Grandma
Grandma is Jeff Tracy’s mother and the Tracy sons’ grandmother. She has lived both on and off of Tracy Island in canon. Grandma was voiced by Christine Finn (who also voiced Tin-Tin Kyrano).
Here is a table of Canon Foundry facts about Grandma Tracy:
From the TV Series:
| The Canon Fact | The Source |
|---|---|
| First appears in 'Move and You’re Dead' as moving to the island, though is mentioned in passing in 'Sun Probe' as being there, and referred to by Jeff in the audio 'Introducing Thunderbirds' as 'part of the outfit.'. | Two TV episodes and one audio episode. |
| No canon first name. (Any name given in fan fiction is therefore fanon rather than canon.) | Grandma is never named in the series or any of the additional source material. |
| We know her relationship to the family as Tin-Tin calls her ‘Mrs Tracy’ (End of the Road), Alan, Scott and Gordon all call her ‘Grandma’ (Move and You’re Dead/ Vault of Death/ Give or Take a Million), Jeff calls her ‘Mother’ (Attack of the Alligators) and she refers to Jeff as ‘that son of mine’ (The Duchess Assignment) | Multiple TV episodes. |
| Grandma must have led an adventurous life as ‘one of the few things’ she hasn’t done is visit an English stately home. | The Mighty Atom |
| Renowned as a great cook (apple pie/coconut crumble in The Uninvited, cake that Scott steals in The Mighty Atom). | Two TV episodes. |
| Is a dressmaker. | We see her dressmaking skills in End of the Road (for Tin-Tin). |
| Lady Penelope calls her "Grandmama," an archaic form of "grandma" according to the dictionary. | The Mighty Atom |
| Uses memory of her own grandmother telling her about the abandoned London Underground system to provide a method of rescue | Vault of Death |
| Other Sources: | |
| Plays the important role of looking after and cooking for the boys. | ITC programme notes |
| No biography in any of the 1960s sources | |
| Though ‘Grandma’ herself is never named in this source, we learn that her husband’s name was Grant | Fennell, Alan, "Part Three: Back to the Farm,” Thunderbirds: The Comic #37, March 6th - 19th 1993, Fleetway Editions, Ltd., ITC Entertainment Group, Ltd. p. 11. |
| Is ‘never actually confirmed on-screen as Jeff’s mother’ (Ed. Note: see earlier references to episodes where she actually IS confirmed as Jeff's mother and the boys' grandmother) and that her resourcefulness and intelligence go unremarked. | Marriott, John (1992), Thunderbirds Are Go!. Boxtree Limited. |
| She and her husband buy a holiday home at Aspen, Colorado. It is this that is hit by an avalanche, killing both her husband, Grant, and Jeff’s wife, Lucille. Jeff arrives, his plane having been delayed by the bad weather, to find his own mother and sons trying to dig them out. | Fennell, Alan, "Part 22: Death in the Family!” Thunderbirds: The Comic #56, November 26th-December 10th 1993, Fleetway Editions, Ltd., ITC Entertainment Group, Ltd. p. 13 |
| Little is known of Grandma’s early life. Born in the late 1980s and can remember her own grandmother telling her about the subways of London, Paris and New York. | Bentley, Chris (2000), The Complete Book of Thunderbirds. Carlton Books, Ltd. ISBN 1-84222-092-6. |
| Prior to coming to Tracy Island, Grandma had a home near Parola Sands on the western seaboard of America. | Bentley, Chris (2000), The Complete Book of Thunderbirds. Carlton Books, Ltd. ISBN 1-84222-092-6. |
| Assists Kyrano with the daily chores of the Tracy household. | Bentley, Chris (2000), The Complete Book of Thunderbirds. Carlton Books, Ltd. ISBN 1-84222-092-6. |
| Is the "Senior Household Advisor" | Denham ,Sam (2012) International Rescue Thunderbirds Agents' Technical Manual. ITV Studios Global Entertainment. ISBN 978 0 85733 117 5 |
| Having lived for most of her life in Kansas, where she and her husband Grant brought up Jeff, their only son, 'Grandma' relocated to southern California shortly after the Tracy Corporation opened its head office and main aerospace plant in the area. Situated near the border with New Mexico, and a short drive away from the Parola Sands raceway, her new home allowed her to keep a close eye on Jeff and his sons following the death of her daughter-in-law. With the family now established on Tracy Island, she has joined them to help supervise the household. | Denham ,Sam (2012) International Rescue Thunderbirds Agents' Technical Manual. ITV Studios Global Entertainment. ISBN 978 0 85733 117 5 |
| Although sharp-witted and shrewd, with an active interest in world history and geography inspired by tales told by her globe-trotting mother, 'Grandma' does not share her son's faith in modern technology. This is demonstrated by her preference for traditional home cooking methods, rather than 'new-fangled' atomic techniques. | Denham ,Sam (2012) International Rescue Thunderbirds Agents' Technical Manual. ITV Studios Global Entertainment. ISBN 978 0 85733 117 5 |
| Reply from 'Lady Penelope' to letter from reader gives her age as 78 and her birthday as 30th Sept. | Dutch Source: TV2000 comic Apr 8th 1967 |
| Reply from 'Lady Penelope' to letter from reader gives her age as 78 | Dutch Source: TV2000 comic Dec 23rd 1967 |