Stella Bonasera
Encyclopedia
Stella Bonasera is a fictional character
and protagonist
on the CBS crime drama CSI: NY
, portrayed by actress Melina Kanakaredes
prior to season 7, at which point the character was written out of the show due to Kanakaredes not renewing her contract. She is replaced by Jo Danville
, played by Sela Ward
.
's second-in-command in the fictional New York Police Department's crime lab of the television show CSI: New York. Throughout various episodes, the writers of the show have revealed that Bonasera began her career working as a patrol officer and once worked Narcotics out of Brooklyn North. She is portrayed as a character with a strong personality, and her unflagging determination to solve a crime has earned the character at least four complaints on her record as a result.
who brought two-year-old Stella with her when she came to New York with an exhibit. Soon after the exhibit, her mother was killed in a traffic accident. Stella is fluent in Greek but her fluency in Italian is unknown. She was in foster care in her early life. It is revealed that a professor, whom Stella was close to, got her out of foster care.
When Drew Bedford wanted to take revenge on Mac for the death of his brother when they were young, he tried to make Stella fall for him to get closer to Mac. This effort turned out to be in vain, because, relying on her gut, Stella told him that she is "not looking for a relationship." In Season 5, episode 503, "Turbulence", she is seen to be with a firefighter, Brandon Walsh, for a softball practice. Later in episode 515, "The Party's Over," she takes Walsh as her escort to an event.
Stella cares deeply for all the members of her team. She is very close to Mac Taylor as well as Don Flack and constantly worries about their well-being. She and Mac have one of the noticeably closest relationships on the show. Stella acts as his right hand, the most senior member of his team aside from himself. They are so close that, in preparation for a date with a woman he met in a coffee shop, Mac allows Stella to remove his tie at the end of episode 123 ("What You See Is What You See"). In episode 224 "Charge of this Post", she stays with him at the hospital to watch over the injured Don Flack. Considering how uptight Mac had been during the course of the first season, this can be seen as a very trusting, if not intimate, gesture. In episode 109 "Officer Blue", during which Mac and Stella had one of their most heated fights, he admitted that he "honestly wouldn't do this job" without her, when they reconciled at the end of episode. Mac was also the only person (other than Adam, the lab rat who ran the test secretly) whom she told about her fear when she was suspected to have HIV, in episode 317 "The Ride-In".
During Season 5, it is revealed that Professor Papakota, a Greek antiquities expert whom Stella regards as a father figure, is involved in stealing antiquities. Stella, against the advice of Mac, returns to the land of her birth to find and track him down. Along with "Officer Blue", "Grounds for Deception" is when Stella has one of her biggest fights with Mac. She later also finds out that the painting in her office - which Papakota had given her upon graduation from the police academy - had actually been stolen by Professor P. After she returns the painting, she finds out about her mother's identity from Mac, who had followed her to Greece.
When Peyton broke up with Mac, Stella went to the club where Mac plays his bass guitar, and exchanged an understanding smile with him. Mac offered his guest room, when Stella's apartment caught in the fire in episode 416 "Right Next Door", to which she declined reasoning that she snores. In episode 516 "No Good Deed", Mac took Stella for a cup of coffee to "fish some advice", when they were interrupted with an eyeball that dropped into Stella's cup. Later, Mac told Stella the trouble he had with Ella McBride, the girl who attempted to kill herself in 511 "Forbidden Fruit". Stella give him his advice back, telling him that he cannot save everyone, to which he said that he "just need to hear it" from her.
Stella is also protective of the rest of her colleagues. During episode 311, "Raising Shane," a police captain who dislikes character Danny Messer
harasses him at a crime scene, calling Danny a felon and hinting that he would have him dismissed. Stella steps in and tells the captain to stop threatening her team or she'd go after the captain's badge. After Sheldon Hawkes
is cleared of the crime that he was framed for in the same episode, Stella is the first person to greet him when he is released.
