Lorraine Baines-McFly is the mother of Dave, Linda, and Marty McFly and the wife of George.
Lorraine liked the attention of boys when she was in school, and lots of them were attracted to her, including both George McFly and Biff Tannen. Lorraine was not afraid to get what she wanted and often parked in cars with them.
Lorraine could stand up for herself and the people she cared about, yet despite this she liked her men to be strong and able to protect her. She liked thinking back to the "old days", often telling the story of how she met and fell in love with George.
Lorraine liked to play tennis with her husband and they have been tennis club champions for the past 6 years by 1985. Lorraine's best friends at school were Betty and Babs and she could often be found in Lou's Cafe gossiping with them.
Biography[]
Lorraine was born in 1938 in Hill Valley, California, the eldest child of Sam and Stella Baines. She had five younger siblings: Milton (born 1943), Sally (born 1949), Toby (born 1951), Joey (born 1954), and one sibling born in late 1955 or early 1956, of whom we never hear any details but her mother was heavily pregnant in November 1955. She eventually married George McFly and they had three children: Dave, Linda and Marty.
Little is known about Lorraine's life prior to 1955. What is known is that she had been smoking and drinking for a while, and had "parked" in cars with several boys. As such, George was probably not her first boyfriend.
Back To The Future (Original History)[]
Lorraine originally met George on November 5, 1955 when her father almost ran him over with his car. She felt sorry for him, before falling in love with him. They had their first date a week later at the Enchantment Under the Sea Dance at school. Lorraine and George married and had three kids, Dave, Linda and Marty. By 1985, she was depressed at how her husband could not stand up for her or himself and had also turned to tobacco smoking and drinking alcoholic beverages on an everyday habit. She would always tell her children not to park in cars with members of the opposite sex, under the false pretense that she never did that when she was their age.
Lorraine, aged 47, in 1985 before the history was changed
The whole of the McFly family later sits down to dinner - George, his wife Lorraine, and their children Marty, Dave and Linda. Lorraine drops a thin cake onto the table. It says 'Welcome Home, Uncle "Jailbird" Joey', next to a picture of a bird flying out of jail. Uncle 'Jailbird' Joey has failed to make parole, again. Linda chides that he's an embarrassment to the family. Lorraine reminds her that everyone makes mistakes in life.
Having enough of the conversation, Dave leaves for his job as a Burger King cashier, while Linda tells Marty that Jennifer called asking for him. This upsets Lorraine, who lectures Marty that 'any girl who calls a boy is just asking for trouble.' When Linda tries to defend Marty, Lorraine grows upset, insisting that when she was Linda's age she never 'chased a boy, or called a boy, or sat in a parked car with a boy.' Linda asks how she's supposed to meet anyone if she is to go through life like Lorraine did. Lorraine explains that it will happen just like she met George. Linda rolls her eyes, as Lorraine once again relates the story of how they met: supposedly, George was up in a tree (just what he was doing, George has never explained), when he slipped, fell into the street and was hit by Lorraine's father's car. After taking him inside, and taking care of him, Lorraine felt sorry enough for George that she asked him to the Enchantment Under The Sea dance, which happened to be the same night the lightning bolt struck the clock tower. When they had their first kiss at the dance, she knew she was going to spend the rest of her life with him.
In 1955 (Altered History)[]
When Marty comes around, it's night time and it is raining outside, and he is lying in an unfamiliar bed. His mother's voice tells him that he's been out for nine hours. Marty, still semi-conscious, quips about having a dream that he went back in time. Lorraine's voice reassures him that he's safe and sound in 1955. This prompts Marty to bolt upright just as a lamp is turned on, and he is dumbstruck to see Lorraine, in 1955 a very attractive teenage girl. Lorraine begins to hit on Marty almost immediately, thinking his name is "Calvin Klein" (due to that being the brand of underwear Marty is wearing). Marty instinctively panics when Lorraine tries to make advances on him and looks like she is trying to kiss him. Fortunately for Marty, this is interrupted when Lorraine's mother Stella calls her down for dinner.
