Carrie 'Big Boo' Black is an inmate at Litchfield Penitentiary. She is portrayed by Lea DeLaria.
Biography
Before Litchfield
Big Boo had a very strained relationship with her mother. She grew up dressing in traditional boys' clothes, causing her mother to be very disapproving of her. Her mother never really warmed to her presentation as butch. When her mother was dying, her father asked her to hold off on seeing her before she makes her appearance more feminine. She refused, declaring that she would not hide herself for the comfort of her mother. She wishes that she did say good bye to her.
Melanie Hinkle as 13-year-old Carrie Black.
She ran a gambling ring before she was incarcerated.
She is very defensive about her appearance as a "butch" lesbian, e.g. once she assaulted a boy because of some snide homophobic comments towards her. The reasoning behind this is that Boo believes she fought all her life in order to finally be herself, a "butch" - that word is also tattoed on her right arm.
The background to this is shown season 3 we are shown that as a young child Boo was told to "dress up" in feminine clothes (rather than the clothes from the boy's side) in order to please her mother; this was encouraged by her father. Years later when her mother is on her death bed, Boo intending to see her enters the same hospital where she finds her father waiting. Her father once again encourages Boo to "remove her costume" and to visit her mother in "proper" clothing; instead Boo decides not to say good bye as she fought all her life to be accepted for who she is.
She is presumably in her early-to-mid 40s, and she struggles with trust, anxiety, and anger issues. She is given custody of a service dog during season one, which she names "Little Boo" to train as a service dog.
The precise details of how she came to be incarcerated are unknown. However, she has referred to herself as a "thieving dyke," so her offense presumably involved some kind of theft or fraud.
Life in Litchfield
Season One
Big Boo and Little Boo
She was first seen hiding a corn cob and a salt shaker in her armpits. ("I Wasn't Ready")
Black is often accompanied by a dog she named "Little Boo".
Black has Piper helping her write a letter for her appeal and takes the missing screwdriver from Piper's bunk unbeknownst to Piper, which she uses to aid in masturbation.
She later returns the screwdriver to Piper when Piper becomes stressed over the fact that "Pennsatucky" is threatening to kill her. ("Can't Fix Crazy")
Season Two
She got rid of the dog, saying things were getting "weird". It is implied Big Boo used Little Boo to stimulate herself sexually.
She later participates in a competition with Nicky to see who can have sex with the most inmates.
Black has little loyalty to anyone and, trying to ingratiate herself with the powerful Vee, betrays Red by telling Vee about the tunnel. As a result, she is shunned by Red's family, and Vee rejects her for snitching.
Afterwards, she strikes up an unlikely friendship with "Pennsatucky" Doggett and, when Red is hospitalized following an assault by Vee, helps Nicky locate and hide Vee's drug stash.
Season Three
She tries to team up with Nicky to sell the heroin stash to the drug-addicts and threatens her when the stash goes missing.
After finding out about how the evangelical church pays for Pennsatucky's commissary, Boo gets a makeover and tries to convince the Reverend Lawlor that she is a reformed lesbian who has seen the light. However, his hateful comments on the gay community spark her anger and she rejects his help, cursing him in the process.
The relationship with Pennsatucky deepens when she notices bruises on her wrists, and the two plot revenge against the rapist Coates, eventually leading to Doggett faking a seizure to relieve herself from van duty.
Personality
"Big Boo" is a confident and sarcastic inmate who uses her size to intimidate the other women, but she shows moments of tenderness from time to time. At first offended when her most recent former prison "Mrs. Boo", Mercy Valduto, gives away one of her old t-shirts with just days left in her sentence, Boo threatens to mess up her leaving date. In the end, though, she takes Red's advice and backs down, wishing Mercy well at her goodbye party.
She bunks in "The Suburbs" and generally socializes with the white inmates?—more specifically "Red's Girls". Though initially wary, she agrees to let Nicky Nichols invite Piper Chapman and Alex Vause into their annual Secret Santa exchange when Nicky brings up the bonds of family. Having stolen a screwdriver from Piper's bunk just weeks into her arrival to use as a masturbation tool, she regifts it for Christmas knowing Piper needs protection from Pennsatucky.
Boo has control issues, and she reveals early in the second season that "an incident" caused her to lose custody of her therapy dog. She most often comes off as aggressive and competitive, and wants to be seen as powerful. She engages in a "pussy race" with Nicky in season two, judged by Chang, which gets increasingly competitive until it ultimately ends in a draw. Her ego causes her to betray Red's greenhouse smuggling operation to dangerous new inmate Vee Parker, resulting in Red's near-death and disfigurement at Vee's hands. Red's Girls know that Boo was the snitch and they all turn on her, but ultimately Red tells Boo she's forgiven.
Physical Appearance
Boo is heavyset with short black hair and green eyes. She does not wear make-up and has a "butch" appearance. She is often seen wearing her white prison-issue tank top.
Relationships
Romantic
- Mercy Valduto (ex-girlfriend): The two dated some time before season one.
Friends
Memorable Quotes
- "Enough with the clitorference."
- — Big Boo
- "This is more depressing than a Tori Amos cover band."
- — Big Boo
- "Ain't no party like a Big Boo party."
- — Big Boo
- "Okay bitches, who's first in line for some puppy loving?"
- — Big Boo
- "I have unclean thoughts. Lesbian content."
- — Big Boo
- "Jesus was a fag. He said 'This is my body. Eat me.'."
- — Big Boo
- ""A big hetero hello to all of you""
- — Big Boo
- "You were so hot before you were a cunt"
- — Big Boo to Tracy
Gallery
Season 1
"I Wasn't Ready"
Season 2
Promotional Photos