Stella has also built a strong friendship with fellow CSI Lindsay Monroe
. Stella is hurt when Lindsay refuses to share her troubles in episode 312, "Silent Night," but when Lindsay later comes to her and asks for a friend, Stella responds immediately, "You've got one." When Lindsay must return to Montana to testify in a murder trial, Stella, not Mac, is the one she informs first. Just a few minutes before the trial begins, Lindsay calls her to talk to her and Stella comforts her. Stella also shows a fondness for Lindsay's enthusiastic explanations of evidence and occasional demonstrations, usually with a remark along the lines of "I love it when she does this." She also gave Lindsay a form of assurance that she has good coworkers, who will understand and be happy for her, when in her anxiousness over her pregnancy and getting exposed to chemical substances in the lab, the younger woman asks her about the security procedure for a pregnant friend of her in Jersey. At the end of the conversation, Stella said to Lindsay to tell her friend "congratulations," indicating that she knows that Lindsay is actually the one who was pregnant. When Lindsay and Danny got married in episode 517, "Green Piece," Stella and Mac were there as witnesses.
Stella is also good friends with Det. Don Flack
. They often work cases together and she appreciates his sense of humor. In episode 221, "All Access," Flack is especially gentle with Stella when he comes to take her statement following her hostage ordeal. He tells her she is a friend and she responds that he is a "very good friend." In "Charge of This Post" (episode 224), she takes turns with the other team members staying at Flack's bedside as he recovers from his near-fatal injuries from a bomb blast. It is hinted at that she and Flack have known each other for longer than her time as a CSI.
Stella is also hinted to have been flirty with Miami-Dade PD Lt. Horatio Caine
during the CSI: NY and CSI: Miami
crossover episode "Manhattan Manhunt" where they work together to find a notorious killer.
In episode 6.01 "Epilogue", she has a one night stand with Adam Ross
. A few days later, they discuss that it was wonderful, but better left un-repeated.
Stella does not suffer fools gladly. During "Open and Shut" (episode 306), she initially expresses sympathy for a woman who appears to be the only survivor of a double homicide in her home. After further investigation reveals that the woman is not the victim but the mastermind of the crime, Stella is furious and confronts the woman in the interrogation room. When the woman smugly compares her situation to Stella's with Frankie, Stella counters that their situations were nothing alike; Stella had been a victim who acted out of self-defense, while the woman was a cold-blooded murderer who wanted to escape what she hinted was a bad marriage. In episode 202, "Grand Murder at Central Station," she is plainly disgusted by the murder suspect's belittling of his blind victim.
In episode 316, "Heart of Glass," Stella accidentally cuts herself on a piece of glass while processing a crime scene, potentially exposing herself to the victim's HIV-positive blood. Though she immediately cleans and bandanges the wound, as well as starting an anti-viral regimen, she cannot know for several months whether she has contracted HIV. The uncertainty has already interfered with her life, as when she refuses to let Hawkes touch her after a suspect smashes the one-way mirror in the interrogation room and Stella is cut on the cheek by a shard of the broken mirror.
Stella's timely arrival in the autopsy room, as well as her administration of epinephrine, is critical in saving the life of coroner Sid Hammerback
, who suffers a severe allergic reaction to a sandwich he had eaten earlier. Later, Stella expresses her concern to Hammerback that she may have exposed him to HIV when she administered CPR, but he is simply grateful to her and happy to be alive (episode 317, "The Ride In").
By episode 320, "What Schemes May Come," she expresses a desire to know once and for all whether or not she is HIV-positive. Stella asks Mac to requisition the necessary supplies for a PCR DNA test, which will provide faster results than the standard tests. As the lab already has the facilities required and someone (specifically lab tech Adam Ross
) qualified to perform the tests, Mac approves the expense. Adam later performs the test, and she learns, to her elation, that she is HIV-negative (episode 321, "Past Imperfect").
