Mia Wallace

Lore & Background

Mia is the wife of the crime boss Marsellus Wallace. Before meeting Marsellus, Mia was an aspiring actress who appeared in a television pilot called Fox Force Five, which failed. Marsellus goes out of town and asks Vincent Vega, one of his assassins, to take Mia out to dinner while he's gone. Vincent agrees, although he is worried about how it will look; when asked about taking her out, he repeatedly insists that 'it's not a date'. His friend and partner-in-crime and fellow hitman Jules Winnfield warns him not to forget his place, and tells him a story about Antwan 'Tony Rocky Horror' Rockamora, one of Marsellus' men whom Marsellus threw out of a four-story window, supposedly because he gave Mia a foot massage. When Vincent goes to pick Mia up at Marsellus's lavish house, she speaks to him over the intercom as she snorts cocaine in a separate room. The two then head to dinner at Jack Rabbit Slim's, a 1950s-themed restaurant. During dinner, Mia and Vincent talk about subjects such as awkward silences, her acting career, 1950s and 1960s pop culture, and some gossip related to Vincent's business associates. When Vincent brings up what happened to Rockamora, Mia says that 'The only thing Tony ever touched of mine was my hand when he shook it on my wedding day'. Suddenly, the restaurant's DJ announces a twist contest, and Mia wants to win the trophy for first place. Though Vincent is reluctant, he gets up and dances the twist with Mia to Chuck Berry's 'You Never Can Tell'. When Mia and Vincent return to the house to celebrate, Vincent goes to the bathroom while Mia dances Urge Overkill's cover of 'Girl, You'll Be a Woman Soon'. While Vincent contemplates what to do next in the bathroom, Mia finds a small bag of heroin inside Vincent's coat pocket, and snorts it, thinking that it is cocaine. When Vincent returns from the bathroom, he finds Mia overdosing on the couch, and frantically drives her to the house of his dealer, Lance, in an effort to save her. Lance gets an adrenaline shot, which Vincent administers directly into Mia's heart, and instantly resuscitates her and saves her life. The two return to the Wallace house after the overdose. Vincent and Mia agree not to tell Marsellus about what happened, as it would surely mean big trouble for both of them, and she finally tells Vincent her Fox Force Five joke.

In Their Own Story

Mia is the wife of the crime boss Marsellus Wallace. Before meeting Marsellus, Mia was an aspiring actress who appeared in a television pilot called Fox Force Five, which failed. Marsellus goes out of town and asks Vincent Vega, one of his assassins, to take Mia out to dinner while he's gone. Vincent agrees, although he is worried about how it will look; when asked about taking her out, he repeatedly insists that 'it's not a date'. His friend and partner-in-crime and fellow hitman Jules Winnfield warns him not to forget his place, and tells him a story about Antwan 'Tony Rocky Horror' Rockamora, one of Marsellus' men whom Marsellus threw out of a four-story window, supposedly because he gave Mia a foot massage. When Vincent goes to pick Mia up at Marsellus's lavish house, she speaks to him over the intercom as she snorts cocaine in a separate room. The two then head to dinner at Jack Rabbit Slim's, a 1950s-themed restaurant. During dinner, Mia and Vincent talk about subjects such as awkward silences, her acting career, 1950s and 1960s pop culture, and some gossip related to Vincent's business associates. When Vincent brings up what happened to Rockamora, Mia says that 'The only thing Tony ever touched of mine was my hand when he shook it on my wedding day'. Suddenly, the restaurant's DJ announces a twist contest, and Mia wants to win the trophy for first place. Though Vincent is reluctant, he gets up and dances the twist with Mia to Chuck Berry's 'You Never Can Tell'. When Mia and Vincent return to the house to celebrate, Vincent goes to the bathroom while Mia dances Urge Overkill's cover of 'Girl, You'll Be a Woman Soon'. While Vincent contemplates what to do next in the bathroom, Mia finds a small bag of heroin inside Vincent's coat pocket, and snorts it, thinking that it is cocaine. When Vincent returns from the bathroom, he finds Mia overdosing on the couch, and frantically drives her to the house of his dealer, Lance, in an effort to save her. Lance gets an adrenaline shot, which Vincent administers directly into Mia's heart, and instantly resuscitates her and saves her life. The two return to the Wallace house after the overdose. Vincent and Mia agree not to tell Marsellus about what happened, as it would surely mean big trouble for both of them, and she finally tells Vincent her Fox Force Five joke.

Reader's Guide

Mia Wallace is the wife of the crime boss Marsellus Wallace. She is portrayed by Uma Thurman. Her character appears in three segments of Pulp Fiction: 'Vincent Vega and Marsellus Wallace's Wife', 'The Gold Watch', and 'The Bonnie Situation'. In 'Vincent Vega and Marsellus Wallace's Wife', she goes on a dinner date with Vincent Vega at Jack Rabbit Slim's, dances the twist, accidentally overdoses on heroin, and is revived by an adrenaline shot to the heart. In 'The Gold Watch', she is seen in the room with Marsellus and thanks Vincent for dinner the day before. In 'The Bonnie Situation', she is seen briefly in a swimcap and one-piece bathing suit next to the Wallace's swimming pool as her husband Marsellus talks to Jules on the phone. Mia was modeled after actress Anna Karina, a prominent figure of the French New Wave and muse of Jean-Luc Godard. For Mia's look in the film, costume designer Betsy Heimann created her appearance to be that of a female Reservoir Dog. She also included designer name brands like Chanel to show that she is the moll of a rich crime boss. Additionally her look was inspired by silent film stars and meant to invoke a femme fatale. Mia's personality and looks are also reminiscent of Elvira Hancock from Brian De Palma's Scarface. Raven McCoy was Mia's character on Fox Force Five. She is the deadliest woman in the world with a knife, raised by circus performers, who knows a massive amount of old jokes she learned from her grandfather, a Vaudeville performer. McCoy is a reference to three X-Men characters. Her first name comes from Raven Darkhölme and her last from Hank McCoy. Her background is the same as Nightcrawler's who was also raised by circus performers. The series itself came from The Doll Squad.

Did You Know?

• Mia was modeled after actress Anna Karina, a prominent figure of the French New Wave and muse of Jean-Luc Godard.
• Mia's character on Fox Force Five was named Raven McCoy, the deadliest woman in the world with a knife, raised by circus performers.
• The famous dance scene between Mia and Vincent Vega took inspiration from Disney's 1970 animated film The Aristocats and a scene from Jean-Luc Godard's 1964 film Bande à part featuring Anna Karina and Claude Brasseur.
• Uma Thurman earned a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her role as Mia Wallace.
• Mia's outfit became one of the most popular Halloween costumes for decades to come, with major retailers including Amazon and Walmart selling Mia Wallace Halloween costumes.