Lorraine Finster

Infobox character
colour = purple
name = Lorraine Finster
series = Will & Grace


caption =
first = "Homojo"
last = "Flip Flop: Part 2"
cause = Made up with Karen
nickname = Various demeaning names from Karen Walker
alias =
species = Female
age = 30's
born =
death =
occupation = Un-certain
family = Lyle Finster (father)
Karen Walker (former step-mother)
spouse = Stanley Walker (ex-lover)
children =
relatives =
episode = 190
portrayer = Minnie Driver
creator = David Kohan
Max Mutchnick

Lorraine Finster (played by Minnie Driver) is a fictional character created on the television show "Will & Grace". She is noted for her rivalry with Karen Walker, due to both of their feisty personalities and to Lorraine's having stolen Karen's husband. This led her to become a recurring character on the show, during seasons 5 and 6.

Introduction to the series

First appearing in season 5, Lorraine was referred to by Karen as the "British tart" who stole her husband Stanley from her, when she was working in the cafeteria of a white collar prison, despite her already being involved with a "handsome embezzler."

Lorraine's second crime against Karen was befriending Jack McFarland, one of Karen's best friends. Jack inadvertently revealed the friendship to Karen, prompting her to become angry with him. Jack continued to see Lorraine, forcing Karen to make him choose, which resulted in Jack staying loyal to his friend Karen. Karen angrily announced to Lorraine, "You listen to me little missy - you may have taken my steer, but I'll be damned if you'll take my queer."

Rivalry continues

Lorraine appears again when Stanley suddenly dies after his and Karen's divorce proceedings. She shows up at the funeral, much to Karen's dismay. Especially because of the fact that Stanley recently updated his will and due to his affair with Lorraine, he could have given her much more money than Karen. This prompts Karen to immediately order Will to bring Stanley's will to the service and read it. She and Lorraine trade insults back and forth throughout the service. When the will is read, he awards his estate to "the love of his life" Karen, while Lorraine gets his love and affection -- but no money.

Karen has a service on Stanley's yacht (which is named "All You Can Eat") to scatter his ashes, when Lorraine shows up with Stanley's favorite toupee. She and Karen share a brief loving moment, until Lorraine boldly asks for some of Karen's awarded money. Karen refuses, which prompts another fight between the two, this one being physical. Lorraine throws Karen overboard into the ocean, with Rosario Salazar diving in after her.

In season 6, Karen discovers the hotel Lorraine is staying at and goes over to confront her. However, she does not find Lorraine but rather her father, Lyle Finster (played by John Cleese). He openly flirts with Karen, but she refuses his advances. However, when Lorraine reappears and warns Karen to stay away from her father, Karen seduces him to bait Lorraine. When Lorraine finds the two of them together, she forces her father to choose between them, and Lyle surprisingly chooses Karen.

Soon Karen and Lyle extend their sexual encounter into a relationship. Lyle comes to Karen's mansion to stay, but soon Lorraine also shows up. She announces she has no place to stay and wants to move in with him. Karen begrudingly agrees, but Lorraine's presence causes friction, with Karen and Lorraine's constant arguing and Karen asking Lyle to reprimand his daughter, despite her being an adult. Lyle finally does, and Lorraine is insulted and leaves the mansion. Lyle then breaks up with Karen because of the tension, already feeling guilty for previously choosing her over Lorraine.

Lorraine and Karen make-up

Lorraine knows that Lyle leaves Karen and confronts her in an effort to make things better. They eventually bond, and agree to disagree. They realize the reason that they fight so much is because they are so alike. As Lorraine puts it, "We're both money-grubbing, sex-starved women who are oft times mistaken for transvestites.". Karen and Lorraine put an end to their rivalry. Lyle is very pleased, and proposes to Karen after hearing the news. (Their eventual Las Vegas wedding only lasted for 20 minutes, however.)

Trivia

* The first episode Lorraine appears in is the season 5 episode "Homojo."
* The last mention of Lorraine was in the season 6 episode "I Do, Oh No You Didn't Part 1," where Lyle and Karen go to Las Vegas to get married. It is said she was unable to attend the wedding because she had such an "aggressive strain of herpes" that she couldn't fly.
* She was a cast member of the ill-fated Boy George musical, "Taboo".
* It is implied that she was born intersex, but her parents decided to let her live as a girl.
* She mentions she used to be a stripper.
* She was estranged from her father, Lyle, before her seeing him and Karen in bed together.
* Stanley apparently died while having sex with her, and because of his obesity she was trapped under him for a couple of days. However, after learning in season 8 that Stanley faked his death, this fact is a possible plot hole in the series.
* She owned a very small dog, named Chompers, whom she left in a closet in Karen's mansion. Karen and Jack were seen taking care of him in the season 6 episode, "Last Ex To Brooklyn."