The Walking Dead's colorful assortment of characters spans every personality type, race, and historical background one can think of, but often times some of the cast don't get the kind of recognition they deserve. One of these characters is Frankie, whom Walking Dead fans might know best as one of Negan's several wives in the Saviors story arc.
Though she only appeared in a handful of episodes, Frankie was important for the overall scope of Negan's plot progression, by shedding light on his character, and how he affected those around him — even those closest. Here are nine facts about Frankie that fans might not have known, which flesh out her character a bit more.
Her Home Before The Outbreak
Not much is known about Frankie's past, or where she grew up, but it was established that her character was living in San Francisco, California before the zombie outbreak occurred.
It's not known how Frankie managed to make it literally across the country to where Negan had set up the Savior compound in Virginia, however. Such a trek would have been mired in danger, and Frankie may have suffered catastrophic losses along the way, which caused her to view Negan as a source of security.
She Was A Massage Therapist
Other tidbits about Frankie's pre-apocalypse days are not known or explored in the show, which means the audience has very little backstory to go on. One small snippet of intel indicates that Frankie was a licensed massage therapist, which was probably her vocation at the time.
It's also established that one of her specialties as Negan's wife was to provide him with massages, in addition to other favors of a more explicit nature.
She Moved To Alexandria
Following Negan's defeat, and the dissolution of the Saviors, Frankie was effectively free of the prison she had erected for herself. With freedom to move about, she decided to settle down in the Alexandria Safe-Zone along with other Saviors who had agreed to Rick's cause.
The events in between are not known, and Frankie's appearances in subsequent post-Savior seasons of The Walking Dead are scant, at best. What's certain however, is that her new life in Alexandria was a far more peaceful and productive one than with Negan.
She Adopted A Daughter
In addition to moving to Alexandria to start a new life in the midst of the Saviors' demise, Frankie also adopted a daughter named Alice, and took her under her wing. Alice was approximately 9 years old at the time, and was one of the children living at the Savior compound under Negan's direction.
The time period shift in the show's chronology showed Frankie still with Alice in the episode "The Calm Before," though the character has largely disappeared from the limelight in season 10.
She Made Up With Eugene
Frankie's relationship with Eugene was both testy and stressful, especially since she had ulterior motives for getting close to him. As a reward for doing the Saviors a service, Eugene was gifted with his own safe, secure and comfortable room, as well as the company of Negan's several wives (including Frankie) in a non-sexual capacity.
Frankie quickly tried to convince Eugene to create pills in order for Negan's wife Amber to commit suicide, but this was a ruse to plot an assassination attempt against Negan himself. Eugene refused, and the two engaged in blackmail against one another until Eugene gained the upper hand, driving Frankie off in anger. The two are shown to have made up after Negan's defeat, which means it was water under the bridge for these two desperate individuals.
She Was Killed By Alpha
Of the characters who met their grisly demise at the hands of Alpha in the season 9 episode "The Calm Before," Frankie was perhaps the one with the least presence. She only appeared in a handful of episodes following the Savior story arc in seasons 7 and 8, before dropping out of the show altogether.
While some fans might have recognized Frankie as one of Alpha's victims, many others forgot who she was, or simply didn't care. With so many characters to juggle in such a complex show, this was largely unavoidable.
Her Death May Have Provoked Negan
Though not explicitly stated, the death of Frankie at the hands of Alpha and the Whisperers might have been a catalyst for Negan to team up with Carol to take her down. Negan's infiltration of the Whisperer ranks, and his murder of Alpha seems to have driven by several motivations, including a desire to ingratiate himself into the community.
However, the death of a wife by Alpha in such a brutal fashion might have been enough to add a little extra fuel to the fire. Eugene once remarked that Negan didn't care about Frankie because she was replaceable, but only Negan himself knows for sure.
She Was Not In The Comics
Negan's TV show wives differ from the comics in several ways, with no character named Frankie ever having been among them. In reality, she was probably constructed to lend a human element to one of several characters who were all-too-close to Negan for comfort.
It might also explain why the show never bothered to flesh her character out more. With little in the way of a backstory, Frankie served a narrative purpose that was relegated to one specific plot thread. Everything that followed was secondary.
The Actress Who Portrayed Her
Before ing the cast of The Walking Dead, actress Elyse Dufour participated in a number of TV shows including Nashville, Outside The Wire and RePlay. She was also no stranger to the horror sphere, having worked on the set of Constantine, Sleepy Hollow and The Night Sitter.
Following her exit from the show, Dufour has appeared in only one film, 2019's Postal, with her next film Blue Wonder still in post-production.