View source for Bridget O'Malley


{{Infobox character
|image = <tabber> 
1998 = [[File:JennyBridgetOMalley.png|250px]]|-|
1994 = [[File:JennyBridget1994.jpg|250px]]|-|
</tabber>
|imagewidth = 250px
|caption = Bridget (right) with younger sister Jenny.
|fullname = Bridget O'Malley
|born = c. Early to mid 1897
|firstappearance = ''[[Samantha Learns a Lesson]]''
|father = [[Minor Characters in Samantha's Series (N-Z)#Mr. O'Malley|Mr. O'Malley]] (deceased)<br>[[Gardner Edwards]] (after adoption)
|mother = [[Minor Characters in Samantha's Series (N-Z)#Mrs. O'Malley|Mrs. O'Malley]] (deceased)<br>[[Cornelia Edwards]] (after adoption)
|uncle = [[Mike O'Malley]]
|siblings = [[Nellie O'Malley]]<br>[[Jenny O'Malley]]<br>[[Samantha Parkington]] (after adoption)<br>[[Minor Characters in Samantha's Series (A-M)#William Samuel Edwards|William Samuel Edwards]]
}}
'''Bridget O'Malley''' is the younger sister of [[Nellie O'Malley]] and the adopted sister of [[Samantha Parkington]].

==Personality and Facts==
Bridget is the middle of the three O'Malley sisters. She is seven in ''[[Samantha Learns a Lesson]]'' and while the book says she has dark curly hair, she is illustrated with light hair and ''[[Nellie's Promise]]'' states she has blonde hair, which is confirmed in the illustrations of ''[[Samantha: Lost and Found]]''. She also has grey eyes and a high, flutey voice. 

She has a teddy bear named Fred and greatly loves stories, especially scary ones. Unlike Nellie, she and Jenny are easily adjusting to their new well-to-do-life; this is most likely due to their age. However, she does miss her parents and cries in her sleep about them. She and Jenny have a private tutor after being adopted.

==In The Books==

===''[[Meet Samantha]]: An American Girl''===

Bridget is mentioned when Nellie tells Samantha about the day Jenny was born. The two girls were sent out with an uncle (likely Uncle Mike) while Jenny was being born.

===''[[Samantha Learns a Lesson]]: A School Story''===

Bridget's family is hired to work for the Van Sicklens; she does not have a formal job like her elder sister Nellie, so is allowed to attend school. Bridget's first appearance is when Samantha walks Nellie, Jenny, and her to Mount Bedford Public School. Jenny and Bridget are placed in first grade together. At first she and Jenny are nervous about school but after the first day they are very excited. After school Bridget tells Samantha that there are thirty desks in her and Jenny's classroom (and that she can count that high) and that they put their lunches in the clock room (erroneously referring to the cloak room).

===''[[Changes for Samantha]]: A Winter Story''===

Nellie's letter to Samantha says that Bridget, like the rest of them, caught the flu that December. After the death of their parents, the O'Malley sisters are sent to live with their Uncle Mike in New York City and, after being abandoned, are taken to Coldrock House. Jenny and Bridget are separated from Nellie and put in the younger girls' dormitory. Bridget is still weak after being sick with influenza; Mrs. Frouchy thinks she is lazy and Nellie tries to do Bridget's work to keep her from being punished. When the Edwards visit, they both giggle when Gardner makes fun with them, but are quickly corrected by Mrs. Frouchy. Gard gives Bridget a peppermint that she manages to hide and savor. 

Samantha helps the O'Malley sisters escape to prevent their separation when Nellie might be put on the orphan train, and Bridget holds Nellie's hand on the walk to the Edwards' house. She and Jenny immediately start playing with the paper dolls in the room. She and Jenny must stay in the attic during the day while Nellie sneaks out for work and they mostly nap, whisper together, and play with paper dolls. Both girls love to hear about Samantha's tales of the day. Samantha tries to take cocoa up as comfort when Bridget is catching a cold, but is thwarted by Gertrude.

When the girls are caught and brought down, they all are bathed and sleep in Samantha's room. The next day--Valentine's Day--Gardner says that they need more girls there in three sizes, and calls Bridget "medium." All three girls hug and shower Gardner with kisses. 

===''[[Nellie's Promise]]''===

Bridget is seen with Jenny being read to by Gardner, begging for more of the story while sitting in his chair. She has adjusted well to their new well-to-do life. When Nellie tells her and Jenny to get ready for bed, they both protest and beg Gardner not to go. Cornelia is the one that reminds Nellie that she does not have to bathe the girls, as Gertrude can take them for their bath. She hides her face against Gardner when Gertrude comes to take them to bathe, but is persuaded with a story from Samantha.

