| “ | If my life is going to mean anything, I have to live it myself. I can't let a god take care of me...or my son. | ” |
–Sally Jackson, to her son Percy, in The Lightning Thief | ||
Sally Jackson is the mortal mother of Greek demigod Percy Jackson. She is currently married to Paul Blofis.
History
When she was five years old, her parents Jim and Laura Jackson, both died in a plane crash 150 miles south of Lake Ontario at 3 A.M. No one survived the accident and the cause of the crash is left unknown. She was raised by her uncle Rich Jackson. During Sally's last year of high school, Rich died of cancer, leaving Sally to have to work small jobs, because she had dropped out of high school to take care of him. She met Poseidon twelve years before the books started, noticing his trident as she could see through the Mist. They fell in love and after spending the summer with Poseidon, their child was conceived. Poseidon kept Sally a secret from his brother, Zeus. Poseidon was forced to return to the sea; until their son Percy discovered that he was a demigod, Sally told him that his father was not "dead" but "lost at sea", a possible hint about Percy's dad. Twelve years later she learned that her son was the half-blood of the great prophecy that could be holding the fate of Olympus and the gods in his hands when he reached the age of sixteen.
Percy Jackson and the Olympians
The Lightning Thief
Sally was married to Gabe Ugliano so that monsters would stay away from her son, in the hope that Gabe's smelly and repulsive human scent would cover Percy's scent. However, Gabe was abusive to Sally when Percy was not around, hitting her and treating her badly. She works in a candy shop called Sweet on America, loves the color blue, and blue food. This is because of a fight she got into with Gabe over whether or not food could be blue. Sally always went out of her way to always eat blue food, occasionally baking blue cakes, and bringing home blue candy from work.
Hades.
She then gets kidnapped by the Minotaur when he chases her, Percy and Grover Underwood, Percy's satyr protector and friend, and is transformed into a gold shimmering statue-like form. Unable to rescue her at first, Percy retreats to Camp Half-Blood and is allowed to go on his own quest with Grover and Annabeth Chase, daughter of Athena. Percy then rescues her by returning the Helm of Darkness, Hades' symbol of power in the Underworld after a fight with Ares, the god of war. She is returned home by Hades much to Gabe's unhappy and lousy dismay.
Percy later found out that Gabe had hit Sally often when he saw her flinch at the sight of Gabe's raised hand. Percy then tempted Sally with the head of Medusa. Sally later wrote Percy a letter saying she had turned Gabe into a statue with Medusa's head, which he had given her as a parting gift from Poseidon, who told him that she was the most beautiful mortal woman on earth that he had ever met. She claimed it was a concrete statue and made enough money in the sale of the statue to pay for tuition to NYU for creative writing, a down payment for a private school for Percy and a new apartment for them to live in. Sally is what Percy calls "the best mom in the world" because she is very understanding (and because of many other reasons). She notices Percy's soft side towards Annabeth and teases Percy kindly about it.
Gabe Ugliano, her first husband.
The Sea of Monsters
Sally gets a message from Chiron and is reluctant on letting Percy return to Camp Half-Blood for the summer. She is excited for Percy though, who has nearly made it past 7th grade without getting expelled, and makes him blue waffles and eggs. Percy disappears again from his school with Annabeth and Tyson, and Sally is worried out of her mind. However, she didn't stay mad for long and was relieved to find out that Percy was okay.
The Titan's Curse
Sally takes Percy, Annabeth, and Thalia Grace to a school where Grover has found two demigod siblings named Nico and Bianca di Angelo. At camp, Percy contacts Sally to let her know he is coming home early, but sees her with a man in the kitchen, Paul Blofis. Sally encourages Percy to trust his own judgment and go to save Annabeth. After Percy has done so, he contacts his mother again and sees her holding Paul's hand. Sally is embarrassed, but Percy tells her it is okay if she is happy.
The Battle of the Labyrinth
Poseidon, her lover.
