Peyton Elizabeth Sawyer is a fictional character from The WB/CW television series One Tree Hill and one of the female leads, portrayed by Hilarie Burton.

A talented visual and musical artist, Peyton has a heavily guarded heart due to the number of lost loved ones in her life and, over the course of the series, she goes through a lot of life-changing events, difficult times and challenges.

Wilmington Star described the character as having "blown away every stereotype the media has placed on cheerleaders",[1] while PopMatters referred to her as "a walking contradiction.

[3] She was the host of her own show, MTV's Hits, helped launch the network's Beach House from the New Jersey shore in May 2002 and was a regular on TRL.

[3] Her MTV VJ job allowed her to pursue other media career opportunities, and eventually led to her being cast as Peyton.

The casting department, however, remembered her and asked her to send an audition tape for One Tree Hill, and producers promised her a character that she "could sink her teeth into" – Peyton.

I'm convinced I got the chance to be on One Tree Hill because I did a guest thing on Dawson's Creek as myself, when the cast appeared at the MTV Beach House."

She's so into music, art, she's such a rich character that there are a lot of different things to draw on," stated One Tree Hill's costume designer, Carol Cutshall.

"Before joining [One Tree Hill], I had already worked as a set designer, storyboard artist and illustrator for a number of films.

"[19] Ward said that although Burton is a talented actress and has done a great job with the character, she did not feel she had to get to know her in order to proceed with the drawings.

Regarding the evolution of Peyton's artwork over the years, she said, "I look back at the first season and think the drawings are awful!

[19] Peyton Elizabeth is the only child of Larry and Anna Sawyer, she was adopted at birth; the true parentage and other family ties are not discovered until seasons 2, 3, 4, and 6.

Peyton drives a 1963 Mercury Comet convertible, which becomes a major plot point as it is because of it that she first speaks to Lucas: from that moment, her car will become a central theme in their love story.

When Lucas finally comes home from the hospital, he breaks up with Brooke in order to be with Peyton, who soon ends things with him, however, despite loving him out of guilt for betraying her best friend, who, in the meantime, finds out about them and is enraged.

Their relationship does not work out, since Pete is busy with touring and way older than her, so Peyton's father tells her to follow her heart and listen to it and Peyton, considering Ellie's advice as well, decides to give Jake a visit in Savannah, rekindling her relationship with him and Jenny and even goes so far as to propose marriage to him, who gladly accepts: she feels safe with him and thinks it could be enough to be happy.

Lucas later tells Brooke about the kiss in the library and the two enter into a huge fight, which in turn causes them to definitely question their whole relationship, remaining at odds with each other.

Lucas and the real Derek come to her rescue, pushing him out a window; by the time the police show up, he has disappeared.

This series of events causes Peyton to withdraw from society, becoming scared and even skipping school and getting four locks on her bedroom door.

Derek, who is in the Marine Corps and is unwilling to care too deeply due to having watched too many loved ones die, avoids Peyton until Lucas comes and talks to him about her.

He and Peyton develop a healthy sibling relationship and he helps her come to terms with her fear, not only of Derek but of confessing her feelings to Lucas.

It is not until after winning the State Championship that Lucas realizes that it has always been Peyton the one for him and the girl he wants by his side when all his dreams come true and tells her with his iconic “It’s you” speech, after which the two share a long-awaited kiss.

Unable to make it in the music business and fearing to lose her integrity, she decides to quit and goes back to Tree Hill with her old best friend, Brooke Davis,[21] and soon moves in with her.

Finally feeling at home, and with the moral help from Lucas and the financial wealth of Brooke, she starts her own label at TRIC.

She invites him over for a nice dinner together, he instead goes and gets drunk at a bar after being sober for a year (as shown by a sobriety chip in his pocket).

Karen, who has come back to Tree Hill for the occasion, brings in Sawyer, and Nathan, Haley, Jamie and Julian join them.

Peyton has been described as "a very talented artist" who expresses her emotions through her work and guards her heart after losing so many important people in her life.

[1] Tracy McLoone of PopMatters stated, "Perpetually cranky Peyton tears around town in a vintage car, listening to loud rock, and wearing a Ramones T-shirt, none of which fits with a typical cheerleader image."

"[2] The character's crankiness was eventually toned down, as she was revealed to have a deeper side and her interaction with Lucas and Haley started to win over viewers.

MTV described the two as the generation's Joey and Pacey, "the overly dramatic couple you could not help but root for",[50] and the pairing emerged as one of the show's supercouples.

[51][52][53][54][55][56] Their departure received significant media attention and was even picked as one of the "12 most essential episodes" of One Tree Hill in 2009 by fans at starnewsonline.com.