Thirteen (House)
Encyclopedia
Remy "Thirteen" Hadley, M.D.
, is a fictional character
on the Fox medical drama
House
, portrayed by Olivia Wilde
. She is part of the new diagnostic team assembled by Dr. Gregory House
after the disbanding of his previous team in the third season finale. The character's nickname derives from the episode "The Right Stuff
", when she is assigned the number during a competition for her position at the Princeton-Plainsboro Teaching Hospital.
The show depicts Thirteen as a secretive character who does not divulge personal information; her surname was not used on the show until the fourth season's penultimate episode "House's Head
", nor her given name until the fifth season episode "Emancipation
". Instead, several of the character's traits are implied before they are depicted as true. In the season four episode "You Don't Want to Know
", Thirteen tells House that her mother died from Huntington's disease
; a test she performs several episodes later confirms she carries the gene. After hints were given regarding her character's sexuality, actress Olivia Wilde confirmed that her character is indeed bisexual. This is confirmed by Foreman in the episode "Don't Ever Change".
", when she tells House her mother died from Huntington's disease
, but she does not wish to know if she carries the gene. Not knowing, she explains, allows her to summon the bravery to do things she thinks she cannot do. House surreptitiously obtains a sample of her DNA and has screening performed, but in the end throws out the unopened envelope containing the results. The season four finale
reveals she does indeed have the dominant mutation for Huntington's.
In the fifth episode of the fifth season, "Lucky Thirteen
", Thirteen says that her Huntington's is more aggressive because the generation that received the gene has more repeats of the CAG triplet of the previous generation, greatly decreasing her life expectancy
and hastening the onset of symptoms. She exhibits self-destructive behavior, using recreational drugs and having repeated one-night stands. House fires her for recklessness but eventually rehires her. Thirteen continues to exhibit self-destructive behavior, which climaxes in the ninth episode "Last Resort
" when she risks her life to test medication for a man who took the hospital clinic hostage.
", Thirteen says she went to Newton North High School
while playing "Truth or Dare?
" with Wilson. In "Epic Fail
", Thirteen reveals she attended Sarah Lawrence College
. In "97 Seconds
", she correctly diagnoses a collapsing and disabled patient with Strongyloides, and treats him with ivermectin, but the patient fails to take the pills because his mobility assistance dog
eats them, causing the death of not only the patient but the dog as well. House chastises her about not supervising the patient taking the medicine, but does not fire her because he feels she will not make the same mistake again. At the end of the fellowship competition, Cuddy tells House that, since he already has Eric Foreman on his team, he may only hire two additional people, so House fires Thirteen and Amber, claiming fellow applicants Chris Taub
and Lawrence Kutner outperformed her, and that if he could keep Thirteen, he would. Cuddy overrules House's decision, forcing him to accept a woman into the fellowship to create a team of four diagnosticians, realizing only a minute later that this had been House's plan from the start.
At the end of the fourth season, Thirteen is diagnosed as having the mutated Huntington gene. After nearly dying from a medicine overdose in "Last Resort", she asks Foreman to admit her to his Huntington's drug trial. Several episodes later, the couple embark on a relationship, which affects Foreman's professional judgment to the extent that he fixes the drug trial, which causes serious side-effects in Thirteen. Foreman almost loses his medical license in the process and resulting in House ordering the couple to break up. The couple fake a split and continue their relationship in secret, but come public after House discovers they are still seeing each other. As Foreman takes his position after House quits, he fires Thirteen in "Epic Fail
" in order to save their relationship, but they end up breaking up as a result.
In the sixth season episode "Instant Karma
", Thirteen buys a one-way ticket to Bangkok, Thailand and is seen boarding the plane at the end of the episode despite Wilson's attempts to prevent her from leaving, in order to convince Thirteen she is the only person on the team that House has not treated badly or manipulated, and that he needs her. In the episode, "Teamwork
", Thirteen eventually returns to House's Team with Chase, Taub, and Foreman.
In "Lockdown
", the seventeenth episode of season six, Thirteen says she attended "Newton North," the shortened name used to refer to Newton North High School
in Newton, Massachusetts
. Interestingly, this is the high school that Anne Dudek
, the actress that played Amber during the 4th and 5th seasons, attended.
