria Bello.- Life and Time at County :Del Amico first appeared in the show in 1997, guest starring in the last 3 episodes of the third season...
; and later on Abby Lockhart
Abby Lockhart
Dr. Abby Lockhart is a fictional medical doctor on the television series ER. She is portrayed by Maura Tierney...
and Susan Lewis
Susan Lewis
Dr. Susan Lewis, played by Sherry Stringfield, is a fictional doctor on the television show ER between 1994–1996, and again from 2001-2005....
. Despite her arrogant and opinionated exterior, she has a deeply caring side to her - she is there to provide support at critical moments for both staff and patients alike. Despite their long and adversarial history, she supports Robert Romano
Robert Romano (ER)
Dr. Robert 'Rocket' Romano is a fictional character on the TV series ER. He was portrayed by Emmy-winning actor Paul McCrane. Paul McCrane's removal from the main cast opening credits was in the 9th episode of season 10....
through the ordeal with the loss of his arm; and similarly she overcomes her deep dislike of Kerry Weaver
Kerry Weaver
Dr. Kerry Weaver, portrayed by Laura Innes, was an fictional character on the NBC television series ER; she first appeared as a recurring character actor in season 2, and became a regular cast member in season 3. In January 2007, Innes left the show after 12 years and Kerry Weaver moved to...
to be supportive of her following the death of her lover Sandy Lopez, although they never really mend fences and this plays a large part in her exit from County.
Because of the strong ties she has made with Chicago, Corday decides to stay on after her fellowship is terminated, even though this means that she has to repeat her internship in order to get a license to practice in the United States during Season 5. This is a particularly trying time for her - she has to adjust to being at the bottom of the heap after enjoying so long at the top, and on top of that she is supervised initially by Dale Edson - described even by Romano as a weasel. During this time, she makes repeated attempts to become romantically involved with Benton, eventually succeeding. He even agrees to take over as her supervisor after a while. She faces further trouble when, at the end of a 36 hour shift, she makes a non-lethal mistake in calculating how much drug to inject into a patient. Fortunately, this doesn't put her off her stride, and she uses it to campaign for better conditions for junior medical staff. She also amicably ends her romantic relationship with Peter after that. However, the affair ends up haunting her later on when Dr. Maggie Doyle correctly accuses Dr. Romano of sexual harassment after he finds out she was gay and gives her a bad performance review; Elizabeth wants to go on the record to support Maggie's claims, but is forced to back down when Romano reveals he'd known she was dating Peter secretly while he was her supervisor.
After completing her internship at the end of Season 5, at the start of Season 6 Corday is offered the position of Associate Chief of Surgery by newly appointed Chief of Staff Romano, who announces the appointment without even asking her. She takes the job, however, and soon finds herself getting caught up in hospital politics.
In season 6, Corday saves the life of serial rapist and killer who starts to engage her in a series of mind games. When a victim's family wants to learn of their daughter's body's location, the killer manipulates Corday into euthanizing him in exchange for the location. At the last minute, Corday realizes that the killer was afraid of her for the power that she held over him and she spares his life, breaking his will and 'winning the game'.
Corday and Greene's marriage
Corday becomes romantically involved with Dr. Mark GreeneMark Greene
Dr. Mark Greene was a fictional medical doctor from the television series ER, portrayed by the actor Anthony Edwards. For most of his time on the series, Greene's role was that of a mediator and occasional authority figure, and he was considered the main character of the series for the first eight...
during season 5, and in season 7 finds out that she is pregnant with his child. They marry and name their daughter Ella.
However, Corday's marriage to Greene is difficult for both parties. Corday faces struggles at work after she is sued for allegedly rushing an operation (leading to paralysis of the patient), and her pregnancy is nearly compromised when she goes into labor whilst on scene at a train wreck. Greene is diagnosed with a terminal brain tumor
Brain tumor
A brain tumor is an intracranial solid neoplasm, a tumor within the brain or the central spinal canal.Brain tumors include all tumors inside the cranium or in the central spinal canal...
, but is given hope of a reprieve though, when Greene finds a surgeon in New York who can remove the tumor. Corday accompanies Greene to New York City and is present in the operating room for the procedure, by his side all the time. The couple later get married (after a series of glitches with the transport for both parties) and appear to be very happy. Corday is heavily pregnant at the time of the wedding, and gives birth to baby, Ella, a short time later.
This happiness is not maintained for very long, however - Greene's daughter Rachel (from his marriage to Jen) has by now grown from a nice child into a troublesome teenager. After falling out with Jen, Rachel moves in with Greene, Corday and baby Ella. Things are not much better for her there, though - she and Corday are constantly arguing, culminating eventually in Ella swallowing ecstasy that belonged to Rachel. Corday is so furious that she tells Rachel to leave the house, and after Mark refuses to send Rachel back to Jen, or press charges, Corday moves out instead, taking Ella with her.
When Susan Lewis returns to County General after five years, Corday seems to be at odds with her. She is cautious because of the relationship that Susan and Mark once had. Later on after Mark's death, she and Susan strike up a friendship.
At about the same time, Greene learns that the tumor has returned, and that this time it was inoperable. On hearing the news through a third party and getting a dose-of-reality talk from Romano, Corday decides to move back in with him and Rachel. Greene eventually leaves Chicago to spend his final days with his daughter in Hawaii. On the walk home after a day of surfing, Mark suffers a seizure and in a panic, Rachel calls Elizabeth, who arrives in Hawaii soon after with Ella. The four spend Mark's last few days bonding and overcoming obstacles. Corday tells Rachel after the funeral that it would be ok for her to visit her sister, and later on she does so and Elizabeth bemusedly helps Rachel acquire birth control pills when her stepdaughter shows up with her teenage boyfriend.
