“ | Here's some free advice. Kindergarten's over. Training wheels are off. Nobody's gonna catch you if you fall. If you don't like your life, you do something about it. You reach down, you pull one foot out of the mud, then the other. You walk away from it. You can't walk, you crawl. You do something. Join a gym. Join a club. Join a cult. Do something, anything. What you don't do is whine to me about it. | ” |
— Charlotte King[1]
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Charlotte King is the Chief of Staff and attending urologist at St. Ambrose Hospital; additionally, she is a sexologist at Seaside Health and Wellness. She is married to Cooper Freedman with whom she has four kids: Mason Warner, and Georgia, Caroline, and Rachel King-Freedman.
Quick Answers
What is Charlotte King's role at St. Ambrose Hospital?
Who is Charlotte King married to and how many children do they have?
What is Charlotte King's specialty at Seaside Health and Wellness?
History[]
Early Life[]
She is from Monroeville, Alabama.
Growing up, she was told, by her father, how sweet she was for taking care of her younger brothers.
When she was fifteen, she had to shoot her horse Marjorie after it sprained its ankle. Marjorie was her last pet and when she thought she might have been pregnant, she thought about naming the baby Marjorie.
She always wanted to make her father, Big Daddy, proud, so she became a doctor.
Marriage to Billy[]
Charlotte met Billy Douglas, with whom she eventually married. At one point, she came home from the hospital after work and found him in bed with another woman. Charlotte lost her self control and dragged the woman off her husband and jumped Billy, yelling at him. The woman then grabbed a vase and smashed it on Charlotte's head, knocking her out. Billy called 911, but left before the paramedics arrived. Charlotte couldn't forgive him for what happened, ending the marriage[2].
Drug Addiction[]
Following the attack, Charlotte became addicted to the pain medication. She tried to get her colleague, who treated her after the attack, to write her another prescription, but he was aware of the dangers of addiction. She tried to convince him saying she'd know when to stop as a doctor, but he only offered to write her a prescription for pills with a lighter effect. She declined and left.
Some time later, drugged after a shift, Charlotte was driving her car through a storm. She began to fall asleep at the wheel and deviated from her lane. She didn't notice the car approaching in the opposite direction, causing the other driver to have to get out of the way, slipping and crashing into a pole. The crash brought Charlotte back to her senses. She pulled over and went to help the woman, but the woman had flown through her windshield. Charlotte called 911, but the woman didn't make it. The truth about the accident was never uncovered, as the woman was deemed a careless driver for not wearing a seat belt and Charlotte never told the truth.
Starting to Date Cooper[]
Cooper and Charlotte first started dating after meeting on a sex site. They didn't expect the person they'd agreed to meet to be each other, but they agreed to give it a shot. Their relationship started out with just being "Friends with Benefits," but Cooper wanted it to be more. Charlotte wasn't open to that until she realized that she was falling in love with Cooper. The two were on and off after Charlotte admitted to having sex with Archer Montgomery. Cooper forgave her, but then they got into another argument when Cooper found out Charlotte was the new owner of the competing clinic right below Oceanside Wellness. They eventually made up.
Building a New Practice[]
After telling Cooper that she had become more of an administrative position at St. Ambrose and less of a doctor, she took a job interview. She had been recruited to run the Pacific Wellcare Center on the newly leased fourth floor of the building that also housed Oceanside Wellness Group. Charlotte kept this from Cooper, but was found out by Violet. Violet agreed to keep the secret so that Charlotte had the chance to come clean about it to Cooper. After giving her several chances, Charlotte did not tell Cooper and so Violet confronted Cooper. Cooper became very angry that Charlotte was running an opposing medical practice in his building and they broke up.
Joining the Practice[]
After William White fired Charlotte from her position at Pacific Wellcare Center, she approached Sam for a position at Oceanside Wellness Group and explained why she was a good hire for the practice. Sam and Addison had a conversation about it, and eventually decided to hire her. She moved into Pete's old office and practiced as a sexologist.
Rape[]
In St. Ambrose Hospital as Chief of Staff, she told a noisy patient to wait his turn. However, that man had mental problems. He thought that women had to respect him and because Charlotte was mean to him, he assaulted her later that day. Getting ready to go home, Charlotte left her office in the hospital. When she turned around after having closed the door, the man knocked her head against the door and dragged her back into her office.[3]
She tried to resist and scratched the assaulter, which only enraged him more. He continued punching her eventually raped her in her own office. Shortly after, she left her office, bruised and bleeding. She hobbled to the nearest supply closet to get some bandages, but Pete Wilder, who was working in the ER that night, noticed her. He followed her and caught her when she fell down. He carried her into a room in the hospital.