Lorraine (age 17) in 1955
At dinner, Marty meets the rest of Lorraine's siblings, including her brothers Milton and Toby, her sister Sally, and in the crib nearby, little baby Joey. Stella admits that Joey loves his crib, and cries every time they try to take him out. Marty recognizes Joey as the future prison inmate, and can't resist the urge to joke to the baby to "Better get used to these bars, kid..." The family eats while watching an episode "The Honeymooners" on the new television set that Sam has just brought home. Marty immediately recognizes the episode they are watching as one he has watched in 1985, which he explains by saying that he saw it in a rerun, a word that puzzles Lorraine's younger brother. Marty asks how to find Doc's address, which Lorraine's father says is over on the east end of town. Marty knows that area as "John F. Kennedy Drive", a name that Lorraine's father doesn't know. As Marty leaves the house, Sam says that Marty's an "idiot" & warns Lorraine that if she ever has a kid like Marty, he will disown her.
Lorraine sitting next to Marty
Doc takes Marty to the high school the next morning. Marty is amazed to find that there is no graffiti on the building, unlike in 1985. After peeping through a classroom window and watching Lorraine cheating on a test.
Marty tries encouraging George to talk to Lorraine, however, an attempt to simply introduce them to each other fails because Lorraine is already smitten with Marty. Doc finds that the situation is more serious than they'd thought; George lacks the self-confidence to ask Lorraine out, as he fears that he couldn't handle a rejection if she said "no", and getting them together permanently could be impossible. Over lunch, Marty tries again to convince George by saying Lorraine has been talking about him and that he should ask her to the Enchantment Under the Sea dance.
Lorraine after Marty leaves
George spends his lunch by himself writing science fiction short stories. Marty asks to read one of them and George refuses, saying he's afraid people would be critical. He also suggests that Lorraine may want to go with someone else to the dance, namely Biff, who we see is across the cafeteria, sitting with Lorraine and trying to grope her. Marty immediately marches over to them and pulls the much larger Biff off his mother. Biff begins pushing Marty, however, Marty, unlike his meek father, begins pushing back and is about to fight Biff when Strickland breaks it up.
Marty follows George home and begins pleading with George to ask Lorraine out. George continues to refuse and tells Marty that no one in the world will make him change his mind. That night, Marty sneaks into George's room in his radiation suit, places his Walkman headphones on George and gives him a blast of ear-splitting Eddie Van Halen guitar riffing. Marty claims he is Darth Vader, an extraterrestrial from the planet Vulcan, and intimidates George into asking Lorraine out, threatening him with a "brain melting gun" (actually a hairdryer).
Lorraine recognizing George from somewhere (school)
The next day, George rushes up to Marty at the Texaco station, disheveled and frantic, having overslept, while Marty is trying to open a Pepsi -- George pops it open with the bottle hook on the machine. George knows he needs to ask Lorraine out but he doesn't know what he should say. Marty takes George back to Lou's Diner, where Lorraine is hanging out with her friends. Marty suggests to George that he tell Lorraine, "Destiny has brought me to you." George orders a chocolate milkshake to calm his nerves before approaching Lorraine. It gets off to a shaky start when, in a fit of nervousness, George accidentally mangles the lines Marty gave him. Though Lorraine seems charmed by him, George's attempt comes to a grinding halt when Biff and his friends come in to toss him out. As Biff demands money from George, Marty, sitting at the counter, "accidentally" trips Biff. Biff turns his anger on Marty, and is about to punch him when Marty tricks him into looking away, giving Marty the opportunity to shove Biff and bolt out the door.
Once outside, Marty grabs a passing girl's scooter, tears off the crate and turns the bottom into a skateboard. Biff and his goons chase Marty in Biff's car around the town square. Marty is able to avoid serious injury. While riding on the hood of Biff's car, he distracts them by suddenly jumping up, jumping over the hood, the windshield and the backseat, and then hopping off onto the waiting skateboard at the rear. Biff and his friends are confused, and then see they are barreling towards a manure truck parked on the curb. They can only shout "SHIIIIT!!!!!" as the car slams into the back of the truck, which dumps its entire load of manure on them. Watching the chase from the diner, Lorraine becomes even more attracted to the adventurous Marty.
