Sookie Stackhouse is a fictional character and protagonist of The Southern Vampire Mysteries book series, written by Charlaine Harris. In HBO's television adaptation, True Blood, Sookie is portrayed by Anna Paquin.
Creation and casting
Sookie was created by Charlaine Harris. Harris stated that she decided to "shake up my writing style by trying something new". The author said that to do this she would include "all the elements I loved: mystery, the supernatural, bloody adventure, and a dash of romance. And since people had told me for years that I had a great sense of humor, I thought it would be interesting to try to include that in the book, too". Harris went on to establish the protagonist of the series. When naming the character Harris decided to use her grandmother's best friend's name because "it was a fine old Southern nickname, I thought it would do well for my heroine. And "Stackhouse" just flowed right after it". Sookie, Sooky, Sukie, Sukey, Sook etc. are historical Southern U.S. regional nicknames for Susannah or Susan (Hebrew, "Lily").
Young Sookie was present in a couple episodes, with multiple actresses playing the character's younger self, including actress Lily Bigham. Harris wanted to "write from the point of view of a human". To make Sookie more interesting as Harris would have "to live with Sookie" while writing, she decided to have the character start a relationship with a vampire as an introduction to a foreign world. Harris then decided she would have to establish a reason "sensible Sookie" would "do such a crazy thing" which led to her giving Sookie the power of telepathy. In an interview Harris stated that making Sookie telepathic is "the worst thing I could think of to do to anybody". She explained this further saying, "it would just be absolutely horrible to know what people really thought about you." Harris felt that there are "definitely elements of Sookie in me—or, more correctly, there are elements of me in her. [...] I wish I were as brave as she is!" Harris said that when writing for Sookie it is, "second nature to me to step into Sookie's skin".
Anna Paquin was cast in the HBO television adaptation True Blood, with her casting being announced on 26 February 2007. In September 2011, Harris said that although some characters in the series were portrayed in the television adaptation as she intended, Sookie is not, saying: "Anna [Paquin] has never been the way I think of as Sookie. I think she does a great job, but she's just not my Sookie".
Appearances
Literature
Dead Until Dark
Sookie is a telepathic waitress working in Merlotte's Bar and Grill in Bon Temps, Louisiana. She and her brother, Jason, were raised by their grandmother, Adele Stackhouse, after their parents were killed in a car accident. As a child, Sookie was molested by her great-uncle, Bartlett Hale.
She meets and falls in love with Bill Compton, a vampire to whom she is attracted partly because she cannot read his mind. Sookie saves Bill from Denise and Mack Rattray who intend to drain their victim's blood for use as a narcotic. Sookie is later attacked by the Rattrays but Bill saves Sookie and kills her attackers.
Jason and Bill both become suspects in a series of murders, due to the presence of fang marks on the victims and to their previous relationships with Jason. After Jason is arrested, Sookie visits a vampire bar, Fangtasia, in an attempt to discover if any vampires knew the victims. Sookie meets vampire sheriff Eric Northman, who discovers her telepathy. Sookie uses this ability to help Eric discover that vampire Long Shadow has been embezzling from Fangtasia. A confrontation ensues and Eric saves Sookie's life by staking Long Shadow when he attacks her. Sookie discovers her Gran, Adele, has been murdered. Bill leaves to improve his position in the vampire hierarchy. Sookie discovers that her boss, Sam, is a shape-shifter. While Bill is gone, Sookie discovers that the murderer is her brother's friend Rene Lenier. He almost kills her, but she fights back and manages to get the better of him. Sookie almost kills him with a shovel. Bill returns and is promoted to area investigator, working under Eric.