In one scene of the Season 6 episode "The Choice
," Thirteen has trouble controlling the hand that holds her drink, an indication that her condition is starting to worsen. She subsequently requests a leave of absence in the season finale "Help Me
," citing personal reasons.
As House and Cuddy skip work the day following the season 6 finale, Thirteen is stuck at the hospital until House returns. Chase briefly proposes having sex with her, who, in turn, is skeptical. In the Season 7 premiere, Foreman finds information about a Huntington's drug trial in, and flight info for, Rome, leading Foreman, Chase, and Taub to believe she is going there. But she disappears without saying goodbye. Foreman then discovers that all those clues about Rome were purposely planted by Thirteen as a red herring, and no one knows where she went, or why.
Thirteen returns in the show's 150th episode, "The Dig," in which it is revealed that she has been in prison for the past six months and grew up in West Virginia. Thirteen reveals to House that she had a brother who developed Huntington's; she helped kill him in order to end his suffering
. House later tells Thirteen that he is willing to euthanize her if she wants him to do so, once her health deteriorates severely enough.
In the following episode, a unknown woman arrives at Thirteen's apartment, with a serious wound to her abdomen. It is revealed that she is Thirteen's old cell mate when she was in prison. She requests that Thirteen helps her, with the added request she does not take her to hospital as she will be found and presumably taken back to prison. Due to the fact she cannot be taken to hospital, Thirteen phones Chase
to help. She requests he brings certain medication and medical equipment, to which Chase agrees and brings to Thirteen's apartment. Upon arrival, he noticed that the woman needs serious medical attention. Thirteen explains that she can't go to the hospital and treating her here will have to suffice. As the woman's condition deteriorates, Chase is adamant they need to get her to a hospital, but Thirteen still refuses, saying she promised she wouldn't take her there. A scuffle emerges as Chase tries to get access to the patient in order to take her to hospital, to which he forcefully pushes Thirteen out of the way; banging her head with great force on the floor. Upon arrival at the hospital, the woman awakes to find she has been treated fully, but is handcuffed to the bed; Thirteen has turned her in. Thirteen apologises, to which her friend starts to lash out, saying she only used Thirteen in prison to have someone to talk to. Thirteen regretfully walks away.
In "Charity Case
," Thirteen was called in once more by House to help solve a case. Thirteen then decided she wanted to help people again and joined the team once more. In the end, House saw that Thirteen was happy with her girlfriend and fired her once and for all so she can live out her last days being happy.
(Taub
), Kal Penn
(Kutner), and Anne Dudek
(Amber Volakis), Wilde did not know which character would be cut until the actors were given the scripts. Producers watched to see how the actors developed their characters and interacted. Wilde thought this technique improved the acting during the "Games" story arc. However, the story arc inspired a spirit of camaraderie between the actors instead of competition, due to the high-profile roles. While Thirteen's name was originally intended to be revealed during the story arc, the production team decided against doing so. Thirteen's actual name was replaced on all documents, including the call sheets, with the word "Thirteen" to further the in-joke in the show's narrative between House and Thirteen that he could simply check her file to find out her name. Wilde describes her character as a "big bowl of secrets" in stark comparison to her own openness.
Thirteen's sexuality was initially written ambiguously: Foreman and House suggested she is bisexual
; and Thirteen herself hints that she is bisexual. In response to the ambiguity, Wilde confirmed in July 2008 that her character is bisexual, the second time she has played a bisexual character (the first being on The O.C.
as Alex Kelly). On the show, jokes are made to the character being bisexual, such as Dr. House referring to her as "Thirty-one", and saying "oh, I'm sorry – I thought that either way was good with you". Thirteen is very comfortable with her sexuality.
Thirteen has been compared, sometimes negatively, with Allison Cameron
, the previous female diagnostician. Wilde described Thirteen as "almost the opposite" of Cameron, who is "compassionate and emotional", and attributed the comparisons to the similarity in the tasks that House delegates to both characters, and that "with two girls on a show, people are always going to compare them. Thirteen resists handing her trust to people, and has proven herself to be a rather difficult person."