Lorraine watching Marty riding a skateboard
Back at Doc's shop, the inventor shows Marty how he'll use the lighting bolt to power the DeLorean. He'll string heavy cable down to the street, building a circuit. A long hook attached to the back of the car will channel the energy from the bolt directly into the flux capacitor. The timing will have to be precise. The demonstration goes well, though it sets a garbage pail on fire. As Doc uses a fire extinguisher to put out the flames, they are interrupted by a knock at the door. To Doc's shock, it's Lorraine, who has followed Marty. Doc and Marty quickly cover the DeLorean with a tarp before letting Lorraine in. Lorraine asks Marty if he wants to be her date to the Enchantment Under The Sea Dance. Marty attempts to back out, suggesting she go with George, but Lorraine balks at the idea, saying a real man stands up for the woman he loves, referring to the fight Marty just had with Biff.
"I don't know, but I'm gonna find out."
Marty suddenly sees a way to get George to win Lorraine's heart. Marty approaches George while George is doing his parents' laundry, and tells him to find him with Lorraine in Doc's car in the school parking lot at a certain time, where Marty plans to appear to "take advantage" of her, which he believes will make her angry. George is to pull Marty out of the car and pretend to beat him up, proving that he's the bigger man.
Marty arrives at the dance in Doc's car with Lorraine. As they stop, he asks her if they can "park" for a while. To Marty's astonishment, Lorraine produces a small bottle of whiskey and begins to smoke, two bad habits she has in 1985. Marty warns her she may regret it later and Lorraine dismisses it, exasperated that Marty sounds like her mother. She also is aggressive in coming on to Marty in the car, much more than Marty had anticipated, though when she kisses Marty rather hard on the lips, she admits afterwards that she feels like she's kissing her brother.
Lorraine kisses Marty
Just then, the door is opened and Marty is pulled roughly from the driver's seat. But to Marty's shock, it's Biff, drunk, and seeking revenge for the $300 in damages Marty inflicted on his car in the manure truck accident. When Biff sees Lorraine in the car, however, he throws Marty to Match, Skinhead and 3D, climbs into the car, and begins to molest her while she is heard shouting.
Lorraine after being molested by a drunk Biff
George arrives at Doc's car, opens the door as planned, and delivers the lines Marty told him, but is taken off-guard realizing that he is not only dealing with Biff, but his "rescue" is now the real deal. He takes a half-hearted punch at Biff, who grabs his arm and begins to twist it. When Biff roughly pushes a pleading Lorraine off and begins laughing, George summons up the strength and courage, curls his left hand into a fist, and punches Biff squarely in the jaw, knocking him out. Marty, freed from the trunk thanks to Marvin Berry himself, races to the scene just in time to see Biff slump to the ground at George's feet. George takes the grateful Lorraine's hand and the two go into the dance hall.
Lorraine has feelings for George after being rescued
Marty, knowing that his future isn't sealed until George kisses Lorraine, goes back to the band and finds that Marvin is unable to play guitar having injured his hand while freeing Marty from the trunk. Marty agrees to play guitar in Marvin's place and the band strikes up again, playing a romantic song ("Earth Angel"). Marty, already weak because his parents' love is not confirmed, begins to fade into non-existence when a fellow student cuts in between George and Lorraine on the dance floor, however, George regains his courage, takes Lorraine back and kisses her passionately. Marty is instantly revived and finishes the song and sees his mother and father happily in each others arms.
Lorraine and George share a kiss
Marty turns to leave the dance and runs into George and Lorraine. Lorraine asks if it's OK for George to take her home and Marty heartily agrees. He also advises them that if they have a son who accidentally sets fire to the living room rug when he's eight years old, to go easy on him, implying that he's talking about himself.