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394px-Holly phoning home

Holly Gennero is the ex-wife of John McClane. Over the course of the series their relationship becomes more and more strained and by the fourth film, they are divorced.

In Die Hard and Die Hard 2 Holly is portrayed by Bonnie Bedelia, whom Bruce Willis personally suggested for the role. 

History[]

Holly and John were married, presumably in New York where John was a police officer. They had two children together, Lucy and John Jr. When Holly received a promotion from the Nakatomi Plaza, she moved out to California in July 1988. Thinking he would join her, she left John in New York under a strained relationship. At her new job she went by her maiden name Gennaro. She invited John to visit during Christmas. On Christmas Eve 1988 Holly celebrated closing the largest deal in Nakatomi's history.


Holly's name is initially portrayed on the Nakatomi Corporation's computer as Holly Gennaro.

Die Hard[]

At her company Christmas party, Holly had to put up with Harry Ellis's flirting. She wrapped up some work and sent her secretary Ginny away from her desk and to the party. When John arrived, she was happy to see him but the two began fighting about her changing her last name and moving to California. She rejoined the party and was taken hostage by the Nakatomi vault heist team. Once her boss Joe Takagi was murdered by Hans Gruber, she stepped into the position of making sure the hostages were taken care of. She hid the fact that she was married to the man reeking destruction on Hans' team until Richard Thornburg's news team ruined her cover. She was taken to the vault by Hans as extra insurance. When John arrived Hans held a gun to Holly's head, but John managed to get Hans to aim the gun at him. John pulled a hidden gun off his back and shot Hans, who fell out of the window. Hans managed to hold on 

Holly's new Rolex as he dangled out of the window. He aimed his gun at Holly, but John was able to unclasp the watch and he fell to his death. Holly followed John outside where the two met Sergeant Al Powell who had acted as John's partner in the crisis and Holly introduced herself as Holly McClane rather than Gennero, signifying her reconciling her marriage with John. After Karl is killed by Powell, she punches Thornburg in the mouth for interviewing her kids and revealing her identity to Hans. She and John then head home in Argyle's limo.

Die Hard 2[]

"John, why does this keep happening to us?"
―Holly Gennero [src]

Holly was flying on Northeast 140 from Los Angeles to Washington DC to meet up with her family. While her husband John is waiting for her to land at Washington Dulles International Airport, terrorists take over the air traffic control system. He must stop the terrorists before his wife's plane and several other incoming flights that are circling the airport run out of fuel and crash. During the night, McClane must also contend with airport police, maintenance workers, and a military commander who does not want his assistance. Reporter Richard Thornburg, who exposed McClane's identity to Hans Gruber in the first movie, is assigned the seat next to Holly (it is learned that Thornburg has a restraining order on Holly for assaulting him). 

Later, after learning about the situation through a radio transmission from Barnes, Thornburg barricades himself in the airplane lavatory and phones in a sensational take on what is happening at Dulles, leading to panic in the airport and preventing the officers from reaching the plane. After learning of this, Holly subdues Thornburg with a taser. In the end, John blows up the terrorists' plane, and Holly's plane, which is forced to make an emergency landing, is able to use the fire trail as landing lights and Holly is reunited with her husband.

Die Hard with a Vengeance[]

She did not appear in the film, but she is mentioned in conversation when McClane explains that he and Holly had a fight over the phone and haven't spoken since. After nearly dying, McClane makes an attempt to call her. Despite not appearing, her voice is heard briefly on the phone when McClane calls her after escaping from Simon Gruber but leaves her on hold after finding a clue to Simon's location. After McClane kills Simon, he decides to call her again, but is worried about how angry she'll be as he left her on hold.

In the alternate ending for Die Hard with a Vengeance, McClane mentions that after he's done with Simon he's going to spend Christmas with his children. This implies that McClane either got back together with Holly or the couple came to an agreement where McClane still gets to visit Lucy and John Jr.

Live Free or Die Hard[]

It is stated that she and John are divorced. In a brief shot of her diver's license and the couple's divorce certificate, we can see her last name spelled correctly (Gennero), and that she lives in San Francisco, at "9975 Geyser Way East", a non-existent location. The only connection between John and Holly is their daughter Lucy, who, just like her mother in Die Hard, switches from using "Gennero" to "McClane" as her last name after witnessing her father's heroic actions to save her.

Future[]

Bonnie Bedelia has been asked and yet continues to refuse revisiting the role for the final upcoming Die Hard film, Die Hardest


Die Hard Characters
John McClane - Holly Gennero - Lucy McClane - John McClane, Jr. - Al Powell - Richard Thornburg
Die Hard Hans Gruber - Karl - Theo
Die Hard 2 Colonel Stuart - Leslie Barnes - General Ramon Esperanza - Carmine Lorenzo - Major Grant
Die Hard with a Vengeance Simon Gruber - Zeus Carver - Katya
Live Free or Die Hard Thomas Gabriel - Matt Farrell - Mai Linh - Warlock
A Good Day to Die Hard Yuri Komarov - Irina Komarov - Viktor Chagarin - Alik - Mike Collins
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