Vanessa Doofenshmirtz

"Thanks, dad. You finally got one right..."

- Vanessa

Vanessa Doofenshmirtz is the daughter of Heinz and Charlene Doofenshmirtz. She was born June 15th and is sixteen years old.

Personality and Traits
Vanessa tends to be sarcastic and generally acts like a normal teenager. She cares about her reputation when her clothing gets switched with Candace's clothes. Vanessa has always hung out with the "goth" crowd, as seen in her childhood photos and her group of friends ("Hail Doofania!", "Dude, We're Getting the Band Back Together!").

Her desire to have a car of her own is quite clear. She tries to prove she is responsible enough to own her own car by trying to get a special chemical her father needs in Vanessassary Roughness. This is also evident in Finding Mary McGuffin; when Doofensmirtz told her he'd brought her a gift, she exclaimed "A car!" with excitement and was disappointed when she found out it was just a doll that she'd wanted when she was a little girl.

She is, or at least was, on her school's swimming team. ("Finding Mary McGuffin")

Clothing and Appearance
Vanessa has very dark brown hair, which she wears long and freely down her back. She wears a tight-fitting leather coat, black pants and black boots that come up half her thighs. She did not inherit her father's pointy nose.

Dr. Heinz Doofenshmirtz
Vanessa does not approve of her father's evil schemes, but early in the summer she finds herself reluctantly helping him anyway. She generally looks on when Perry the Platypus escapes and doesn't do anything to stop him. Dr. Doofenshmirtz is under the impression that she has an interest in evil, which Dr. Doofenshmirtz calls the "family business". Also in a photo showing her and her father, she appears to have always had a sour disposition, especially around her father. Although after gazing at the picture, she gives a strange face, of either regret, or confusion.

When Dr. Doofenshmirtz introduces her as his "assistant" to Perry, Vanessa throws on earplugs to listen to her MP3 player, ignoring them both. Towards the end of the day, she is disgusted that her father installed a self-destruct button on his latest contraption. She declares, "I am so out of here. This is the worst 'bring your daughter to work day' ever!" (the first actual indication of their relationship). Vanessa is familiar with technology, as she is able to use the escape pod to flee from her father's evil hideout. ("S'Winter", "The Magnificent Few")

Vanessa is determined to prove that he is evil. She gets frustrated or embarrassed by her father's behavior quite quickly, which is typical for a girl her age. She is especially annoyed with her father treating her like a little girl, whether it be her girlish birthday party or him giving her a doll in her teen years. ("I Scream, You Scream", "Dude, We're Getting the Band Back Together", "S'Winter", "Hail Doofania!", "Finding Mary McGuffin")

Despite her annoyance towards her father, Vanessa does appreciate some of what he does for her. He taught her how to drive, and she understands that he really does try to look out for her best interests, thus allowing her to acknowledge that he's not always that bad of a father. Also, in a moment of kindness, she is seen cheering for him during the kickball game even though she admitted to the person next to her that she didn't actually think he would succeed. Perhaps the most elaborate example is when she helps her father find pizzazium infinionite to prove herself responsible so she can get her own car. ("Vanessessary Roughness")

Later after a long search, her father gives her a doll that she had wanted when she was seven because according to her father: "Remember how you said if I got you a little Mary McGuffin doll, I'd be the world's greatest dad?" to which she replied sourly: "Yeah, when I was, like, seven". Even though it wasn't the car she wanted and it was something she no longer had interest in, she appreciated that he never forgot about it and took the time to find one for her. Later, the doll falls into the hands of a little girl, and after mulling over what to do for a moment she grabs it away. She felt that she had to, since it had so much sentimental value to it. When Heinz finds out he happily takes it as a sign she's becoming "evil".("Finding Mary McGuffin")

Roger Doofenshmirtz
Unlike her dad, she actually likes her Uncle Roger. This doesn't stop her from helping her father slightly with his plan to ruin him. ("Tree to Get Ready")

Charlene Doofenshmirtz
Vanessa is constantly trying to prove to her mother that Dr. Doofenshmirtz is evil. Charlene dismisses Vanessa, usually by reassuring her that no one's evil. It appears that she spends more time with Charlene since Vanessa is not featured in many episodes, although her parents alternate weekends. Her mother encourages her to donate to charity, which she appears to indeed do fairly regularly. ("I Scream, You Scream", "Hail Doofania!", "Finding Mary McGuffin").

