Lauren Gupty

Luaren Gupty, in a scene from Pinch Sitter

Lauren Gupty is the mother of the Gupty family. She is the wife of Lester Gupty, and the mother of Tricia and Tad Gupty

Lauren Gupty in Canon

She is introduced in in the episode "Pinch Sitter," though she is first seen with Lester as background characters on the shuttle to the Mall of the Millennium in "Malled." In Pinch Sitter, she is relentlessly upbeat and overly friendly, though she playfully rebukes her husband when he refers to Tad and Tricia as "the little monsters." Daria babysits the children when she and Lester host Couples Therapy Night at the Morgendorffer house. The decorations on the Guptys' lawn are so cutesy that Daria refers to Lauren as Mrs. Kewpie when she opens the door. Like Lester, she is shocked by the changes Tad and Tricia make to their self-esteem record after Daria and Jane's tutelage.

She also appears briefly in "I Loathe a Parade" with the rest of the family at the Lawndale High Homecoming Parade. After Tad became separated from the rest of the family, Lauren (along with Lester and Tricia) looks for Tad along the parade route. When they find him, Lauren thanks Daria for keeping an eye on her and tells her there will be "some carrot sticks in the fridge the next time you babysit," but still laughs nervously at Daria's statement that uncut diamonds are as good as cash on the open market.

Anne D. Bernstein, who wrote "Pinch Sitter", darkened the couple when she hadFrom the Desk of Helen Morgendorffer reveal that Gupty's used to be part of Couples Therapy Night for their own benefit. Helen reports they left the group in 2001, claiming to be in love ("who are THEY kidding?"). "It Takes Two to Tangle" said "they have common passions, but additive-free foods alone do not a marriage make".