Lucy Gray Baird

Lucy Gray Baird was a female tribute from District 12, a Capitol favorite, and the eventual victor of the 10th Hunger Games. Her mentor was Coriolanus Snow, a top-performing student at the Academy who developed feelings for her along the way.^[5]

Biography

Early life

As members of a nomadic group known as the Covey, Lucy Gray and her mother, father, oldest sibling, and middle sibling made their living in Panem as traveling musicians amidst the First Rebellion. It is unknown which territories their people originated from.

Covey Genocide

Prior to the events of The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, Peacekeepers had rounded up the Covey and killed many of them.^[6] This included Lucy Gray's immediate family members, her father getting "shot dead" for trying to fight capture and her mother getting her "head broken" for trying to keep the family together. Lucy Gray's older siblings were killed as well, leaving Lucy Gray, some other members of the Covey, and her youngest cousin, Maude Ivory, the only survivors.^[1] They were trapped in District 12, where they were raised by a unnamed man, though he didn't really care for them, but didn't mess with them either. After the man died of the black lung, the Covey made their living doing musical performances. At some point, Lucy Gray had started a relationship with fellow Covey member Billy Taupe Clade, though it had ended by the time of the 10th Hunger Games, when Lucy Gray had learned that he was also dating Mayfair Lipp, the District 12 mayor's daughter, whom she would develop a rivalry with.

The 10th Hunger Games

Reaping

Lucy Gray was purposely reaped by Mayor Lipp, at the request of his daughter, Mayfair, who had a relationship with Lucy Gray's ex-lover, Billy Taupe, and was furious to discover that he had also been dating Lucy Gray.^[7] On her way up to the stage, Lucy Gray dropped a snake down Mayfair's blouse, causing Mayor Lipp to slap Lucy Gray across the face, resulting in a horrible bruise. When it seemed like she might cry, members of the Covey in the audience began singing to cheer her up, and she joined in with them. Even the Peacekeepers enjoyed the show and Lucy Gray spoke to the Capitol audience, saying that she hoped they would call her "Lucy Gray," just like her friends did.^[8]

The Capitol

Lucy Gray first met her mentor, Coriolanus Snow, when he came to meet her when the tributes of the 10th Hunger Games arrived in the Capitol, via a cargo train. She did not seem to think much of him at first, but was impressed by his pluck when he boarded the train, which brought the tributes to a cage in the Capitol Zoo. She protected him from the other tributes, who wanted to kill him.^[9] She then spoke kindly to the Capitol children visiting the zoo, who seemed enamored by her, with one even giving her a potato to eat, and charmed a reporter, Lepidus Malmsey, who told her that her colorful dress had been a big hit in the Capitol.^[6] Later, Snow returned to visit her at the zoo. He suggested that she might sing again for the Capitol audience, though she wasn't entirely sure what she would get out of it. She also revealed that the tributes weren't being fed, save for what little scraps they were getting from visitors to the zoo.^[10] Later, the tributes were brought to the Academy's Heavensbee Hall in order for the mentors to get information about them for a questionnaire. Lucy Gray was one of the few that would even speak, telling Snow about her history with the Covey and the two of them bonding in a way over the fact they were both orphans.^[1]

As the time before the start of the Hunger Games stretched on, Snow worried that his tribute would starve to death before they even began.^[11] Things, however, took a dramatic turn when the Capitol Arena was bombed during a tour held for the mentors and tributes. Snow was buried under rubble, but Lucy Gray saved him, dragging him to safety. Afterwards, the two met and Snow told her that he didn't know how to repay her for what she had done for him. She replied that he could start by thinking that she could actually win the Hunger Games.^[12]

Lucy Gray's words forced Snow to reconsider his strategy towards her. Although he knew that he could make her popular with the audience, he had never really considered the possibility of her being a victor before. He worked with her to plot a strategy for survival and eventual victory. During the interviews, Lucy Gray played guitar and sung a song that once again moved the Capitol audience, "The Ballad of Lucy Gray Baird." By the time she was finished, there were few dry eyes in the audience, but Snow was jealous, due to the song's reference to a lost lover.^[13] He told her as much, and gave her a token, his mother's compact, with the intention that she use it to smuggle rat poison into the arena to poison her fellow tributes. She understood him instantly,^[14] and told him in response that the only boy her heart had a sweet spot for was him, and gave him a kiss.^[15]

