Alicia Florrick

Background

The wife of Peter, a disgraced State's Attorney, she returns to work as a junior litigator at the law firm Stern, Lockhart & Gardner, through her old law school friend Will Gardner, for whom she has feelings. Having spent so many years as "the good wife", Alicia finds herself at the bottom of the career ladder, trying to juggle both home and professional life with the ongoing scandal surrounding her husband, with whom she has two children, Zach and Grace. Alicia is smart, independent, fiercely protective of her children, and much more than just a good wife. She excels at keeping a cool exterior. She is rarely ruffled and almost always thinks through what she is going to say, choosing her words for maximum impact or sting. Alicia graduated top of her class from Georgetown University Law Center in the mid-1990s. After graduation she worked at Crozier, Abrams & Abbott for about two years but left to focus on her kids and Peter's career. She and her gay younger brother, Owen, have a loving relationship despite having personalities that are polar opposites. In season three, Alicia is a third-year associate at the firm. She and Peter are separated, and she has a sexual affair with Will; but, by mid-season, she breaks it off. Alicia struggles with her feelings for Peter. She is deeply hurt and has not entirely forgiven him, but she still loves him. Toward the end of season three, Peter announces his candidacy for governor of Illinois; Alicia stands at his side as he makes the announcement. In season four, Alicia gets a promotion as an equity partner of the firm and begins planning to start a new firm with Cary. After Will dies in season five, Alicia goes into a period of mourning, and separates from Peter, maintaining their marriage for the sake of their careers. In season six, Alicia runs for State's Attorney and develops a friendship with prosecutor Finn Polmar. Soon after winning the election, Alicia is caught up in an electoral fraud scandal, and though innocent, must resign her post. Broken and humiliated once again, she returns to law, and is offered a legal partnership with her archrival Louis Canning. Declining Canning's offer, Alicia decides to go out on her own. She decides to make a living in bond court at the beginning of season 7. It is here where she meets fellow attorney Lucca Quinn, and after a rough spell, the duo unite to form Florrick, Quinn and Associates. When Alicia is sued for malpractice, she cannot afford the suit and rejoins Lockhart, Agos and Lee. She is quickly brought back up the ladder to named partner, after Diane buys out David Lee and Cary. Alicia has made it clear to Peter that she wants a divorce, which will be finalised after his trial. Throughout the tail-end of the seventh season, Alicia has found a new love interest in Jason Crouse, her investigator.

Reception

Margulies has received critical acclaim for her performance as Alicia Florrick.

In his initial review of the series, Rob Owen of Pittsburgh Post-Gazette praised Margulies' performance calling the show "a terrific showcase for actress Julianna Margulies, who elevates the already-good material with her perceptive, open performance."

Daniel Fienberg of The Hollywood Reporter also praised Margulies' performance writing that "the excellence of Margulies' performance has rested in her refusal to make Alicia easy to understand, in keeping up a complicated wall and choosing those few moments in which to expose emotional cracks." And later compared her performance to those of James Gandolfini on The Sopranos or Bryan Cranston in Breaking Bad, writing that "Margulies' performance sometimes put Alicia in that Tony Soprano/Walter White/Don Draper category of cable anti-heroes."

Accolades

For her performance, Margulies won a Critics' Choice Television Award, Golden Globe, two Primetime Emmy Awards, two Screen Actors Guild Awards, and a Television Critics Association Award for her performance.