The Mentalist Characters - Teresa Lisbon Trivia

• Teresa Lisbon is Patrick Jane's boss and isn't really amused with his upfront and unconventional investigation style
• Teresa's mother was killed by a drunk driver when she was 12 and her father died a while later.
• Her father became an abusive drunk after her mother died. He used to have blackouts when he drank and one time beat her brother half to death, but afterwards didn't remember it happening and couldn't believe he'd done it.
• Teresa has 3 younger brothers, at least one of whom lives on the East Coast.
• Teresa knows quite a bit about basketball because when Cho pretended he was at a Kings game, she knew that was impossible because the Kings were on an East Coast road trip and were playing the Knicks the following night. Since she also keeps a baseball on her desk at work, has a sports jersey on her wall at home (with a 17 on it) and wore a football jersey (with Lisbon 99 on it) in Red Badge, she's probably quite into sport generally.
• When Teresa is offered food or drink, she always declines (Patrick always says yes).
• Teresa always wears a necklace with a cross.
• According to Patrick (Redwood), she is not a morning person.
• Teresa likes animals. She has two pictures of (presumably) her dog on her desk at work (they are the only photos on her desk), and she looked so delighted when Patrick gave her a pony.
• Teresa is a very good shot - we've seen her shoot three people dead, each with only one shot. She's also physically very quick and tough - we've seen her take down a couple of suspects (who were much bigger than her 5'4") with flying tackles - and fearless.
• Teresa is a good boss - she's very quick-thinking and decisive; she's good at delegating and trusting that the others are doing their jobs without her needing to interfere; she's willing to give the others the chance to prove themselves (like letting Grace run an interview in Scarlett Fever); and she's flexible enough to put up with Patrick and his games (he is a loose cannon - she really deserves a medal!). The team really looks up to her - and with good reason.
• She likes dancing to Spice Girls music.
• She used to work for the SFPD and she had a career-making case when she caught a paedophile who was terrorising the Bay Area. At the time, Bosco was her boss. She was given the nickname "Saint Teresa" by the press. Since the paedophile had been in prison for 6 years by the time Season 2 began, we can assume that she only joined the CBI some time in the last 6 years.
• Lisbon grew up in the midwest, because in Red Herring, Jane refers to her "midwestern tastebuds".
• She played a musical instrument in high school.
• One of her brothers, Tommy, is fighting with the rest of them. When Teresa thought she was dying in Code Red, she asked Cho to tell Tommy that she forgives him and that he needs to make peace with his brothers.