Jeanie Boulet

Jeanie Boulet was a fictional physician assistant from the television series ER. She was portrayed by Gloria Reuben.

Personal life
Jeanie Boulet was first introduced in season 1 as a recurring character. She became a series regular during season 2, but little was known about her character's life outside the ER until the end of that season, when her husband, Al, revealed to her that he had contracted HIV, presumably from a prostitute. Jeanie and Al had been estranged for some time before Al broke the news to her, but he did reveal that he had slept with other women while they were still together. By end of season 2, Jeanie had become aware that she too had contracted HIV, presumably from Al.

This situation was made even more difficult by the fact that Jeanie had been in a relationship with Dr. Peter Benton, who was her colleague at County. While it is revealed that Peter does not have HIV, the fact that Jeanie does have the virus ends their relationship and causes Peter to question whether Jeanie should still be working in the ER.

Peter eventually did accept that Jeanie would be able to take appropriate precautions and supported her decision to remain at County. Later in the series, Jeanie and Peter actually became somewhat close, with Jeanie helping Peter cope with the realization that his son Reese was deaf.

It is also at this time that Jeanie develops a strong friendship with Kerry Weaver. Jeanie had initially been afraid that Weaver might terminate her position at County if she found out about Jeanie's HIV status. This turned out not to be the case, and over the next few seasons Kerry and Jeanie developed a strong friendship. The friendship was tested when Kerry was forced to fire Jeanie for budgetary reasons. Jeanie refused to accept this and continued to work.

During seasons three and four, Al and Jeanie began living together once more and rekindled their relationship. Despite having some problems, they remained happy for nearly two years. Al's character was written off the series when he went to Atlanta in search of work. Jeanie was left alone in Chicago.

Departure
Early in season six, Jeanie adopts a HIV positive baby boy called Carlos after his mother dies in the hospital, and becomes involved with a police officer named Reggie. She tries to stay on at County and parent her child, but eventually decides to leave County in order to spend more time with her family. The final episode Jeanie appeared in was the sixth episode of season six, which was entitled "The Peace of Wild Things". She left with a standing offer from Kerry Weaver to return to County and her old job (which to date she has not accepted). Her character has not been mentioned since her departure.