Gwen Holbrook

 is a supporting character featured in the 2010 remake of A Nightmare on Elm Street. She was played by actress Connie Britton. Gwen Holbrook was presented as a doctor and the mother of troubled teenager Nancy Holbrook.

Biography
Gwen Holbrook was a doctor who lived and worked in the town of Springwood, Ohio. She was apparently divorced, but had a teenage daughter named Nancy. In 1995, when Nancy was only five, she came home from Badham Preschool and Gwen noticed several deep scratches across her back. It didn't take long to learn that the gardener at the school, Fred Krueger, had been taking children into a secret room in the basement and violating them. Nancy happened to be his favorite. Gwen and several of the townspeople tracked Krueger down and pursued him across town. Freddy try to hole up inside of an abandoned building, but several of the others locked him inside and set fire to the place, killing him. Though Gwen wanted justice, she was not supportive of this act of murder. Nancy and several of the other victims of Krueger's handiwork repressed the memories of what had taken place. Gwen removed all evidence of Nancy's connection to Badham as well as the other students from her house. When Nancy was around seventeen, she began suffering intense nightmares of a burned man with a brown hat, a red and green sweater and a stylized clawed glove that would torment her. As her memories began to return, Gwen tried to dismiss what she was saying, praying that her daughter would never have to relive such horrific moments. Before long however, Gwen had to tell Nancy the truth about Fred Krueger.

Nancy had another altercation with Krueger, this time in the waking world, and seemingly defeated him. However, a spirit that haunts one through their dreams can never truly be destroyed. In what was likely another nightmare, Nancy found herself having a conversation with her mother in front of a mirror in their home. Krueger appeared in the mirror, thrust his claws forward, which went through the back of Gwen's head and her eyes, and then dragged her entire body into the mirror. As this was clearly a nightmare and could not have taken place in the real world, it is unknown whether or not Gwen Holbrook actually died.

Notes & Trivia



 * is an analog for Marge Thompson, mother of Nancy Thompson from the original A Nightmare on Elm Street.


 * A coincidence on Elm Street? In addition to playing Gwen Holbrook, actress Connie Britton is also the star of the ABC television series Nashville. Connie's counterpart from the original A Nightmare on Elm Street, Ronee Blakley, played a character named Barbara Jean in the 1975 film Nashville.