|
 |
|
||||||||
You could say that Cordelia is a lot like the girl next door -- sweet, sensitive and always eager to help those less fortunate than herself - buppor you did say that then you definitely do not live next door to the sassy and irrepressible Cordelia Chase. As beautiful as she is opinionated, Sunnydale Cordy ruled her high school with an acid tongue and a wicked fashion sense. Her greatest pleasure came from keeping her lesser high school peers under her heel -- that is, until she fell for one. Xander and Cordy definitely weren't a match made in heaven, but their relationship and the dangers it brought with it (proximity to Buffy the Vampire Slayer) introduced Cordelia to the real world -- the gritty, hard-knock, demon-filled real world. Upon graduation and no longer supported by her tax-evading father, Cordelia headed for L.A., filled with aspirations of a better life. Her path to inevitable stardom proved to be rockier than she thought as a local wealthy vamp almost prematurely and permanently extinguished Cordelia's dreams of fame and fortune. Luckily for Cordy, Angel appeared in his new role as The Dark Avenger to rescue her from both the vamp and her desperate money less situation. He offered her a job and along with Doyle, Angel's half-demon partner and messenger from the Powers That Be, Angel Investigations was born. Despite her vow to never date a "fixer-upper" again, Cordy was drawn to the finer qualities that Doyle hid just below the surface. Doyle hid his demon self from Cordy, too scared that she may reject him but both his true identity and his feelings were revealed to her moments before he sacrificed his life to save his friends from a demon army known as The Scourge. As a parting gift, Doyle lovingly transferred his mystical visions to Cordy by way of a tender kiss leaving her surprisingly as Angel's link to the PTB. With her newfound power came a newfound need to help the helpless. Cordelia became the heart as well as the sight of Team Angel and her friendships with her fellow demon fighters developed to such an extent that she considered them her family. Her relationship with Angel became particularly close both realizing how much they had come to depend on one another. When Angel began his Darla obsession and fired his crew, it affected Cordelia deeply especially as she had promised to stay with Angel until he Shanshued. She did not allow this estrangement however to stop her from fighting the good fight and set up a new business with Wesley and Gunn. After Angel's epiphany and acceptance back into the fold, Cordelia was still initially resentful of his return. She had been hurt by his betrayal of their friendship but Angel won her over by appealing to the small piece of Cordy that was still shallow and bought her a brand new wardrobe of clothes! The reunion of her AI family was brief and short-lived however. A vision of a girl in trouble at the library led to the discovery of book which when read transported its reader across dimensions into The Host's homeland of Pylea. Cordy was inadvertently sucked into a portal and sent to Pylea where mixed fortunes awaited her. She was held captive as a cow-slave before being elevated to the position of Princess after having a vision. She also met and fell in love with Pylea's champion, The Groosalugg, where her devotion to the cause was severely put to the test. Angel, accompanied by the rest of her friends, found a way to bring Cordelia home minus her new love but still with her ever increasingly painful visions in tact. Angel's enemies had found ways to exploit him using Cordy and her 'gift', (the never ending vision invoked by Vocah and the physical visions instigated by Lilah Morgan) and these attacks as well as the genuine directives sent by the PTB took its toll on her mortal body. As humans were never meant to harbor the pipeline from the Powers, Cordy succumbed to a powerful vision that rendered her into a coma-like state. Whilst unconscious, she was visited by Skip, an employee of the PTB, who gave her the opportunity to live the star-studded lifestyle she had always craved. As tempting as his offer was, this glimpse into her possible future only made her realize that being with Angel was where she was meant to be and in order to keep her visions and continue fighting side by side with her Champion, Cordelia became part demon. Her friendship with Angel was as deep as it could be and it needed to be when Angel lost his son to his long-time enemy Daniel Holtz. Cordelia grieved for him and helped him through the difficult times. Whilst others recognized the 'kyerumption' between them, both Angel and Cordy lived their lives not dealing with their ever increasing feelings towards each other until on one fateful night, they both knew it was time to confess how they truly felt. Neither made their arranged meeting as Skip once again intervened and sent Cordelia to a higher realm to become a Heavenly being whilst the actions of Angel's prodigal son, Connor, sent him to the bottom of the ocean. For months, Cordelia lived as a higher being, pure, good and full of light but bored beyond belief. When she returned to the earth, she had no memory of her previous