Lisa Cuddy is the Dean of Medicine at Princeton-Plainsboro Teaching Hospital at the start of House M.D. She supervises House and repeatedly balances his diagnostic brilliance against his disregard for hospital rules.
Cuddy is an endocrinologist and a senior hospital administrator. Her professional relationship with House is central to the series: she protects his department when his results justify it, but she also disciplines him when his behavior creates legal, ethical, or financial problems. Their relationship eventually becomes romantic, adding another layer to their workplace conflict.
Lisa Edelstein played Cuddy throughout the show’s first seven seasons. Cuddy does not appear in the eighth season, so later episodes depict the hospital under different administrative arrangements. This distinction is why descriptions of her role can vary depending on the season being discussed.