Daphne Blake - WikiHQ

Daphne Blake, often referred to simply as Daphne, is a fictional cartoon character in the Scooby-Doo franchise. She is a core member of Mystery Incorporated, a group of young people that investigate paranormal occurrences, usually uncovering crimes in the process.

Daphne debuted in the pilot episode of Scooby-Doo, Where Are You!, alongside her friends Fred Jones, Velma Dinkley, Shaggy Rogers, and Scooby-Doo. She was inspired by the character of Thalia Menninger from The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis.

In early drafts for the series, Mysteries Five, Daphne was named Kelly and was a member of the titular crime-solving band. These aspects were dropped, with the names of each character changing.

The character of Daphne was inspired by Thalia Menninger, a sophisticated teenage character portrayed by Tuesday Weld, in the late 1950s and early 1960s American sitcom The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis.

In A Pup Named Scooby-Doo, a young Daphne is a member of the young Mystery Incorporated, and is portrayed as a cynic towards supernatural occurences.

In the film Scooby-Doo on Zombie Island, Daphne had a very successful investigative TV series called Coast to Coast with Daphne Blake, with Fred Jones as the producer.

Unlike the previous incarnations of the character, Sarah Michelle Gellar's live-action portrayal of Daphne is trained in martial arts during Mystery Inc.'s 2-year-long departure in the first film, as she is tired of being a damsel in distress. This subversion of the damsel in distress mirrors Gellar's widely recognized role of the title character in the TV series Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Following the first live action Scooby-Doo film, Daphne next appeared in What's New Scooby-Doo?. This incarnation, as well as in the animated films of the time, gave Daphne a more active role within the team, reflecting the live-action incarnation of the character. She would take on many new attributes, such as being an accomplished surfer, martial artist, and using her knowledge on makeup and fashion for tactical purposes.

Following What's New Scooby-Doo?, the other members of the gang would take a reduced role in Shaggy and Scooby-Doo Get a Clue!. She would next appear in Scooby-Doo: Mystery Incorporated, where she attends high school with the gang in the fictional town of Crystal Cove and has a complicated relationship with Fred.

In Velma, Daphne is portrayed as an Asian-American foundling adopted by two mothers, detectives Donna and Linda Blake, with "complicated feelings" for Velma. In the fifth episode, it is revealed her biological parents are part of a Captain Caveman cult.

Appearance

Daphne's original and most common appearance in the franchise consists of a purple mini-dress, pink pantyhose, purple shoes, and a green scarf. In Scooby-Doo on Zombie Island, Scooby-Doo! and the Witch's Ghost, and Scooby-Doo and the Cyber Chase, she wears a purple and green three-piece suit with matching shoes. She no longer wore her green scarf in What's New, Scooby Doo?. She also has various outfits for different activities, including winter clothes, bikinis, and as a temporary member of the Hex Girls known as Crush. Her colour scheme of purple remains consistent throughout most of her outfits.

As a child, she wears a pink sweater, red skirt, and pink pantyhose with white go-go boots, which she hates getting dirty. In The 13 Ghosts of Scooby-Doo, she wears other purple and pink clothes, such as a purple jumpsuit and a purple dress with a white belt. In live action, she wears many different outfits, all in shades of purple or pink. She wears many disguises throughout her many incarnations, as does every member of the group.

Love interests

Throughout the various incarnations of the character, there has been speculation that Daphne and Fred had an attraction toward each other. This is emphasized in many of the direct-to-video films, the Johnny Bravo crossover, and the TV series Scooby-Doo! Mystery Incorporated, in which Daphne initially has an unrequited crush on Fred, who is oblivious. By the time of the second season, they are shown to be actively dating, showing more of their feelings toward each other. Throughout the franchise, Daphne and Fred have been jealous of the other showing attraction or interest in other people, such as Bram and Jessica.

Initially, the 2002 Scooby-Doo would have had Velma "eyeballing" Daphne, but this was later scrapped, as well as a kiss between the characters. In the released version of the film, Daphne and Fred develop a romantic interest in each other and briefly kiss after saving Spooky Island. In the sequel Scooby-Doo 2: Monsters Unleashed, they are in a relationship.

