Alex Parrish

Alex Parrish
Quantico character
First appearance	Run (Pilot) September 27, 2015
Created by	Joshua Safran
Portrayed by	Priyanka Chopra
Information
Full name	Alexandra Parrish
Nickname(s)	Alex
Gender	Female
Occupation	FBI agent CIA Case Officer
Family	Michael Parrish (father) Sita Parrish (mother)
Significant other(s)	Ryan Booth (fianće)

Alexandra "Alex" Parrish is a fictional character and the protagonist of the American television thriller series Quantico on ABC. The character was created by Joshua Safran and is played by actress Priyanka Chopra. Alex was introduced as an FBI recruit at the FBI Academy, Quantico, Virginia. Considered to be the brightest recruit of her class, she eventually became an FBI field agent and later the prime suspect for a terrorist attack on Grand Central Terminal. After getting fired from the FBI, she joined the CIA where she was trained to become a case officer.

Chopra's performance has been well received. For her performance as Parrish, she won a People's Choice Award for Favorite Actress in a New TV Series at the 42nd People's Choice Awards, becoming the first South Asian Actress to win a People's Choice Award.

Character biography

Early life

Alex grew up in Oakland, CA with her parents Michael and Sita. An alcoholic, Michael was physically abusive towards his wife and daughter. When Alex was in her pre-teenage years, Michael was killed during a violent episode against Sita. The police declined to press charges, unaware that Alex was responsible for Michael's death. Alex was then sent to live with Sita's family in Mumbai.

Alex returned to the United States before enrolling at the FBI Quantico training center in 2015. Unknown to the Bureau, Alex had discovered that her father was a former FBI agent and applied to learn more about his past. Alex kept her activities a secret from Sita, telling her mother that she was starting graduate school. A stuffed bear wearing a UC Berkeley sweater can be seen on her desk in Season 1, Episode 15, suggesting that she may have attended the University of California, Berkeley prior to enrolling at Quantico.

Training

At Quantico, Alex quickly formed friendships with some of her fellow New Agent Trainees (NATs), particularly her roommate Shelby Wyatt (Johanna Braddy), Nimah and Raina Amin (Yasmine Al Masri), Simon Asher (Tate Ellington), Brandon Fletcher (Jacob Artist), Elias Harper (Rick Cosnett) and Caleb Haas (Graham Rogers). She also gained a rival in Natalie Vasquez (Anabelle Acosta), and initiated a sexual relationship with Ryan Booth (Jake McLaughlin), although she was unaware that he was a fellow trainee at the time. Alex and Ryan broke up when she manipulated her supervising training agent, Liam O'Connor (Josh Hopkins), into reinstating Ryan and he was reassigned from Quantico. She subsequently spent New Years Eve with Liam in a failed attempt to get over Ryan and her new knowledge of her father's past.

After the merging of two classes at Quantico, Alex became partnered primarily with Drew Perales (Lenny Platt), who used to play for the Chicago Bears before joining the Bureau. Other NATs were also included as part of the merge, including Iris Chang (Li Jun Li) and Will Olsen (Jay Armstrong Johnson). During her training at Quantico, Alex learned that Liam and Ryan were indirectly responsible for an incident of gang violence that took the life of Drew's girlfriend and led him to join the FBI, causing friction between Liam and Drew. Later in the events of the past timeline at Quantico, Drew becomes a romantic interest of Alex. Towards the end of the past timeline, it was revealed that Alex and her remaining classmates (Shelby, Raina, Nimah, Caleb, Brandon and Iris) graduated from Quantico with offers to work in field offices across the nation.

Accused

About a year after her arrival at Quantico and several months after the successful completion of her training, Alex was living in New York City and was preparing to work the security detail for the upcoming Democratic National Convention. On the morning of the convention, Alex awoke in the ruins of Grand Central Terminal, and discovered it had been destroyed several hours earlier with high-grade explosives. Alex was taken into custody and learned that she was being charged with the terrorist attack on Grand Central. Alex's initial escape was orchestrated by Deputy Director Miranda Shaw (Aunjanue Ellis), her primary instructor at Quantico, who refused to believe that she was guilty.

Alex was able to prove her innocence in the Grand Central Terminal bombing with the help of her classmates at Quantico and discovered that the suspected bomber was former FBI analyst-trainee Elias Harper (Rick Cosnett) who had planted the bomb under the instruction of a mastermind terrorist. Having cleared her name in the congressional hearing, Alex is reinstated as an FBI agent assigned to the field office in New York City, specifically the operations section and now strives to uncover the true mastermind behind the bombings, as the 2016 Presidential election looms ever closer. Prior to the events of the election, the terrorist kills Natalie Vasquez to force Alex into doing their bidding. At the end of season one, Liam is revealed to be the traitor, with Alex and Ryan killing him in the finale. After the events of the bombings, the ensuing publicity from the revelation of Liam's treachery and Simon's death, Alex is fired from the FBI. Two months after the presidential election, Alex is approached by Matthew Keyes (Henry Czerny), the director of the CIA who provides an opportunity for her to join and work for the organization.

Working for the CIA

Six months after her termination from the FBI, Alex was seen working a desk-job as an analyst at the CIA while living with Shelby and continuing her relationship with Ryan. Later in the future events of Quantico, she becomes a CIA case officer.

Reception

The character of Alex has been well received, and Chopra was immediately praised for her portrayal. James Poniewozik of The New York Times described Chopra as "immediately charismatic and commanding."^[1]

BuddyTV ranked Alex Parrish number one on the list of "12 Breakout Characters of the Fall 2015 TV Season", writing "Chopra shines in her starring role. Alex is a heroine to stand alongside ABC's other female leads like Meredith Grey, Annalise Keating, and Olivia Pope."^[2] It also declared Chopra's portrayal of Alex Parrish as the 2015 Sexiest Woman on Television.^[3] Chopra has won a People's Choice Award for Favorite Actress in a New TV Series for the role, becoming the first South Asian Actress to win a People's Choice Award.^[4]

References

External links

• Alex Parrish at ABC