Bunny Lebowski (Tara Reid)

Character Analysis

Bunny Lebowski is a former porn star and the very young, nymphomaniac trophy wife of the Big Lebowski. She's a classic gold digger who's been spending her rich hubby's dough all over town and ends up in huge debt to her porn producer. Unlike Maude Lebowski, the character of Bunny Lebowski is far more standard fare when it comes to stereotyped roles for women in movies. She's young, impulsive, pretty, overtly sexual, and perpetually childlike. The Coens use her to satirize this stereotype.

In spite of all of this, Bunny's backstory does give her some depth. She was a Midwestern farm girl named Fawn Knudsen who ran away from home to L.A., where she got mixed up in the pornography business. Struggling for support, she married an old, wealthy guy. The old, wealthy guy then proceeded to despise her. After her alleged kidnapping, he hires the biggest loser he knows to try to find her because he doesn't want her to be found. With all of the drama and craziness swirling around her, Bunny is blissfully and cluelessly hanging out with her friends and eventually shows up back at the mansion safe and sound.

Although the Big Lebowski doesn't want her back, her parents do. They hire a private detective to try to locate her, and they give him a picture of their farm, hoping it will make her homesick and want to come back. We'd guess that's a pretty long shot.