Henrietta Wilson

**Henrietta "Hen" Wilson** is a main character on *9-1-1* who works as a firefighter paramedic at Station 118 of the Los Angeles Fire Department. She debuts in the first episode of the first season of *9-1-1* and is portrayed by Aisha Hinds.

## History

### Early Life

Hen is from Inglewood, California.

When Hen was 9, her father "abandoned her." Her mother is still alive at least when she quits her pharma rep job and decides to become a paramedic.

When Hen was 16, she was accidentally shot. The bullet wasn't meant for her. The bullet ruptured her kidney and grazed her aorta. Luckily, the paramedics took great care of her and Hen survived. Hen tells Taylor Kelly in "Dosed" that following this, she decided that she wanted to be a paramedic like those who saved her so that she could save other people who were in her situation.

In 2010, shortly after Hen quit her job as sales representative, she saved the life of her life coach, Stacey Mullins, after Stacey had a heart attack during one of their sessions. As the paramedics pull Stacey away, Hen realized she could join them to save the lives of people in need and applied for the LAFD.

### Previous jobs

Hen was a lifeguard one summer when she was a kid.

She has mentioned having multiple jobs, including a stint as a lifeguard during the summer holidays when she was a student.

Prior to joining the LAFD she worked for a pharmaceutical company as a sales representative. In "Hen Begins", in the client meeting directly preceding Hen quitting as a pharmaceutical rep, her boss refers to the Global Financial Crisis of 2008 as "the meltdown of '08", which means that she joined the LAFD after 2008. In the episode "Future Tense", set in 2020, Hen tells Sydney that she joined the LAFD at 30 and started medical school at 40, meaning she joined the LAFD in late 2009 or in 2010.

### First Responder

She introduces herself as Henrietta to Captain Gerrard when she first joins the 118, but is quickly nicknamed Hen. He gives her a terrible experience and threatened to fire her for fighting his orders. Most team members save for Chimney remain cold to her, though she has all their respect, and they disagreed with Gerrard's ways. As a result, Gerrard was removed from the 118 and temporarily replaced with Cooks.

In "Malfunction", while transporting a casualty to the hospital, Hen accidentally crashes the ambulance into the car of a cello player named Evelyn after a traffic light malfunction and kills her, wracking Hen with guilt. In "Fallout", Karen takes Hen to a retreat after Hen requests time off from the LAFD. While they are there, they run into Hen's old life coach Stacey, who thanks Hen for saving her life and invites them to dinner. Following this, Hen decides to return to the LAFD after she had considered quitting her job.

In "What's Next?", Hen decides to enter medical school in order to become a doctor. In Seasons 4, 5, and 6, she is shown attending classes and studying for tests in order to complete the school.

### Personal Life

Hen is currently married to Karen Wilson. Her ex, Eva is in prison at the start of season 1 and asks Hen for help for her parole, which Hen refuses. She was Hen's first great love and they lived together, as seen in "Hen Begins." Eva eventually got out of prison without Hen's help and began working in a tax firm until her overdose in "Awful People".

Hen saved a dog named Paisley in the episode "7.1" and is seen giving the dog to her son in the episode "Help Is Not Coming."

Hen cheated on on her wife with Eva in "Full Moon (Creepy AF)."  Eva tried to regain custody of Denny on the grounds that she is his biological mother and claimed that Hen cheating on Karen made their household unsuitable for Denny to live in. Karen learned about Hen infidelity when receiving the papers from Eva, and decided to take Denny to live with her parents, leaving Hen.

Eva signed away all rights when Denny was born but we learn in "Awful People" that his biological father, Nathaniel Greene, did not. Although Eva claimed that Nathan was going to petition for parental rights, Hen managed to set Eva up after the overdose, sending her back to prison. Nathaniel was delighted to learn of Denny's current life, giving his full support to Hen and Karen which allows them to retain Denny's custody.

In "This Life We Choose" (S02E18), it is shown that Karen and Hen were already a couple before welcoming Denny into their life, and they hoped to have additional children. Season three starts with the couple using IVF to have another child. Unfortunately, the treatment was unsuccessful.

## Relationships

### Chimney Han

Hen has a close relationship with "Chimney" Han. They call each other "best friend" on multiple occasions and often come to each others' aid. When Hen first joined the 118, Chimney was the first to show her compassion and friendship. They later bonded over becoming paramedics and discrimination at work. Their friendship extended beyond work, as shown with Chimney's health issues and through Hen's relationship issues.

### Athena Grant-Nash

Athena met Hen during a mudslide incident while redirecting traffic, and the two quickly bonded, as they were both minority women in white, male dominated fields. Athena (known as 'Thena to Hen) introduced Hen to other "misfits", a gay firefighter from 115 and a female policewoman. They became a support group of sorts, regularly meeting to commiserate their sometimes difficult occupations. Athena and Hen eventually become close friends, disclosing private details of their personal lives and often asking each other for advice.

### Karen Wilson

*Main article: Hen-Karen (relationship)*
They met due to Chimney setting them up. Hen absolutely adores her wife Karen and their children. She momentarily doubts their relationship when she cheats on her wife with her ex (and Denny's mother), Eva, but immediately regrets her actions. After that lapse in judgement, Hen learns to fully appreciate her wife and family, and dedicates herself to supporting them.

## Personality

Hen is shown as caring, kind, and loyal. She has a big heart and is always ready to make sacrifices for others. Her cool and calm demeanor comes in handy especially when the crew have to deal with agitated victims.

## Trivia

* Hen played the bassoon and was first chair in band when she was at school.
* Hen has only been absent in three episodes ("Chimney Begins", "The Taking of Dispatch 9-1-1", and "The Devil You Know"). She appears in archive footage in "Boston".

## Appearances

 "**Heartbreaker**"

 "**Haunted**"
 "**Fight or Flight**"

 "**Athena Begins**"
 "**Pinned**"

 "**Jinx**"

 "**Ghost Stories**"
 "**Fear-O-Phobia**"

*Note:
\* denotes archive footage only appearance.*

 "**Cursed**"
 "**Mixed Feelings**"

 "Everyone and Their Brother"

## References

1. ↑ "Past is Prologue"
2. ↑ "Haunted"
3. ↑ "Dosed"
4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 "Hen Begins"
5. ↑ "Seize the Day"