Velma Dinkley

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

## Physical appearance

For a full list of what Velma wears, see *Velma's outfits and disguises*
Velma is a teenage female, with chin-length auburn hair and freckles. She is somewhat obscured by her fashion choices, wearing a baggy, thick turtlenecked orange sweater, with a red skirt, knee length orange socks and black Mary Jane shoes. Velma has a slightly wider waist than the thinner framed Daphne Blake, as seen when both are dressed in swimwear, but this may be exaggerated due to her sweater, which makes her look somewhat heavyset. Her facial shape is also more circular/square compared to the ovular shape Daphne. She is also well known for her thick-framed, square glasses.

## Personality

She has a fascination with mysteries (her younger sister Madelyn said that she was "born with a mystery book in her hand". At times she can be competitive with other people who are very intelligent like she is, such as Verona Dempsey.

She is sharp-witted and sometimes sarcastic, not lost on others. She also seems to love secrecy, and has a bit of slyness in her character, as she was the only gang member to actually perpetrate a hoax, albeit for a noble reason, as she was helping Omar Karam protect Cleopatra's riches. In the same case, she was also overly-caring of the gang, as she wanted to protect them from harm's way, despite everything they've been through.

When she found some unappetizing chicken at the Addams Family mansion, she said "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.

She loses her glasses on a regular basis, immediately claiming "My glasses. I can't find my glasses" or "I can't see without my glasses," before hitting the floor to crawl around until she finds them.

She is a very serious skeptic, and has a philosophy that they're always a rational explanation (and admits that it's kinda boring).

She conquered her extreme phobia of clowns during the Menacing Metallic Clown case.

She also thinks herself as pure of heart and got annoyed that no one kidnaps her during the Valdronya case.

She can also identify fake jewels by looking at them, having dealt with a variety of monster jewel thieves for years.

## Skills and abilities

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

Physical
As a young child, she knew martial arts.

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). She was able to simultaneously life two 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

### Animated history

*Main article(s): Velma Dinkley/animated history*
### Comic history

*Main article(s): Velma Dinkley/biographical account of comic appearances*
### Novel history

*Main article(s): Velma Dinkley/biographical account of novel appearances*
### Video game history

*Main article(s): Velma Dinkley/biographical account of video game appearances*
## Family and relatives

*For a complete list of Velma's family, look here. For other relatives, look here.*
## Romantic interests

* Beau Neville: A detective investigating the Moonscar Island disappearances. Initially, he and Velma very much disliked each other, but by the end of their stay, they seemed to be getting along very well, especially when he said that he wanted to write detective novels. 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!*)
* Gibby Norton: A lab partner from science camp. (*WNSD*: *The Fast and the Wormious*, *Simple Plan and the Invisible Madman*, *Go West, Young Scoob*)
* Jamison Steven Ripley: Another actor wrapped up in the medieval TV character he once played. (*WNSD*: *Large Dragon at Large*)
* George: The local mailman in Coolsville, who had a crush on Velma. (*WNSD*: *A Scooby-Doo Valentine*)
* Guy L'Avorton: A French movie star. (*WNSD*: *Ready to Scare*)
* Ranger Knudsen: A ranger. (*Scooby-Doo! Camp Scare*)
* Winsor: A crooked palaeontologist, who she forgave as she genuinely liked him. (He was essentially a male version of Velma.) (*Scooby-Doo! Legend of the Phantosaur*)

## Occupation

* Junior detectives-for-hire: When the gang was in their preadolescence, they worked out of a clubhouse, calling themselves the Scooby-Doo Detective Agency, and charged a minimal fee for their services in solving the mysteries in their hometown of Coolsville. (*APNSD*)
* Movie extra: The gang was given parts as extras in Sandy Duncan's film, after solving the case at Mammoth Studios. (*TNSDMovies*: *Sandy Duncan's Jekyll and Hyde*)
* Carnival owner: Scooby, along with the rest of the gang, was given a share of Dick Van Dyke's carnival, after saving it from going under. (*TNSDMovies*: *The Haunted Carnival*)
* Assistant research scientist: The first time Mystery Inc. broke up, she put her I.Q. to the test by becoming an assistant research scientist at NASA. (*TNSDMysteries*: *Happy Birthday, Scooby-Doo*, *A Night Louse at the White House*)
* Bookshop proprietor: The second time Mystery Inc. broke up, she opened up a mystery-themed bookshop. When the gang reunited for tour in Louisiana, she apparently still owned it, but inevitably the gang took up all of her time, and she likely sold it as it was never mentioned again. (*Scooby-Doo on Zombie Island*)

## Behind-the-scenes

Velma was inspired by Zelda Gilroy (played by Sheila James) on the early 1960's sitcom *The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis*. Although the characters are quite different, in that Zelda would scheme to get the Dobie (the Fred type), instead of the hippy, being Maynard. In the unrelated *Scooby-Doo! Mystery Incorporated*, Velma was very interested in Shaggy.

Original voice actress, Nicole Jaffe, adlibbed the catchphrase, "Jinkies."

## Voices of 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.

Patricia Stevens was brought in as Jaffe's replacement when Scooby-Doo resumed production in 1976.

Marla Frumkin replaced Stevens 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 the preadolescent Velma in *A Pup Named Scooby-Doo* from 1988 to 1991.

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* became the voice of Velma in the series *What's New, Scooby-Doo?* from 2002-2006 and remained the voice on TV up to the series *Scooby-Doo! Mystery Incorporated* (2010-2013). She portrayed Velma in the direct-to-video films from 2004 to 2015; with the exception of two direct-to-video films in 2003 in which Jaffe returned to voice Velma. In the DTV *Scooby-Doo! Music of the Vampire* her singing voice is provided by Bets Malone in the song, *Done With Monsters* and its reprise.

Kate Micucci began voicing Velma in the series *Be Cool, Scooby-Doo!* (2015-2017) and has also voiced Velma in the continuing direct-to-video film series.

## 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. 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!"
* *What's New, Scooby-Doo?* tried to add interests and phobias that were neither mentioned before or after the series aired:
* 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 even gets to play for the United States team in the finals.
* She is the only member of Mystery Inc. to *be* the monster during a case, albeit for a noble reason.
* Velma's redesign in *Shaggy & Scooby-Doo Get a Clue!*, is based on Linda Cardellini's portrayal in *Scooby-Doo: The Movie* and *Scooby-Doo 2: Monsters Unleashed*.
* A goat villager from the *Animal Crossing* franchise shares Velma's name and appearance.