Although the producers gave the character a full name, and told Olivia Wilde what it was, they chose to keep it a secret from the viewers as part of the ongoing relationship between the character and House. Before the character's official name was revealed, none of the actors, besides Wilde herself, knew the character's name, due to it having disappeared from call sheets and from around the set. In episode 11 of season five ("Joy to the World"), she reveals she is called Remy, when she goes to get a patient dropping out and with whom she shared an experimental treatment for Huntington's disease.
In later season five episodes, the character refers to herself as Dr. Hadley, and so do other doctors.
In an interview with The Star-Ledger
, however, David Shore
commented that he will not be using Thirteen's real name too often, because "she will always be Thirteen".
In the Season 6 episode The Down Low
, a fake pay stub shows Thirteen's middle name to be "Beauregard", though it is uncertain if that is actually her middle name.
Doctor of Medicine
Doctor of Medicine is a doctoral degree for physicians. The degree is granted by medical schools...
, is a fictional character
Fictional character
A character is the representation of a person in a narrative work of art . Derived from the ancient Greek word kharaktêr , the earliest use in English, in this sense, dates from the Restoration, although it became widely used after its appearance in Tom Jones in 1749. From this, the sense of...
on the Fox medical drama
Medical drama
A medical drama is a television program, in which events center upon a hospital, an ambulance staff, or any medical environment.In the United States, most medical episodes are one hour long and, more often than not, are set in a hospital. Most current medical Dramatic programming go beyond the...
House
House (TV series)
House is an American television medical drama that debuted on the Fox network on November 16, 2004. The show's central character is Dr. Gregory House , an unconventional and misanthropic medical genius who heads a team of diagnosticians at the fictional Princeton-Plainsboro Teaching Hospital in...
, portrayed by Olivia Wilde
Olivia Wilde
Olivia Wilde is an American actress and fashion model. She began acting in the early 2000s, and has since appeared in a number of film and television parts, including roles in the serial-drama The O.C. and The Black Donnellys. She portrayed Dr...
. She is part of the new diagnostic team assembled by Dr. Gregory House
Gregory House
Gregory House, M.D., or simply referred to as House, is a fictional antihero and title character of the American television series House, played by Hugh Laurie. He is the Chief of Diagnostic Medicine at the fictional Princeton-Plainsboro Teaching Hospital, where he leads a team of diagnosticians...
after the disbanding of his previous team in the third season finale. The character's nickname derives from the episode "The Right Stuff
The Right Stuff (House)
"The Right Stuff" is the second episode of the fourth season of House and the seventy-second episode overall.-Plot:A pilot, Captain Greta Cooper , is flying in on a United States Air Force mission when she sees lightning and the landscape suddenly turns into strange colors on her...
", when she is assigned the number during a competition for her position at the Princeton-Plainsboro Teaching Hospital.
The show depicts Thirteen as a secretive character who does not divulge personal information; her surname was not used on the show until the fourth season's penultimate episode "House's Head
House's Head
"House's Head" is the fifteenth episode of the fourth season of House and the eighty-fifth episode overall. It was the first part of the two-part season four finale, the second part being "Wilson's Heart". Co-written by several House producers and directed by Greg Yaitanes, "House's Head" premiered...
", nor her given name until the fifth season episode "Emancipation
Emancipation (House)
"Emancipation" is the eighth episode of the fifth season of House and the ninety-fourth episode overall. It aired on November 18, 2008.- Plot :...
". Instead, several of the character's traits are implied before they are depicted as true. In the season four episode "You Don't Want to Know
You Don't Want to Know
"You Don't Want To Know" is the eighth episode of the fourth season of the American TV drama House and the seventy-eighth episode overall. It aired on November 20, 2007. It is notable for the fact that despite the fact that 'It's not lupus - it's never lupus' is a phrase often used to the point of...
", Thirteen tells House that her mother died from Huntington's disease
Huntington's disease
Huntington's disease, chorea, or disorder , is a neurodegenerative genetic disorder that affects muscle coordination and leads to cognitive decline and dementia. It typically becomes noticeable in middle age. HD is the most common genetic cause of abnormal involuntary writhing movements called chorea...
; a test she performs several episodes later confirms she carries the gene. After hints were given regarding her character's sexuality, actress Olivia Wilde confirmed that her character is indeed bisexual. This is confirmed by Foreman in the episode "Don't Ever Change".
