Tough and intolerant of injustice, Detective Erin Lindsay of popular crime drama series Chicago PD makes for the perfect detective. She is played by the beautiful Sophia Bush, who pulls off the feisty yet feminine protagonist with great skill.
As the narrative of the popular series suggests, she was shaped for her profession through a tough upbringing and shows a resilience that makes her a perfect law enforcer. Fans of Chicago PD probably admire her for showing the perfect balance between femininity and tough perseverance. Here are 10 things fans might not know about Erin Lindsay of Chicago PD fame.
She has Talent and beauty
Detective Erin Lindsay is played by the talented Sophia Bush. Born in 1982, Bush grew up an only child in Pasadena, California. Her mom was a photographer, and her dad ran an advertising studio, also photographing celebrities.
She learned to act in school theatres and also has a string of beauty titles to her name, including Queen of the Tournament of Roses. She isn’t just a star of the silver screen but has made it onto the big screen with One Tree Hill having been her big break into the movies.
She has A difficult past
Detective Erin Lindsay is possibly so dedicated to her cause because of a tumultuous past. While little is known about her childhood or mentioned in the series, the information that is given suggests a lot of mistreatment in her past by the people she most trusted.
She was abused by her father and her mom was a drug addict. Not a good combination as far as parenting goes. Perhaps this is why she is so single-mindedly devoted to detective work and the cause of justice.
She has a history of convictions
It’s hard to believe that someone as bent on bringing justice in criminal situations and catching the bad guys as Erin Lindsay has a history of offenses but Lindsay has her own criminal record, according to the show’s narrative.
Due to her parents’ abusive attitude towards her and neglect, she found herself raised on the streets, so to speak, and led by the wrong influences. She had already been arrested five times by the time she was 14 years of age. Charges against her included: battery, shoplifting, solicitation, possession of drugs, and misdemeanor.
She has commitment issues
Lindsay’s fear of relationships stems from her childhood and lack of attachment to parental figures. While she does develop meaningful relationships in the series, these get dented by past issues. An example is her relationship with Detective Jay Halstead.
This begins to develop into something more personal and is stopped by Voight, who forbids a non-professional relationship between Lindsay and Halstead. His fears are Lindsay’s issues from her rough upbringing.
She loves youth work
Lindsay has a heart for young people going through stuff. She can relate to their sense of vulnerability and her own past has made her sensitive to their unique needs.
One such person she attempts to help in the series is Nadia who is a 17-year-old heroin addict. Nadia eventually moves in with Lindsay and joins the Intelligence Unit of the police as an administrative assistant. The young lady is then murdered and her death shakes Lindsay, who saw in the girl her own story and with everything she had wanted to give her the victory she would’ve wanted as a youth.
She was trained like a warrior
As a teenager, Lindsay was adopted by Sergeant Hank Voight and his family - giving her an early introduction to the strict regiments of police work. The Voight family put her in a good school: St Ignatius School.
When the other students found out about her difficult childhood, she became the target of bullying, which she chose to put up with because she didn’t want to disappoint Voight. As kind-hearted as he was towards her, Voight was also strict and disciplined in his attitude towards parenting.
She has an addictive personality
Lindsay has a tendency to resort to addictive behaviors under stress. To give an example, in the case with Nadia, the young lady she assisted who was later murdered, she did not take the news of her death very well.
Her life did a downward spiral and she resorted to drinking and taking drugs. Because of her distress, it was suggested she take a break from the service for a season, which she did.
A twist in the tale
In the series, Erin Lindsay is sure that former convict Jimmy Sanguinetti is her biological father. However, a later DNA test aided by love interest Jay Halstead reveals a twist in the story. Sanguinetti is not her dad!
A theory of fans is that Hank Voight, who takes in Lindsay as his daughter, is her actual father but this is more than likely not the case.
She isn’t phased by anything
As a rule, Erin Lindsay is not phased by drug lords, gangsters and the hairier characters who arise in the series. This is probably because of her upbringing which saw her alongside some of the less than lovely members of society, who included her own parents.
Her parents, as the narrative suggests, were around a lot of unsavory characters during her childhood. This had two effects. The first, already mentioned, is that she doesn’t get offended by society’s rough and tough. The second is that she has a heart for the lost and broken. She’s a tough cookie but sweet nonetheless.
A tragic brother tale
The show makes it clear that Lindsay was born on the wrong side of the tracks. As such, she had many less than admirable stories to share, some with shocking detail.
One such tragedy which she has lived through was the kidnapping of her half-brother, Teddy Courtney. He was taken by a pedophilia ring as a young teenager, at age 13 years. It would be ten years until the police would find him. Specifically, he was found by the New York Police Department and was tragically working as a male prostitute.
