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Gillian Foster
Gfoster 1
Dr. Gillian Foster
Character info
Portrayed by Kelli Williams
Gender Female
First Seen Pilot
Last Seen N/A

Early Life[]

Little is known canonically about Gillian Foster's personal life. Before the show began, she had married Alec Foster and attempted to adopt a baby with him - a little girl named Sophie. They only made it to day 57, however, before the birth mother changed her mind; she'd been given 60 days to do so. This, amongst other issues like Alec's drug addiction, eventually led to the breakdown of their relationship. They divorced.

About her childhood, we know that Gillian's father had an alcohol problem, and then spent her teenage and adult years trying to make it up to her.

She excelled in her education, earning a PhD in psychology. She worked for the Pentagon for several years before being hired by Cal Lightman to join his Lightman Group as a business partner.

Appearance[]

Gillian has light brown hair usually cut short to frame a soft, heart-shaped face; most often it is parted to the side and wavy. Her big, bright eyes are a soft green, sometimes gray in certain lights. Her features are soft with light, natural makeup and thin pink lips. Standing at 5'5", Gillian is a slender but fit woman

Personality[]

TBA. 

On Lie to Me[]

Gillian is the Lightman Group's resident psychologist. She is also Cal Lightman's love interest.  

Relationships[]

Alec Foster[]

Alec and Gillian had a loving relationship, even attempting to adopt a baby, Sophie, before the show's Pilot. The adoption fell through when the birth mother requested for the child's return at the very last second.  

It was shown several times on the show that he is lying to Gillian about something, and that Cal knows, much to Torres' dismay. However, it is shown that he is not unfaithful, as originally thought, and instead had relapsed back into doing drugs (cocaine). On screen, Gillian and Alec's relationship continues to appear more strained and tense. They later divorced. 

Cal Lightman[]

Gillian met Cal while they both still worked for the Pentagon and he was assigned to her for a psychological analysis. Even before she had her first session with him, she was attracted to the idea of his science and deception detection pursuits. Their initial meetings, chaotic and stained with tension due to current circumstances, ended up breeding a sort of mutual respect and gravitational pull between the two.  

Years later, when Cal started the Lightman Group, he took Gillian on as his business partner. Their relationship grew closer and more intimate from then on; and despite the affection for each other constantly simmering beneath the surface of their dynamic, neither of them crossed the line. This was often upheld more from Gillian's side than Cal's, and it was due to several reasons. These included their professional relationship, Gillian being married initially to Alec Foster before divorcing him, the risk of damaging the dynamic they did already have by engaging in something further, etc. By the end of Season 3, Cal admitted aloud that he was indeed in love with Gillian but didn't know why he never acted on it. It is implied that Gillian feels the same way about him.  

Trivia[]

  • This character is based on Dr. Maureen O'Sullivan, a psychology professor at the University of San Francisco who helped Paul Ekman (on whom Cal Lightman is based) in the discovery of microexpressions and the creation of The Paul Ekman Group. Foster's character is mild-tempered and almost saintly. She is very motherly especially to Lightman.

Gallery[]

Characters of the Lie to Me Series
Main Characters
Dr. Cal LightmanDr. Gillian FosterEli LokerRia TorresEmily LightmanBen Reynolds
Recurring Characters
Zoe LandauKarl DupreeAlec Foster
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