Characterization
Thirteen is reluctant to reveal information about herself, creating an air of mystery which is partially the reason for House's interest at the beginning. Early on, House tries to guess what her 'big secret' might be, such as asking if she is the "daughter of an alcoholic father". In "Mirror Mirror", a patient who mirrors the most dominant personality he is with, describes himself as "scared" when alone with her. She hints her secret in the eighth episode of the fourth season, "You Don't Want to KnowYou Don't Want to Know
"You Don't Want To Know" is the eighth episode of the fourth season of the American TV drama House and the seventy-eighth episode overall. It aired on November 20, 2007. It is notable for the fact that despite the fact that 'It's not lupus - it's never lupus' is a phrase often used to the point of...
", when she tells House her mother died from Huntington's disease
Huntington's disease
Huntington's disease, chorea, or disorder , is a neurodegenerative genetic disorder that affects muscle coordination and leads to cognitive decline and dementia. It typically becomes noticeable in middle age. HD is the most common genetic cause of abnormal involuntary writhing movements called chorea...
, but she does not wish to know if she carries the gene. Not knowing, she explains, allows her to summon the bravery to do things she thinks she cannot do. House surreptitiously obtains a sample of her DNA and has screening performed, but in the end throws out the unopened envelope containing the results. The season four finale
Wilson's Heart
"Wilson's Heart" is the sixteenth episode and season finale of the fourth season of House and the eighty-sixth episode overall. It aired on May 19, 2008...
reveals she does indeed have the dominant mutation for Huntington's.
In the fifth episode of the fifth season, "Lucky Thirteen
Lucky Thirteen (House)
"Lucky Thirteen" is the fifth episode of the fifth season of House and the ninety-first episode overall. It aired on October 21, 2008.-Plot:...
", Thirteen says that her Huntington's is more aggressive because the generation that received the gene has more repeats of the CAG triplet of the previous generation, greatly decreasing her life expectancy
Life expectancy
Life expectancy is the expected number of years of life remaining at a given age. It is denoted by ex, which means the average number of subsequent years of life for someone now aged x, according to a particular mortality experience...
and hastening the onset of symptoms. She exhibits self-destructive behavior, using recreational drugs and having repeated one-night stands. House fires her for recklessness but eventually rehires her. Thirteen continues to exhibit self-destructive behavior, which climaxes in the ninth episode "Last Resort
Last Resort (House)
"Last Resort" is the ninth episode of the fifth season of House and the ninety-fifth episode overall. It aired on November 25, 2008. This episode is an "extended episode" as it runs for an extra seven minutes , taking the total episode's length without ads to 50 minutes.-Plot:A gun-wielding man...
" when she risks her life to test medication for a man who took the hospital clinic hostage.
Character history
In "LockdownLockdown (House)
"Lockdown" is the seventeenth episode of the sixth season of the American medical drama House. It aired on April 12, 2010. This episode also marks the directorial debut of Hugh Laurie on the show....
", Thirteen says she went to Newton North High School
Newton North High School
Newton North High School, formerly Newton High School, is the larger and longer-established of two public high schools in Newton, Massachusetts, with about 2,000 students, the other being Newton South High School. It is located in the village of Newtonville...
while playing "Truth or Dare?
Truth or Dare?
Truth or Dare? is a party game requiring a minimum of two players. The game is very popular with adolescents and children, but is also played by some adults and seniors.-Rules:...
" with Wilson. In "Epic Fail
Epic Fail (House)
"Epic Fail" is the third episode of the sixth season of House. It first aired on September 28, 2009.-Plot:Players in a video game known as SavageScape battle ferocious creatures. After the game ends, the testers find their boss, Vince Pearson, claiming that his hands are "on fire." House walks into...
", Thirteen reveals she attended Sarah Lawrence College
Sarah Lawrence College
Sarah Lawrence College is a private liberal arts college in the United States, and a leader in progressive education since its founding in 1926. Located just 30 minutes north of Midtown Manhattan in southern Westchester County, New York, in the city of Yonkers, this coeducational college offers...
. In "97 Seconds
97 Seconds
"97 Seconds" is the third episode of the fourth season of House and the seventy-third episode overall. It aired on October 9, 2007.The primary patient in "97 Seconds" is a man with spinal muscular atrophy who develops symptoms that could be related to his SMA or something else.However, the title...
