Lindsay Bluth Fünke formerly Nellie Sitwell is the sister of Michael, G.O.B. and Buster Bluth, and the adopted and only daughter of Lucille and George Bluth. As an act of rebellion, Lindsay married Tobias Fünke with whom (and with $130,000 in medical assistance) she had her daughter Maeby Fünke.

Lindsay and Tobias have a rocky relationship, partially due to Tobias' ambiguous sexuality and Lindsay's flippant attitude. Lindsay is an extremely hands-off mother to Maeby, often forgetting she exists. To fill her spare time, Lindsay enjoys shopping, frequenting upscale restaurants and bars, and hosting charity events.

Lindsay is portrayed by Portia de Rossi and appears in 53 episodes of Arrested Development. She was last seen reuniting with Tobias at George's exoneration party.

About

As a member of the Bluth family 

Lindsay was adopted from Stan Sitwell at the age of 3 and was raised believing she was Michael's twin sister. Being the only daughter, Lucille was extremely critical of Lindsay's appearance. George, being a hands-off parent himself, was only proud of her good looks. It's no surprise she developed a jaded personality. Her brother Michael was quick to console her, which may explain why out of her entire family she gets along with Michael the most. G.O.B. doesn't respect Lindsay, but then again he doesn't respect any women. Buster sees Lindsay as a mother figure, but then again he sees all women as potential mother figures.

After a critical childhood, Lindsay moved to Boston where she married Tobias Fünke —  man her parents would never accept — as an act of rebellion. Lindsay and Tobias struggled to conceive and used $130,000 of Bluth Company money to get Lindsay pregnant with Mae "Maeby" Fünke. Attempting to spare her daughter the rough childhood Lindsay endured, she took a 100% hands-off approach to raise Maeby, letting her self-manage. 

After Tobias lost his medical license and her access to the Bluth Company credit card were cut off, Lindsay moved back to Newport Beach to be with the rest of the Bluth family.

Romantic history

Little is known about her romantic history before meeting Tobias. Her marriage to the analrapist could be described as anything but romantic. Tobias struggles with his own sexuality and Lindsay is not attracted to him in any way. They occasionally share moments of connection when they remember that they were attracted to each other people they thought they could change the world with their charitable actions. 

In 2004, Tobias and Lindsay attempt an open relationship "great experiment" to see if it could jump-start their stagnant marriage. They start to see it as a competition and lie to each other about their progress, while in reality they never follow through with other partners. That doesn't stop Lindsay from flirting, however. At various points in the experiment, Lindsay flirts with actor Tom Jane, high school student Steve Holt, bounty hunter Ice, and family lawyer Bob Loblaw. 

Work history

After growing up with a silver spoon in her mouth, Lindsay never learned the value of a hard day's work. After moving to Boston and living off her husband's therapist salary and paychecks from the Bluth Company, Lindsay  began throwing charity fundraisers at her home. After Tobias lost his job and all Bluth assets were frozen, Lindsay struggled to adapt to a more domestic life. Never having developed a strong sense of business, Lindsay attempted to start a few businesses on a whim, including Mommy, What Will I Look Like?, Dip-A-Pet, and a beads (not bees) company. None succeeded. 

Lindsay temporarily works as a secretary at the Bluth Company offices, as a spokeswoman for Cloudmir vodka,  and as a saleswoman as a high-end fashion botique.

Character history

Season one

Lindsay visits Newport Beach for her father's retirement party. After he is arrested, she and her recently unemployed husband Tobias decide to move back to California. ("Pilot") Lindsay visits Tobias' Fire Sale audition but snags the role with her legitimate enthusiasm. She sleeps through the shoot and misses out. ("Top Banana") Lindsay buys a new dress and tries to find a loophole to keep it, but it is found by Tobias and given to Steve Holt to wear in a play. ("Bringing Up Buster") Lindsay tries to talk Johnny Bark out of a Bluth Company tree but gets trapped in the tree. She decides to save the tree until she leaves to sleep in her own bed. ("Key Decisions")

