Alicia Florrick is the titular character of the show, although she does not always live up to that quaint title. When the series begins, Alicia has just been publicly humiliated by her husband Peter Florrick, the State's Attorney of Cook County, Illinois, when a sex tape of him with a prostitute surfaces and he is forced to resign.Alicia elects to stand by her man publicly, literally, standing at his side during his mea culpa press conference. At the same time, to support her family she returns to work as a first year associate at the law firm of Stern, Lockhart & Gardner. She is often in competition with Cary Agos, another first year.Alicia tries to be honest with her children Zach, 14, and Grace, 13, as they navigate the fallout of Peter's fall from grace and subsequent incarceration on ethics charges. She is a firm mother who does her best to protect them from the spotlight at all costs.Alicia got the job at the firm in part through her old law school friend Will Gardner, whom she has feelings for. The feeling is mutual. But she quickly proves capable and is given increasingly more responsibility, not relying on her husband's (in)famous name. She is often asked to hand-hold difficult clients on cases, which sometimes annoys her, but she proves good at reassuring people and remaining calm.She makes friends with the firm's inscrutable, extremely private investigator Kalinda Sharma, but the women's friendship faces obstacles of secrecy.She and children moved out of their big house in the tony suburb of Highland Park and into an apartment where they get the frequent help of her meddling mother-in-law, Jackie. Alicia is frequently trying to correct Jackie's behavior with the children and enforce boundaries that Jackie isn't good about respecting.Alicia struggles with her feelings for Peter. She is deeply hurt and hasn't entirely forgiven him, but still loves him.Her loyalty to him has earned her the snide nickname St. Alicia in some circles.Perhaps because of her public humiliations, Alicia excels at keeping a cool exterior. She is rarely ruffled and almost always thinks through what she is going to say, choosing her words for maximum impact or sting. She is smart, independent, fiercely protective of her children and much more than just a good wife. Background: She graduated from Georgetown University law school in the mid-1990s. After graduation she worked at Crozier, Abrams & Abbott and had the most billable hours of any associate. Her maiden name is Cavanaugh. She has a brother, Owen, who is gay and the polar opposite of Alicia personality-wise. Her mother is Veronica Loy. She and Peter have been married 15 years when the show begins. Show less «