Teresa Lisbon is a fictional character on the CBS crime drama The Mentalist, portrayed by Robin Tunney.
After leaving the CBI, she served as a sheriff for a small town in Washington state, but left that position to join the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).
In the episode "Red Badge", it is revealed, whilst talking with her psychiatrist, that Lisbon's mother was killed by a drunk driver when she was twelve, and later in the same episode it is mentioned that Lisbon was formerly an inspector (detective) for the San Francisco Police Department (SFPD), and at the time worked for then-SFPD Lieutenant Sam Bosco.
In the episode "Red Tide",[1] it was implied that the young Teresa had to take over the maternal role and care for the family after her mother's death.
In the episode "Where in the World Is Carmine O'Brien" her brother Tommy is introduced, who apparently has gone through a succession of unsuccessful jobs and has become a bounty hunter, allowing his daughter Annabeth ("Annie") to tag along.
Lisbon also had a close and platonic relationship with the late Samuel Bosco, who was eventually revealed to have unrequited feelings of love for her.
Lisbon is well-liked by the rest of her team: Grace Van Pelt, Wayne Rigsby, and Kimball Cho, portrayed by Amanda Righetti, Owain Yeoman and Tim Kang respectively.
Her old boss Virgil Minelli also had an amiable relationship with her, and appeared to tolerate her occasional inability to rein in Jane's unorthodox behavior.
She and Jane have shared several personal and deep moments throughout the series, however, which can be interpreted either as romantic interest, or just in the context of being best friends.
And I think we leave it to time and the audience to play that out and the chemistry of the actors.In the season 6 finale, Blue Bird, Jane hops over a fence at the airport and storms onto Lisbon's DC-bound plane to confess his love for her.
She is shown to be a devout Catholic in the first part of "Strawberries and Cream", reciting the Hail Mary while wearing a bomb vest.