Carol Perkins

* 1984
* 1983

**Carol Perkins**, portrayed by Chelsea Talmadge, is a recurring character from the first and second seasons of *Stranger Things*.

Carol was a student at Hawkins High School who dated Tommy H in 1983. Though Tommy and Carol were friends with Steve Harrington, the friend group fell apart due to the situation with Steve's then-girlfriend, Nancy Wheeler. By 1984, the status of Tommy and Carol's relationship was unclear, though both apparently befriended Billy Hargrove.

## History

### Background

Carol was a student at Hawkins High. She dated Tommy H, and was friends with Steve Harrington and Nicole. According to classmate Barbara Holland, Carol and Tommy had been "having sex since, like, seventh grade".

### 1983

On November 8, 1983, Carol and Tommy went to a pool party at Steve's house, being with Steve himself, his new girlfriend Nancy Wheeler, and Barbara Holland, Nancy's best friend.

The same group of teens - minus Barb, who had mysteriously vanished - hung out together at school in the days after the party. Nancy, however, became concerned about Barb's disappearance, and gradually became less active in the group.

When Jonathan Byers was revealed to have been at the scene of the party, hiding in the foliage and taking photographs, Carol assisted Tommy and Steve in breaking his camera and tearing up his photographs.

Steve decided to check up on Nancy, as he was worried about her - Tommy and Carol teased him for caring. They drove to the Wheeler house, where Steve got out and climbed up the roof, aiming to enter Nancy's bedroom via the window. Steve saw Nancy and Jonathan together, and mistakenly came to the conclusion that they were sleeping together.

The next day, Steve, Tommy, Carol and Nicole graffiti-ed abusive, obscene slurs against the walls of the Hawk Theater about Nancy. This led to a fist-fight, with Jonathan beating up Steve. The police came to the scene to arrest them all, but Steve, Tommy, Carol and Nicole escaped.

While outside a petrol station, Steve decided to turn his back on Tommy and Carol, deeming them to be "assholes". Despite Carol pleading Tommy to stop, Tommy threatened to fight Steve, but Steve got in his car and drove off to apologize to Nancy and Jonathan.

### 1984

Carol was seen ogling at the newest student at Hawkins High, Billy Hargrove. She, along with her friends Tina and Vicki, leaned on a car and checked out Billy's behind as he walked into the school. On Halloween night, she attended Tina's Halloween party dressed as Alex Owens from the 1983 film *Flashdance*, cheering for Billy as he did a keg stand.

## Personality

Carol is a stereotypical popular girl, who shares attributes with her boyfriend, Tommy - in that she is arrogant, mean-spirited and shallow. She consistently mocked Steve for going out with Nancy. She is clearly an underachiever in school, as she recalled verbally insulting teachers in class - indicating she is neither an intelligent nor insightful young woman. Despite all this, Carol seems to be afraid of certain types of conflict; pleading Tommy to stop when he threatens to fight Steve. She also acts more as a passive witness to bullying, usually snickering or making cruel comments at the end of fights.

 Relationships

* Tommy H- Boyfriend
* Steve Harrington- Former best friend and enemy
* Nancy Wheeler- Former acquaintance and enemy
* Jonathan Byers- Enemy
* Barbara Holland- Enemy
* Billy Hargrove - One-sided crush

## Trivia

* In the *Hawkins High School Yearbook*, her last name is listed as Perkins. She doesn't have a favorite subject, though her career goal is to be a Judge. She is described as the "Most Dramatic".
* Unlike Tommy, Carol was not mentioned in Season 3.