Winifred "Fred" Burkle (Angel)

Winifred Burkle is a fictional character who appeared on the TV series Angel. She is portrayed by actress Amy Acker.

She was born in Texas but moved to California after finishing college. There in Los Angeles, she took a physics class with Professor Seidel, and began working at Stewart Brunell Public Library. In 1996, while shelving a demon language book, Winifred accidentally recited the cryptic text out loud and was involuntarily sucked into a dimensional portal to Pylea (an alternative dimension where humans were often treated like cattle).

She was eventually rescued by Angel and had used her scientific knowledge to help out with many a case undertaken by Angel Investigations. She was a shy girl but very brave in the right context. She had been emotionally involved with both Charles Gunn and Wesley Wyndam-Pryce though at least one episode "Orpheus" has hinted that she might also be bisexual.

Shortly after the crew of Angel Investigations took over the law firm of Wolfram & Hart, Winifred received her own laboratory and became the head of Wolfram & Hart's Science Division. Unfortunately, soon afterwards, she got involved with a fellow scientist named Knox who deliberately set her up to be infected and eventually possessed by the blue-haired demon Illyria.

At this date, her exact fate is unknown. Angel the TV show would have you believe she's dead but Angel the comic book tells a different story, once again proving that even does not always mean that much in the Joss Whedon universe.