Stella's blood is accidentally entered into CODIS due to a lab tech error during her PCR DNA test. Philadelphia Homicide gets a hit for it in a cold case involving some bloody clothes found buried along a highway. The Cold Case Squad sends out Detective Scotty Valens (played by Danny Pino
) to investigate and question Stella's involvement. Despite his initial threat of handcuffing her, he eventually clears her of culpability in the matter. After he leaves New York, Stella figures out the true culprit is her foster sister. She locates the woman, who is living under an alias, and, while she does confront her, Stella does not immediately cuff her, but gives her a day to flee. It is unknown how much she later reveals to Detective Valens (episode 322, "Cold Reveal").
Stella and her colleagues attempt to defend Mac Taylor on the stand after the senior CSI comes under fire for his supposed culpability in the death of kidnapper/murderer Clay Dobson. She is forced to admit that Mac violated department procedures when he charged alone after Dobson. However, Stella later advises Mac to learn to play politics, as that is what the trumped-up charges are all about. After Mac is cleared, she congratulates him on a game well-played, but agree that this is likely not the last time he will be put under the microscope (episode 323, "...Comes Around").
In "The 34th Floor" it is revealed that Stella has moved to New Orleans and is head of a crime lab. .
Fictional character
A character is the representation of a person in a narrative work of art . Derived from the ancient Greek word kharaktêr , the earliest use in English, in this sense, dates from the Restoration, although it became widely used after its appearance in Tom Jones in 1749. From this, the sense of...
and protagonist
Protagonist
A protagonist is the main character of a literary, theatrical, cinematic, or musical narrative, around whom the events of the narrative's plot revolve and with whom the audience is intended to most identify...
on the CBS crime drama CSI: NY
CSI: NY
CSI: NY is an American police procedural television series that premiered on September 22, 2004, on CBS. The show follows the investigations of a team of NYPD forensic scientists and police officers as they unveil the circumstances behind mysterious and unusual deaths as well as other crimes...
, portrayed by actress Melina Kanakaredes
Melina Kanakaredes
Melina Eleni Kanakaredes Constantinides is an American actress. She is widely known for two starring roles on U.S. prime-time television drama series; playing Detective Stella Bonasera in CSI: NY and portraying Dr...
prior to season 7, at which point the character was written out of the show due to Kanakaredes not renewing her contract. She is replaced by Jo Danville
Jo Danville
Josephine "Jo" Danville is a fictional character on the CBS crime drama CSI: NY, portrayed by Sela Ward.-Background:Jo Danville joins the team as the new Assistant Supervisor, replacing Stella Bonasera. She comes from Virginia, where she worked for the FBI...
, played by Sela Ward
Sela Ward
Sela Ann Ward is an American movie and television actress, perhaps best known for her television roles as Teddy Reed on the American TV series Sisters and as Lily Manning on Once and Again...
.
Background
The character of Stella Bonasera is character Mac TaylorMac Taylor
Mckenna "Mac" Boyd Taylor II is a fictional character and the protagonist on the CBS crime drama CSI: NY, portrayed by Gary Sinise. Andy García was originally offered the lead role, a character who would have been named Detective Rick Calucci...
's second-in-command in the fictional New York Police Department's crime lab of the television show CSI: New York. Throughout various episodes, the writers of the show have revealed that Bonasera began her career working as a patrol officer and once worked Narcotics out of Brooklyn North. She is portrayed as a character with a strong personality, and her unflagging determination to solve a crime has earned the character at least four complaints on her record as a result.
Early life
Stella is a half-Greek, half-Italian orphan (though she identifies more with her Greek side) who grew up at St. Basil's Orphanage. She left when she was eighteen (episode 115, "Til Death Do We Part"). In the season 5 episode "Grounds for Deception", we learn that Stella's mother was a restoration painter from NaousaNaousa, Imathia
Naousa or Naoussa is a city in the Imathia peripheral unit of Macedonia, Greece. Population 34,441.It is famous for its parks and for its ski resorts...
who brought two-year-old Stella with her when she came to New York with an exhibit. Soon after the exhibit, her mother was killed in a traffic accident. Stella is fluent in Greek but her fluency in Italian is unknown. She was in foster care in her early life. It is revealed that a professor, whom Stella was close to, got her out of foster care.
