Laura Roslin

Laura Roslin

16
    Battlestar Galactica
Photo Credit: Everett Collection

Character Analysis

(Avoiding Spoilers)

Living... on Colonial One. It’s one of the few spaceships to survive a massive nuclear attack led by a race of artificial intelligence known as the Cylons. The surviving humans from the Twelve Colonies of Kobol escape in a ragtag fleet, with the battleship Galactica as their military command vessel and Laura Roslin as their political leader.

Profession... President. Although she was only the Secretary of Education at the time of the attack, Roslin turns out to be the highest-ranking political official to survive, and she’s quickly sworn in as President of the Twelve Colonies. It’s a role she never thought she’d fill, but one she takes with the utmost seriousness.

Interests... mystery novels and children. Laura has very little time for anything that isn’t directly related to saving the human race. But she does have a weakness for cheap mystery novels. And as a former schoolteacher, she’s always been particularly fond of children.

Relationship Status... single. And with a near-apocalypse to deal with, Laura doesn’t have much time for romance. But she does spend a lot of time squabbling with military commander William Adama, though the two begin to warm up to each other over time.

Challenge... protecting the human race and beating breast cancer. Laura’s presidential duties are complicated by the fact that just before the Cylon attack, she was diagnosed with breast cancer and given only a year to live. Yet Laura won’t let that stop her from protecting the civilian interests of the survivors. She explains, “If we are even going to survive as a species, then we need to get the hell out of here and we need to start having babies.”

Personality... soft-spoken, intelligent, and warm, but ruthless when she has to be. Though some doubt her capabilities at first, Roslin quickly establishes her political power thanks to her excellent people skills. Though soft-spoken and kind, Roslin is also incredibly shrewd and she’s willing to make tough – and sometimes violent – decisions when it comes to protecting the human race. She once explained, “I won't compromise the success of this operation or the safety of this fleet to indulge the neediness of 12 perpetually unhappy representatives. I can't.”

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