Brienne of Tarth

Brienne, also called Brienne of Tarth, The Maid of Tarth or, disparagingly, Brienne the Beauty, is a character in Game of Thrones. She will be played by Gwendoline Christie and will debut in the second season.

Brienne is the sole child of Lord Selwyn Tarth of Evenfall Hall. She grew up on Tarth, an island in the Narrow Sea off the coast of the Stormlands whose people hold fealty to House Baratheon of Storm's End. Brienne is unusually tall and broad-shouldered for a woman by Westerosi standards and developed a taste for martial activity as a child. She has grown up to become skilled at arms and dreams of becoming a knight.

In the books
In the Song of Ice and Fire novels, Brienne is considered ugly and ungainly, but is immensely skilled at combat. She is taller and stronger than many men, and her father and his head of household guards have trained her for many years in the arts of combat. Some people consider her a freak, whilst other men hope to marry her to inherit her father's wealthy lands. For her part, Brienne yearns for respect, acceptance and a chance to prove her valor in a worthy cause.