Maddy Ferguson

“You looked at me and you saw Laura. Wanna know something kind of strange? I liked it.”

Screenshot of Sheryl Lee as Maddy Ferguson, from David Lynch’s Twin Peaks.
© Lynch/Frost & Twin Peaks Productions.

Madeleine Ferguson, Laura Palmer’s cousin

Although Maddy Ferguson is several years older than her murdered cousin, she looks almost exactly like Laura Palmer, apart from her dark hair and glasses.

While their looks might be almost identical, the sweet Maddy Ferguson is nothing like Laura, who was a wild girl with multiple sexual relationships. Madeleine Ferguson has a job and own apartment in Missoula and values her independence.

Maddy Ferguson’s Story

When Madeleine Ferguson was young

When they were young, Maddy and Laura Palmer used to pretend they were sisters. Maddy used to visit Laura for a whole week. She, Laura and Donna Hayward built a fort in the Palmer’s house backyard and camped out.

Maddy once brought a pack of cigarettes with her and offered Laura and Donna to try, after Laura’s mom and dad were asleep.

When Maddy turned sixteen, Laura was jealous of her life and wished she was sixteen. Maddy had a boyfriend at home by then and Laura wondered how it would be to have a boyfriend herself.

Maddy described how she kissed her boyfriend with her tongue. Donna didn’t like the idea of tongue-kissing, and Laura pretended to think the same but later confessed to her diary that, when she heard how you do it, she got a funny feeling in her stomach.

Maddy attends Laura Palmer’s funeral

Madeleine Feguson travels to Twin Peaks from her hometown of Missoula, Montana to help her uncle and aunt, Leland and Sarah Palmer, overcome the loss of their daughter.

When arriving in Twin Peaks, Maddy Ferguson finds both parents devastated by their daughter’s murder. Maddy accompagnies them to Laura’s funeral, that turns into chaos when Laura’s official boyfriend Bobby Briggs starts a fight with Laura’s secret boyfriend James Hurley.

Maddy’s heart breaks as she witnesses Laura’s father Leland Palmer fling himself on his daughter’s casket when it is lowered into the grave. She can still hear the funeral planner yell: “The whole thing’s gone haywire!”

James Hurley sees Laura Palmer in Maddy

Madeleine decides to take care for her uncle and aunt the days after the funeral. Because of her poor cooking skills, she buys meals at the Double R Dinner, where she meets with James Hurley, Laura’s secret boyfriend.

“You looked at me and you saw Laura. Wanna know something kind of strange? I liked it.”

James is immediately enchanted by Maddy’s resemblance to Laura. He arranges a meeting with her and Donna where they come up with the idea to start their own investigation into the murder of Laura Palmer.

Maddy finds Laura’s audio tape recordings addressed to Dr Jacoby

Maddy remembers her cousin Laura used to hide cigarettes in the bed post. When she goes to check it out, she finds two audio tape boxes, of which one – the one dated February 23rd, the day Laura died – is empty.

Maddy, James and Donna play the audio tape and discover Laura Palmer had been sending tapes to Dr Jacoby, Twin Peaks’ psychiartrist.

Maddy Ferguson: Twin Peaks’ Laura Palmer lookalike

They decide to go after the missing tape which they suspect to find at Dr Jacoby’s house. James comes up with a plan to lure Dr Jacoby from his house.

They dress up Maddy to look like Laura. Without the glasses and wearing a blonde wig, Maddy Ferguson’s ressemblance to Laura is frightening and comes as a shock even to James Hurley.

A videotape shot at Easter Park including ‘Laura Palmer’ with today’s newspaper must help convince Dr Jacoby that his beloved patient is still alive.

Maddy spied upon in Easter Park

They use a public phone cell located near the gazebo in Easter Park to call Dr Jacoby. Maddy imitates Laura’s voice. She asks Dr Jacoby to meet her at Sparkwood and 21 and tells him he will find a videotape with further proof at his door step.

As the video shortly shows the gazebo in Easter Park, Maddy’s real whereabouts are revealed. Lawrence Jacoby jumps in his car and drives to Easter Park. Spying on Maddy from the bushes, Dr Jacoby gets beaten down by a second man who is spying on Maddy, and nearly dies of a heart attack.

Madelein Ferguson: Twin Peaks’ new femme fatale?

Although she’s quite different from Laura, Madelein Ferguson kind of likes it when people see Laura in her, especially James Hurley.

During their recording of a song called ‘Just you’, Donna notices Maddy is flirting with James and bursts out in tears. Right after that, Maddy has a vision of BOB stepping right at her in the Palmer’s house living room.

Maddy Ferguson and the secret diary of Laura Palmer

Donna and James’ relation is in danger when Donna catches Maddy holding hands with James at the Double R Dinner. When Donna steps in on Maddy and James hugging and kissing, she turns to Harold Smith, a customer of the Meals on Weels program, who is smart, caring and unlike anyone she knows.

Donna discovers Harold Smith has in its possession the secret diary from Harold Smith and convinces Maddy to help her steal it. This time they operate without James, who had been told by Sheriff Truman not to get mixed up in things again after nearly having caused Dr Jacoby’s death.

Maddy eventually understands she shouldn’t come between James and Donna and decides to go back home to Missoula, Montana.

Maddy Ferguson – Quotes

“I had the strangest dream last night. The rug. Right here! Right from this angle I’m sitting!”

“I saw you yesterday at the funeral. My name’s Madeleine Ferguson. Laura was my cousin.”

“When we were growing up, Laura and I were so close. It was scary. I could feel her thoughts, like our brains were connected or something.”

“You looked at me and you saw Laura. Wanna know something kind of strange? I liked it.”

“All I did was to come to a funeral. And it’s like I fell into a dream. It’s like people think I’m Laura. And I’m not!”