Anya Jenkins (Buffy the Vampire Slayer)

Anyanka "Anya" Christina Emanuella Jenkins was a fictional character on the TV series Buffy the Vampire Slayer. She was played by actress Emma Caufield.

Anya was originally a human named Aud, but spent over a thousand years as Anyanka, a vengeance demon (aka justice demon), who wreaked havoc by granting the wishes of women who had been wronged by men. She first came to Sunnydale under the name Anya Emerson but later changed it to Anya Jenkins for reasons that only the show's writers know. She would later claim to have been born on the 4th of July but whether or not this was true was something that only Anya knew.

Her first action on the show was to grant a wish made by Cordelia Chase. Cordelia wished that Buffy Summers had never come to Sunnydale and as a result, found herself trapped in a world ruled by vampires in which humans were treated like animals. Giles fortunately found a solution to the problem by smashing the magic necklace that gave Anya her powers but unfortunately, by doing so, he transformed Anya back into a mortal human being.

Trapped in the body of a human teenager, Anya eventually learned to adjust to her current condition and started dating Buffy's friend Xander Harris. The relationship between them began when Anya needed a date to the prom and Xander agreed to go with her. Later on, Anya initiated a sexual relationship with Xander by taking her clothes off in his parent's basement. Eventually, the two of them started going steady and even got engaged -- only to break up when a nasty incident prior to their wedding caused Xander to reconsider his plans to marry Anya and then abandon her at the altar.

After the breakup, Anya became a vengeance demon again, only to find that her heart was not in it. She was eventually encouraged to step up her game by her old friend, co-worker and rival Halfrek (aka Hallie). Unfortunately, this led to a situation in which one of the wishes granted by Anya led to the of a group of college boys. When Buffy found out about this, she attempted to kill Anya with a sword and only Anya's status as a demon saved her from certain .

In an effort to resolve the situation, Willow summoned Anya's demonic boss D'Hoffryn who gave Anya the opportunity to reverse her wish provided that she understood that the price would be the of a vengeance demon. Anya agreed to this assuming that she would be the one sacrificed but instead it was her friend Hallie who was killed instead.

Shortly afterward, Anya moved in with Buffy Summers and the rest of the Scooby Gang but never officially resumed her relationship with Xander Harris. They stayed friends and were obviously still fond of each other but it never grew beyond that.

Anya took part in the final battle of the series, only to be killed by an entity known as a Bringer. She is still missed by fans of the show and the enthusiasm for Ghost Anya's appearance in a fanfic video called "The Animated Adventures of Buffy" was rivaled only by the enthusiasm for the appearance of Ghost Tara in the same video.

Anya began the series as a dark-haired girl and her hair eventually becomes lighter as the show went on. Her most famous episodes in later seasons depicted her as a blonde and it is tempting to describe her as a reverse version of Amy Madison (a character whose hair grew darker as the show progressed).

Like Cordelia Chase, Anya had a tendency to be very blunt in her speech, continually embarrassing her boyfriend Xander unintentionally with rude statements and unexpected sexual references. She was a financial wizard who helped Giles manage the Magic Shop before it was destroyed by Dark Willow. She was obsessed with money and was notorious for being very fearful of rabbits. Among other accomplishments, she taught Dawn Summers the Dance of Capitalist Superiority and often babysat Dawn with Xander when Buffy was busy.

As a demon, she had supernatural strength, teleportation (although in "Same Time, Same Place" she mentioned that her use of teleportation was temporarily limited and required bureaucratic paperwork), telekinesis and rapid healing. She was able to survive impalement with a sword. As a demon, she did not need to worry about dying of old age, having lived over a thousand years, but she could have been killed if her body was sufficiently damaged.

Anya's knowledge of demonology and various dimensions was immense, surpassing both Giles and his successor Wesley Wyndam-Pryce, but she was not as skilled as them in research. Although her native language was Old Norse, Anya spoke fluent English as well as some French, Latin and she could read and speak Ancient Sumerian. It was implied that she could speak any human language, as she had granted wishes in many countries all over the world throughout many centuries. After she turned human, Anya still had contacts with some of her former associates.

Anya also exhibited some basic knowledge of magic and frequently commented on Willow's spellcasting and interest in magic with some insight. She occasionally participated in the casting of spells herself. As a human, her experience and practice of combat from her time as a demon allowed her to be an effective fighter.