Relationships
Stella's personal life was the subject of a few episodes in Season Two. A boyfriend named Frankie Mala first appeared in the second episode of Season Two, "Grand Murder at Central Station," and he appeared occasionally throughout the rest of the season. In an episode late in Season Two entitled "All Access," after discovering that Frankie had secretly taped them making love and uploaded the footage to the internet, Stella broke off their relationship. In the same episode, Frankie breaks into her apartment shortly after and takes Stella hostage in her home. Stella manages to free herself and, fearing for her life, is forced to kill Frankie with her service weapon in self-defense. In "Dancing With The Fishes," when examining the case of a dancer who falls from New York's only tram onto a car below, Stella notices the bunions and toe injuries and reveals that she was a student of jazz, tap and ballet, and later demonstrates this knowledge in a short basic sequence of dance steps which leaves both Mac and Flack impressed.When Drew Bedford wanted to take revenge on Mac for the death of his brother when they were young, he tried to make Stella fall for him to get closer to Mac. This effort turned out to be in vain, because, relying on her gut, Stella told him that she is "not looking for a relationship." In Season 5, episode 503, "Turbulence", she is seen to be with a firefighter, Brandon Walsh, for a softball practice. Later in episode 515, "The Party's Over," she takes Walsh as her escort to an event.
Stella cares deeply for all the members of her team. She is very close to Mac Taylor as well as Don Flack and constantly worries about their well-being. She and Mac have one of the noticeably closest relationships on the show. Stella acts as his right hand, the most senior member of his team aside from himself. They are so close that, in preparation for a date with a woman he met in a coffee shop, Mac allows Stella to remove his tie at the end of episode 123 ("What You See Is What You See"). In episode 224 "Charge of this Post", she stays with him at the hospital to watch over the injured Don Flack. Considering how uptight Mac had been during the course of the first season, this can be seen as a very trusting, if not intimate, gesture. In episode 109 "Officer Blue", during which Mac and Stella had one of their most heated fights, he admitted that he "honestly wouldn't do this job" without her, when they reconciled at the end of episode. Mac was also the only person (other than Adam, the lab rat who ran the test secretly) whom she told about her fear when she was suspected to have HIV, in episode 317 "The Ride-In".
During Season 5, it is revealed that Professor Papakota, a Greek antiquities expert whom Stella regards as a father figure, is involved in stealing antiquities. Stella, against the advice of Mac, returns to the land of her birth to find and track him down. Along with "Officer Blue", "Grounds for Deception" is when Stella has one of her biggest fights with Mac. She later also finds out that the painting in her office - which Papakota had given her upon graduation from the police academy - had actually been stolen by Professor P. After she returns the painting, she finds out about her mother's identity from Mac, who had followed her to Greece.
When Peyton broke up with Mac, Stella went to the club where Mac plays his bass guitar, and exchanged an understanding smile with him. Mac offered his guest room, when Stella's apartment caught in the fire in episode 416 "Right Next Door", to which she declined reasoning that she snores. In episode 516 "No Good Deed", Mac took Stella for a cup of coffee to "fish some advice", when they were interrupted with an eyeball that dropped into Stella's cup. Later, Mac told Stella the trouble he had with Ella McBride, the girl who attempted to kill herself in 511 "Forbidden Fruit". Stella give him his advice back, telling him that he cannot save everyone, to which he said that he "just need to hear it" from her.
Stella is also protective of the rest of her colleagues. During episode 311, "Raising Shane," a police captain who dislikes character Danny Messer
Danny Messer
Danny Messer is a fictional character on the CBS crime drama CSI: NY, portrayed by actor Carmine Giovinazzo.-Background:It has been implied that Danny Messer grew up on Staten Island , in a family of law enforcers and law breakers...
harasses him at a crime scene, calling Danny a felon and hinting that he would have him dismissed. Stella steps in and tells the captain to stop threatening her team or she'd go after the captain's badge. After Sheldon Hawkes
Sheldon Hawkes
Dr. Sheldon Hawkes is a fictional character on the CBS crime drama CSI: NY, portrayed by Hill Harper. He was originally the sultry voiced Medical Examiner during the first season, but moves into the field in the start of the second season, much to the initial surprise of head CSI Mac...
is cleared of the crime that he was framed for in the same episode, Stella is the first person to greet him when he is released.
