Tara Thornton

## Tara Mae Thornton

"*Listen, you white trash fuck... We're not in high school anymore. So if you let anymore of that racist bullshit fall out of your mouth, I'm gonna rip open your heart and fry it up with some grits and collard greens.*"
—Tata Thornton to a customer at Fangtasia[src]

**Tara Mae Thornton**, also known as Toni, was a character on HBO's *True Blood*. She débuts in the first episode of the first season. She is portrayed by starring cast member Rutina Wesley and guest stars Avion Baker & Dara Iruka.

## History

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## Powers and Abilities

### Powers

* **Vampire Physiology:** On Halloween night of 2011, Debbie Pelt entered Sookie’s house with the intent to kill her; as Debbie was about to shoot, Tara jumped in the way to save Sookie’s life, mortally wounding herself in the process. Moments later, Pam arrives in search of Eric. Sookie and Lafayette convince her to turn Tara into a vampire in order to save her life. As a vampire, Tara belongs to the Godric vampire bloodline, along with Pam, Eric, Nora and Willa. Tara now possesses the normal powers and weaknesses of a vampire.
	+ **Immortality:** Being immortal Tara will forever retain the appearance and health of a young woman. She has an infinite lifespan and cannot die by natural human causes such as disease or old age. Tara's vision has enhanced. She is able to see things in the dark and with more vibrant colors.
	+ **Super Strength:** Tara has proven to be the same strength as Jessica Hamby, a vampire older than her by almost two years. She also proves to be a superior fighter due to her previous skills as a cage fighter. She was able to hold her own against Jessica and throw her across a room with one hand.
	+ **Super Speed:** Tara can move at a blurring speed.
	+ **Accelerated Healing:** Tara healed from the gunshot wound to her head after she was turned, and was able to regenerate her entire skin within minutes after burning it off in the sun parlor.

### Former Powers

* **Witchcraft:** In 2011 Tara returns to Bon Temps after hearing her best friend Sookie returned alive. While home, she joined her cousin Lafayette and his boyfriend Jesus Velasquez at a coven meeting. After reanimating a dead bird and getting willingly possessed by Antonia Gavilán de Logroño, coven leader Marnie Stonebrook gave a drunk Tara a vision. This showed her being raped by a vampire. Antonia proceeded to ask Tara to enlist a group of Witches to perform a day-walking spell, in which Tara took part. After being trapped in the Moon Goddess Emporium by Marnie, Holly Cleary convinced Tara to cast a spell to free them from the Emporium. The spell was a success, but Marnie caught them and teleported them back inside the shop.
* **Daywalking:** Before the roofing opens up to sun light upon her by the hands of Sarah Newlin, Tara drank from Bill. Drinking the blood of Billith bestowed upon her the ability to Daywalk. She was able to daywalk until Warlow's true death. This event rendered all vampires who previously enjoyed daywalking vulnerable to sunlight again.

### Abilities

* **Basic Combat:** Tara has been shown numerous times to be a skilled fighter. After drunkenly leaving Merlotte's, Tara finds two men and in a fit of anger punches one of them. He falls straight to the ground and as he gets up, Franklin Mott throws him against a car door. He then holds the other man while Tara repeatedly punches him. Later, Tara and Sookie fight and defeat a werewolf in order to escape Russell Edgington's mansion. After finding out that Bill Compton almost drained Sookie dry, Tara kicks him out of a truck and into the sunlight. Tara also used to be a professional cage fighter in New Orleans.
* **Skilled Marksman:** Tara is seen bearing a revolver pistol loaded with wooden bullets. She seems to be a skilled marksman, as seen in the graveyard battle when she successfully shoots and kills a speeding vampire attacking her from behind.
* **Self-Control:** Tara has a high level of self-control for a vampire her age due to her dislike of vampires before being turned. She was able to resist feeding from a helpless girl she found in the woods.

## Appearances

 **Appears**
 "Don't You Feel Me":

 **Appears**
 "Karma":
 **Appears**

## Trivia

### Production Notes

* Tara is portrayed by actress Rutina Wesley. While actress Brook Kerr was actually the first choice to portray Tara, she was replaced immediately after the pilot episode.

## References

1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 "Turn! Turn! Turn!", *True Blood*, HBO
2. ↑ "Jesus Gonna Be Here", *True Blood*, HBO