- "Sometimes... you have to have faith in people. Do not ever tell anyone I said that."
- ―Nadine to Blake Moran in The Middle Way
Nadine Tolliver is a veteran politician who served as Elizabeth McCord's Chief of Staff during her tenure as United States Secretary of State. Known for her dedication and professionalism, she initially harbored reservations about McCord's leadership but eventually became a trusted and loyal advisor. She is portrayed by Bebe Neuwirth.
Biography[]
Early life[]
Nadine attended Cornell University and Yale Law School before starting her career in public service. Nadine had a son, Roman, who she raised alone. She worked as Chief of Staff for Vincent Marsh during his time as a senator and later as US Secretary of State. After Marsh’s tenure, she continued in the role under Elizabeth McCord.
Season 1[]
In Just Another Normal Day, Nadine tells Bess that she had been having an affair with Secretary Marsh, explaining her emotional reaction to the delays in his memorial. She shared that Marsh would give soccer balls to children during his travels and ask the press not to cover it.
In Blame Canada, Elizabeth uncovered more of Secretary Marsh’s questionable dealings. When Elizabeth discovered that an oil pipeline report Marsh had commissioned was authored by lobbyists, Nadine defended him, explaining that he wasn’t influenced by them but was deeply committed to energy independence. She argued that the report aligned with the White House’s priorities, but Elizabeth rejected it, refusing to endorse something so misleading.
In The Call, Nadine comes under scrutiny when Elizabeth tasks Blake with investigating Marsh’s staff. A suspicious phone call between Nadine and Constantin Stahl, a major Marsh backer, suggests potential misconduct. Nadine quickly realizes she’s being watched and confronts Elizabeth, ultimately revealing the call was a job offer from Stahl, which she declined. The confrontation leads to a mutual understanding, solidifying Nadine’s role as a trusted member of Elizabeth’s team.
In Game On, Nadine already knows she is one of the three signatories on Marsh’s secret Venezuelan bank account but does not initially disclose this to Elizabeth. When confronted, she admits to helping Marsh set up the account under the alias "Carlotta Taniston" during their relationship, believing at the time that it was intended to shield money from his wife during a potential divorce.
At Elizabeth’s request, Nadine accesses the account during their trip to Caracas. Using her credentials, she discovers the account was drained of $40 million the day after Marsh’s death by someone using the alias "Marie Porter." However, Venezuelan surveillance records her visit, and President Suarez uses the footage to blackmail Elizabeth into endorsing his presidency. Elizabeth protects Nadine by framing her visit as part of a broader investigation into lax Venezuelan banking security. Despite the tense situation, Nadine’s findings prove pivotal, linking "Marie Porter" to Iranian intelligence and furthering the investigation into Marsh’s suspicious death.
Season 2[]
During a trip to Myanmar Nadine tried to recontact her son who was living there at the time with his local girlfriend, Shindi. Nadine spoke with her son and they agreed to resume speaking to each other. Nadine promised not to mention Roman dropping out of college so long as he at least spoke to her.The Middle Way
When her son Roman's girlfriend Shindi became pregnant she was overjoyed at the news. Her son also told her that they would be moving to California for a job Roman got. But an issue arose, Shindi's name matched that of a totally unrelated woman on a no-fly list. Nadine worked as hard as possible to get Shindi to America before she was too pregnant to fly. Nadine didn't want to disappoint her son, she saw the task as representative of all the baggage her and her son had. When delivering the news that she got Shindi off the no-fly list Roman told his mother that he wanted her to be a part of their life again. She was delighted to hear that the rift between she and her son was mended. When the government shutdown began, Nadine chose to leave permanently so that she could be with her new grandchild in California. She left at the beginning of season 4. The Essentials
Relationships[]
She was involved in a 6-year affair with Vincent Marsh since his time as a senator. This ended with his untimely death. She also dated a NASA administrator named Glenn. For a short period she and Mike B. were in a relationship.
She of course had a relationship with Roman's father. She described it as a brief affair while she was in Europe with her dance troupe. Roman's father once reached out to Nadine. Nadine saw the contact as him wanting to come back after Roman was half-grown so that he could enjoy the fun parts after she had done the heavy lifting. Nadine refused contact with him.
In a deleted scene from Catch and Release, Nadine mentions being unable to find her wedding photos, indicating that she was, at one point, married. Whether she was widowed or divorced after the fact is unclear.
Trivia[]
- She has an office next to Matt Mahoney's and Daisy Grant's on the 7th Floor of the State Department Building.
- She has a son.
- Nadine, at some time, travelled around Europe with a dance troupe. She visited Moscow and met Boris Yeltsin at some point.
- She has met Nelson Mandela.
- She speaks French.
- She attended Yale Law School following a career as a chorus girl.
- In 1984, she wrote her senior thesis on Charlotte Brontë under the supervision of Dr. Malcolm Taniston, a world-renowned scholar on Victorian literature. This would later inspire her to use the alias "Carlotta Taniston" during her romantic involvement with Vincent Marsh.
- Nadine's maternal grandfather, Julius Grossman, was killed at Auschwitz. Once after preventing a potential genocide in the Republic of West Africa while working at the state department she dedicated a toast to him.