Sansa Stark

Sansa Stark is a major character in Game of Thrones. She is played by Sophie Turner and debuts in the first episode of the series.

Sansa Stark is the eldest daughter and second child of Eddard and Catelyn Stark. She has three brothers (Robb, Bran and Rickon), a half-brother (Jon Snow) and a younger sister, Arya. She has been betrothed to Joffrey Baratheon, the next in line to be king of the Seven Kingdoms and one day dreams of being a good Queen like Cersei Lannister. She is fond of eating lemon cakes and is good at sewing and embroidering. She also likes poetry and songs. She has named her direwolf Lady. She has the Tully coloring like most of her siblings. She is often seen in contrast with her sister, Arya Stark.

Season 1
When King Robert Baratheon visits Winterfell to offer Sansa's father the position of Hand of the King, he also offers to betrothe his son Joffrey to Sansa. Sansa, who is very taken with the handsome young prince, thinks this is a splendid notion and urges her parents to agree to the match. They eventually do so.



At the Crossroads Inn, Joffrey offers to walk Sansa along the riverbank after the disquieting experience of meeting Ser Ilyn Payne, the king's headsman. They find Arya practicing her swordwork with Mycah, a butcher's son, and Joffrey threatens to hurt him. Arya's direwolf, Nymeria, intervenes and bites Joffrey's arm. Taking before King Robert and his retainers, Sansa is asked to corroborate this version of events or support Joffrey's claim that he was the victim of an unprovoked attack. She chooses to say instead that events happened too fast and she wasn't sure what happened, to Arya's fury. Queen Cersei orders that Nymeria be executed for harming Joffrey, but when the direwolf cannot be found she suggests that Lady be substituted for her. Eddard, furious with Robert for demanding this, carries out the execution himself, to Sansa's anger.

Arriving in King's Landing, Sansa's enmity towards Arya and her father continues. Her father's attempts to mollify Sansa by buying her a doll fail, as Sansa hasn't played with dolls for years. Eddard explains to Arya that Sansa could not defy Joffrey or go against his version of events if she wished to maintain his goodwill in marriage. Arya finds this idea repulsive.

Septa Mordane shows Sansa the throne room of the Red Keep as part of a history lesson, but Sansa realizes that her grandfather and uncle were killed there by the Mad King. Sansa is fearful that she will not be able to give Joffrey sons, only daughters like her friend Jeyne Poole's mother, but Mordane doesn't think this likely. At the Hand's tournament, Sansa witnesses Ser Gregor Clegane killing Ser Hugh of the Vale, apparently in a mishap. Littlefinger tells Sansa about how Gregor burned the face of his brother, Sandor, when they were very young but advises her against relaying the story to Sandor.

Sansa is given a flower by Ser Loras Tyrell, the famous Knight of the Flowers, before his tilt with Ser Gregor Clegane. She witnesses him defeating Gregor, and Gregor's subsequent furious attack on him, which is halted only by the intervention of Sandor. She joins the rest of the commons in applauding Sandor's actions.

Joffrey visits Sansa and gives her a present. He also apologizes for the incident on the Kingsroad and kisses her, winning back her favor. Sansa later tells her father and Arya that she wants to give Joffrey beautiful blonde-haired children and that he will be a great lion. When Arya points out that he isn't a lion, but a stag like his father, King Robert, Sansa angrily says Joffrey is nothing like him. This unwittingly gives Eddard the clue that leads to him realizing that Joffrey and his siblings are not King Robert's true children. Eddard tells Sansa and Arya that they are returning to Winterfell, over Sansa's furious protests.

Sansa is taken into custody by Sandor Clegane. Later, she pleads for mercy for her father and Cersei agrees, but only if she writes to Robb asking him to bend the knee to Joffrey and swear fealty to him. The letter is unsuccessful, as Robb instead raises an army and marches south to relieve the Riverlands from the Lannister armies. Sansa again begs for her father's life, this time in front of the entire court, and Joffrey agrees to spare him if he admits his wrongdoing and acknowledges Joffrey as the true king. Sansa says she is sure he will.

At his trial, Eddard Stark acknowledges his 'crimes' and swears loyalty to King Joffrey Baratheon. To Sansa's utter surprise and shock, Joffrey nevertheless refuses him mercy and orders Eddard's decapitation. Sansa tries to interfere, to no avail: her father is killed before her very own eyes.

Days later, Sansa is in court and watches as Joffrey orders the removal of the tongue of the singer Marillion, who has written a song unfavorable to the royal family. Joffrey then takes Sansa to the traitor's walkway, where the severed heads of executed criminals are mounted on spikes along the castle walls. He draws Sansa's attention to the severed head of her father and also that of Septa Mordane. Sansa, refusing to give Joffrey the satisfaction of seeing her upset, shows no emotional response. Joffrey suggests he'll mount her brother Robb's head on the wall as well after Joffrey defeats him in the war. Sansa retorts maybe Robb will take Joffrey's head instead. Furious, Joffrey has Ser Meryn Trant of the Kingsguard strike her. Joffrey tells Sansa they are still to be married. Sansa contemplates pushing Joffrey off the walkway, but is subtly stopped by Sandor Clegane. After Joffrey and Trant leave, Sandor gives her a cloth to attend to her cut lip and tells her she'll be needing it again.

In the books
In the Song of Ice and Fire novels Sansa is very much a lady, with a keen interest in music, poetry, singing and dancing and other 'ladylike' pursuits such as embroidery. She has a romantic notion of handsome princes and knights fighting honorably for love and loyalty. She is sharply contrasted with her far less idealistic younger sister, Arya.