Cersei Lannister

Character background

Cersei is born as the only daughter and first child of Tywin Lannister and his wife Joanna, with her twin brother Jaime born soon after. Cersei and Jaime begin an incestuous affair early in their childhood, which was discovered by their mother but kept this a secret. After her mother died giving birth to their dwarf brother Tyrion, Cersei blamed Tyrion.

Because of her beauty and high birth, she was floated as a high-value marriage prospect for a variety of suitors, having absolutely no say in the decision. After a long and convoluted process, she came to be wed to King Robert Baratheon; a man who never loved her and repeatedly cheated on her. These events left behind a memory of bitterness and hatred that persisted through her adult life. She resumes her affair with her brother, birthing Joffrey, Myrcella, and Tommen by Jaime.

During her teenage years, she hears a prophecy that all of her closest childhood friends will soon die, her children will die during her lifetime, and that she will be thrown out by a younger and more beautiful queen than she. When her friend dies shortly thereafter, she treats this as a confirmation of the truth of the revelation and spends her entire adult life attempting to subvert the prophecy, and eventually develops a strong paranoia over this.

A Game of Thrones

Robert, Cersei and most of the court visit the North to appoint Eddard Stark Hand of the King. During the royal visit to Winterfell, Eddard's son Bran Stark finds Cersei committing incest with Jaime in a tower. To prevent their adultery from being revealed, Jaime pushes Bran from the tower; Bran survives, but has no memory of the fall and is left paraplegic.

Eddard eventually discovers the truth of Cersei's infidelity and confronts her, giving her the opportunity to flee into exile and thus spare her children certain execution. Cersei, had already arranged Robert's death in a hunting accident. When Robert dies, Cersei seizes control as regent and has Eddard arrested for treason. Cersei intends for Eddard to publicly confess and join the Night's Watch as punishment, but Joffrey orders Ned executed instead.

A Clash of Kings

Frustrated with Cersei's many political blunders as well as her failure to control Joffrey, Tywin appoints Tyrion Hand of the King with explicit instructions to control Cersei and Joffrey. Once at the capital, Tyrion enters into a bitter power struggle with Cersei, subverting her authority and removing her supporters from positions of power. In Jaime's absence, Cersei begins taking other lovers, including Lancel.

When Stannis Baratheon sails on King's Landing, Cersei and Joffrey hide in a tower, leaving Tyrion to mastermind the defense of the city. Ultimately Tywin arrives in time to force Stannis to retreat, saving the city.

A Storm of Swords

After formally assuming his position as Hand of the King, Tywin makes it clear to Cersei that she is no longer welcome at Small Council meetings, de facto stripping her of her political authority. Furthermore, as a condition of their alliance with House Tyrell, Tywin intends to wed Cersei to Wilas Tyrell, heir to House Tyrell. This state of affairs is shaken when Joffrey is poisoned at his wedding feast. Maddened with grief at the loss of her eldest son, Cersei lashes out against Tyrion, accusing him of poisoning the king out of revenge. Cersei manipulates Tyrion's trial to ensure a guilty verdict, bribing and intimidating witnesses. When Tyrion demands a trial by combat, Cersei selects the imposing Gregor Clegane, "The Mountain," as the Crown's champion. The Mountain prevails, killing Tyrion's champion Oberyn Martell. Tywin then pronounces Tyrion guilty and sentences him to death, but Tyrion escapes prison and kills Tywin. Cersei is once again in complete control of the capital.

A Feast for Crows

With the death of her father and her son Joffrey, Cersei de facto rules the kingdom. Her second child, Tommen Baratheon, is crowned king but is widely considered weak, signing every decree that passes in front of him. However she is ruling a kingdom on the brink of ruin. The huge losses suffered by House Lannister in the war combined with the wartime disruptions to trade and harvest mean that the ruling House Lannister is dependent on resources from House Tyrell. The Tyrells leverage this position and begin to build power in the capital, much to Cersei's consternation.

Furthermore, Cersei makes a series of political and economic blunders, alienating allies such as Pycelle and Kevan Lannister. In an attempt to undermine the Tyrells as well as release her son from his marriage to Margaery, Cersei attempts to frame Margaery for adultery and treason. However this plot backfires as the investigation into Margaery reveals evidence of Cersei's own adultery and her complicity in Robert Baratheon's death. She confesses her post marital affairs, (though not her relationship with Jaime) and as punishment, she is stripped naked and forced to walk through the capital in full view of the public. The remaining charges will be settled in a trial by combat.

A Dance with Dragons

Cersei takes her walk of shame, nearly breaking down in tears near the end. The more serious charges of regicide and incest will be settled in a trial by combat. She sends a letter to her twin Jaime, asking him for help, but he burns her note. In prison awaiting trial, the kingdom is now run by Pycelle and Kevan. However, at the nadir of her fortunes, Varys returns to the capital and murders both Pycelle and Kevan. The book ends with Cersei's fate unknown.

Family tree of House Lannister

TV adaptation

Cersei Lannister is played by Lena Headey in the television adaption of the series of books.