Stella has also built a strong friendship with fellow CSI Lindsay Monroe
Lindsay Monroe
Lindsay Monroe is a fictional character from the CBS crime drama CSI: NY, portrayed by actress Anna Belknap.-Background:Lindsay is a native of Bozeman, Montana. Her Western manners, such as removing her shoes before entering a suspect's home, are a novelty to her co-workers...
. Stella is hurt when Lindsay refuses to share her troubles in episode 312, "Silent Night," but when Lindsay later comes to her and asks for a friend, Stella responds immediately, "You've got one." When Lindsay must return to Montana to testify in a murder trial, Stella, not Mac, is the one she informs first. Just a few minutes before the trial begins, Lindsay calls her to talk to her and Stella comforts her. Stella also shows a fondness for Lindsay's enthusiastic explanations of evidence and occasional demonstrations, usually with a remark along the lines of "I love it when she does this." She also gave Lindsay a form of assurance that she has good coworkers, who will understand and be happy for her, when in her anxiousness over her pregnancy and getting exposed to chemical substances in the lab, the younger woman asks her about the security procedure for a pregnant friend of her in Jersey. At the end of the conversation, Stella said to Lindsay to tell her friend "congratulations," indicating that she knows that Lindsay is actually the one who was pregnant. When Lindsay and Danny got married in episode 517, "Green Piece," Stella and Mac were there as witnesses.
Stella is also good friends with Det. Don Flack
Donald Flack, Jr.
Don Flack is a character on the CBS television series, CSI: NY. He is portrayed by Eddie Cahill.- Characterization :Detective Don Flack is portrayed as the legal muscle for the CSI: NY team, similar to the roles of his Las Vegas and Miami counterparts Jim Brass and Frank Tripp. He can often be...
. They often work cases together and she appreciates his sense of humor. In episode 221, "All Access," Flack is especially gentle with Stella when he comes to take her statement following her hostage ordeal. He tells her she is a friend and she responds that he is a "very good friend." In "Charge of This Post" (episode 224), she takes turns with the other team members staying at Flack's bedside as he recovers from his near-fatal injuries from a bomb blast. It is hinted at that she and Flack have known each other for longer than her time as a CSI.
Stella is also hinted to have been flirty with Miami-Dade PD Lt. Horatio Caine
Horatio Caine
Horatio Caine is a fictional character and the protagonist in the CBS crime drama CSI: Miami, portrayed by David Caruso. He is currently head of the crime lab, under the rank of Lieutenant of the MDPD.-Fictional character biography:...
during the CSI: NY and CSI: Miami
CSI: Miami
CSI: Miami is an American police procedural television series, which premiered on September 23, 2002 on CBS. The series is a spin-off of CSI: Crime Scene Investigation....
crossover episode "Manhattan Manhunt" where they work together to find a notorious killer.
In episode 6.01 "Epilogue", she has a one night stand with Adam Ross
Adam Ross
Adam Ross is a fictional character on the television series CSI: NY. He is portrayed by A. J. Buckley.-Background:He makes his first appearance in season two, helping out in the Audio/Visual department...
. A few days later, they discuss that it was wonderful, but better left un-repeated.