Sally is said to be trying to find another job, as she is dressed up for a job interview when she drops Percy off at Goode High School. She also says that one of the things that caused Poseidon to be drawn to her is that she can see through the Mist. When Percy and Annabeth drop by to visit her on their way to meet Rachel Elizabeth Dare, she notices that the two of them have been fighting, but doesn't comment further. On Percy's 15th birthday, Poseidon stops by her apartment to give his son a birthday gift. When Sally answers the door she is dumbfounded to see her former lover at the door and can barely make a coherent sentence. It should be noted that Paul, her boyfriend, did not seem initially pleased with Poseidon's arrival to the birthday celebration; however, he does not mention it to anyone or to Percy. Sally did seem surprised and shocked by Poseidon's arrival. After seeing Paul's surprised expression when Poseidon called Tyson his son, she quickly reassured him that Tyson was not hers.
The Last Olympian
Sally has been re-married to a man named Paul Blofis. Soon after, he learns Percy is a demigod, but doesn't quite believe it. Sally is seen at the Battle of Manhattan, with Paul Blofis, and surprised Percy with her ability to use a shotgun.
The Heroes of Olympus
The Lost Hero
Sally does not formally appear in the book, but she is mentioned to have been contacted regarding Percy's disappearance.
The Son of Neptune
After his memories started to recover, Percy called his mom but only got the voice mail. He left a message, saying that he is on a quest and that he misses her.
The Mark of Athena
During the time that Percy was missing, Annabeth Chase would inform Sally and her husband Paul Blofis on any information she had during the search. Occasionally, Annabeth and Sally would cry over the loss of Percy, as the two had no idea where he was or if he was even alive.
Personality
Sally is a very kind, understanding, and passionate woman. She has a rebellious streak, and a gift of seeing through the Mist. She is described as the best person in the world by Percy and is a wonderful mother. She never says an unkind word to anyone, and is a very hard worker, and does not ever complain. She also has a lot of mental endurance and love for Percy, as she put up with Gabe for nearly a decade just to keep Percy safe from monsters.
Percy, her son.
Appearance
Sally has a very sweet voice, and always smells of sugar, chocolate, and everything else you would find in a candy shop. She has a warm smile, and long straight brown hair with a few gray strands in it, but, otherwise, doesn't look old. Her eyes are sparkly blue, and they are said to change colors in the light. Overall, Sally is a very beautiful woman. Sally also has laugh and smile lines.
Family
- Percy Jackson (son)
- Poseidon (lover, Percy's father)
- Gabe Ugliano (ex-husband, turned into stone by Medusa's lit and still alive eyes)
- Paul Blofis (second husband and Percy's second step dad)
- Jim Jackson (father, died in a plane crash)
- Laura Jackson (mother, died in a plane crash)
- Rich Jackson (uncle, deceased due to cancer)
Film
The Lightning Thief
Catherine Keener plays Sally Jackson in the film adaption of The Lightning Thief.
Trivia
- In The Titan's Curse, it should be noted that Sally talks more when she is nervous.
- Sally is shown to know a bit about the Greek myths. She named Percy after one of the few demigods whose story didn't end in a tragedy- Perseus, and knew how to avoid the Minotaur.
- Sally is one of the few humans in the series who can see through the Mist.
- Sally is the only known mother of a child of the Big Three who isn't dead.
- It is said that on special occasions she would make blue food (e.g. in The Battle of Labyrinth: she feeds Percy and Annabeth blue chocolate chip cookies and makes blue food for Percy's 15th birthday; in The Sea of Monsters: on the last day of school she makes Percy blue waffles and blue eggs).
- She is similar to Leo Valdez's mother Esperanza as they both wanted their lovers (Poseidon and Hephaestus, respectively) to be around their child not for their own personal gain.
- There are three reasons why Sally never lets Percy ride an airplane:
- Percy is a son of Poseidon, Zeus' greatest rival. It would be dangerous for him to fly through Zeus' domain.
- They couldn't afford it.
- Sally's parents died in a plane crash.
- In The Lightning Thief, Sally says that she was with Poseidon only during the Summer, despite that Percy's birthday takes place in the summer, August 18. This would mean that Poseidon and Sally would have to have been together around December for Percy to be born in August.
- In the books, it is said that Sally's eye color changes while in the movie her eyes don't change color.