Madeline Westen

Madeline Westen is a fictional character in the television series Burn Notice portrayed by Sharon Gless. She is Michael Westen's neurotic, chain-smoking mother.

Overview

It is unclear how much Madeline knows about her son's life as a spy. All she really seems to know is that he tends to be in a different city, in a different country, or generally in a different place, and that he can not disclose where he is. Madeline is thrilled when Michael is back in Miami and hopes that he will stay. She occasionally asks him for help with her friends' problems.

Madeline's relationship with Michael has been tumultuous, and complicated by the fact that her husband, and the father of her children, regularly abused them. Madeline believes that Michael aggravated his father, and that this was the reason for Michael's father's beatings. She later allowed Michael to join the military at 17 by forging his father's signature on his enlistment forms. Madeline has been angry at Michael for years for an assortment of reasons, such as not attending his father's funeral. Upon his arrival in Miami, she asked Michael to visit his grave in exchange for his father's vintage Dodge Charger automobile.