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Lost/Diane Janssen
| Diane Janssen | |
| Lost | |
 | |
| Actor | Beth Broderick |
| First Appearance | 1x22 - Born to Run |
| Last Appearance | — |
| Series Billing | Series: Recurring |
| Episode Count | 5 |
| Notable Episodes | 1x22 - Born to Run
2x09 - What Kate Did 3x15 - Left Behind 4x04 - Eggtown |
Diane Janssen is the mother of Kate Austen. She is played by Beth Broderick and has appeared in five episodes to date.
Contents |
Basic Information
Diane Janssen was married to Sam Austen, a member of the United States Army Rangers. Sam was often away from home for his work and Diane started an affair with a man named Wayne Janssen. While Sam was stationed in Korea, Diane fell pregnant with Kate. When Sam returned, they decided that he would be the baby's father and that they would never tell Kate the truth. However, Diane was in love with Wayne and continued with their affair. When Kate was five years old, she finally divorced Sam and married Wayne. Kate lived with them and grew up thinking that Wayne was her stepfather. Diane had a very modest life and spent her whole life working as a waitress at different diners.
Wayne was never a really good husband to Diane, getting drunk regularly and beating her up. But Diane loved him despite his abuse. Kate, however, couldn't stand the fact that Diane allowed Wayne to mistreat her so badly. Kate hated Wayne, and her breaking point came when she discovered the awful truth that Diane had been lying to her all her life and that Wayne was in fact her biological father, not Sam. Kate could't stand being part of Wayne's flesh and blood and decided to kill him. One night, while at work, Kate came in and gave Diane an insurance policy that she had taken out on the house. She told Diane that she wouldn't see her for a while. Diane was confused as to what was going on, but quickly concluded that Kate had done something terrible to Wayne.
After discovering that Kate had blown up the house with Wayne inside, Diane was furious at Kate and called the police on her. A U.S. Marshal named Edward Mars soon caught up with Kate and arrested her, but she escaped and remained a fugitive for many months to follow. Diane worked with the Marshal to try and catch Kate, and was constantly followed by officers for in case Kate tried to contact her. One day at work, Diane was serving a woman named Cassidy Phillips. Diane didn't realize that Cassidy was actually working with Kate, who wanted to speak to her mother but knew that the police were watching. Cassidy spilt soup on Diane's apron, making it look like an accident. When Diane went to the bathroom to clean the mess up, Kate confronted her. Diane thought that Kate wanted to apologize, but Kate insisted that she wasn't sorry about what she had done and did it to help Diane. Diane told Kate that she did it for herself. She allowed Kate to leave without alerting the officers and told her that she would cry out for help if she ever saw Kate again.
Several months later, Diane was diagnosed with cancer. She was told that she didn't have long to live, and was eventually taken up in hospital. The news of her cancer reached Kate, who desperately wanted to see her mother before she died. With the help of Tom Brennan, a doctor at the hospital and Kate's childhood friend, Kate managed to sneak in and see Diane. When Diane realized Kate was standing at her bedisde, she started screaming for help, causing Kate to run off and escape once again.
After 815
Diane was devastated when she found out that Kate was on Oceanic Flight 815 that crashed into the Pacific Ocean. When the plane's wreckage was found, it was too deep to salvage, but cameras were sent down and the authorities concluded that all 324 passengers were dead. Everything changed for Diane when she thought that Kate was dead and she finally forgave her daughter. Diane was still ill, and had been told for four years that she only had six months to live.
When Kate returned home alive and well as one of the Oceanic 6, she was finally trialed for all her crimes. Diane also found out that Kate was now a mother herself and had returned with her child. However, the D.A. had a strong case against Kate and Diane was going to be the star witness. At Kate's trial, Jack told a very heartfelt story about Kate's bravery and courage and how she helped him and the rest of the Oceanic 6 when they were stranded on an island. He refered to Kate as a hero. After hearing this, Diane wanted to speak with Kate. She wanted to know if what Jack had said was true. She told Kate that she didn't want to testify against her, but that she wanted to see her grandson. Kate told Diane that she would never see him. Diane left and decided not to testify against her daughter.
Episode Appearances
Character History
- 2x09 - What Kate Did: Finds out that Kate killed Wayne. Reports Kate to the police.
- 3x15 - Left Behind: Sees Kate for the first time since Wayne's death.
- 1x22 - Born to Run: Is taken up in the hospital, receives a visit from Kate.
- 4x04 - Eggtown: Declines to testify at Kate's trial.