The Games

The 10th Hunger Games opened with Lucy Gray an absolute crowd favorite. Snow's interview strategy had many viewers half-believing that Lucy Gray was Capitol-born and not from the Districts.^[15] The games opened with the sound of a gong and a scrimmage for a pile of weapons set within the center of the arena. Though some of the tributes went for the weapons, Lucy Gray fled immediately for one of the tunnels which had been opened up by the bombings.^[16] She was not seen until the second day of the Games, when a rabid Jessup Diggs, her fellow tribute from District 12, was chasing her. Jessup cornered Lucy Gray up the remains of a concession stand. At this point, Snow remembered something that he had read about rabies victims: that they experience hydrophobia, or the fear of water. He readied his communicuff to send in numerous bottles of water to scare him. His own mentor, Lysistrata Vickers, however, realized what was happening and waved Snow off, sending in the water herself instead. She knew that her own tribute could not win, so she wanted the other tribute from District 12 to win instead. Upon seeing the water, Jessup entered a frenzy and fell from the stands, his bones breaking the sound heard as he hit the ground. Lucy Gray comforted him as he lay dying, telling him that he could "sleep" now. She then took some of the remaining bottles of water to hydrate herself and used more of it to clean Jessup's face, before closing his eyes with a handkerchief given to her before the Games by Snow. She then collected a sponsor gift of bread and cheese and exited into a near tunnel, then saw Reaper Ash approaching. He let her run into the tunnels while taking the remaining water bottles.^[17]

Snow was summoned to the office of Dr. Volumnia Gaul, the head Gamemaker for the 10th Hunger Games. There, she told him that one of the other mentors, Gaius Breen, had died from his wounds sustained in the bombing of the Capitol Arena. She told him that there would be repercussions and that it was his "girl" who had given him the idea. He then realized what she had in mind: to unleash her specially bred snake mutts upon the tributes in the Capitol Arena. Having seen first-hand the unusual and deadly nature of the snakes, and knowing something of how they worked, he slipped a handkerchief previously used by Lucy Gray into their tank in order to familiarize them with her scent.^[18] On the fourth day, Wovey, the female tribute from District 8, passed out and died, clutching an empty water bottle. Nobody found it suspicious, however, Coriolanus Snow, noticing something slightly off about her spittle, realized that she had most likely been poisoned by Lucy Gray. Not long after this, Dr. Gaul released the snake muttations into the arena, as Snow had suspected she would.

The snakes behaved as Snow expected, immediately fanning out and attacking tributes. They managed to find victims, but then Lucy Gray emerged from one of the tunnels, doing a sort of dance and singing a simple tune on "la." Her tune seemed to draw the snakes from all over the arena, surrounding her and swarming her dress, until she appeared to have a brilliant skirt of weaving reptiles.^[19] She then began a soft, sweet song which mesmerized both the snakes and the audience of the Hunger Games. As she released her last note, the snakes began to stir, but she started softly humming and the snakes relaxed around her, contented.

The games continued until only three were left: Lucy Gray, Reaper, and Treech, the male tribute from District 7. Approached by Lepidus Malmsey of Capitol News, Snow tried to play up the attention that Lucy Gray had attracted from the Capitol audience, stating that he felt a great injustice may have occurred by her even being in District 12 at all and that if others felt with the same way, they knew what to do. His smooth words resulted in a barrage of donations, but it was of little help, as he already received more than enough to feed her for weeks. Not long after this, Lucy Gray materialized from the tunnels, apparently trying to figure out who was still left in the Games. She was set upon by Treech, who was carrying a large ax. He raised it for the strike, but she flung herself into his arms, avoiding the swing, and his eyes widened in horror as he realized what she had done. He shoved her away, tearing the snake from his neck, but it was too late. He collapsed to his knees, smashing the snake into the ground, but fell dead in the dirt.

