Velma Dinkley

Velma Dace Dinkley is a fictional character in the American television animated series Scooby-Doo, about the adventures of four crime-solving teenagers and their Great Dane companion, Scooby-Doo. The bespetacled character is portrayed as the resident genius of the quartet, often being the one to decipher the clues and solve the crimes.

Overview
Actresses portraying 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. 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 semiregular 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. Velma was portrayed by actress Linda Cardellini in the two live-action Scooby-Doo movies, Scooby-Doo and Scooby-Doo 2: Monsters Unleashed.

Character Biography
Velma often makes great use of her skills in such areas as reading Chinese, deciphering scientific formulae, operating communications equipment, and so forth. A running gag of the series is Velma's trouble with keeping her glasses on her face (usually from being accidentally knocked off of her face while being chased by the villain), as she is very nearsighted. Her catch phrase is "Jinkies!" When Scooby is too afraid to volunteer for a mission (which tends to be most of the time), Velma often offers him a dog treat called a "Scooby snack" as a bribe.

Relatives
Relatives of Velma shown during the series' run include:

Mr. and Mrs. Dinkley: Velma's parents. Cousin Thelma: works with dolphins at a marine institute. Dave Walton: Velma's uncle. Uncle John: an archaeologist. Uncle Cosmo: another archaeologist. Uncle Elmo: a doctor. Aunt Meg and Uncle Evan: Velma's aunt and uncle, who live in a small town. Marcy: Velma's cousin, the daughter of Meg and Evan.

Trivia
The junior-high school aged 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 gigantic computer. It was also in this series she was given the surname "Dinkley" (none of the previous series ever mentioned it). It may be a sly reference to the sound effect played whenever she walks, similar to a tinkling bell or small chime. In the Johnny Bravo episode "Bravo Dooby Doo," the Scooby Doo cast meet Johnny, with Velma briefly developing a crush on Johnny, but soon changing 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 gardner Johnny exclaims, "Jinkies," then wonders, "Jinkies, Jinkies. Hey, isn't that a breakfast cereal or something? A parody of the Scooby-Doo characters appeared in the 2001 film Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back, and the Velma character (listed in the credits as "Bookish Girl") was portrayed by actress Jane Silvia. This portrayal made implications to the character's lesbianism. The second-season episode of The Venture Bros. entitled ¡Viva los Muertos! features the entire Scooby-Doo cast re-imagined as famous serial killers and racidals. Velma's analogue, "Val", is a parody of Valerie Solanas, the militant misandrist who shot Andy Warhol. In "Scooby Doo in Where's My Mummy?" Velma is technically one of the villains due to taking on the persona of Cleopatra as part of a hoax she perpetrates during the movie.