Mia Wallace

Mia Wallace is the new wife of Marsellus Wallace and is an addict to cocaine.

History

At Marsellus' request, Vincent Vega shows his wife Mia a good time while Marsellus is in Florida. He shows up at Mia's house and while waiting for her to get ready, she plays a classic song on the sound system. The song was the hit "Son of a Preacher Man", by Dusty Springfield. They head to the Jack Rabbit Slim's, a slick 1950s-themed restaurant with lookalikes of the decade's top pop culture icons as staff, an option for patrons to eat at a booth or a classic car refitted as a booth, and the famous "Five-Dollar Milkshake".

Vincent and Mia make small talk, wherein she recounts her experience as an actress in a failed television pilot, "Fox Force Five". Mia played "Raven McCoy", who was raised by circus performers and was "...the deadliest woman in the world with a knife." She also knew a "zillion" old jokes her grandfather, an old vaudevillian, taught her, though she refuses to share with Vincent the joke Raven tells in the pilot out of fear of being embarrassed.

Mia then demands that Vincent dance with her in the twist contest and they dance to Chuck Berry's "You Never Can Tell".

When they return to the Wallace house, she is seen carrying the trophy. While listening to Urge Overkill's version of Neil Diamond's "Girl, You'll Be A Woman Soon", Mia overdoses after snorting heroin she finds in Vince's coat pocket, which she was wearing, believing it to be cocaine. A fearful Vincent tries to save her life with the aid of Lance, his small-time drug dealer who had previously sold him the heroin. Mia is finally revived after Vincent stabs her in the heart with a syringe full of adrenaline.

Mia wakes up with a howl and, when asked to say something, says "something". The Jody remarks "That was fuckin' trippy".

Upon arriving back at the Wallace residence, Mia finally reveals her corny joke: "So there's Papa Tomato, Momma Tomato and Baby Tomato walking along the street. Baby Tomato starts lagging behind, and Papa Tomato starts getting really angry. So, he turns around and squishes Baby Tomato and says, 'Ketchup.' (Catch Up) "

In their last conversation, they agree not to tell Marcellus of the overdosing incident, both fearing what he might do to either of them. In this, they both "redeem" each other.

Trivia

Miramax favored Holly Hunter or Meg Ryan for the role. Alfre Woodard and Meg Tilly were also considered, but Tarantino wanted Thurman after their first meeting. "Mia" dominated most of the film's promotional material, appearing on a bed with cigarette in hand. She was nominated for the Best Supporting Actress Oscar and was launched into the celebrity A-list.

Isabella Rossellini, Meg Ryan, Daryl Hannah, Joan Cusack, and Michelle Pfeiffer were all interviewed for the role of Mia Wallace. Out of all of them Quentin Tarantino said he preferred Michelle Pfeiffer the most. When Uma Thurman originally turned down the role of Mia Wallace. Quentin Tarantino was so desperate to have her as Mia, he ended up reading her the script over the phone, finally convincing her to take on the role.

Tarantino has noted that he first thought of the premise and main character (The Bride) of Kill Bill during the writing and filming of Mia's final scene. The "Fox Force Five" bears a striking resemblance to the "DiVAS" of Kill Bill.

The look of Mia was modeled after Anna Karina in Bande à part (1964). Also, her looks and personality recalls Elvira (Michelle Pfeiffer) in Brian DePalma's Scarface (1983): Both do coke and go on a date with her husband's associate. Another strong physical reference point for the character is Miranda Richardson's Jude in Neil Jordan's The Crying Game (1992).

Thurman based her dance scene on the character Dutchess in The Aristocats (1970).

In a cut scene Mia claims that everyone can be classified as either an Elvis person or a "Beatles" person. She bets Vincent that he is an "Elvis", and he confirms it.

Sources

Most of this text is from a deleted Wikipedia article