Tamsin Maria Donovan is the daughter of Joshua Donovan and his wife Sidonie. She was born in Geneva, and lived there for the first fourteen years of her life. Due to her parents' heritage, she grew up speaking English, French and German.
While her father worked at CERN the whole time, her mother's career was much less stable. She was a teacher, but she often took long breaks from her job due to mental issues. The first time Sid checked herself into an institution, Tam was 5 years old. She stayed there for three months, and when she came home, it seemed like she felt better. However, less than two years later, she went back.
The vicious cycle continued until Joshua's death in 2030. He was killed in a staged lab accident related to a current enemy of Warehouse 13. After that tragic loss, Sidonie deemed herself incapable of raising Tamsin alone, so she asked Claudia and Steve to take care of her.
Tamsin moved into Leena's Bed & Breakfast in March 2030, at age 14. She missed her parents dearly, but she adored her remaining family nonetheless. Through her aunt, she felt connected to her father. Steve became an important part of her emotional support system, and she and Kelsey soon started acting like real sisters. In the meantime, she also explored the Warehouse. The more fascinating artifacts she found there, the more the association with her father's death faded away.
Throughout the following years, Tamsin found herself growing increasingly close to Mitchell Lattimer. He became her best friend and her closest confidant. At age 15, they shared their first kiss, and for a while, she dared to dream that they might last forever. However, at the end of the day, her inner pessimist reminded her that he wasn't a part of her plans for the future, and she wasn't part of his.
At 17, Tamsin graduated from high school and started studying at MIT, effectively ending her relationship with Mitch. One year later, he signed up to become a soldier, and they lost touch entirely.
Determined to feign nonchalance, Tam buried herself in her studies, aiming to continue her father's work. During the first year, she merely paused every now and then to call Kelsey or visit Sidonie. Things improved, but she still prioritized her work over social interactions most of the time. She went out to have fun when her classmates invited her, but she usually found parties tiring rather than relaxing.
TBC
Personality
Tamsin is a quiet but confident young woman. Most of the time, her silence isn't caused by shyness, but rather by her hyperactive mind. Mitchell once claimed that she was "too busy figuring out the world in her head to engage in small talk".
She inherited the typical Donovan stubbornness from her father. Once she has a goal in mind, there's no stopping her. She works hard, and always wants to learn new things.
Tamsin considers her own heart fragile, and tends to rationalize things to avoid getting hurt, but she's truly a very compassionate and even emotional person.
Trivia
Etymology
"Tamsin" is a female form of the biblical name "Thomas", meaning "twin". "Thomas" was also the password to open Rheticus' compass and reveal the instructions that released Joshua, Claudia and Artie from the pocket dimension.
"Maria" is also a biblical name, though its meaning is uncertain. It might've originally meant "sea of bitterness", "rebelliousness", "wished for child" or, most likely, "beloved". In Tamsin's case, the name was inspired by Maria Looney, a character from a children's book her father often read to her aunt after their parents' death.
