Corinna Hodel

**Corinna Hodel** (née Huntington) is an eccentric woman keeping many secrets. Former wife of Dr. George Hodel and stepmother of Tamar, she is Fauna's grandmother.

She is a major character in ‘I Am the Night’ and is portrayed by Connie Nielsen.

## Official Description

*“A fading socialite beauty with a cigarette in a long black holder; an alcoholic who’s seen her family shattered, her fortunes tossed to the winds… Corinna finds herself a keeper of secrets, but none more fearsome than those she keeps from herself.”*

## Character Overview

Corinna Huntingdon is a middle-aged woman who has dedicated her life to art. A passion that she inherited from her father, Tom Huntingdon, a famous artist. From her mother they date back to the 17th century, ascribing Mercy Makepeace as the progenitor of the family on American soil, who came aboard the Mayflower. Corinna is a sophisticated woman, self-centered and slightly detached from reality, likely due to her alcoholism. Raised in the upper-class and living her life as a socialite, she looks with disdain at people belonging to lower social classes or different ethnic groups.

## Biography

Corinna met Dr George Hodel in the 1940s, when he was just six years old. The dysfunctional family became a media case when teenager Tamar accused her father of rape.

In 1949, Corinna attended the trial. A psychiatrist called to give his expertise claimed that Tamar was suffering from Electra complex, and saw Corinna as an intrusion to the disturbed father-daughter dynamic as well as a disliked replacement mother.

In the late summer of 1955, Corinna answers the phone. On the other side of the receiver, a girl claims to be Tamar's daughter and to want to talk to her grandfather. Corinna warns her, saying to stay away from him.

Corinna receives a visit from Fauna at their house in Los Angeles, and the two talk about Tamar. Corinna is resentful of her stepdaughter for what she did go their family. She is keen to point out that Tamar is not her biological daughter, but she was just six when Corinna met George. He used to call her Apate, the goddess of deceit. Corinna states, in fact, that even a doctor diagnosed Tamar as a pathological liar. Corinna then cut short with the “sad stories”, and takes Fauna out to lunch at the Beverly Hills Greystone Mansion.

At the table, Corinna offers her granddaughter a crash course on etiquette and later, on Surrealism by showing the George's collection exhibited in one of the rooms of the Mansion. She makes sure that Fauna can spy on her grandfather without neither of them knowing her involvement in it. Later, in the car, Corinna reveals Fauna the truth about her origins. She's not mixed race. Tamar invented that lie to muddy the family name. According to Corinna, her father is a French dancer that visited during that summer. Fauna accuses her of being a “racist old cow”, and storms out of the car.

Corinna performs a “Cut Piece” at an art show called *The Happening*. She poses motionless while the bystanders pass a pair of scissors to cut the woman's dress. Fauna, who sneaked into the show, however, refuses to do so. In the dressing room, where Corinna is changing clothes and wearing a brown wig, Fauna apologizes for their last meeting and asks for further information. Corinna dismisses it, preferring to speak of *avant-garde*. A term that, she describes, indicates a deep and advanced awareness based on deeper understanding of history. Corinna leaves the girl to her own means, disinterested in talking about Tamar.

A phone call in the middle of the night from Corinna has reporter Jay Singletary believing that there are cracks appearing in the Hodel case. A few days later, Corinna is approached by Jay Singletary at an art exhibition she's hosting. Corinna denies ever calling the reporter or wanting to speak to him about George Hodel, and calls for the security.

Amidst the Watt riots, Corinna receives a new visit from Fauna. The woman is shocked by the riots in the city, watching the news on television. She fixes a drink to her granddaughter. Fauna reveals that she met Tamar in Hawaii. Corinna denies any of her stepdaughter's claims and waits for the drug with which she spiked Fauna's drink to take effect. As the girl faints, Corinna warns her never to eat anything in that house.

## Quotes

**Corinna Hodel**: "*Your grandfather, he's a very, very dangerous man. Stay away from him.*”
— Pilot

**Corinna Hodel**: “*You wanna know something? I’ll show you something. I’ll tell you something.*”
— Matador

## Appearances

I Am the Night

* Ep. 2: "Phenomenon of Interference"
* Ep. 3: "Dark Flower"
* Ep. 5: "Aloha"
* Ep. 6: "Queen’s Gambit, Accepted"

## Trivia

* Connie Nielsen, who plays Corinna, has called her I Am the Night character "pretty outrageous" on Instagram.

* Costume designer Rhona Meyers described Corinna's look as, “also modern — sort of Beat poet meets Jackie O. meets Audrey Hepburn — so when we see her in the daytime, she’ll be in a boxy Jackie O. jacket with a turtleneck and a little beret and tuxedo capris.”

## Notes

* The character of Corinna is based on Dorothy Huston Hodel, George's second wife and the ex-wife of movie director John Huston.
* Corinna's performance during The Happening is inspired by "Cut Piece", an art piece performed by Yoko Ono in 1965.
* Rhoda Meyers said, “We made the dress, based on a ‘40s dress, but we put a train on it and had it ombre dyed and then beaded the arms so it was completely different. We had to make four of them and they cost $3,500 to $4000 apiece! And I put three keyholes in front so people could cut through them.”

## References

1. ↑ TNT Drama - I Am the Night: Characters
2. ↑ Sam Sheridan (writer); Carl Franklin (director); (February 25, 2019); "Aloha". Episode 5. *I Am the Night*. TNT.
3. ↑ Sam Sheridan (writer); Patty Jenkins (director); (January 28, 2019); "Pilot". Episode 1. *I Am the Night*. TNT.
4. ↑ Sam Sheridan (writer); Patty Jenkins (director); (February 4, 2019); "Phenomenon of Interference". Episode 2. *I Am the Night*. TNT.
5. ↑ Sam Sheridan (writer); Victoria Mahoney (director); (February 18, 2019); "Matador". Episode 4. *I Am the Night*. TNT.
6. ↑ Sam Sheridan (writer); Carl Franklin (director); (March 4, 2019); "Queen’s Gambit, Accepted". Episode 6. *I Am the Night*. TNT.
7. ↑ Connie Nielsen on Instagram (@cn\_connienielsen)
8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 How Fauna Hodel's Daughters Helped With 'I Am the Night' Costuming - Hollywood Reporter
9. ↑ Corinna Huntington Hodel On 'I Am The Night' Isn't A Real Person, But She Does Have A Real-Life Counterpart - Bustle