[[File:Np-3.jpg|thumb|375px|Bridget and Jenny in the motorcar.]] At the [[Locations in Samantha's Series#Settlement House|settlement house]], [[Minor Characters in Samantha's Series|Mrs. VanVorst]] says she misses Jenny and Bridget and their love of stories. After being disturbed by the conditions at the settlement house, Samantha is even more doting on her and Jenny, tucking a curl back. That night, when a storm scares her and Jenny, they run into Samantha and Nellie's room and insist on sleeping in their bed that night.

When Gardner suggests a motorcar ride, she is eager to go. When the car won't start, she and Jenny get restless and climb up front to pretend to drive, making a lot of noise. She calls to Samantha to get in to pretend to be their passenger. She and Jenny bounce so much the car rattles; they stop when Nellie tells them to, but start back up. When Bridget honks the horn by mistake she and Jenny start laughing. Nellie scolds them and Bridget calls her a spoilsport. Samantha persuades the girls to go inside while Nellie and Gardner tinker with the car. Gardner calls them the "gleesome threesome" and Nellie feels left out. She continues to feel distant from her sisters for much of the book.

Bridget, Jenny, and Nellie are all adopted by the Edwards.

===''[[The Curse of Ravenscourt]]''===

===''[[The Stolen Sapphire]]''===

Jenny and Bridget are at the dock when Nellie and Samantha depart with Grandmary and Admiral Beemis. Nellie is crying and Samantha says they'll be fine since Aunt Cornelia will take them to the Wild West show and Gardner will take them skating in Central Park. Furthermore, Bridget is starting violin lessons. 

===''[[The Cry of the Loon]]''===

===''[[Samantha: The Gift]]''===

Bridget and Jenny are not seen, as events are moved around so that only Nellie is present in Mount Bedford and is the only one who attends school; the rest of her family is still back in New York City. Nellie talks on them briefly while spending time with Samantha on a Sunday afternoon, and later must return to New York City because their mother is ill with influenza and Nellie has to help with them. Bridget is stated to be six as of the fall; given that Jenny is stated to be four, it is likely Bridget's birthday has already passed.  

===''[[Samantha: Lost and Found]]''===

Bridget is now stated to be eight. There are no changes in her character and events from the original texts. 

===''[[Samantha: The Next Chapter]]''===

Nellie, Bridget, and Jenny have moved to San Francisco; Samantha does not see them as often. Gardner, Cornelia, and William stop to visit the three on the way to visit the Far East for a vacation.

==[[Samantha's Surprising Birthday]]==

==''[[Samantha: An American Girl Holiday]]''==

Bridget, Nellie, and Jenny are first seen heading into the Ryland home with their father; Bridget is stated to be seven years old. They are all there to help with the housework. Later when their father dies, the girls are sent to the Coldrock Orphanage and separated from Nellie. Samantha later helps the girls escape and hides them in the attic of her home for the time being.

Bridget eventually comes down with a high fever after her time at the Cold Rock Orphanage; the illness makes Samantha reveal she has brought the O'Malley sisters to the house. All three girls are adopted by the Edwards.

Bridget is played by ''Hannah Endicott-Douglas''.

==Trivia==

* In the original illustrations by [[Nancy Niles]] and [[Luann Roberts]], both Bridget and Jenny were illustrated with blonde hair. After the new illustrations by [[Dan Andreasen]] gave one sister blonde hair and one sister dark hair, there was some confusion about which sister was which, with different books giving conflicting information. ''[[Nellie's Promise]]'' later clarified that Bridget has blonde hair and Jenny has dark hair, as did their individual portraits in ''[[Samantha: Lost and Found]]''.
* Bridget and Jenny also appear as characters in Samantha's Mystery Party Game.

{{DEFAULTSORT:O'Malley, Bridget}}
[[Category:Samantha Parkington]]
[[Category:Nellie O'Malley]]
[[Category:Siblings]]
[[Category:Minor Characters]]

----
''This page incorporates text from [https://americangirl.fandom.com/wiki/Bridget_O%27Malley the source wiki] ([https://americangirl.fandom.com/index.php?oldid=130795 exported version], [https://americangirl.fandom.com/index.php?title=Bridget+O%27Malley&action=history contributor history]), under [https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/ the original text license].''