Lindsay challenges Michael to be more charitable and he does the same. She volunteers to help clean up the wetlands but finds herself in over her head. She then heads to the Save the Wetlands Bachelorette Auction. ("Charity Drive") Lindsay and Tobias visit marriage councilor Phil Gunty and although Tobias enjoys the roleplay, she hates it. ("Visiting Ours") Lucille tells Lindsay the only way to get money from Michael is to get him drunk. She does so and tells Michael about Tobias' Never Nude affliction and he agrees to give her money to pay off her bills. When they realize their mother has turned them against each other, they pool their money to get their dad out of prison to shame their mother on a date. ("In God We Trust") Lindsay visits her father in prison but turns no heads. She dresses more provacative and still turns no heads. She then wears a SLUT shirt and George tells her he's paying the inmates to not look at her. This pleases Lindsay. ("My Mother, the Car")

Lindsay tells Michael that she is anti-leather so Maeby buys an entire leather outfit, but Lindsay doesn't notice. ("Storming the Castle") Lindsay punished Maeby for poor grades and makes her spend time with Lucille. Maeby realizes that Lindsay had a rough childhood due to Lucille's harsh criticism. ("Pier Pressure") Lindsay gets a job representing Cloudmir vodka to improve the Bluth family image, but can't help but brawl with PR agent Jessie after she bad-talked her in the newspaper. ("Public Relations") Michael's Valentine's Day speech inspired Lindsay to get a divorce from Tobias, so she switches bedrooms to stay in the same room as Maeby. ("Marta Complex")

Lindsay and Tobias fight about his Never Nude affliction so Lindsay walks him slowly into intercourse to help him overcome the illness. ("Beef Consommé") George Michael tells Lindsay that he likes his teacher Beth Baerly but Lindsay tells Michael he wants her to be his new mother. ("Shock and Aww") Lindsay swings by the Bluth Company offices  to pick up her paycheck and criticizes Michael during a staff meeting. She later tells the employees to go to lunch, but instead they get lost on Catalina Island. ("Staff Infection") Lindsay and Tobias take a hands-on approach to parenting: they pay George Michael to tutor her. ("Altar Egos")

Lindsay breaks a heel on The Ten Commandments outside the courthouse so she protests to have it removed. ("Justice Is Blind") Lindsay and Maeby track down their grandmother Nana to secure their name on her will, but find out she's been dead for a while. ("Missing Kitty") Lindsay, Tobias, and Maeby reunite Dr. Fünke's 100% Natural Good-Time Family Band Solution for a Wellness Convention and Lindsay resumes taking Teamocil to put up with her husband. ("Best Man for the Gob")

Lindsay, upset that her stylist Alex has been called to serve in Army, protests near Camp Pendleton but is caged in a Free speech zone. When locals spray her with a hose and play music to drown her out, she begins cage dancing for attention. ("Whistler's Mother") Lindsay gets a job at a high-end fashion store so she can afford to buy new clothes. She is ashamed by this so tells her family that she is a shoplifter. She loses her job when G.O.B. tries to shoplift. ("Not Without My Daughter") Lindsay decides to start a bead business but loses interest when Tobias comes into money from sales of The Man Inside Me. When she realizes his obliviousness she decides to leave him. ("Let 'Em Eat Cake")

Season two

Lindsay and Tobias decide to kickstart their marriage by experimenting with an open relationship. Lindsay watches EZ Keglin videos to prepare for finding another partner. She is legitimately worried when she arrives at the hospital when Tobias is hit by a car, but still tries to flirt with the doctor. ("The One Where Michael Leaves") Lindsay flirts with a rugged man who turns out to be homeless, who later turns out to be actor Tom Jane. ("The One Where They Build a House") Lindsay becomes attracted to the Bluth family bounty hunter Ice and feed him bad information so she can see him more often. ("¡Amigos!") Devastated by her father's death, she wears her SLUT shirt to attract Ice, out of respect for her late father's wish that she be with another man than Tobias. ("Good Grief")

Lindsay flirts with Steve Holt so Maeby convinces him that her mother is a transvestite. ("Sad Sack") Lindsay and George Michael sing "Afternoon Delight" to get petty revenge on Michael and Maeby who are bonding at the Bluth Company holiday party. ("Afternoon Delight") Lindsay begins taking Teamocil just for the side effect of a diminished sex drive. ("Switch Hitter") Lindsay wanted to sell her unfrozen Bluth Company shares for a Country Club membership, but Tobias wasted them on buying the Tobias is Queen Mary. ("Queen for a Day")

