Maddie Buckley

**Maddie Buckley**, formerly known as **Maddie Kendall**, is a main character on *9-1-1* who works as a 9-1-1 dispatcher in the Los Angeles area, and is the older sister of Evan Buckley. She debuts in the first episode of the second season of *9-1-1* and is portrayed by Jennifer Love Hewitt.

## History

### Early Life

Maddie and her younger brother, Evan Buckley were born in Hershey, Pennsylvania. She lived with her brother Daniel Buckley and their parents, until Daniel was diagnosed with juvenile leukemia in 1989. After testing negative as a possible bone marrow donor for her brother, her parents had her younger brother Evan Buckley in 1992 to be a savior sibling, but the cells didn't graft and Daniel relapsed and died. After Daniel's death in 1993, the Buckley family packed up all of his possessions, moved to Hershey, and made Maddie promise not to tell Evan the truth. In 1996, Maddie took Daniel's bike from the garage, took the training wheels off of it and attempted to teach Evan how to ride without them, resulting in Evan scraping his knee and them being scolded by their parents. After that, she took to taking care the wounds he sustained during his many stunts as a skater. In 2004, after Evan was grounded for faking a signature on his permission slip to try out for the football team, Maddie drove him to where they used to live, with the intention of telling him the truth, only to be interrupted by a phone call from her then-boyfriend Doug Kendall. She decided to tell him that Doug was accepted into medical school in Boston, and that he asked her to join him in nursing school, going at night so she can work during the day to pay for it herself. After many violent moments with her husband Doug, she decides to leave him and flee to Los Angeles. In Merry Ex-Mas, she reveals that she only hated Christmas because Christmas Eve was the day she decided to leave Doug for good.

### Moving to L.A.

After getting away from her abusive husband, Doug Kendall, she runs to Los Angeles to hide out with her brother, Evan Buckley, after not seeing him for over 3 years. She winds up living with him in the apartment he’s watching for Abby. Although she is trained as a nurse, she doesn’t want to put other people in danger from her abuser. Evan comes up with the idea that she should apply to work as a 9-1-1 operator.

On her first day at the job, Maddie fields calls after a major earthquake hits. Standout calls include one where she helps an expectant father stabilize his unconscious wife—who had started active labor—and direct them to emergency services and one where she suggested to the caller that the odd light cloud the caller saw was the Milky Way.

## Relationships

### Howard Han

Chimney and Maddie quickly developed a close friendship, fueled by their shared interests and sense of humor. Buck noticed their closeness first, but the couple eventually became aware of their attraction to each other and started to date. In "What's Next?", they found out that Maddie was pregnant and in "Blindsided", their daughter was born and Maddie named her Jee-Yun. Following the birth of their daughter, Maddie started to suffer from postpartum depression and eventually decided to leave Jee-Yun with Chimney and left to Boston. Six months later, they reunited in Boston, and on their way back to Los Angeles, they both realized that they've grown apart and decided it was best to end the relationship. In the season 6 premiere, Let the Games Begin, Maddie tells Chim “She’s done running.” They get back together at the end of the episode. In "Love Is in the Air", Maddie and Chimney become engaged.

### Evan Buckley

Buck and Maddie are nine years apart and they are shown to have a very close relationship. Maddie states that she used to change Buck’s diapers and give him baths however. Maddie initially moves in with younger brother Buck after leaving her abusive husband, Doug. She fully trusts Evan and his friends to protect her. Although she eventually moves out of Buck's (Abby)'s apartment, the siblings remain close, visiting each other regularly.

## Trivia

* Maddie was an ER Nurse for 8 years. This has been stated in several episodes including "7.1", "Help Is Not Coming", "Awful People", "Sink or Swim" and "The Taking of Dispatch 9-1-1".
* Maddie refers to herself as Maddie Buckley as well as Maddie Kendall. She is referred to as both in the same episode. She later implies that now, since moving away from her abusive husband, she goes by Maddie Buckley again.
	+ She is referred to as "Maddie Buckley Kendall" on the check from Doug's assets after his death.
	+ However, when the call records are being reviewed in "Home Invasion", Maddie is identified as "M. Buckley" in the dispatcher logs, suggesting that she has only used the last name of Buckley since Doug's death.
* Athena jokingly called her "Buckette" in the episode "Awful People" as a reference to her being the sister of Buck.
* Jennifer Love Hewitt and Brian Hallisay (Doug Kendall) are married in real life.
* Her full name, Madeline Kendall, was revealed in "Fight or Flight" as it was seen on the missing persons alert that was issued for her after she was kidnapped by her ex-husband Doug. The alert also listed her as being 5'3".
	+ However, in 9-1-1, What's Your Grievance?, she said that her name Maddie is not a nickname but the name on her birth certificate.
* Jennifer Love Hewitt was really pregnant during season 4 with a boy named Aiden.
	+ As a result, Hewitt is absent for eight episodes in season five due to being on maternity leave after giving birth to Aiden in September 2021.
* Maddie was identified as "Maddie Kendall" in promotional material used for seasons two through five. Season Six was the first time that the name "Maddie Buckley" was used in promotional material for the character.

## Appearances

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

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

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

 "Jinx"

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

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

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

## References

1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 "Help Is Not Coming"
2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 "Awful People"
3. ↑ "Under Pressure"
4. ↑ "7.1"
5. ↑ "9-1-1, What's Your Grievance?"
6. ↑ :File:310MaddyCheck.jpg
7. ↑ "Christmas Spirit"