With only her and Reaper left, Lucy Gray set up a meticulous plan, infuriating Reaper by moving pieces of flag that he had used to cover the dead tributes' corpses. She took advantage of the fact he had not eaten much for many days-- a symptom of the rabies he'd contracted from Jessup-- to tire him out. Exhausted and dehydrated, Reaper then desperately drank out of a poisoned puddle. He made it to Treech's body and only half-covered himself with the flag before his body gave out. At the time, nobody was sure if he was really dead. Sitting on the bleachers at the time, Lucy Gray waited thirty minutes before going to check his body. Not seeming to find a pulse, she closed his eyelids, then carefully arranged the flagpole over the tributes and sat against a pole to wait. Finally convinced, the Gamemakers declared her the victor.^[20]

Return to District 12

Upon leaving the Capitol Arena, Lucy Gray Baird was given a thorough search, something which was standard procedure. At that time, they discovered the compact which she had used to smuggle the rat poison. This, combined with the discovery of the handkerchief which Snow had used to expose the snakes to Lucy Gray's scent, saw to it that he was expelled from the Academy and made to enroll in the Peacekeepers. He then asked to be transferred to District 12, so that he might see Lucy Gray again.^[21]

Lucy Gray Baird was sent back to District 12, where she resumed her life performing with the Covey at The Hob. Snow watched, holding his breath, as she appeared on stage, introduced as being fresh back from her engagement as the Capitol. She then entertained the crowd with a bright, lively number. She continued with the song she had sung on the day of her reaping, Snow realizing the truth of the words she sang, "Nothing you can take from me was ever worth keeping!" as the Capitol had tried to take everything from her and failed. She rounded out the night with the song "Down in the Valley," and Snow lapped in the words, "So I can see my true love go by." He moved in to meet her, but there was a disturbance in the Hob, caused by the appearance of her scorned lover, Billy Taupe.^[22]

Billy Taupe's appearance ended up creating chaos in the Hob and Snow was denied his meeting with Lucy Gray that evening. The next day, however, Snow spoke with Sejanus Plinth, his former classmate and mentor who had joined him as a Peacekeeper recruit in District 12. Plinth told him that he had learned that Lucy Gray lived in a place near the woods called the Seam and he could take her there. They set off and Snow finally had his long-awaited meeting. He discovered her in the Meadow next to Shamus, the Covey's goat, strumming a song which brought to mind a hanging which he had witnessed two days previously. She at first reacted skittishly to his approach, but admitted it was only because she was still skittish from the arena. They hugged, him telling her that she knew he would find her. She admitted that she had hoped, but she didn't know for sure, and the odds didn't seem in her favor. He gave her ice, a rare treat in the hot days of summer, and she asked what had brought him to her meadow.

He told her that he was just spending time with his girl and that he wanted to hear what had happened to her in the Games, off-camera. The two exchanged stories, and Lucy Gray admitted that she knew something of Snow's foray into the arena to rescue Plinth, in which he had killed the tribute Bobbin. She didn't breathe easy again until he sent in the water for her and she knew he was alive. He admitted that he had felt useless to her, but she promised that everything he had done for her was important. She asked him about the snakes and he admitted the truth of what he had done with the handkerchief. She told him that having saved each other's lives it was written in the stars that they were responsible for each other. She asked if he might write Pluribus Bell for more strings for her guitar, telling him that she had money that Dean Casca Highbottom had given her secretly. This shocked Snow, as Highbottom hated him, and he didn't understand why Highbottom would give money to his girl.

She took him to meet the rest of her family of the Covey, but the meeting was interrupted when they learned that Billy Taupe had come around again and was talking with Sejanus Plinth. Lucy apologized to him for having to deal with her baggage and, amused, he replied that it was in the stars.^[23] She then told Plinth that her younger cousin and fellow Covey member, Maude Ivory, was upset at his shirking the work she had given him to talk with Taupe. She told Taupe go away and not come back and he asked if she would sic her Peacekeepers on him if he didn't. She told him that there was no walking back what he done, that he was still running with the girl who had tried to get her killed. He asked where he was supposed to go and she bit his hand. He sniped at Snow, telling him that he had a few surprises waiting for him before leaving. Afterwards, Lucy Gray told Snow that what Taupe was implying wasn't true - that she sometimes had to flirt with people as part of her job, but she was loyal. She said that she hadn't come back from the Capitol for more of the same and he told her to make a new life with him. They made plans to meet again the coming Saturday, as the Covey had a gig performing at a wedding.^[24]