life and found the existence of vampires and demons both incredible and frightening. Connor helped her and eventually the hilarious casting of a spell returned her memory but unfortunately it also awoke an evil that was living inside of her. Cordelia took on the role of master manipulator, deliberately using the trust the 'real' Cordy had built with her AI family to put her wicked plans into action. Before any of her colleagues had found out what she was up to, she had enticed the young Connor to bed and become pregnant with his child, unleashed a stony demon called The Beast to make LA his playground, and convinced the AI team, including Angel himself, that it would be a GOOD thing to let Angelus out for a while. However it turned out that Cordy was the biggest pawn of all as her transcendence into the realms of the Big Bad had merely been a way to bring forth, Jasmine, a being from another dimension. When Cordy gave birth to the ebony Goddess, she lapsed into a coma. Many months later, after Angel's team had become quite established and comfortable in Wolfram & Hart, Angel himself hit a low point and decided to quit the law firm. At the very moment of his despair, Cordelia got a vision of Angel and woke up from her coma. Much to her surprise, Cordy was presented with a laundry list of radical changes including: Angel working for "Hell Incorporated," Spike having a soul, Harmony as a receptionist, and his "groin buddy" Eve. After berated Angel for being seduced by Wolfram & Hart and erasing his friends' memories, she proceeded to inform him about her vision of a man with strange tattoos. Her and Wesley then kicked it "old school" and hit the books to discover that the tattoos were actually runes to hide someone from any form of detection. That someone, as Spike would inform them, was Lindsey McDonald. Learning from Eve that Lindsey intended to initiate Wolfram & Hart's "failsafe" that would active and kill Angel if he ever tried to leave the firm, Angel and Cordy cornered Lindsey at the heart of the massive machine. While Angel battled Lindsey in an epic sword fight, Cordy attempted to shut down the machine and the rest of the crew worked on a spell to remove Lindsey's tattoos. Just as Angel beat Lindsey into submission, Cordy successfully shut down the failsafe and the spell worked. Lindsey, completely visible to the senior partners, was then sucked into a portal above him. After a long and emotional day the gang decided to go out for drinks, leaving Angel and Cordy to meet up with them. Cordy, happy that she got her guy back on track, sadly told Angel that they were on different paths and that she could not stay with him. As she left the room she turned and ran back for one last kiss goodbye until Angel's phone interrupted them. Angel answered and listened in disbelief. He turned around and Cordy was gone. On the other end of the phone was the hospital. Cordy had passed away, never waking up. In her final act for the good fight, Cordelia Chase was Angel's guardian angel, using her last gift from the Powers That Be to help the man she loved. Cordelia's journey with Angel and her friends has been a voyage of both discovery and sorrow but it has shown that she is a long way from her Cordettes and much closer to being a big hearted Champion. Charisma Carpenter (Cordelia Chase) 
Charisma
Carpenter knew waitressing wasn't her calling. Thankfully, a commercial
agent spotted her in the restaurant where she was working and recruited
her on the spot. Looks like this career change was a smart move, since
she is now one of the hottest rising stars on the WB. Like many aspiring actors, Charisma's career began with commercials. Her first television role was a guest appearance in Baywatch. She was soon cast in the role of Ashley in the series Malibu Shores. Then came the Buffy the Vampire Slayer audition that sent her career soaring. Though she originally auditioned for the role of Buffy Summers, producers loved her sharp-tongued wit and asked her to read for the role of Cordelia Chase. It was a match. She landed the part and played the slayer's nemesis for three successful seasons. In 1999, she and Cordelia both moved over to Angel. Charisma was born in Las Vegas on July 23, 1970, and lived there until age 15. When her family moved to San Diego, she began to take classes at the School of the Creative and Performing Arts. After graduating from high school, she spent some time touring Europe. She returned to San Diego and worked various jobs to support herself through junior college. Offscreen, Charisma enjoys the outdoors. Rollerblading, hiking, sky diving, rock climbing, running and horseback riding are some of her favourite activities. She also recently gave yoga a try and recommends it. A one-time San Diego Charger Cheerleader, she continues to dance. She recently bought a house in Los Angeles, which she shares with her husband Damien Hardy, and their first child - a boy born on March 24th, 2004, Donovan Charles Hardy as well as her golden retriever. Although at the end of S4, the future of Charisma in Angel was in doubt, but what isn’t is her popularity with the Angel audience who hope to see her again in the future.
|
|||||||||