Charlotte chose not to tell anyone that she was raped and even hurt badly, she continued bossing everyone at the hospital around. She only allowed nurse Sheila in her room, not any of the "nosy bitchy ones" and the doctors from the practice. However, Addison didn't buy the story that the assaulter took her wallet and she asked everyone to leave the room. When they were alone in the room, Charlotte came clean to Addison. She told her that she was raped. Addison did a pelvic exam and tried to pursue Charlotte to report the assault, but Charlotte refused. However, Addison secretly did a rape kit and kept it in the hospital under the name of Jane Doe, thinking Charlotte might want the assaulter's DNA later.[4]
Some time later, Charlotte returned to work, but she still hadn't fully recovered yet. Upon entering her office, she started getting flashbacks of the assault and she went to the practice instead. Her colleagues there tried to act normal around her, but they all failed to do so. Sheldon was the only one who actually left her alone like she wanted them to. Pete came into her office to check on her wounds, reminding Charlotte of the rape and she almost started crying in front of him. Violet offered to help her too, but Charlotte refused, saying it was impossible for Violet to know what she was going through. She also completely shut out Addison, because Addison saw her at her most fragile point. Amelia offered her donuts and said she was going to meetings for addicts. She also talked to her about craving to pills after something terrible happened, but Charlotte denied she was craving for pills.
Addison eventually told Sam that Charlotte was raped. On his turn, he asked Violet to talk to Charlotte without actually saying that she was raped. However, Violet suspected something and talked to Pete, who suspected the same. When talking with Violet in his office about the night Charlotte was assaulted, Sheldon said he was in the police office talking to a rapist. Seeing the way Violet reacted to the word "rapist", he asked her if Charlotte was raped. Violet said she also suspected that Charlotte was raped.
Cooper told Charlotte he simply couldn't leave her alone after what happened. This seemed to help her deal with it a little bit better, as she dared to enter her office again shortly after, without having flashbacks. Violet later came to Charlotte's office, and she started talking about the time she was raped herself, leaving Charlotte devastated. She went to Amelia's office and asked her to go to a meeting with her, admitting she was craving pills. Meanwhile, Addison made calls to have the pelvic washings from Charlotte processed.[5]
Meeting Mason[]
When Erica Warner showed up at the practice claiming that Cooper was the father of her son, Cooper was delighted and immediately believed her. Charlotte was more cautious. At first, she approached Erica and paid her money to leave Cooper alone. Erica took the money, but only to give it back to Cooper as that was not what she was after. She wanted to disappear from his life, but Cooper convinced her he had nothing to do with it. Charlotte later realized that she crossed a line, but she only did so to protect her family. She did a paternity test behind Cooper's back, which revealed that Mason was indeed his son.
Erica then allowed Cooper to come visit his son, but didn't allow Charlotte be near him, so Charlotte kept her distance. Over time, Erica came to realize that Charlotte had meant no harm and she noticed that Mason had grown to like Charlotte, and vice versa. She then allowed Mason to spend the night at Cooper and Charlotte's, and Mason and Erica progressively became part of their family.
Erica's Brain Tumor and Becoming a Mother[]
Erica went to visit Cooper because of her inoperable brain tumor that she'd had for a while. When Amelia found out about this, they scheduled a surgery in Seattle with Derek. The surgery was successful but later on the tumor started to grow again, and this time it was completely inoperable. Her symptoms started to show more and more, and Mason was devastated, but he still had hope because of the last successful surgery. Cooper and Charlotte tried to convince him that his mother would die, but he wouldn't listen. When Erica died, Mason was grieving by not talking. Later on, Charlotte became the person he opened up to, and their relationship grew stronger. When they talked about Erica's death, Mason asked Charlotte if it was okay to call Charlotte "mama" since Erica would always be "mom". Becoming a mother was a big thing for Charlotte, and Mason truly became a part of her family.
Pregnancy and Childbirth[]
Charlotte was frustrated when she discovered she was pregnant. While she had happily accepted being Mason's mother, she was not interested in having more kids. She then became horrified upon finding out that she was expecting triplets. While abortion was not an option for her because of her faith, she did hope for a miscarriage in the early stages of the pregnancy. That didn't happen and the family began to prepare for the three new additions.