Reckoning

At their next meeting, Snow met Lucy Gray backstage. He told her about his recent project with the Peacekeepers, capturing mockingjays and jabberjays. She found it distasteful, the way the Capitol controlled the birds, and didn't like the way the Capitol kept them caged up. She asked him if he always felt free to speak his mind, noting that her own father had been killed for speaking his mind. He shot back that his own father had been killed by a rebel sniper and things briefly became frosty between them, but they patched things up. She told him that the Covey was planning a trip to a lake in the woods the next day, asking if he wanted to come along. Snow agreed, delighted at the idea of going somewhere pleasurable. Before he left, he listened to Maude Ivory perform the song "Lucy Gray," the ballad after which Lucy Gray Baird had been named. It, however, only left him confused, as the song was about a ghost-girl and he had never been good at rhetoric.^[25]

The next day, the group set off on the journey to the lake. Along the way, the group debated the meaning of the "Lucy Gray" song. Lucy Gray Baird told them all that the true meaning of the song was a mystery, just like herself. As they settled in at the lake, Lucy Gray told Snow that she was sorry she had upset him the night before. He agreed that he had over-reacted, telling her that he believed they needed the Capitol to maintain order. She asked him if he really thought the Hunger Games were right and he answered that he wasn't even sure why they did them, but that the Capitol was the only thing keeping people safe from people's animal desires. Lucy asked what it was that she gave up for safety. He replied that it was nothing, but she didn't think so, noting that the Covey had taken from them their ability to travel, to sing certain songs they wanted and to even keep their family together. She told him that he wanted to think for himself and she knew because of what he had done for her in the Games. Afterwards, she complimented Clerk Carmine for bringing some katniss, explaining to Snow that it was an edible plant and in a few weeks it would grow potatoes that would be good for roasting.

The group had a fish lunch and contemplated the colorful clouds in the sky. Lucy Gray explained to Snow that each of the members of the Covey got their first name from a ballad and their last name from a color. At one point, Lucy Gray commented that Clerk missed Billy Taupe and Snow asked if she did. She replied immediately that she hadn't since the reaping, explaining that Taupe had bet he could have both her and Mayfair Lipp. She told him that he had tried to meet in the meadow and he became jealous, despite her claim that she couldn't ever trust him again. She told Snow that she trusted him, but when he asked her why, she said she would have to give it some thought.^[26]

At the next performance at the Hob, Lucy Gray performed a downbeat number, "I'll Sell You For a Song," which irritated Snow, as it reminded him of Taupe. The two then accidentally stumbled upon a secretive rebel meeting in which Sejanus Plinth was plotting with Billy Taupe and man named Spruce to escape up north. Spruce was suspicious of their presence, but Plinth tried to smooth it over, telling Spruce that Snow was like his brother and would cover for them. Spruce then motioned to Lucy Gray, asking about her. Billy Taupe replied that she was his girl and Lucy Gray agreed, "If you'll take me." Spruce asked about Snow and Lucy Gray lied, claiming that he was seeing her cousin, Barb Azure Baird. Snow was unsure exactly what was going on, but decided to play along. Things ignited, however, when Mayfair Lipp showed up, threatening to expose the group. She got in a jibe at Lucy Gray, asking how she had enjoyed the Capitol and then made to leave, but Spruce raised his shotgun to shoot her. In response, Billy Taupe knocked him to the ground, but Snow raised his Peacekeeper rifle and shot Mayfair instead. He then told Lucy Gray to run and get back onstage, but Billy Taupe shouted that if he was going to swing, then she would swing with him, so Spruce shot him through the chest. Lucy Gray stared at his body, shocked, and Snow ushered her back out onstage, telling her that she was never there. Lucy Gray then played crowd control, keeping all of the Covey onstage until the program was over. She and Snow escaped detection, but thanks to earlier treachery by Snow, Plinth was arrested as a traitor to the Peacekeepers and executed at the hanging tree. Lucy Gray was weeping near the front of the crowd as she stared up at Sejanus, wearing an old gray dress and a black scarf hiding her hair.^[7]

