Background/Family
Mia's mother Helen is an upbeat artist who is featured various times in Art in America magazine. Helen's painting Woman Waiting for Price Check at the Grand Union won her a national award. Helen comes from a fairly simple, typical American background. Some of Mia's headstrong and modern opinions, including her feminism, come from Helen.
Mia thoroughly hates her Grandmère, Clarisse Renaldi, dowager princess of Genovia. Clarisse is one of the strangest grandmothers ever. She is constantly portrayed as a grumpy and picky woman. She is a key person in Mia's royal education. During her stays in New York Clarisse stays at the Plaza Hotel Suite with her miniature poodle, Rommel, which Mia also describes as a giant rat. She's a native French speaker, and lives in Miragnac, castle in southern France, surrounded by European socialites.
Phillipe, Mia's father, is the Genovian prince regnant. In the book series, he is alive, but dies before the events of the movie. Mia and Phillipe's relationship is strained, as Mia rarely sees him before starting her princess education. However, he is noted to be fairly calm and lenient, except in the case of Mia's modem during one winter holiday.
Read more about this topic: Mia Thermopolis
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