Addison had to sew up Charlotte's cervix after she had one of the babies prematurely at only twenty-six weeks.[6] She was then put into Trendelenburg to stop her contractions as well as a magnesium drip. She came out of Trendelenburg at thirty-one weeks but continued having contractions, so she increased her own dosage of magnesium without Addison's knowledge. When Addison found out, she locked the pad so Charlotte would no longer be able to access it. At thirty-four weeks, her water broke and she went into labour. Before delivering, she stopped by the NICU and met her daughter, whom she named Georgia.[7] The first baby came head first, but the second baby was in a transverse lie so Addison turned her in utero and delivered her as a footling breech. Mason named the second baby Caroline, and Cooper named the third one Rachel.[8]
Personality[]
Generally, the character has served as somewhat of a foil to the other doctors at Oceanside Wellness Group, often impeding their progress in helping patients through somewhat unorthodox methods by applying and enforcing legal, medical and ethical implications. However, while being treated for insomnia, Charlotte revealed that she has trouble connecting with others because signs of affection were discouraged in her family. She later became less obstructive and the relationship with Cooper somewhat humanized her..
Relationships[]
Romantic[]
Billy Douglas[]
At Oceanside Wellness, Charlotte told a patient that she married her first love and they had a fairy tale-like relationship. However, she caught him in their bed having sex with another woman. She couldn't forgive him for that, and they broke up.
Before Charlotte married Cooper, she talked with Billy about their marriage. It turned out Billy was gay and cheated on her because he wanted to know if he'd feel different with another woman, but he said he didn't.
Cooper Freedman[]
Much later, she started up a relationship with Cooper Freedman after meeting through an internet dating service. They stayed together for a while, but after they broke up, she began to feel sick which made Cooper think that she was pregnant. After he convinces Charlotte that she might be pregnant, she takes a pregnancy test and while they are waiting for the results, they begin to think of names and when they see that the test came back negative, Charlotte tries to get back together with Cooper, but he refuses.
Following the death of her father, Cooper goes with her and comforts her and they eventually get back together, but Charlotte dislikes Cooper living with Violet and they argue over that. Charlotte creates another roadblock in their relationship when she sleeps with Archer Montgomery and is caught by Addison, but Cooper sees this as a sign of her pushing him away, and he forgives her. Eventually, Charlotte begins to bond with Violet over Cooper and her pregnancy, but eventually they part ways when she reveals that she slept with Archer Montgomery and Violet tells her, professionally and personally, that it's not okay that she did that. Charlotte and Cooper stay together and eventually have a Vegas wedding.
Her relationship with Cooper took kind of a blow when she found out that Cooper has a son and Charlotte tried to pay Mason's mother to leave them alone, but they eventually reconciled. Charlotte developed motherly feeling for Mason when it became clear that his mother would die.
Charlotte became pregnant with triplets which both she and Cooper refer to as the 'Cooplets'. Charlotte went into premature labor and delivered the first triplet,[6] whom they later named Georgia.[9] Two months later, she delivered the last two triplets]]. Because she named Georgia, Mason named the second baby Caroline, and Cooper chose Rachel for the third.[10]
Sheldon Wallace[]
Charlotte and Sheldon started sleeping together after Charlotte and Cooper broke up. She stated to Amelia that the rumors about Sheldon's penis are true. She used sex with Sheldon to cover up the pain of her and Cooper's break up. Sheldon eventually realized this and broke it off with Charlotte, advising her to pursue Cooper since she was still in love with him. Sheldon and Charlotte remained friends and he gave her advice on how to be friends with Cooper and how to eventually get him back. Sheldon stopped the elevator with Addison in it to tell her that he loved Charlotte. He couldn't stop thinking about her and kept going to her office to borrow postage stamps even though he paid his bills online.[11]
Archer Montgomery[]
Charlotte had a sexual affair with Archer in his office at Pacific Wellcare Center. Charlotte did this to hurt Cooper, because she was afraid of their growing relationship and wanted it to blow up in her face.
Friendships[]
Amelia Shepherd[]
Naomi Bennett[]
Career[]
Dr. King is a graduate of Johns Hopkins Medical School and is the Chief of Staff at St. Ambrose Hospital in Santa Monica.