", she correctly diagnoses a collapsing and disabled patient with Strongyloides, and treats him with ivermectin, but the patient fails to take the pills because his mobility assistance dog
Mobility assistance dog
A mobility assistance dog is a service dog trained to assist a physically disabled person. Among other tasks, they are commonly trained to pick up objects, open and close doors, and operate light switches...
eats them, causing the death of not only the patient but the dog as well. House chastises her about not supervising the patient taking the medicine, but does not fire her because he feels she will not make the same mistake again. At the end of the fellowship competition, Cuddy tells House that, since he already has Eric Foreman on his team, he may only hire two additional people, so House fires Thirteen and Amber, claiming fellow applicants Chris Taub
Chris Taub
Christopher Michael "Chris" Taub, M.D., is a fictional character on the Fox medical drama House. He is portrayed by Peter Jacobson. He becomes a member of House's new diagnostic team in the Season 4 episode titled "Games".-Professional life:...
and Lawrence Kutner outperformed her, and that if he could keep Thirteen, he would. Cuddy overrules House's decision, forcing him to accept a woman into the fellowship to create a team of four diagnosticians, realizing only a minute later that this had been House's plan from the start.
At the end of the fourth season, Thirteen is diagnosed as having the mutated Huntington gene. After nearly dying from a medicine overdose in "Last Resort", she asks Foreman to admit her to his Huntington's drug trial. Several episodes later, the couple embark on a relationship, which affects Foreman's professional judgment to the extent that he fixes the drug trial, which causes serious side-effects in Thirteen. Foreman almost loses his medical license in the process and resulting in House ordering the couple to break up. The couple fake a split and continue their relationship in secret, but come public after House discovers they are still seeing each other. As Foreman takes his position after House quits, he fires Thirteen in "Epic Fail
Epic Fail (House)
"Epic Fail" is the third episode of the sixth season of House. It first aired on September 28, 2009.-Plot:Players in a video game known as SavageScape battle ferocious creatures. After the game ends, the testers find their boss, Vince Pearson, claiming that his hands are "on fire." House walks into...
" in order to save their relationship, but they end up breaking up as a result.
In the sixth season episode "Instant Karma
Instant Karma (House)
"Instant Karma" is the fifth episode of the sixth season of House. It aired on October 12, 2009. The title is a reference to the 1970 John Lennon song Instant Karma!- Plot :...
", Thirteen buys a one-way ticket to Bangkok, Thailand and is seen boarding the plane at the end of the episode despite Wilson's attempts to prevent her from leaving, in order to convince Thirteen she is the only person on the team that House has not treated badly or manipulated, and that he needs her. In the episode, "Teamwork
Teamwork (House)
"Teamwork" is the seventh episode of the sixth season of House. It aired on November 16, 2009. This episode marks the departure of Jennifer Morrison from the series, since it was stated by Fox that Cameron's character would be written out of the series by the middle of season six.-Plot:After...
", Thirteen eventually returns to House's Team with Chase, Taub, and Foreman.
In "Lockdown
Lockdown (House)
"Lockdown" is the seventeenth episode of the sixth season of the American medical drama House. It aired on April 12, 2010. This episode also marks the directorial debut of Hugh Laurie on the show....
", the seventeenth episode of season six, Thirteen says she attended "Newton North," the shortened name used to refer to Newton North High School
Newton North High School
Newton North High School, formerly Newton High School, is the larger and longer-established of two public high schools in Newton, Massachusetts, with about 2,000 students, the other being Newton South High School. It is located in the village of Newtonville...
in Newton, Massachusetts
Newton, Massachusetts
Newton is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States bordered to the east by Boston. According to the 2010 U.S. Census, the population of Newton was 85,146, making it the eleventh largest city in the state.-Villages:...
. Interestingly, this is the high school that Anne Dudek
Anne Dudek
Anne Louise Dudek is an American actress, known for her role as Dr. Amber Volakis on the television show House and her leading role on UK television series The Book Group as well as playing Francine Hanson in the series Mad Men...
, the actress that played Amber during the 4th and 5th seasons, attended.
