Terry McKay

Grew Up... quickly, as one of 10 children with an alcoholic father.

Profession... retired nightclub singer. As soon as she could, Terry escaped her family in Boston to move to New York, where she worked in a nightclub as a singer before meeting her fiancé, the wealthy Kenneth Bradley.  Kenneth encouraged her to leave the nightclub life to study hard – music, literature and art – so that one day she would be his perfect, “charming wife.”  Now her profession is wife-in-training.

Interests... singing and drinking pink champagne. Rather representative of the difference between her old and new lives, she uses her singing to support herself when times are hard, and when she's living the good life with Ken, her drink of choice is fancy pink champagne.

Relationship Status... engaged. She has been with her fiancée for “five faithful years,” thank you very much.

Visiting... the open seas where she has metthe (clearly not) reformed playboy Nickie Ferrante en route from Europe as they are both sailing back to their wealthy fiancés – and lavish lifestyles – in New York City.

Challenge... navigating between falling in love with Nickie and remaining faithful to Ken. Over the week that Terry and Nickie spend together, their deep feelings for each other become more palpable and undeniable, even hilariously drawing the attention of the ship's other patrons despite Terry's attempts to keep their acquaintance under wraps. After sharing their first kiss, Terry warns Nickie, “we're heading into a rough sea.” He duly agrees: “We've created a problem.” They soon find, however, that the problem is bigger than they imagined as they try to move their romance off the ship and into the Big Apple.

Personality... witty, cautious, and romantic. During her first meeting with Nickie, after he discovers that she has somehow ended up with his cigarrette case, her first words to him are, “I might as well confess, I'm a jewel thief.” Her sassy brand of humor charms him, and he is instantly taken by her – not that she would ever give in so easily. A self-proclaimed cautious woman, she finds herself quickly influenced by Nickie's more cavalier attitude, ultimately deciding that she no longer cares what the other people on the ship think about them.