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Maggie with William
Maggie McFly
Biographical information
Date of birthLate 1850s/early 1860s
Age (1885)Mid twenties/early thirties (conjecture), early twenties (novelization)
Physical description
GenderFemale
Hair colorBrown
Eye colorBrown
Behind-the-scenes information
Played byLea Thompson
Voiced byn/a
  [Source]
" Marty blinked. / "McFly farm?" / Marty sat up as his mother struck a match and lit an oil lamp. / Except it wasn't his mother — was it? / The woman had sat in a chair at the side of the bed. She was in her early twenties, and wore a dark blue flowered dress and a white apron. Her long brown hair was pinned up behind her head in a bun. She still looked an awful lot like Marty's mother. / Except — Marty remembered this now — he had gone back in the DeLorean to the Old West. "
—From Back to the Future Part III by Craig Shaw Gardner (quote, page 48)
"Sure'n I hope you're considerin' the future, Mr. Eastwood?"
—Maggie McFly to Marty at the Town Festival.

Margaret "Maggie" McFly was the wife of Seamus McFly. She was Irish by birth and, together with Seamus and his brother Martin, moved to the United States from Ireland in the 1880s. She was Catholic. Maggie appeared to be in her mid-twenties to early-thirties, placing her birth year in the late 1850s/early 1860s.

Maggie was a no-nonsense woman, not prepared to take any hardships from anyone. Despite this, she loved her husband and their son William dearly and was caring, ready to help those in need.

Biography[]

Seamus, Maggie and Seamus's brother Martin left Ballybowhill, Ireland in the early 1880s with hopes of a better life. They gradually headed west, eventually ending up in Hill Valley, California, although it is unknown exactly when they arrived there.

They either lived in, or passed through, Virginia City, Nevada before arriving in Hill Valley. It was there that Martin McFly lost his life — whilst trying to prove that he wasn't a chicken, he was stabbed in a saloon with a bowie knife. This had an effect on Seamus as well, who remembers his brother and tries not to make the same mistake. Seamus encourages others to learn from Martin's mistake and not let what other people think of them take over their lives.

After settling into Hill Valley, they lived and worked in a farmhouse 14 miles outside of town, together with their son William who was born in April 1885, "the first McFly to be born in America". Since William was a few months old by September 1885, and the townspeople knew the McFlys quite well, they may have been living in Hill Valley for a couple of years by 1885. The couple worked hard on their farm, often going into town — where, local outlaw Buford "Mad Dog" Tannen aside, they were liked by all the townspeople.

Seamus and Maggie first met Marty McFly on September 2, 1885, who had time traveled back from 1955 (and originally from 1985) when he crashed into their fence whilst running from a bear. Seamus found Marty unconscious and he and Maggie took him in, putting him in their bedroom while he recovered.

After Marty woke up, he discovered who his great-great grandparents were. As he couldn't tell them his real name, he called himself "Clint Eastwood". Seamus, in particular, had a feeling about Marty, that they should look after him - especially after seeing Marty hold William, who normally hated strangers. Seamus and Maggie let "Clint" stay in their barn overnight, after telling him about his friend Doc Brown being the local blacksmith in town. The next morning, Seamus gave "Clint" a lift to the railroad tracks into Hill Valley.

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Maggie with Seamus and little William on Hill Valley Festival.

Maggie and Seamus went into town themselves two days later for the Hill Valley Festival, which was celebrating the arrival of the new courthouse clock. There, they met "Clint" again (who had found Doc by this stage). Buford Tannen showed up and after trying to shoot Doc, challenged Marty to a duel by calling him chicken. Seamus and Maggie overheard this and afterwards told Marty the story of his namesake Martin in Virginia City, suggesting to Marty that he start thinking about his future.

Maggie could perhaps have been a (great-)aunt to either Sam Baines or Stella Baines, thus explaining her similarity to Lorraine. If so, her family was connected to the McFly family at least twice, with her marrying Seamus, and Lorraine marrying their great-grandson. This would make Lorraine and George second cousins. (non-canon speculation)

Behind the scenes[]

  • Maggie looked like Lorraine Baines McFly, due to actress Lea Thompson playing both roles; this serves the running gag of Marty being knocked unconscious, taken care by a female character played by Thompson, and then waking up scared realizing he is in the "wrong" timeline. Other than that, it is not established that the two characters played by Thompson were directly related.
  • Writer Bob Gale explained that her looks might simply mean that the McFly men were always attracted to women who looked like Maggie.[1]

Appearances[]

References[]

Relatives[]


Individuals
The McFly Family
Marty McFly | George McFly | Lorraine Baines McFly | Jennifer Parker | Seamus McFly | Maggie McFly
Dave McFly | Linda McFly | Martin McFly, Jr. | Marlene McFly | Arthur McFly
The Brown Family
Dr. Emmett "Doc" Brown | Clara Clayton Brown | Jules Brown | Verne Brown | Einstein
The Tannen Family
Biff Tannen | Buford Tannen | Griff Tannen | Irving "Kid" Tannen
The Strickland Family
James Strickland | Roger Strickland | Irene Strickland | Edna Strickland | Gerald Strickland
Other Individuals
Match, Skinhead & 3-D | Goldie Wilson | Douglas J. Needles | Marcus Irving
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