Performers

Voice actors

thumb|right|150px|alt=Headshot of Amanda Seyfried|[[Amanda Seyfried voices Daphne Blake in Scoob!.]]

Daphne was first voiced by Stefanianna Christopherson in the first season of Scooby-Doo, Where Are You!, before being replaced by Heather North in the second. Heather would voice the character from 1970 to 1985, providing her voice to The New Scooby-Doo Movies, The Scooby-Doo Show, Scooby-Doo and Scrappy-Doo, The New Scooby and Scrappy-Doo Show, and The 13 Ghosts of Scooby-Doo. North would return for the 1997 Johnny Bravo crossover episode and the 2003 films Scooby-Doo! and the Legend of the Vampire, and Scooby-Doo! and the Monster of Mexico.

Kellie Martin would portray a young Daphne in A Pup Named Scooby-Doo. Mary Kay Bergman would next provide the character's voice beginning with the 1998 film, Scooby-Doo on Zombie Island, followed by Scooby-Doo! and the Witch's Ghost, The Scooby-Doo Project, Scooby-Doo! Mystery of the Fun Park Phantom, and Scooby-Doo and the Alien Invaders. Following Bergman's death, Grey Delisle has voiced the character since, with the exception of the 2020 theatrical film, Scoob!, where she is voiced by Amanda Seyfried, and Mckenna Grace as a child. Mckenna Grace also provided voice work for the cancelled Scoob! Holiday Haunt. Constance Wu would portray the character in the adult-oriented Velma series.

Additional voice actors

Norma MacMillan (1971; Kenner Talking Show Projector record)
Adrienne Wilkinson (2004; Scooby-Doo 2: Monsters Unleashed: The Video Game)

Parodies

Cree Summer (2005; Drawn Together)
Sarah Michelle Gellar (2005, 2012, 2018; Robot Chicken)
Rachel Ramras (2011, 2013; Mad)
Erin Cottrell (2015; Robot Chicken)

Live-action portrayals

Daphne was portrayed by Sarah Michelle Gellar in the 2002 film Scooby-Doo and its 2004 sequel, Scooby-Doo 2: Monsters Unleashed, and also voiced Daphne in the animated series Robot Chicken. Her husband Freddie Prinze Jr. played Fred in the same films and Robot Chicken. Emily Tennant portrayed young Daphne in a flashback sequence in the second film. Daphne is portrayed by Kate Melton in the 2009 film Scooby-Doo! The Mystery Begins and its 2010 sequel Scooby-Doo! Curse of the Lake Monster. Sarah Jeffery portrays Daphne in the 2018 live-action film Daphne & Velma. Mckenna Grace will play Daphne in the upcoming Netflix series Scooby-Doo: Origins.

Additional live-action actors

Rachel Kimsey (2001; Scooby-Doo! in Stagefright - Live on Stage)
Melissa Rapelje (2013; Scooby-Doo Live! Musical Mysteries)
Julia Cave (2014; Scooby-Doo Live! The Mystery Of The Pyramid)
Charlie Bull (2016; Scooby-Doo Live! Musical Mysteries)
Samantha De Benedet (2020; Scooby-Doo! and the Lost City of Gold)

Parodies

Carmen Llywelyn (2001; lookalike in Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back)
Josephine Decker as Gwen (2012; Saturday Morning Mystery)
Sabrina Carpenter (2024; Saturday Night Live)

In other media

In the second issue of The Batman & Scooby-Doo Mysteries from 2022, the character temporarily took on the mantle of Batgirl.

Daphne appears in the Teen Titans Go! episode "Cartoon Feud", the Jellystone! episode "Frankenhooky", and Supernatural episode "Scoobynatural", along with parodies such as Family Guy and The Venture Bros.. Daphne also appears in the 2021 film Space Jam: A New Legacy, with her SCOOB design. She appears as an NPC in Lego Dimensions, and as a skin in Fortnite.

Daphne appears in many other Scooby-Doo videogames, books, comics, and other merchandise.

Notes