The Mother

Tracy Mosby (née McConnell) ("The Mother") is the title character from the CBS television sitcom How I Met Your Mother. The show, narrated by Future Ted (Bob Saget), tells the story of how Ted Mosby (Josh Radnor) met his children's mother. Tracy McConnell appears in eight episodes, from "Lucky Penny" to "The Time Travelers", as an unseen character; she was first seen fully in "Something New" and was promoted to a main character in season 9. She is played by Cristin Milioti. The story of how Ted met The Mother is the framing device behind the series; many facts about her are revealed throughout the series, including that Ted once unwittingly owned her umbrella before accidentally leaving it behind in her apartment. Ted and The Mother meet at the Farhampton train station following Barney Stinson (Neil Patrick Harris) and Robin Scherbatsky's (Cobie Smulders) wedding; this scene is shown in "Last Forever", the series finale. The Mother's death from an unspecified terminal illness in 2024, also revealed in the series finale, received a mixed reaction from fans. Casting During its first eight seasons, the sitcom How I Met Your Mother often hinted at the unseen character of The Mother. Well-known actresses often made guest appearances on the show. Many fans expected that another would play the role, but creators Carter Bays and Craig Thomas wanted an unknown. Using Anne Hathaway and Amy Adams as examples, Thomas said that "We didn't want it to be a big famous star because we didn't want the wider audience to have associations with whatever actress this would be. The whole idea is that Ted's never seen this woman before, so it better feel that way to the audience", similar to how Cobie Smulders being cast as Robin Scherbatsky had "kept the show alive" when it began. They also did not want a large casting call. Bays and Thomas chose Cristin Milioti after seeing her on 30 Rock and Once; her musical ability was also helpful, as The Mother had been described as a band member. Milioti filmed her first scene for the last episode of season 8 having never watched How I Met Your Mother before. She only learned of the character's importance after binge watching the show during the summer.