Snow was wracked with guilt about his betrayal and worry that he would be implicated in the crime. He returned to the Hob, where Lucy Gray performed a song called "Pure as the Driven Snow," which, based on the lyrics and title, could only be about him. Afterwards, he asked if she was alright and she told him that it had been awful, watching him die and that she would never be able to thank him for killing Mayfair to protect her and the rest of the Covey. He told her she was safe, but she said that this wasn't really true: Mayor Lipp was convinced she had killed them both and was on the Peacekeepers day and night to arrest her. She told Snow that she was going to run away, fleeing north like the others had planned. He told her that they would go together tomorrow, as he was sure that if he didn't, they would find his gun and connect him to Mayfair's murder. They promised to meet the next day at dawn. He wasn't sure where to meet, but then he heard her sing "The Hanging Tree". Although he was annoyed at hearing another Billy Taupe song, he realized that she was singing it to him, that "Snow lands on top." He rose to meet her at dawn the next morning, but before he could do so, he was told that he had passed his test to train as a Peacekeeper officer and was slated to leave for District 2 the next morning.^[27]

Despite this news, Snow met with Lucy Gray anyway, sure that any moment someone would find the evidence of his guilt and his only choice was to run. He told her that she was all that mattered to him. He told her that the Peacekeeper commander had ordered her to stop singing "The Hanging Tree," as it was too dark. They took off, her saying that she was leaving behind her guitar for Maude Ivory. Snow realized that they didn't seem to be heading directly north and she told him that she wanted to see the lake one last time. As she said her goodbyes, Snow said that there wasn't much to miss and she said that she would miss her music and her pretty birds. He told her that he wouldn't miss people, that they were mostly awful, but she replied that it wasn't people that were awful so much as what the world did to them. As they walked, he let slip a reference to having killed three people. Confused, she asked who the third was and he claimed that he killed the old him so that he could come with her.

They took rest in a shack, where Snow was shocked to discover guns, including the weapon that he had used to kill Mayfair. Casually, he asked Lucy Gray if she should take them along and she replied that she'd rather not, that she didn't trust them. After they started a fire, she told Snow that she was going to gather some katniss from a patch by the lake. Left alone to think, Snow realized that with the evidence in hand, he could bury what had happened and make a new life for himself. He knew that living wild wasn't for him, and as Lucy Gray took a long time with the katniss, his thoughts became doubting, thinking of the insinuations that Taupe had made against her. He walked outside, searching for her, and realized that she must have figured out that Plinth was the third person he killed. He shouted after her and searched, eventually finding her orange scarf lying across some briars. He then reached for it, only to be bitten by a snake.

Shocked and angered, Snow expected to die, but found he was still standing. He figured that Lucy Gray must be about to return to the shack, not about to confront him with only a knife. He estimated her position and fired a spray of bullets, but they did not connect. He called after her, telling her it was not too late to work something out, but in return, Lucy Gray sang lyrics from "The Hanging Tree," emphasizing the fact that she knew the truth of what had happened to Plinth. The mockingjays then picked up her song and Snow realized the deviousness of her plan, using them to cover for her. Shouting her name, he sprayed the trees with bullets, but couldn't be sure if anything connected.

Instead of going to District 2, Snow was brought to the Capitol by Dr. Gaul and he learned that she had erased all record of the 10th Hunger Games. The name of Lucy Gray would fade, known only a distant memory in the minds of the select segment in the Capitol who had followed the 10th Hunger Games and those who had known her in District 12.^[28] Snow later received a letter which stated that back in District 12, everyone thought that Mayor Lipp had Lucy Gray killed as revenge for the death of Mayfair, but nobody could prove it. A new commander had outlawed shows at the Hob. Snow would sometimes remember a moment of sweetness and wish that things had gone differently, but he felt that things would never have worked out between him and Lucy Gray, that they were too different. He was happy to think of her as a ghost girl that "could fly around District 12 as much as she liked, but she and her mockingjays could never harm him again."^[2]

