Cordelia Chase
(Charisma Carpenter)
Completely self-centred, Cordelia Chase aspires to be the most popular girl in school. She surrounds herself with her own cliquey friends, and looks down haughtily on lesser mortals, including Buffy, Willow and, especially, Xander. Tactless and outspoken, Cordelia is devoid of compassion for others, and obsessed with her appearance. Primarily concerned for her own safety, Cordelia often found herself on the periphery of Buffy's adventures, (for example, she was competing to become a cheerleader when Amy began using magic to bump off her rivals, and was temporarily blinded).
Cordelia has had trouble finding boyfriends who meet her exacting standards, but there seems to be no shortage of potential candidates. Her only real rival is Buffy who, to her amazement, some people, most notably Angel, prefer. Her close encounter with Marcie Ross in Invisible Girl changed Cordelia's frosty attitude, and she soon became much closer to Buffy and the gang. In the middle of a rather harrowing adventure What's My Line? - Part 2 she was trapped in a basement with Xander, and, driven by fate into each other's arms, she finally had to admit her love for him. However, it's not something she's entirely comfortable with, and is very anxious that as few people as possible find out that she's dating a geek.
Charisma Carpenter was born in Las Vegas, and was named after a brand of perfume! She entered show business after graduating from high school, appearing in dozens of TV commercials before landing a guest role in "Baywatch". She played Ashley Green in Aaron Spelling's short-lived NBC series "Malibu Shores" and was pondering her next move when she was asked to join the cast of "Buffy The Vampire Slayer".