Attempting to woo celebrity gun advocate Moses Taylor, Lindsay wears a fur coat on a date. Tobias mistakes her for a loose wolf and shoots her with a tranquilizer gun so she is severely drugged at the bachelorette auction. ("Burning Love") Michael notices Lindsay took an interest in Dragon so he tricked her into a date with Uncle Jack. She realized and decided to be a team player, for the sake of the family. ("Ready, Aim, Marry Me") Lindsay and Tobias bond as they break into Maggie Lizer's house to determine if she is really pregnant. ("Out on a Limb") Their connection lasts and they get angry with Michael when he doubts the legitimacy of the baby. ("Hand to God")

Lindsay's interest in Tobias wanes again and she tells Michael she wants somebody authoritative like her father. When Tobias mimics George Bluth for his role in Scandalmakers she finds herself attracted to him again. ("Motherboy XXX") Lindsay gets grumpy when Michael makes her clean the model home. She tricks Lupe into cleaning the house, but later Mrs. Featherbottom takes over. ("The Immaculate Election") Lindsay begs Michael to give Tobias a job to get him out of the house, and later teaches George Michael how to drive the stair car. ("Sword of Destiny")

Lindsay encourages George Michael to follow his heart and get pre-engaged to Ann. ("Meat the Veals") Upset at the demeaning Girls with Low Self-Esteem series, Lindsay and Tobias set out to film Men with Low Self-Esteem after Phillip Litt ruins her "Girls with High Self-Esteem" protest. ("Spring Breakout") When Tobias decides to move to Las Vegas with Kitty, Lindsay becomes depressed and tries to convince him to stay, to no effect. ("Righteous Brothers")

Season three

After learning Tobias is living happily without her in Reno Lindsay decides to drive up and rekindle their marriage. Once she learns he's ready to move back she changes her mind. ("The Cabin Show") Lindsay and her parents mock how Michael is a chicken around women. She is later impressed when he lands Rita. ("For British Eyes Only") Lindsay takes an interest in the new Bluth family attorney Bob Loblaw and tries to start an affair with him. ("Forget-Me-Now") She signs Hope Loblaw up for the Miss Inner Beauty pageant at the Church and State Fair hoping it will impress Bob. ("Notapusy")

Lindsay meets with the family to discuss the mole named "Mr. F". ("Mr. F") She bonds with Rita when Michael and her get engaged. She is ready to be a bridesmaid in her wedding until her MRF secret is uncovered. ("The Ocean Walker") Lindsay stands by her husband's Graft Versus Host, hoping it will bring her a lot of attention and sympathy. ("Prison Break-In") She continues to flirt with Bob, who thinks he is representing her in her divorce hearings so he doesn't flirt back. She drops him as her attorney and finds out he is now representing Tobias. ("Making a Stand")

Lindsay discovers her inner domestic side and starts to "cook" and "clean" around the house, and for a short period of time acts motherly toward Buster. ("S.O.B.s") When Buster is admitted to the hospital for a light coma, she petitions to let him die so she can flirt with a fellow petitioner. While she and Tobias argue over the comatose Buster, he awakens and tells them to fake their love, for the sake of the family. ("Fakin' It")

Lindsay and Michael discuss the mysterious "Nellie" they find in old family scrapbooks (who later turns out to be Lindsay). She and her husband plan a night of intimacy in one month, but she still arranges a date with a bodybuilder named Michael. ("Family Ties") To avoid testifying at court, Lucille and Lindsay check into rehab. ("Exit Strategy") While attempting to sell her Bluth Company shares to Stan Sitwell she discovers she was adopted. She tries to flirt with Michael, now that she knows he's not her real brother. In the end, she and Tobias look at each other happily. ("Development Arrested")

Season four

Lindsay will return to graciously ask for my favors in Season Four, this May.

Teaser poster, featuring an ice cube	Character poster

Trivia

• Lindsay has had plastic surgery on her nose, and awkwardly covers her face when George Michael stares at it. ("The One Where Michael Leaves") Later, looking at a photo of herself as a child (not knowing it was her) she says "look at the beak on that bird." ("Family Ties")

Images

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Videos

'Arrested Development' Star Portia de Rossi on Show's Return, Life With Ellen Interview 2013(04:56)
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