Mia Wallace

**Mia Wallace** is a major character in Quentin Tarantino's 2nd film, *Pulp Fiction*. She is a spoiled former actress who starred in a TV pilot for a series that never kicked off and the new wife of Los Angeles crime lord Marsellus Wallace.

She was portrayed by Uma Thurman, who also played Beatrix Kiddo in *Kill Bill: Volume 1* and *Kill Bill: Volume 2*.

## History

### Background

Mia Wallace was born some time around the year 1970. As a woman in her mid-twenties, she lived a hedonistic lifestyle, which consisted of constant partying, chain smoking, drinking and copious amounts of illegal pharmaceuticals.

Mia once tried her hand at acting. She was cast to play a role in a potential television series called "Fox Force Five". All of the main cast members from the show was a specialist in some sort of combat, and each came with their own unique gimmick. Her character's trademark was that once per episode, she would have ended the show by telling a joke. As luck would have it however, the studio decided to give Fox Force Five a pass, and it never progressed beyond an unaired pilot.

At some point, she met and later married a powerful Los Angeles crime boss named Marsellus Wallace. Marsellus was very protective of Mia and was known to be very reactive towards others who might treat her in a way he deemed inappropriate. Water cooler talk amongst Marsellus' underlings posited that he threw one of his hired thugs, Antoine Roccamora, aka Tony Rocky Horror, off a four-story balcony for allegedly giving Mia Wallace a foot massage. When asked about the incident, Mia acted surprised, but didn't deny that it may have in fact happened.

### Vincent Vega and Marsellus Wallace's wife

One evening, while Marsellus was away taking care of business in Florida, he asked one of his hitmen, Vincent Vega, to take Mia out for a good time. Vincent was already on edge with the knowledge of what happened to Tony Rocky Horror, so he was determined to entertain Marsellus' new bride, but to do so as a gentleman.

When Vincent arrived at the Wallace's estate to pick her up, Mia immediately dominated the evening. He reminded the hitman that Marsellus instructed him to take her out to show her a good time, and what she wanted to do was to go to the *Jack Rabbit Slim*'s, a slick 1950s-themed restaurant with lookalikes of the decade's top pop culture icons as staff, an option for patrons to eat at a booth or a classic car refitted as a booth, and the famous "Five-Dollar Milkshake".

Vincent and Mia make small talk, wherein she recounts her experience as an actress in "Fox Force Five". Mia played "Raven McCoy", who was raised by circus performers and was "...the deadliest woman in the world with a knife." She also knew a "zillion" old jokes her grandfather, an old vaudevillian, taught her, though she refuses to share with Vincent the joke Raven tells in the pilot out of fear of being embarrassed.

Mia then demands that Vincent dance with her in the twist contest and they dance to Chuck Berry's "You Never Can Tell".

When they return to the Wallace house, she is seen carrying the trophy. While listening to Urge Overkill's version of Neil Diamond's "Girl, You'll Be A Woman Soon", Mia overdoses after snorting heroin she finds in Vince's coat pocket, which she was wearing, believing it to be cocaine. A fearful Vincent tries to save her life with the aid of Lance, his small-time drug dealer who had previously sold him the heroin. Mia is finally revived after Vincent stabs her in the heart with a syringe full of adrenaline.

Mia wakes up with a howl and, when asked to say something, says "something". Jody then remarks, "That was fuckin' trippy".

Upon arriving back at the Wallace residence, Mia finally reveals her corny joke: "So there's Papa Tomato, Momma Tomato and Baby Tomato walking along the street. Baby Tomato starts lagging behind, and Papa Tomato starts getting really angry. So, he turns around and squishes Baby Tomato and says, 'Ketchup.' (Catch Up)"

In their last conversation, they agree not to tell Marsellus of the overdosing incident, both fearing what he might do to either of them. In this, they both "redeem" each other.

### The Gold Watch

When the boxer Butch Coolidge double-crosses Marsellus by winning a rigged fight, Marsellus sends Vincent to kill him. Vincent sees Mia sitting with her husband, and she thanks him for dinner the day before.

### The Bonnie Situation

Mia is seen in her bathing suit next to her swimming pool as her husband Marsellus talks to Jules on the phone.

## Personality

Mia likes to wear elegant, expensive clothing, smokes the fictious brand of 'Red Apple' cigarettes, enjoys music, and is addicted to cocaine. She is a world traveller, and goes to Amsterdam annually. She likes her burgers rare, and her $5 shakes vanilla flavored. Mia also enjoys novelty, using playful epithets and nicknames, but she hates mindless chit chat.

## Trivia

* Mia was the featured character of the film's promotional material, appearing on a bed with a cigarette in hand. It was Thurman's breakthrough role and earned her a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress. The character also became a cultural icon and an influence in women's fashion for years to come. Cosmetics and fragrance lines from Urban Decay of L'Oréal and Tom Ford have been named and designed after her.
* At the beginning of casting Tarantino and Miramax were considering Isabella Rossellini and Meg Ryan for the role. Other actresses considered included Daryl Hannah, Joan Cusack, Halle Berry, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Holly Hunter and Alfre Woodard. Tarantino preferred Michelle Pfeiffer who auditioned for the role. Kate Beckinsale also auditioned. Tarantino wanted Thurman after their first meeting and when she originally turned down the part, Tarantino was so desperate to have her as Mia, ended up reading her the script over the phone, finally convincing her to take on the role.
* Tarantino has noted that he first thought of the premise and main character (The Bride) of *Kill Bill* during the writing and filming of Mia's final scene. The "Fox Force Five" bears a striking resemblance to the "DiVAS" of *Kill Bill* (with the inclusion of Sofie Fatale).
* The look of Mia was modeled after actress Anna Karina, a prominent figure of the French New Wave and muse of Jean-Luc Godard. Mia's personality and looks are also reminiscent of Elvira Hancock's (Michelle Pfeiffer) from Brian De Palma's *Scarface* : Both do coke and go on a date with her husband's associate. Another strong physical reference point for the character is Miranda Richardson's Jude in Neil Jordan's *The Crying Game* (1992).
* Thurman based her dance scene on the character Dutchess in *The Aristocats* (1970).
* In a cut scene, Mia claims that everyone can be classified as either an Elvis person or a "Beatles" person. She bets Vincent that he is an "Elvis", and he confirms it.

## References

1. ↑ https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-news/pulp-fiction-movie-poster-who-deserves-credit-for-this-image-1235012663/
2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 https://www.beautyalmanac.com/article/urban-decay-pulp-fiction-collection/1974
3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 https://www.rouge18.com/2021/10/15/tom-ford-black-orchid-review/
4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 https://screenrant.com/pulp-fiction-mia-wallace-uma-thurman-actors-almost-cast/
5. ↑ http://www.vh1.com/news/87538/pulp-fiction-trivia/
6. ↑ https://people.com/movies/pulp-fiction-20th-anniversary-casting-choice/
7. ↑ https://www.indiewire.com/2013/01/watch-quentin-tarantino-dances-explains-influence-of-the-aristocats-on-pulp-fiction-dance-scene-249788/