In one scene of the Season 6 episode "The Choice
The Choice (House)
"The Choice" is the twentieth episode of the sixth season of the American medical drama House and it is the 130th episode overall. It aired on May 3, 2010. It was written by David Hoselton and directed by Juan J. Campanella...
," Thirteen has trouble controlling the hand that holds her drink, an indication that her condition is starting to worsen. She subsequently requests a leave of absence in the season finale "Help Me
Help Me (House)
"Help Me" is the twenty-second episode and season finale of the sixth season of the American medical drama House. It first aired on May 17, 2010. The episode covers a crane collapse in which House tries to save one of the victims, Hanna, who is trapped in rubble...
," citing personal reasons.
As House and Cuddy skip work the day following the season 6 finale, Thirteen is stuck at the hospital until House returns. Chase briefly proposes having sex with her, who, in turn, is skeptical. In the Season 7 premiere, Foreman finds information about a Huntington's drug trial in, and flight info for, Rome, leading Foreman, Chase, and Taub to believe she is going there. But she disappears without saying goodbye. Foreman then discovers that all those clues about Rome were purposely planted by Thirteen as a red herring, and no one knows where she went, or why.
Thirteen returns in the show's 150th episode, "The Dig," in which it is revealed that she has been in prison for the past six months and grew up in West Virginia. Thirteen reveals to House that she had a brother who developed Huntington's; she helped kill him in order to end his suffering
Euthanasia
Euthanasia refers to the practice of intentionally ending a life in order to relieve pain and suffering....
. House later tells Thirteen that he is willing to euthanize her if she wants him to do so, once her health deteriorates severely enough.
In the following episode, a unknown woman arrives at Thirteen's apartment, with a serious wound to her abdomen. It is revealed that she is Thirteen's old cell mate when she was in prison. She requests that Thirteen helps her, with the added request she does not take her to hospital as she will be found and presumably taken back to prison. Due to the fact she cannot be taken to hospital, Thirteen phones Chase
Chase
-Corporations:* JPMorgan Chase, a financial services firm** Chase , usually styled as "CHASE", the consumer and commercial banking subsidiary of JPMorgan Chase-Music:* Chase * Chase * "Chase"...
to help. She requests he brings certain medication and medical equipment, to which Chase agrees and brings to Thirteen's apartment. Upon arrival, he noticed that the woman needs serious medical attention. Thirteen explains that she can't go to the hospital and treating her here will have to suffice. As the woman's condition deteriorates, Chase is adamant they need to get her to a hospital, but Thirteen still refuses, saying she promised she wouldn't take her there. A scuffle emerges as Chase tries to get access to the patient in order to take her to hospital, to which he forcefully pushes Thirteen out of the way; banging her head with great force on the floor. Upon arrival at the hospital, the woman awakes to find she has been treated fully, but is handcuffed to the bed; Thirteen has turned her in. Thirteen apologises, to which her friend starts to lash out, saying she only used Thirteen in prison to have someone to talk to. Thirteen regretfully walks away.
In "Charity Case
Charity Case
"Charity Case" is the third episode of the eighth season of the American television medical drama series House and the 158th overall episode of the series. It aired on Fox Network in the United States on October 17, 2011...
," Thirteen was called in once more by House to help solve a case. Thirteen then decided she wanted to help people again and joined the team once more. In the end, House saw that Thirteen was happy with her girlfriend and fired her once and for all so she can live out her last days being happy.
Concept and creation
Along with fellow actors Peter JacobsonPeter Jacobson
Peter S. Jacobson is an American film and television actor.-Life and career:Jacobson was born to a Jewish family in Chicago, Illinois, the son of Chicago news anchor Walter Jacobson. He is a graduate of Brown University and Juilliard...
(Taub
Chris Taub
Christopher Michael "Chris" Taub, M.D., is a fictional character on the Fox medical drama House. He is portrayed by Peter Jacobson. He becomes a member of House's new diagnostic team in the Season 4 episode titled "Games".-Professional life:...
), Kal Penn
Kal Penn
Kalpen Suresh Modi , best known by his stage name Kal Penn, is an American film and television actor, producer, and civil servant....
(Kutner), and Anne Dudek
Anne Dudek
Anne Louise Dudek is an American actress, known for her role as Dr. Amber Volakis on the television show House and her leading role on UK television series The Book Group as well as playing Francine Hanson in the series Mad Men...
