Dana Scully's Mother

The matriarch of the Scully family who raised an FBI agent and medical doctor in a devout Catholic household.

Margaret "Maggie" Scully, portrayed by Sheila Larken, is the mother of Dana Scully and her three siblings, William "Bill" Scully Jr., Melissa Scully and Charles Scully. She is part of a close-knit Catholic family with Irish ancestry, and was widowed early in the series when her husband, the navy captain Bill Scully, died of a massive heart attack.

Lore & Background

Margaret Scully is established as part of a close-knit Catholic family with Irish ancestry. She is married to William Scully, a navy captain who died of a heart attack in early January 1994. The couple raised their children, including Dana, Bill Jr., Melissa, and Charles, in Annapolis, Maryland, and later San Diego, California. Two conflicting stories exist about Dana's gold cross necklace: after Dana's abduction, Margaret told Mulder she had given it to her as a 15th birthday present, while Dana later recalls receiving it as a Christmas present, when Melissa also received a similar necklace.

Reader's Guide

Margaret Scully is characterized primarily through her familial relationships and religious background rather than professional achievements or specific plot mechanics involving the alien conspiracy. She is identified as the wife of William Scully, a navy captain, and the mother of four children: Dana, Bill Jr., Melissa, and Charles. Her role in the series is largely supportive, providing context for Dana's Catholic upbringing and offering moments of maternal concern, such as her explanation regarding the origin of Dana's cross necklace.

In 2016 she suffers a heart attack and goes into a coma; Dana believed her directive allowed life support, but Margaret had replaced it with a DNR a year earlier, and after hearing Charles's voice on the phone she briefly wakes before dying, with Mulder and Dana by her side, in the episode "Home Again". She may have a bit of psychic intuition: when Dana is kidnapped, Margaret confesses to Mulder that she had a premonition about her but was afraid to tell her skeptical daughter.