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Dr Lavinia Smith was a world-renowned virologist and the aunt of Sarah Jane Smith. She took care of Sarah following the premature death of her parents in 1951 and was the brother of Africana Smith and Eddie Smith, as well as the sister-in-law of Barbara Smith.
Biography
Dr Lavinia Smith raised her niece, Sarah Jane Smith, after her brother Eddie Smith and his wife Barbara died in a car accident during her infancy; she may have had help from her brother, Africana. (DWM: Playtime, SJA: The Temptation of Sarah Jane Smith, The Day of the Clown)
She always told Sarah Jane that her parents had been wonderful, loving parents even though they had seemingly abandoned her in her pram prior to her death. (SJA: The Temptation of Sarah Jane Smith) Sarah Jane's room at her Aunt Lavinia's was well-stocked with vintage toys--presumably Lavinia's own--including a clown marionette that young Sarah Jane found terrifying. (SJA: The Day of the Clown)
Lavinia published a paper on the teleological response of the virus. As a young journalist, Sarah Jane impersonated Lavinia, unaware that the Third Doctor had read and admired the paper and knew that a person as young as Sarah Jane (in her early twenties at the time) could not have written it given when it was published (he estimates she would have had to have been five years old when she wrote it). (DW: The Time Warrior).
In 1978, Dr Smith was still living in South Croydon when she received a mysterious crate addressed to her niece. Not knowing what it contained, she packed it away and later took it with her when she moved to the small English village of Moreton Harwood the following year. At some stage, she adopted a ward, Brendan Richards.
Prior to going on a lecture tour of America in December of 1981, Lavinia had the crate brought down from the attic for Sarah Jane to open when she arrived a few days later. The crate turned out to be from the Doctor, and the crate contained K9. (KAC: A Girl's Best Friend)
By 1983, Lavinia was living in Oxfordshire. She liked to think of herself as a Miss Marple type, often sending Sarah Jane out to investigate and report on her behalf. She sent her to Egypt to cover the story of Dr. Warren Martyn's archaeological digs. (DWM: City of Devils)
Little is known about Dr Smith's life after the early 1980s. She died sometime prior to 1998. (PDA: Millennium Shock), by which time Sarah Jane Smith had begun her job at Planet 3 Broadcasting. (BFSJS: Comeback) Sarah Jane inherited Lavinia's estate, which apparently helped support her when she entered freelance journalism and established her "base" at 13 Bannerman Road (SJA: The Wedding of Sarah Jane Smith)
Behind the scenes
- The character of Lavinia Smith originated as a bit of throwaway dialogue in The Time Warrior. She has received a number of mentions since, as well as having a role in the action of A Girl's Best Friend (the character would have likely been a regular had K9 and Company become a series, as suggested by her appearances in the K9 Annual). The information about Sarah's upbringing as the adopted daughter of Lavinia fits in with the background established in Doctor Who Magazine 1992 Holiday Special, and has been further expanded upon in The Sarah Jane Adventures.