She also opened a rival practice, Pacific Wellcare located on the fourth floor of the same building as the Oceanside Wellness Group.[12] The owner of the practice, William White, fired Charlotte as director of Pacific Wellcare and hired Naomi to replace her. His reasoning was that good leaders have a heart, and not only capable of attracting and hiring quality doctors.[13]
Following the revelation that Cooper is broke and that the remaining staff at the Oceanside Wellness Group are looking to buy Naomi's share of the business, Charlotte gives Addison and Sam a check for Cooper's share, as well as a blank check for her to buy into the practice.[14] After much debate between Addison and Sam, including Charlotte confronting Sam, Sam and Addison decided to hire Charlotte as a new member of staff at Oceanside Wellness.[15]
Charlotte moved into Pete's old office after his move to the rival practice, offering sexology as her specialty. Charlotte had had that idea for a long period of time. She hired a web designer to build her a website that allows her to offer advice, as well as provide consultations by email and book appointments to see her.
Notes and Trivia[]
- There is an inconsistency in where Charlotte graduated from medical school. In Private Practice promotional material, it claims she is a Yale graduate, whereas Cooper claims she is a Johns Hopkins graduate. It's possible that she attended Yale for medical school and completed her residency at Johns Hopkins Hospital.[16]
- Charlotte has neonatal rounds at St. Ambrose Hospital, which she has asked Addison to cover for her when she returned home to see her father.[16] Since Chief of Staff is a bureaucratic and administrative role, it is assumed that these rounds are part of her duties as a urologist at St. Ambrose, indicating that Charlotte practices pediatric urology.
- Charlotte is the only character of the original main characters of Private Practice to never appear in a Grey's Anatomy episode. She has, however, visited Seattle Grace Mercy West Hospital.[17]
- Charlotte was revealed to be a surgeon in "Strange Bedfellows", specializing in urology, but decided to practice sexology as a new specialty to practice at Oceanside Wellness.[source?]
- Pete Wilder was her work husband. He brought her coffee and waited for her so they could get lunch together.[18]
- After Pete died, Violet gave his stethoscope to Charlotte.[18]
- Charlotte loves fried chicken.[19]
- Her least favorite meal of the day is breakfast.[6]
- Charlotte has a slight fear of needles.[20]
- She likes to read, her favorite book being "To Kill a Mocking Bird". It was written by Harper Lee, who is from the same town as Charlotte, Monroeville.[21]
- "In Which Sam Gets Taken for a Ride" is the only Private Practice episode in which Charlotte doesn't appear.
- Mason calls her Mama.[22]
- She is in NA and allergic to local anesthetic.[4]
- She loves to drink martinis, which is why she knows how to make extremely good martinis.[source?]
- The password for her computer at St. Ambrose was "Big Daddy". Although unconfirmed, it's assumed that she changed it after Cooper used it break into her computer.[23]
- She sometimes refers to her children as "Rugrats".[source?]
- She's allergic to cats.[24]
- She snores.[25]
- She loves deep-fried apple fritters.[26]
Gallery[]
A more complete gallery with pictures of Charlotte King can be found here. |
Notable Episodes[]
These episodes are Charlotte-centric or are otherwise very informative about her life.
- In Which Charlotte Goes Down the Rabbit Hole
- Homeward Bound
- Did You Hear What Happened to Charlotte King?
- What Happens Next
- Can't Find My Way Back Home
- Blind Love
- Something Old, Something New
- ...To Change the Things I Can
- Aftershock
- Georgia on My Mind
- Full Release
Memorable Quotes[]
- Cooper: Sure thing, Charlie.
- Charlotte: You call me that again... You will be hobbling down that aisle![27]
- Charlotte: I don't like people. It's rare that someone comes along I can even tolerate.[28]
- Pete: People need connection to stay healthy, positive connection with another human.
- Charlotte: I don't--I don't need your pity positivity. I don't know what Violet told you, but I connect. Okay?
- Pete: Yeah, when?
- Charlotte: None of your business--
- Pete: Business. Right. Maybe I'm not the guy to help you. Maybe you need someone--
- Charlotte: Who I can't irritate? Find that man for me and I'll marry him. My family didn't believe in displays.
- Pete: Of affection?
- Charlotte: My mother, there was the occasional sloppy kind that followed cocktails.
- Pete: And since then?
- Charlotte: Who has time for that kind of thing?
- Pete: I'm sorry, Charlotte. Do you want to try again?
