Marita Covarrubias

Lore & Background

Covarrubias was introduced after X scrawled "SRSG" on a piece of paper, leading Mulder to the Special Representative to the Secretary-General of the United Nations. There, he met Covarrubias, the SRSG's assistant, who used diplomatic connections to help Mulder and Krycek infiltrate the Russian province of Krasnoyarsk for the Tunguska event. However, she was revealed to be working for The Smoking Man and the Syndicate. During the fifth season, after the Syndicate discovered her betrayal, they infected her with black oil. The Russians later developed a vaccine, but when the Syndicate's attempt to treat her failed, Alex Krycek stole an effective vaccine from a Russian shadow-government group to stabilize her condition, leaving her in a coma-like state until "Requiem." In "Requiem," she returned partially recovered, still weak and using a cane, making contact with Krycek on her own. Later, in "The Sixth Extinction II: Amor Fati," she pushed Krycek down a flight of stairs after he tried to kill her, and subsequently informed Mulder and Walter Skinner about a downed UFO.

In Their Own Story

In the series finale "The Truth," Skinner sought Covarrubias as a witness for Mulder's murder trial but failed to locate her. Ultimately, the ghost of X handed Mulder a scrap of paper with her new address. Called to testify, she spoke about her involvement with the Syndicate to some extent. However, when pressed for further information regarding the continuation of the conspiracy, she clammed up. At Mulder's request, she was dismissed from the stand; he feared that if she divulged certain knowledge, she would be killed. This silence marked the end of her active role in the series' narrative.

Reader's Guide

Laurie Holden auditioned for Marita Covarrubias without access to a script, told only that the character worked for the United Nations with an air of "intelligent seriousness." She had never seen The X-Files before auditioning and used only three pages of material from her debut episode. For the episode "Patient X," Holden learned Russian, rehearsing roughly fifteen seconds of screen-time for hours. A voice coach tested her proficiency by having her speak to his Russian-speaking friends over the telephone. Chris Carter originally wanted Natalija Nogulich for a female version of X before she was replaced by Steven Williams. Fans during the initial run nicknamed Covarrubias "UNblonde" due to her posting and dyed hair. Critically, the character received mixed reviews; Robert Shearman and Lars Pearson described her as a "bad parody" of Deep Throat and X, while Debra Warlick noted Holden's performance in "One Son" was "heart breaking [sic]" despite being used merely to convey plot points.

Did You Know?

• Laurie Holden had never seen The X-Files before auditioning for the role of Marita Covarrubias.
• Holden was required to learn Russian for the episode "Patient X," rehearsing just fifteen seconds of dialogue for hours.
• Fans referred to the character as "UNblonde" during the initial broadcast run, referencing her UN posting and dyed hair.
• Chris Carter originally cast Natalija Nogulich as a female version of the character X before she was replaced by Steven Williams.
• In the finale "The Truth," Marita Covarrubias was found only after the ghost of X gave Mulder a scrap of paper with her address.