“ | Where's my daughter?! Where's her body?! | ” |
— Leona to Alison after slapping her in "Through a Glass, Darkly"
|
Leona Vanderwaal (née Davis) is the mother of Mona Vanderwaal. She is portrayed by Sydney Penny.
Series[]
Season 5[]
Knocking on Mona’s bedroom door, Leona walks in and tells her daughter that she has company. When Mona asks who it is, Leona tells her that she should come see for herself. Walking down the stairs, Leona leaves Mona with Hanna, Emily, Aria and Spencer.
Leona walks into the living room where Mona and the other girls are, telling them that she doesn’t mean to interrupt their girl talk, but she wanted to bring some cookies out while they were still warm, “Hanna, is chocolate chip still your favorite?” As Hanna tells Leona that it’s so nice of her, Emily says that they have to go, to which Leona tells them she she’ll send some home with them and that she’ll be right back. Walking back into the living room, Leona passes Hanna a Tupperware container of cookies, and Hanna thanks her before saying that chocolate chip are still her favorite. After Mona has excused herself, and Hanna begins to leave, Leona calls Hanna back and says that she has to ask, “now that she’s back, Alison, is it starting again?” Hanna says that she’s not friends with Alison anymore so she doesn’t really know she’s doing, but she does think that Mona is afraid of her, they all are.
Leaving Principal Hackett’s office, Leona runs into Mona, who asks what she’s doing there. Leona tells her that she was just in the cafeteria dropping off the food for the holiday drive, “you forgot to bring the bag this morning”. Mona apologizes, telling Leona that her brain is already on Thanksgiving break, to which Leona tells her that it’s no big deal. As the school bell rings, Leona tells Mona not to be late for class, and Mona says that she’ll see her tonight. Later in the evening, Leona calls out to Mona, and Mona tells her that she’ll be left down.
Loading the car outside the Vanderwaal house, Leona wonders if she told Mona that Leslie is going to be there. Turning to face her mom, Mona says that she talked to Leslie last night and she said she was stuck at school. Telling Mona to pretend she didn’t just ruin the surprise, Leona pulls down the lid of the trunk. Asking Mona to promise that she’ll be on the road within the hour, Leona hugs her daughter, “I don’t want you to get stuck in traffic”. As Mona says that she will, she just has to finish her report and then she’ll be on her way, the mother and daughter give each a couple air kisses, before Leona gets into her car and drives off. Standing outside her house, Leona stands with Officer Barry Maple, as Detective Holbrook walks from inside the crime scene and tells the waiting press that while the investigation is ongoing, they have ruled what has happened a homicide. As Holbrook announces that Mona was murdered, Leona breaks down in tears, hysterically crying out “no! no, no!”.
Leona walks out of the Rosewood Church following Mona’s funeral service. As Leona is having a moment by herself with Mona’s casket, Alison approaches. When Leona turns to face her, Alison says that she came to pay her respects, and to tell her once more that that she had nothing to do with Mona’s death. Overcome with grief and outrage, Leona slaps Alison across the face and screams, “where’s my daughter? Where’s her body?” Hanna walks over and tells Leona that it is okay, before she leads her away from Alison.
In Mona’s bedroom, Leona is straightening the pillows on the bed. Hanna calls out to her from the doorway, and explains that she put a load in the dishwasher, before asking if Leona needs any help folding the chairs. When Leona tells her no, “it’s alright”, Hanna says that she thinks she’ll go. As Hanna turns to walk from the bedroom, Leona takes a deep breath and apologizes about what happened at the service, “it was just… her. Alison. Alive”. Hanna tells her that people understand, and Leona says that it was like Mona was lost at sea, “I accepted that she’s dead. My daughter is dead. But where is she?” Leona questions why she held a funeral for an empty casket, and Hanna tells her that she was trying to find a way to say goodbye, they all are, and that funeral probably helped a lot of people, to which Leona says that she hopes it helped someone. Hanna tells her that she’s just going to fold the chairs before she goes, and as Hanna goes to leave, Leona grabs a stuffed dog from Mona’s bed. Calling Hanna back, Leona tells her that she wants her to take care of the stuffed animal.
Leona is in Mona’s bedroom with Hanna, and tells her that she’s decided what to do. Picking a book from Mona’s shelf, Mona explains that she’s going to set up a fund, “to buy books for the children’s library”, and that inside of each book there will be a card, “with a picture of Mona. Explaining that the book is a gift from her”. Hanna says that she thinks that’s a really nice idea, and passing a book to Hanna, Leona mentions that Mona loved to read, “for a long time I think it was all she had”. Calling Hanna’s name as she stares into nothing, Leona asks if Hanna would like to keep the book she’s holding. Hanna thanks her, before saying that she’s been thinking about what Leona has said about Mona being afraid. Going on, Hanna says that she remembers Mona telling her that she wanted to set up cameras to keep an eye on things. Leona questions, “cameras?”, and Hanna asks if Leona thinks Mona would have done something like that.
Season 6[]
Although she is not present in this episode, Hanna Marin informs the other girls that Leona came and picked up Mona from the hospital.
Although she is not present in this episode, Aria asks Hanna whether Mona will go back to school, and she says that Leona took Mona to Saratoga.
Appearances (2/160)[]
Season 5 (2/25)