- Charlotte: Why not? My hair's already shot.[25]
Appearances[]
Private Practice, Season 1 | |||||
#01 | "In Which We Meet Addison, a Nice Girl From Somewhere Else" | #04 | "In Which Addison Has a Very Casual Get Together" | #07 | "In Which Sam Gets Taken for a Ride" |
#02 | "In Which Sam Receives an Unexpected Visitor" | #05 | "In Which Addison Finds a Showerhead" | #08 | "In Which Cooper Finds a Port in His Storm" |
#03 | "In Which Addison Finds the Magic" | #06 | "In Which Charlotte Goes Down the Rabbit Hole" | #09 | "In Which Dell Finds His Fight" |
Private Practice, Season 2 | |||||
#01 | "A Family Thing" | #09 | "Know When to Fold" | #17 | "Wait and See" |
#02 | "Equal and Opposite" | #10 | "Worlds Apart" | #18 | "Finishing" |
#03 | "Nothing to Talk About" | #11 | "Contamination" | #19 | "What Women Want" |
#04 | "Past Tense" | #12 | "Homeward Bound" | #20 | "Do the Right Thing" |
#05 | "Let It Go" | #13 | "Nothing to Fear" | #21 | "What You Do for Love" |
#06 | "Serving Two Masters" | #14 | "Second Chances" | #22 | "Yours, Mine & Ours" |
#07 | "Tempting Faith" | #15 | "Acceptance" | ||
#08 | "Crime and Punishment" | #16 | "Ex-Life" |
Private Practice, Season 3 | |||||
#01 | "A Death in the Family" | #09 | "The Parent Trap" | #17 | "Triangles" |
#02 | "The Way We Were" | #10 | "Blowups" | #18 | "Pulling the Plug" |
#03 | "Right Here, Right Now" | #11 | "Another Second Chance" | #19 | "Eyes Wide Open" |
#04 | "Pushing the Limits" | #12 | "Best Laid Plans" | #20 | "Second Choices" |
#05 | "Strange Bedfellows" | #13 | "Shotgun" | #21 | "War" |
#06 | "Slip Slidin' Away" | #14 | "Love Bites" | #22 | "In the Name of Love" |
#07 | "The Hard Part" | #15 | "'Til Death Do Us Part" | #23 | "The End of a Beautiful Friendship" |
#08 | "Sins of the Father" | #16 | "Fear of Flying" |
Private Practice, Season 4 | |||||
#01 | "Take Two" | #09 | "Can't Find My Way Back Home" | #17 | "A Step Too Far" |
#02 | "Short Cuts" | #10 | "Just Lose It" | #18 | "The Hardest Part" |
#03 | "Playing God" | #11 | "If You Don't Know Me By Now" | #19 | "What We Have Here..." |
#04 | "A Better Place to Be" | #12 | "Heaven Can Wait" | #20 | "Something Old, Something New" |
#05 | "In or Out" | #13 | "Blind Love" | #21 | "God Bless the Child" |
#06 | "All in the Family" | #14 | "Home Again" | #22 | "...To Change the Things I Can" |
#07 | "Did You Hear What Happened to Charlotte King?" | #15 | "Two Steps Back" | ||
#08 | "What Happens Next" | #16 | "Love and Lies" |
Private Practice, Season 5 | |||||
#01 | "God Laughs" | #09 | "The Breaking Point" | #17 | "The Letting Go" |
#02 | "Breaking the Rules" | #10 | "Are You My Mother?" | #18 | "It Was Inevitable" |
#03 | "Deal With It" | #11 | "The Standing Eight Count" | #19 | "And Then There Was One" |
#04 | "Remember Me" | #12 | "Losing Battles" | #20 | "True Colors" |
#05 | "Step One" | #13 | "The Time Has Come" | #21 | "Drifting Back" |
#06 | "If I Hadn't Forgotten..." | #14 | "Too Much" | #22 | "Gone, Baby, Gone" |
#07 | "Don't Stop 'Till You Get Enough" | #15 | "You Break My Heart" | ||
#08 | "Who We Are" | #16 | "Andromeda" |
Private Practice, Season 6 | |||||
#01 | "Aftershock" | #06 | "Apron Strings" | #11 | "Good Fries Are Hard to Come By" |
#02 | "Mourning Sickness" | #07 | "The World According to Jake" | #12 | "Full Release" |
#03 | "Good Grief" | #08 | "Life Support" | #13 | "In Which We Say Goodbye" |
#04 | "You Don't Know What You've Got Till It's Gone" | #09 | "I'm Fine" | ||
#05 | "The Next Episode" | #10 | "Georgia on My Mind" |
References[]
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