Velma Dinkley


 * This article is about the original incarnation of Velma Dinkley. For other incarnations, see Velma Dinkley (disambiguation).

Velma Dinkley is the bespetacled resident genius of Mystery Inc., often being the one to decipher the clues and solve the crimes.

Physical appearance
Velma has chin-length auburn hair (her hair is shorter than Daphne Blake's) and black eyes. She usually has freckles, and initially was depicted as more heavyset compared to the thinner frame on Daphne. While somewhat obscured by her fashion choices, Velma can be seen to have a slightly wider waist and her facial shape is more circular/square compared to the ovular shape Daphne has as an adult.

She is always seen wearing thick-framed, square glasses (a running theme is that Velma often loses them, after which she can be seen crawling on the floor looking for them saying, "My glasses. I can't find my glasses."). She normally wears an orange sweater, with a red skirt, knee length orange socks and black or red Mary Jane shoes. Her clothes didn't change much from show to show being almost the same.

Personality
Velma can at times be competitive with other people who are very intelligent like she is.

When she found some unappetizing chicken in Wednesday Is Missing, she stayed "it's time to start my diet". While this may be an excuse, the phrasing "my" rather than "a" implies that she may diet regularly, perhaps self-conscious of her weight.

Skills and abilities
Velma is the genius of the gang, and knows a lot about solving mysteries. She acts like she solved them when the gang have pulled the mask off the villain's head.
 * Mental

Velma knows Morse Code, which she claims to have learned in Scouts Girl Scouts.

In A Pup Named Scooby-Doo she is said to know martial arts.
 * Physical

She has above-average grip and core strength, as in a sea episode she was able to dangle on a very wide pipe (bigger objects are more difficult to grip than smaller diameter bars) and hold her legs out straight in front of her (90 degree bend in hips) to avoid hitting a monster as it ran past her through a doorway.

Velma is also incredibly strong in her shoulder overhead pressing muscles (trapezius, deltoids). In the wrestling episode of What's New, she was able to simultaneously lift 2 female wrestlers (who tend to be heavier than normal women due to the extra muscle) and throw them through the air above her head level, one per hand. She claimed the move was called the "Flying Dinkley".

History
Main articles: Biograpghical account of animated appearances, biographical account of comic appearances, biographical account of novel appearances, biographical account video game appearances

Actresses portraying as Velma
Nicole Jaffe was the original voice of Velma, and portrayed the character in both Scooby-Doo, Where Are You! (1969-72) and The New Scooby-Doo Movies (1972-74). Jaffe married and retired from acting in 1974, and when Scooby-Doo resumed production in 1976, Patricia Stevens was brought in as Jaffe's replacement. Stevens was replaced by Marla Frumkin mid-way through the 1979-80 season of Scooby-Doo and Scrappy-Doo (1979-1980). Frumkin voiced the character in four more episodes of Scooby-Doo and Scrappy-Doo before Velma was dropped from the series. Velma later returned as a semi regular character in four episodes of The New Scooby-Doo Mysteries, with Frumkin again voicing the character.

Christina Lange voiced preteenage Velma in A Pup Named Scooby-Doo from 1988 to 1991, and B.J. Ward voiced the character in several direct-to-video films from 1997 until 2002. Mindy Cohn, formerly a lead actress on the 1980s TV sitcom, The Facts of Life, has voiced Velma from 2002 to the present; with the exception of two direct-to-video films in 2003 in which Jaffe returned to voice Velma. In Scooby-Doo! Music of the Vampire her singing voice is provided by Bets Malone in the song, "Done with Monsters".

Memorable catchphrases

 * "Jinkies!"
 * "What a Ham!'"
 * "Would you do it for a Scooby Snack?"
 * "Are you thinking what I'm thinking?"
 * "My Glasses! I can't see without my glasses!"

Family and relatives

 * Mr. Dinkley and Mrs. Dinkley: Velma's father and mother.
 * Aunt Thelma: a marine biologist. (A Pup Named Scooby-Doo)
 * Cousin Thelma: Studies Egyptian Tombs.
 * Dave Walton: Velma's uncle, a ranger.
 * Uncle John: an archaeologist who enjoys investigating ancient structures and caves.
 * Uncle Cosmo: another archaeologist.
 * Uncle Elmo: a doctor.
 * Mrs. Dinkley is an aunt (by marriage) who works for Pirahna Studios as their chief accountant.
 * Aunt Meg: Who lives with Uncle Evan.
 * Uncle Evan: Who lives in a small town.
 * Marcy: Velma's cousin, the daughter of Meg and Evan. She was born on Halloween. She created scarecrow robots to scare people and ruin Halloween because she wants everyone to celebrate her birthday.
 * Madelyn: Velma's younger sister.

Romantic interests

 * Beau Neville: A detective investigating the Moonscar Island disappearances. Intially he and Velma very much disliked each other, but by the end of their stay, they seemed to be getting along very well, although she made it clear that it was detective novels she liked and not a particular detective himself. (Scooby Doo on Zombie Island )
 * Ben Ravencroft: An author famous for horror stories. He initially appeared kind and a bit shy, and he and Velma may have developed feelings for each other. But once she saw the greedy, cruel, power-hungry person he was, she became genuinely angry and did everything she could to stop him. (Scooby Doo and the Witch's Ghost )
 * Chip Hernandez, Jr.: A vain actor. (WNSD: Lights! Camera! Mayhem!)
 * Jamison Steven Ripley: Another actor wrapped up in the medieval TV character he once played. (WNSD: Large Dragon at Large)
 * Guy L'Avorton: A French movie star. (WNSD: Ready to Scare)
 * Ranger Knudsen: A ranger. (Scooby-Doo! Camp Scare)
 * Winsor: An archaeologist. (Scooby-Doo! Legend Of The Phantosaur)

Notes/trivia

 * The junior-high school aged A Pup Named Scooby-Doo version of Velma was animated with a rapid walk similar to that of Marvin the Martian. She was also drawn with glasses somewhat as large as her head, and wore the same clothes style as she does when she is older. This younger Velma always carried a suitcase with her (compact size) that holds a very advanced computer.
 * In the Johnny Bravo episode "Bravo Dooby Doo", the Scooby-Doo cast meet Johnny, with Velma briefly developing a crush on him, but changed her mind by the episode's end. Also in "Bravo Dooby Doo", homage is paid to Velma's catchphrase, "Jinkies!" When Johnny and the gang are being chased by the evil gardener, Johnny exclaims, "Jinkies," then wonders, "Jinkies, Jinkies. Hey, isn't that a breakfast cereal or something?". He also paraphrases another catch phrase, when, after a collision, both Velma's and Johnny's glasses are knocked off. As they search around for them, Velma says her signature phrase, "My glasses! I can't see without my glasses!" while Johnny laments, "My glasses! I can't be seen without my glasses!"
 * In What's New, Scooby-Doo? we find out that Velma is a huge a fan of Ice Hockey, knowing most of the game strategies (she discusses a few of them with Brett Hull). She also plays the game quite well. In fact, in the finals, she's playing for the United States team.
 * She is afraid of clowns.
 * She is the only member of Mystery Inc. to be the monster during a case, albeit for a noble reason. Though Shaggy assisted one monster for a similar reason. Shaggy also pretended to be a monster from the future once, but only after a villain had already played it.