Family

Immediate family

By the time of the 10th Hunger Games, Lucy Gray was left as an orphan with no immediate family.^[1] Her father was shot dead for speaking out and trying to resist the Peacekeeper roundup,^[25] and her mother "[got her] head broken" for trying to keep her family together.^[26] Alongside her parents, Lucy Gray also lost her two unnamed older siblings.^[1]

The Covey

After the deaths of Lucy Gray's immediate family, the six remaining Covey children were taken in by an old man for a fee. This included Lucy Gray and her two Baird cousins, Barb Azure and Maude Ivory; as well as Billy Taupe Clade, Clerk Carmine Clade, and Tam Amber. The man didn't raise the children, but he didn't "much mess with [them]" either, and Lucy Gray expressed gratitude towards him for housing them. He died of black lung the year prior to her reaping, but some of the Covey were old enough to manage things by then.^[1]

Alliances

Before the 10th Hunger Games began, Lucy Gray and Jessup formed an alliance so that "the District 12 tributes [would be] going down together".^[11] The two had formed a close bond early on, which Coriolanus thought "was rarely seen in tributes from the same District", with Jessup swearing to act as Lucy Gray's protector.^[15]

However, Jessup contracted rabies at the zoo, and his condition worsened to the point of delirium and aggression during the Games. He attempted to attack Lucy Gray, so she ran away and climbed a concession stand. When the sponsors' water bottles were dropped near Jessup, he became frantic and fell off the stand, breaking his bones. As he was dying, Lucy Gray sat beside him and offered comfort, telling him he could "sleep now". Afterwards, she closed his eyes and washed his face for respect.^[17]

Victims

During the 10th Hunger Games, Lucy Gray killed Wovey, the District 8 female, by poisoning a water bottle with rat poison hidden in Snow's compact. Apparently, Lucy Gray was "gunning for Coral", though.^[23] Next, she used one of the snake muttations against Treech, the District 7 male, in self-defense. When it was just her and Reaper left, she poisoned a puddle and exhausted Reaper to make him thirsty, at which point he drank.^[20] She later claimed it was an act of mercy, as Jessup had spat in Reaper's eye at the zoo and given him rabies.^[23]

Film adaptation

In The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes, her poisoned water bottle killed Dill, the District 11 female tribute. Later, while hiding from the other tributes inside an air vent, she sprinkled rat poison onto Treech, killing him. In this adaptation, she was not responsible for any other deaths.^[29]

Personality

Lucy Gray had a confident, seemingly effortless stage presence. She was able to quickly win over audiences at the Hob and in the Capitol alike with her charms. Coriolanus describes her usual show-characteristics as a glamourous stage personality. She was a girl filled with sass and heart, with nothing but love for her family. Despite this, she showed signs of trauma from her time in the Hunger Games, saying that she still had "one foot in the arena."^[23]

Physical description

Lucy Gray was described with dark, curly hair which was pulled up and woven with limp wildflowers at the reaping. During that time, she also wore her signature colorful dress made of a rainbow of ruffles of colors of raspberry pink, royal blue, and daffodil yellow ruffle, now raggedy but once fancy, which drew the eye as to "a tattered butterfly in a field of moths".^[8] Later, for her interview, Tigris made the filth and soot on her dress vanish, leaving fresh, starchy rows of rainbow ruffles.^[13] During the reaping and the interview, Lucy Gray wore makeup - her eyes were shadowed blue and lined with black, her cheeks rouged, and her lips stained a somewhat messy red.^[8] Pluribus Bell said she looked like "someone who knows how to have fun".^[13]

During the rest of her stay in the Capitol, she didn't wear her makeup, and her lips were chapped, her hair loose, her rainbow dress dusty and rumpled. She was also struck by the mayor, and the mark was described as a deep purple bruise, which Lucy Gray said she could only imagine 'how hideous' it looks.^[9]

When she returned to District 12, she wore a gray dress, like her namesake, as well as a black scarf during Arlo Chance's hanging.^[7] She also wore braids during the Games.^[30] Although no specific description is given of her speech within the novel, in a clip introducing the character, author Suzanne Collins read Lucy Gray as having an accent like those from the Deep South region of the United States.