In October 2014, Headey and several other key cast members, all contracted for six seasons of the series, renegotiated their deals to include a potential seventh season and salary increases for seasons five, six, and seven. The Hollywood Reporter called the raises "huge", noting that the deal would make the performers "among the highest-paid actors on cable TV". Deadline.com put the number for season five at "close to $300,000 an episode" for each actor, and The Hollywood Reporter wrote in June 2016 that the performers would each be paid "upward of $500,000 per episode" for seasons seven and the potential eight. In 2017, Headey became one of the highest paid actors on television and will earn US$1.1 million per episode for the show.

Storylines

Much of Cersei's storyline from the first and second season in the television series is unchanged from the books. A notable change in the show is Joffrey authorising the purge of Robert's bastards, not Cersei.

Season 3

Cersei comes to fear that Margaery intends to usurp her as queen, and unsuccessfully tries to alienate Joffrey from her. Cersei is delighted when Tywin learns of the Tyrells' plan to wed Sansa Stark to Margaery's brother Loras and he intervenes to have Tyrion marry Sansa instead, but is furious when Tywin also orders her to marry Loras. When Jaime returns to King's Landing he immediately seeks out Cersei, who is shocked to discover that his sword hand has been cut off.

Season 4

Cersei has Tyrion arrested after Joffrey is fatally poisoned. It is implied that she knows Tyrion's guilt is highly unlikely, but just wants to see him dead, though Jaime refuses to carry out the order. Indeed, at Tyrion's trial, it is obvious that Cersei has manipulated the entire procedure so that the only witnesses (herself, Lord Varys, Meryn Trant, Grand Maester Pycelle and Shae) give either incomplete or entirely false testimonies to implicate Tyrion and Sansa further in the murder. When Tyrion demands a trial by combat, Cersei quickly chooses Ser Gregor "The Mountain" Clegane as her champion to diminish Tyrion's chances of acquittal, and has Bronn betrothed to a noblewoman so that Tyrion cannot choose him as his champion. Cersei's wish comes true when Tyrion's champion, Oberyn Martell, is killed by Clegane, but she still refuses to marry Loras, even threatening her father with revealing the truth about her relationship with Jaime and the parentage of her children. Tywin rebuffs her threats, though he himself is killed by an escaping Tyrion soon afterwards.

Season 5

Cersei receives a threat from Dorne, where Myrcella is betrothed to Trystane Martell, and sends Jaime to Dorne to retrieve her. Tommen is married to Margaery, who tries to manipulate Tommen into sending Cersei to Casterly Rock. Fearful of losing her power, Cersei meets religious leader the High Sparrow, appointing him as the High Septon and giving him authority to re-establish the Faith Militant. In order to destabilise House Tyrell, Cersei arranges for the High Sparrow to arrest Loras for his homosexuality, with Margaery also arrested for perjury after lying to defend Loras. However, Cersei's plot backfires when Lancel, now a member of the Faith Militant, confesses to his affair with Cersei and his role in Robert Baratheon's assassination, and also accuses Cersei of incest, prompting the High Sparrow to arrest her. Cersei is eventually allowed to return to the Red Keep after confessing to adultery with Lancel, but has her hair cut off and is forced to walk naked through the streets of King's Landing as atonement. Cersei returns distraught by the abuse directed at her by the smallfolk of King's Landing, but is consoled by Qyburn's successful reanimation of Ser Gregor Clegane.

Season 6

Cersei remains in the Red Keep, confined to her chambers and stripped of her authority. Though Cersei accepts Tommen's apology for his lack of action in her arrest and walk of atonement, she remains looked down upon by other members of the court. Cersei learns from Tommen that the High Sparrow plans to have Margaery do a walk of atonement before Cersei's trial and conspires with the Small Council to have the Tyrell army march on the Sept of Baelor to secure Margaery and Loras' release. Their plan backfires when it is revealed that Margaery has joined the Faith of the Seven and has convinced Tommen to merge the Faith and the Crown. Despite being stripped of her allies, Cersei opts to remain in King's Landing, having named Ser Gregor as her champion in her trial by combat. However, Tommen announces that trial by combat has been abolished and replaced by trial by the Seven. Cersei arranges for a cache of wildfire to be detonated beneath the Sept during Loras' trial, killing the High Sparrow, Margaery, Loras, and the rest of the Small Council. Upon witnessing the fallout of Cersei's attack, Tommen commits suicide. With House Baratheon officially extinct (technically speaking, House Baratheon became extinct with the death of Stannis Baratheon), Cersei is crowned Queen of the Seven Kingdoms.

Recognition and awards

Cersei has been continuously praised as one of the most complex and multi-faceted characters in either version of the story. Rolling Stone ranked Cersei at No.6 on a list of the "Top 40 Game of Thrones Characters", describing her as a character who'd "rather die than give you control". On a similar list made by Rolling Stone ranking the "30 Best Game of Thrones Villains", Cersei was ranked No.1, being described as the "most dangerous human being in Westeros" as well as "one of the most complex and fascinating characters on television.....she's also a strangely sympathetic figure, warped by being treated like an expensive brood mare by powerful men her entire life and genuine in her affections". Alyssa Rosenburg of The Washington Post wrote "As the men....destroy themselves and each other, leaving a generation of women without husbands, sons, and marriage partners, [Cersei] may be the only [person] left to repair the shattered world".

Lena Headey has received significant critical praise and acclaim for her portrayal of Cersei, receiving three consecutive nominations for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series in 2014, 2015, and 2016, respectively. She was also nominated for a Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress in a Series, Miniseries, or Television Film in 2016.