Aftermath
After Greene's death, Corday returns to England for several months, but she finds that she can no longer fit in because of her being in the States for so long, suffering bullying and sexist treatment at the hands of her British colleagues for her 'American' ways.Elizabeth returns to her job at County General soon after the start of season 9, where she becomes harsh with patients, curt with colleagues, and particularly clashes with Med Student Paul Nathan (Don Cheadle
Don Cheadle
Donald Frank "Don" Cheadle, Jr. is an American film actor and producer. Cheadle rose to prominence in the late 1990s and the early 2000s for his supporting roles in the Steven Soderbergh-directed films Out of Sight, Traffic, and Ocean's Eleven...
) who is trying to become a physician despite advancing Parkinson's Disease
Parkinson's disease
Parkinson's disease is a degenerative disorder of the central nervous system...
. Elizabeth later confronts her agony over Mark's death and also makes peace with Nathan during a horrifying case where the wife and son of a decent man have been killed by a drunk driver, and they are able to save his other son by doing a transplant from the dying son. Corday is saddened to see Romano losing his career due to his arm amputation/reattachment. An even bigger blow hits Corday later during Season 10 when Robert Romano is killed in a helicopter accident. Later in the season, Dr. Corday is appointed to Chief of Surgery by Kerry Weaver.
In her love life, she has some trouble moving on and making the right choices. She begins a relationship with a charismatic surgeon, Dr. Dorset (Bruno Campos
Bruno Campos
Bruno Campos is a Brazilian-born United States-based actor, best known for his role as Dr. Quentin Costa on the Golden Globe Award-winning television show Nip/Tuck.-Early life:...
), which quickly ends when she discovers that he is married. Later, she begins seeing two men at the same time, another doctor at County (Paul Blackthorne
Paul Blackthorne
Paul Blackthorne is a British actor on film, television and radio. Although born in Shropshire, England, he spent his early childhood on British Military bases in both England and Germany. Blackthorne broke into acting via television commercials in England...
) and a teacher (Steven Culp
Steven Culp
Steven Bradford Culp is an American film and television actor, best known for his roles as Rex Van de Kamp in the television series Desperate Housewives and CIA Agent Clayton Webb in JAG.-Early life:...
).
In Season 11, in the episode Try Carter Corday is convinced by Dr. John Carter
John Carter (ER)
Dr. John Truman Carter III, portrayed by Noah Wyle, is a fictional character from the television series ER. The character, called simply "Carter" by most other characters, was introduced in the pilot episode and appeared for eleven consecutive seasons. Wyle decided to leave the show as a regular...
to perform an illegal donation procedure between two HIV
HIV
Human immunodeficiency virus is a lentivirus that causes acquired immunodeficiency syndrome , a condition in humans in which progressive failure of the immune system allows life-threatening opportunistic infections and cancers to thrive...
positive patients. This results in her facing the possibility of her losing her license and being dismissed from the staff. Weaver offers her the position of a clinical instructor with no possibility of tenure or future promotion. With her career all but over at County, Corday quits her job and moves back to England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. Corday's final appearance as a series regular was in Season 11, episode 4 Fear. She is replaced as Chief of Surgery by Dr. Lucien Dubenko, whom she had been adamantly opposed to hiring at County in the first place.
After County General
During the 15th and final season of ER, at the end of the episode The Book of Abby, long-serving nurse Haleh Adams shows the departing Abby LockhartAbby Lockhart
Dr. Abby Lockhart is a fictional medical doctor on the television series ER. She is portrayed by Maura Tierney...
a closet wall where all the past doctors and employees have put their locker name tags. Amongst them, the tag "Corday" can be seen.
Elizabeth Corday returned to ER
ER (TV series)
ER is an American medical drama television series created by novelist Michael Crichton that aired on NBC from September 19, 1994 to April 2, 2009. It was produced by Constant c Productions and Amblin Entertainment, in association with Warner Bros. Television...
on January 15, 2009. Four years since her exit, she appears in a one-episode return billed as a special appearance. Dr. Corday reveals that she took a position as Chief of Trauma Surgery at Duke University
Duke University
Duke University is a private research university located in Durham, North Carolina, United States. Founded by Methodists and Quakers in the present day town of Trinity in 1838, the school moved to Durham in 1892. In 1924, tobacco industrialist James B...
following a return to her native England. In the season 15 episode "Dream Runner," she returns to interview potential employees including the surprised Neela Rasgotra
Neela Rasgotra
Dr. Neela Rasgotra is a fictional character portrayed by Parminder Nagra on the television show ER. Following the departure of Goran Visnjic, Maura Tierney, and Mekhi Phifer this left Nagra as the longest term cast member on ER and it also made her character the show's main character so, in terms...
for positions at the University. She revealed to Neela that she lived in England for a few years but came back, saying that Chicago is her "true home." During the interview, she mentions having considered returning to County General briefly, but decided against it. She briefly meets Dr. Simon Brenner
Simon Brenner
Dr. Simon Brenner is a fictional character portrayed by David Lyons on the television show ER.-Life at County General:Brenner was introduced as a new ER attending physician, first seen in bed with two women before arriving for his first shift. His character is superficially very charming,...
after finishing her interview with Neela.
In the series finale, she and Rachel meet up with Carter, Weaver, Susan, and Peter after the opening of Carter's project the Joshua Carter Center. After the reunion, Peter walks her to her car in a scene where the spark of their previous relationship and later friendship can be seen once more.
External links
- Bio at TNT.com
- Official ER website at NBC.com