(Amber Volakis), Wilde did not know which character would be cut until the actors were given the scripts. Producers watched to see how the actors developed their characters and interacted. Wilde thought this technique improved the acting during the "Games" story arc. However, the story arc inspired a spirit of camaraderie between the actors instead of competition, due to the high-profile roles. While Thirteen's name was originally intended to be revealed during the story arc, the production team decided against doing so. Thirteen's actual name was replaced on all documents, including the call sheets, with the word "Thirteen" to further the in-joke in the show's narrative between House and Thirteen that he could simply check her file to find out her name. Wilde describes her character as a "big bowl of secrets" in stark comparison to her own openness.
Thirteen's sexuality was initially written ambiguously: Foreman and House suggested she is bisexual
Bisexuality
Bisexuality is sexual behavior or an orientation involving physical or romantic attraction to both males and females, especially with regard to men and women. It is one of the three main classifications of sexual orientation, along with a heterosexual and a homosexual orientation, all a part of the...
; and Thirteen herself hints that she is bisexual. In response to the ambiguity, Wilde confirmed in July 2008 that her character is bisexual, the second time she has played a bisexual character (the first being on The O.C.
The O.C.
The O.C. is an American teen drama television series that originally aired on the Fox television network in the United States from August 5, 2003, to February 21, 2007, running a total of four seasons...
as Alex Kelly). On the show, jokes are made to the character being bisexual, such as Dr. House referring to her as "Thirty-one", and saying "oh, I'm sorry – I thought that either way was good with you". Thirteen is very comfortable with her sexuality.
Thirteen has been compared, sometimes negatively, with Allison Cameron
Allison Cameron (House)
Allison Cameron, M.D., is a fictional character on the Fox medical drama House, portrayed by American actress Jennifer Morrison. An immunologist, Cameron was a member of Dr...
, the previous female diagnostician. Wilde described Thirteen as "almost the opposite" of Cameron, who is "compassionate and emotional", and attributed the comparisons to the similarity in the tasks that House delegates to both characters, and that "with two girls on a show, people are always going to compare them. Thirteen resists handing her trust to people, and has proven herself to be a rather difficult person."
Name
The name "Thirteen" comes from the character's introduction: House assigned numbers to her and others during an extended competition for the job and persistently used it in reference to her; she did not correct him with her real name, and the nickname stuck. As such, the name implies "the number Thirteen". Such implications may be less pronounced in other languages and for example in television broadcasted Russian translations the nickname became "Тринадцатая", or, literally, "Thirteenth" (both in Novamedia version and Universal Channel Russia version).Although the producers gave the character a full name, and told Olivia Wilde what it was, they chose to keep it a secret from the viewers as part of the ongoing relationship between the character and House. Before the character's official name was revealed, none of the actors, besides Wilde herself, knew the character's name, due to it having disappeared from call sheets and from around the set. In episode 11 of season five ("Joy to the World"), she reveals she is called Remy, when she goes to get a patient dropping out and with whom she shared an experimental treatment for Huntington's disease.
In later season five episodes, the character refers to herself as Dr. Hadley, and so do other doctors.
In an interview with The Star-Ledger
The Star-Ledger
The Star-Ledger is the largest circulated newspaper in the U.S. state of New Jersey and is based in Newark. It is a sister paper to The Jersey Journal of Jersey City, The Times of Trenton and the Staten Island Advance, all of which are owned by Advance Publications.The Newark Star-Ledgers daily...
, however, David Shore
David Shore
David Shore is a Canadian writer, best known for his work writing and producing in television. As a former lawyer, Shore became known for his work on Family Law, NYPD Blue, and Due South...
commented that he will not be using Thirteen's real name too often, because "she will always be Thirteen".
In the Season 6 episode The Down Low
The Down Low
"The Down Low" is the eleventh episode of the sixth season of House. It aired on January 11, 2010.- Plot :When drug dealer Mickey mysteriously collapses while negotiating a sale, his partner-in-crime, Eddie , accompanies him to Princeton Plainsboro for treatment...
, a fake pay stub shows Thirteen's middle name to be "Beauregard", though it is uncertain if that is actually her middle name.