Amanda King Stetson
Full Name: Amanda King Stetson
Code Name: Sunlight
Born: October 29, 1950, RAF Lakenheath, Brandon, Suffolk, England
Name at Birth: Amanda Lucy West
Other Former Names: Amanda West King
Occupation: Intelligence Operative
🕒 Timeline
Amanda Lucy West was born at the base hospital in RAF Lakenheath, Brandon, England, while her father was in his final tour of duty with the U.S. Army Air Forces. Her parents were Technical Sergeant Carl Jeremy West and the former Dorothea Lucy “Dotty” Fessenden. She was the second of her parents’ two children, but her older brother, Jay Christian “Christie” West, died as a baby during the 1949 polio epidemic.
Carl West separated from the USAAF when Amanda was two; the family moved to Arlington, Virginia, where she grew up. Amanda has no memory of living with her parents in England.
After graduating from high school, Amanda attended the University of Virginia on cheerleading and academic scholarships. She earned a B.S.Ed. in English Secondary Education (Literature Emphasis) in May 1972. At the beginning of her senior year at UVA, she met graduate student Joe King when he came to the writing center for tutoring and advice. Joe proposed over Christmas of that year and they were married in June 1972, shortly before he began attending Georgetown Law School.
Joe and Amanda had two sons: Phillip and Jamie, and Amanda devoted herself to her family as a homemaker and “PTA Mom.” She also coached Little League and was active in charity work. Unfortunately, the marriage foundered due to Joe’s frequent work-related absences and the divorce was finalized in mid-1982. The split was amicable and Amanda retained her married surname for the sake of her sons.
In October 1983, Lee Stetson inadvertently recruited her to the Agency, a shadowy governmental intelligence operation. Amanda had been looking for part-time work at the time; the Agency hired her as a civilian auxiliary and assistant to Lee. Although he resented working with her at first, over the next few years they became friends and partners. Already noted for her skills in lateral thinking, rapid analysis, and pattern recognition, Amanda was offered a full-time position as an agent trainee in October 1986.
By then, the relationship with Lee had turned personal. Lee and Amanda were married in Marion, Virginia, on February 13, 1987. In a cruel twist of fate, Amanda was caught in sniper crossfire on their honeymoon and spent the first few months of the marriage recuperating. She returned to the Agency full-time that May and finished her agent training the next month.
Although Amanda took French in high school, she did not retain it. As a part of her training with the Agency, Amanda studied Russian and was at functional capacity by Summer 1987. (She also regained functional capacity in French.) When a case experience during the Summer of 1987 suggested Arabic might be more beneficial, she switched to that instead.
Amanda’s father died in 1981. Her mother and her oldest son Phillip were killed in an automobile crash on October 1, 1987. When she was offered a position as a “cultural attaché” with the U.S. Embassy in London in mid-1988 (actually a covert counter-intelligence position with the Agency), she was happy to accept and viewed it as a fresh opportunity.
Amanda King was portrayed by Kate Jackson.
Timeline
| October 29, 1950 | Born at RAF Lakenheath, Brandon, Suffolk, England |
| May 13, 1972 | B.S.Ed., English Secondary Education, University of Virginia |
| June 3, 1972 | Marries Joe King, Washington, DC, USA |
| March 28, 1973 | Son Phillip King born, Washington, DC, USA |
| November 10, 1974 | Son Jamie King born, Arlington, VA, USA |
| September 29, 1982 | Divorce from Joe King finalized. |
| October 3, 1983 | Recruited to the Agency |
| October 3, 1986 | Begins training as a full-time agent |
| February 13, 1987 | Marries Lee Stetson, Marion, VA, USA |
| February 15, 1987 | Shot by a sniper bullet while on honeymoon, Palm Desert, CA, USA |
| June 18, 1988 | Leaves for London on a five-year overseas assignment |