Etymology

Her name, Lucy Gray, originates from a real life poem, "Lucy Gray," written by William Wordsworth. The poem itself is performed as a song by Maude Ivory.^[25] She was the sole member of the Covey to have both parts of their name pulled from a ballad.^[26] Her surname, Baird, is derived from the word "bard", meaning "poet" or a professional singer who tells stories through song. It is also only one letter off from "bird", which the Covey are often compared to in the novel.

Trivia

• Of the tributes in the 10th Hunger Games, Lucy Gray was tied for the most kills with Coral at three (Lucy Gray's victims were Wovey, Treech, and Reaper). However, two of them were not direct kills.
• Lucy Gray and Peeta Mellark were both District 12 victors known for their charisma. They were also both the youngest of three children, and they were the only surviving members of their respective families.
• She was indirectly mentioned in The Hunger Games as District 12's first victor.^[31]
• Lucy Gray is the earliest known victor. If she survived her encounter with Snow and her subsequent disappearance, she may also be the oldest, having won at 16 the year prior to Mags Flanagan, who was 16 herself when she won the 11th Hunger Games and survived to the age of eighty.
• Her favorite food was her mother's bread pudding.^[1]
• Various facts about Lucy Gray have prompted fan speculation that she could be a relative of Katniss, either through one of her cousins (most popularly Maude Ivory) or as a direct ancestor (making her Katniss' paternal grandmother).
  • Lucy Gray wrote "The Hanging Tree", and was a talented singer.
  • She knew of wild herbs such as katniss and stated her preference for that name over swamp potatoes.
  • She and the rest of the Covey knew of the lake outside District 12.
  • The Covey collected milk from their pet goat Shamus, similar to Primrose Everdeen with her goat Lady.
• Rachel Zegler stated on Twitter that she played Lucy Gray in the film as a Gemini,^[32] and she imagined the character's birthday would be May 24th.^[33]

Behind the scenes

• Author Suzanne Collins spoke about Lucy Gray Baird in an interview, regarding The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes. She stated that in the first chapter of The Hunger Games, she made a reference to a fourth District 12 victor, but that Katniss didn't seem to know anything about the person worth mentioning. Her story is not well-known in Panem in the future, due to Dr. Gaul erasing nearly all recordings of the 10th Hunger Games, but she lives on through her music. Her other legacy is that she introduced entertainment to the Hunger Games. Collins had some sense when writing the reference of who the character might be, but the character evolved a lot from that point.^[34]
• Rachel Zegler is in a real life relationship with Josh Andrés Rivera, the actor playing Sejanus Plinth.

References

The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes
Main Characters	Coriolanus Snow • Lucy Gray Baird • Sejanus Plinth
Supporting Characters	Tigris • Grandma'am • Volumnia Gaul • Casca Highbottom • Clemensia Dovecote • Lysistrata Vickers • Festus Creed
Tributes	Facet • Velvereen • Marcus • Sabyn • Circ • Teslee • Mizzen • Coral • Hy • Sol • Otto • Ginnee • Treech • Lamina • Bobbin • Wovey • Panlo • Sheaf • Tanner • Brandy • Reaper • Dill • Jessup
Mentors	Livia Cardew • Palmyra Monty • Florus Friend • Io Jasper • Urban Canville • Persephone Price • Dennis Fling • Iphigenia Moss • Apollo Ring • Diana Ring • Vipsania Sickle • Pliny Harrington • Juno Phipps • Hilarius Heavensbee • Gaius Breen • Androcles Anderson • Domitia Whimsiwick • Arachne Crane • Felix Ravinstill
Groups	Academy • Covey • Peacekeepers • University • Capitol families
Locations	Panem • The Capitol • District 1 • District 2 • District 3 • District 4 • District 5 • District 6 • District 7 • District 8 • District 9 • District 10 • District 11 • District 12 • District 13
Behind the Scenes	Suzanne Collins • Santino Fontana