In the line of duty
Of the four complaints on her record, two are from felons subsequently imprisoned, one is from a murder suspect released because of an error by an ADA, and the fourth is filed in "Supply and Demand" (episode 121) by the father of a college student suspected of selling drugs that had already killed a fellow student. The insinuation is that Stella is willing to push a suspect's buttons in an effort to get a confession or information.Stella does not suffer fools gladly. During "Open and Shut" (episode 306), she initially expresses sympathy for a woman who appears to be the only survivor of a double homicide in her home. After further investigation reveals that the woman is not the victim but the mastermind of the crime, Stella is furious and confronts the woman in the interrogation room. When the woman smugly compares her situation to Stella's with Frankie, Stella counters that their situations were nothing alike; Stella had been a victim who acted out of self-defense, while the woman was a cold-blooded murderer who wanted to escape what she hinted was a bad marriage. In episode 202, "Grand Murder at Central Station," she is plainly disgusted by the murder suspect's belittling of his blind victim.
In episode 316, "Heart of Glass," Stella accidentally cuts herself on a piece of glass while processing a crime scene, potentially exposing herself to the victim's HIV-positive blood. Though she immediately cleans and bandanges the wound, as well as starting an anti-viral regimen, she cannot know for several months whether she has contracted HIV. The uncertainty has already interfered with her life, as when she refuses to let Hawkes touch her after a suspect smashes the one-way mirror in the interrogation room and Stella is cut on the cheek by a shard of the broken mirror.
Stella's timely arrival in the autopsy room, as well as her administration of epinephrine, is critical in saving the life of coroner Sid Hammerback
Sid Hammerback
Dr. Sid Hammerback, M.D. is a fictional character on the CBS crime drama CSI: NY, portrayed by Robert Joy.- Background :Known for the breakaway reading glasses he uses in the morgue , Hammerback is a New York City Medical Examiner described as an "off-the-charts genius" who traded in a career as a...
, who suffers a severe allergic reaction to a sandwich he had eaten earlier. Later, Stella expresses her concern to Hammerback that she may have exposed him to HIV when she administered CPR, but he is simply grateful to her and happy to be alive (episode 317, "The Ride In").
By episode 320, "What Schemes May Come," she expresses a desire to know once and for all whether or not she is HIV-positive. Stella asks Mac to requisition the necessary supplies for a PCR DNA test, which will provide faster results than the standard tests. As the lab already has the facilities required and someone (specifically lab tech Adam Ross
Adam Ross
Adam Ross is a fictional character on the television series CSI: NY. He is portrayed by A. J. Buckley.-Background:He makes his first appearance in season two, helping out in the Audio/Visual department...
) qualified to perform the tests, Mac approves the expense. Adam later performs the test, and she learns, to her elation, that she is HIV-negative (episode 321, "Past Imperfect").
Stella's blood is accidentally entered into CODIS due to a lab tech error during her PCR DNA test. Philadelphia Homicide gets a hit for it in a cold case involving some bloody clothes found buried along a highway. The Cold Case Squad sends out Detective Scotty Valens (played by Danny Pino
Danny Pino
Daniel G. "Danny" Pino is an Cuban American actor. 2002 saw him appear in London's West End in the theatre play called Up for Grabs with Madonna. In May 2003, Pino played Desi Arnaz in a CBS special on the life of Lucille Ball, Lucy: The Lucille Ball Story. Pino was born in Miami, Florida...
) to investigate and question Stella's involvement. Despite his initial threat of handcuffing her, he eventually clears her of culpability in the matter. After he leaves New York, Stella figures out the true culprit is her foster sister. She locates the woman, who is living under an alias, and, while she does confront her, Stella does not immediately cuff her, but gives her a day to flee. It is unknown how much she later reveals to Detective Valens (episode 322, "Cold Reveal").
Stella and her colleagues attempt to defend Mac Taylor on the stand after the senior CSI comes under fire for his supposed culpability in the death of kidnapper/murderer Clay Dobson. She is forced to admit that Mac violated department procedures when he charged alone after Dobson. However, Stella later advises Mac to learn to play politics, as that is what the trumped-up charges are all about. After Mac is cleared, she congratulates him on a game well-played, but agree that this is likely not the last time he will be put under the microscope (episode 323, "...Comes Around").
In "The 34th Floor" it is revealed that Stella has moved to New Orleans and is head of a crime lab. .
External links
- CSI:NY official website see here for the Cold Case crossover