“Look, Buffy, you may be hot stuff when it comes to demonology or whatever, but when it comes to dating, I’m the Slayer.”

Played by Charisma Carpenter

First Appearance: Welcome to the Hellmouth

Cordelia Chase began as Sunnydale’s reigning queen — sharp‑tongued, stylish and utterly unfiltered. Beneath the bravado, though, she carried a fierce honesty and a capacity for growth that set her apart. After the destruction of Sunnydale High, she moved to Los Angeles to pursue acting, only to be drawn into Angel’s mission. Joining Angel Investigations, she evolved from self‑involved cheerleader to a compassionate, capable champion. Her visions from the Powers That Be became both her burden and her calling, guiding the team through their darkest battles and forging a deep, unspoken love between her and Angel.

As her powers grew, Cordelia ascended to a higher plane — a seeming honour that was, in truth, a manipulation. She returned to Earth as the unwilling host of Jasmine, a parasitic entity who used Cordelia’s body to orchestrate her own birth. The strain left Cordelia in a coma, suspended between life and death. When the Powers finally intervened, they granted her one last mission: to guide Angel back to his path. She awoke, fought beside him, delivered a vision that would shape his future, and then slipped away, dying moments after saving him. It was a quiet, devastating exit for a woman who had become the heart of the team.

Cordelia’s story did not end there. When Los Angeles fell into hell at the hands of the Senior Partners, Wesley — now a ghost bound to Wolfram & Hart — tried to reach her for help. The Powers could not intervene in the Senior Partners’ domain, but Cordelia managed to send Wesley a faint breeze, a whisper of presence that let him know she was listening. Even from beyond, she remained connected to the people she loved, watching over them as the city descended into chaos.

Later, when Angel lay dying after being mortally wounded by the vampiric Gunn, Cordelia appeared to him once more. Heartbroken by what had become of her friends, she still found room for humour, amused that Angel had accidentally named his dragon after her. Together they watched Wesley reveal the truth of Angel’s Shanshu prophecy — a future in which Angel would massacre countless innocents. Horrified, Angel chose death rather than become that monster. But Connor arrived, urging his father to keep fighting, and Cordelia gently encouraged Angel to return to his son, assuring him he could never become the creature he had seen in the vision.

As Angel recovered and the Senior Partners eventually restored Los Angeles to Earth, Cordelia’s presence lingered. Angel came to recognise her in the soft breeze that brushed past him in moments of doubt — a subtle reminder of her guidance, her faith in him, and the love that had shaped both their lives. She became a quiet guardian spirit, not intervening directly but nudging him away from despair whenever he faltered.

Cordelia Chase’s journey remains one of the Buffyverse’s most extraordinary transformations: from shallow high‑school royalty to a true champion touched by the divine. She loved fiercely, fought bravely, and sacrificed everything for the people she believed in. Even in death, she continued to guide Angel, her legacy woven into every choice he made. Cordelia didn’t just grow — she ascended, in every sense that mattered.

APPEARANCES

Buffy SEASONS 1-3

• Regular cast member [absent from The Pack and I Robot, You Jane]