Information about Allison Cameron (house)

Dr. Allison Cameron
Jennifer Morrison as Dr. Allison Cameron in House
First appearance	"Pilot"
Created by	David Shore
Portrayed by	Jennifer Morrison
Information
Specialty	Immunology
Occupation	Physician Diagnostic Medicine Fellow (former)
Family	Unnamed man (brother)
Spouse(s)	Unnamed man (husband; deceased)

Allison Cameron, M.D., is a fictional character on the FOX medical drama House. She is portrayed by Jennifer Morrison. An immunologist, Cameron was a member of Dr. Gregory House's team of handpicked specialists at Princeton-Plainsboro Teaching Hospital's Department of Diagnostic Medicine. She was hired six months prior to the pilot episode.^[1] House explicitly informed her that he hired her based on her looks because he believed that a pretty girl who went into medicine shows greater dedication compared to an ordinary-looking student because the former could have easily used her looks to get an easier job.

Characterization

"David Shore and I discussed it a lot, and together we chose that she was a woman who came from a lot of loss. She was very strong, very determined and knew she was good at what she did, but the pattern in her life was that she had lost people close to her. That really informs how she walks through life and how she is affected by each patient. I think that is where a lot of her empathy comes from because she's been in their shoes — the wife or family member losing someone. And I think it's also the way she tries to heal herself — being faced constantly with wanting to save people in place of the people she couldn't save. I felt very lucky that was the past that David Shore imagined for her. It was an interesting place to exist in and I think a lot of people relate to her in that way."

— Jennifer Morrison, on how Cameron's widowhood has affected the character.[2]

Cameron is known for her honesty, sincerity, idealism and possesses a strong moral and ethical center. She is hyperopic and an atheist.^[3][4][5] Markedly flawed, she has complex relationships with her colleagues; not least of all with House. Part mentor, antagonist and romantic interest, their dynamic has been likened to that of Jane Eyre and Mr. Rochester's by New York Times columnist, Joyce Millman.^[6]

Cameron is occasionally hesistant and unwilling to perform House's bidding when she is required to deceive their patients and has gone to head-to-head with him before several times on the issue.^[7][8] She has also shown extreme reluctance to deliver bad news to patients or their families.^[9] Despite this, she has been effective in gaining patients' trust and approval of diagnostic procedures when the need arises, in contrast to House's strong-arm methods.

The character underwent a growth in development when she proved to be far more assertive in her beliefs and actions in season three showing that she was not above employing tactics used by House in order to get the job done. However, her consistently good intentions did not change and her loyalty to her boss was proved unquestionable as evidenced by his legal troubles -- being previously under investigation for alleged drug addiction and trafficking. Her allegiance came to an abrupt end, however, when she surprisingly resigned in the season three finale.^[9]

Biography

Prior to working at PPTH, Cameron was a medical intern at the Mayo Clinic, and was one of the top students in her class in medical school. She hails from the Midwestern United States and that has a sibling, an unnamed older brother.^[10][11][12] Cameron worked for House under a medical fellowship alongside Drs. Robert Chase and Eric Foreman for three years.^[9]

Despite her kind and earnest nature, Cameron has undergone traumatic experiences in her life. Her awkwardness with death was explained when she confided in House that she had once fallen in love and married when she was 21. However, the marriage lasted only six months ending with her husband's death due to thyroid cancer that had metastasized to his brain.

In the third season finale, Cameron became the lone fellow of the Department of Diagnostic Medicine after her colleagues, Dr. Chase and Dr. Foreman, were fired and resigned from their posts respectively. She bid farewell separately to the both of them, even giving the latter a framed citation of his published article in reference to their previous conflict the year before.^[7] In a move not previously foreseen by House, she tendered her resignation for the second time in the series at the end of the episode as well.^[9] She gets another job in the ER at Princeton-Plainsboro, and dyes her hair blonde.

References

•  • [ e] House
Episodes Awards Soundtrack
Characters:	Gregory House Lisa Cuddy Eric Foreman James Wilson Allison Cameron Robert Chase
Cast and crew:	David Shore Hugh Laurie Lisa Edelstein Omar Epps Robert Sean Leonard Jennifer Morrison Jesse Spencer