Johnny
Johnny is a boy that Vanessa has a crush on. It is unknown if they are dating, but they may be. ("Dude, We're Getting the Band Back Together")

Lacey
Lacey is a friend that Vanessa talks on the phone with while she is wearing Candace's clothes. Although not stated on-screen, she could very well be considered Vanessa's answer to Candace's friend Stacy Hirano based on how Vanessa talked with her that day.

Perry the Platypus
Vanessa displays mixed reactions towards Perry, ranging from indifference to thanking him for helping her father decorate her birthday party. ("Dude, We're Getting the Band Back Together"). She does not, however, consider him to be her "nemesis," though her father seems to think she does or should.

Candace Flynn
Vanessa thinks of Candace as a stranger, although they have interacted several times. Based on their dismissive attitudes towards each others outfits in "Hail Doofania!" they would be unlikely to talk or be friends. They appeared and preformed in the Busted video together, but were in actuality not in the same place at the time. Later, in S'Winter, Candace and Vanessa meet for the first time as Candace expresses on the ski lift "My brothers are driving me crazy!". Vanessa tries not to pay any attention to Candace, but understands her and replies "You should try spending an afternoon with my Dad sometime." They briefly are seen together again when they realize at the dry cleaners that they have each other's clothes on. Later on, in Finding Mary McGuffin, Candace and Vanessa are fighting over the doll in the charity store. They lose the doll to a little girl, but while Candace decides that she's too old for dolls, Vanessa snatches the doll from the girl and makes her cry, thus marking the stark difference between the two girls (though the doll incident was mostly due to the fact that Vanessa had some sentimental attachment to it since it was a present that her father had searched for years before obtaining one).

Ferb Fletcher
At first, Vanessa had little knowledge of Ferb. Their first encounter was when she distracted him when they were both picking up blueprints. Ferb's crush on her has been shown occasionally since.He likes her a lot. ("I Scream, You Scream")

In their second encounter, Ferb is driving Meap's intergalactic spaceship, and backs up a bit to flirt with her. Vanessa looks impressed, suggesting that she may be feeling affection for Ferb as well. But mabye not. ("The Chronicles of Meap")

In their third encounter she not only finds out Ferb's name, he also saves her from an out-of-control lawn mower and helps her get Pizzazium Infinionite, a rare element, to her dad. This prompts her to give him a thank-you kiss on the cheek afterwards then makes a swift exit to see what trouble her dad is in as he was taken to the police station for shoplifting. ("Vanessessary Roughness")

Even though she passed by Ferb a couple of times in "Finding Mary McGuffin", they never actually interact in that episode. Despite their interactions in past episodes it seems unlikely she is aware of the crush (shown in a few episodes) Ferb has on her.

Background Information

 * Vanessa is voiced by Olivia Olson, the daughter of script supervisor Martin Olson.
 * She appears to be left-handed. She can be seen writing with her left hand during the song Busted, and shows her dominance many times inside the Superduper Mega Superstore. ("I Scream, You Scream", "Vanessassary Roughness")
 * She wears tight-fitting, black clothes and black boots that come up to her thigh, hinting that she's goth.
 * She has had one near-death experience ("Vanessassary Roughness"), although her first driving lesson might count as a second. ("Finding Mary McGuffin")
 * Vanessa is a good singer. ("I Scream, You Scream", "Vanessassary Roughness", "Finding Mary McGuffin")

Appearances and References

 * The Magnificent Few
 * S'Winter
 * I Scream, You Scream
 * Dude, We're Getting the Band Back Together
 * Tree to Get Ready
 * Boyfriend From 27,000 B.C.
 * Hail Doofania!
 * The Chronicles of Meap
 * Thaddeus and Thor
 * That Sinking Feeling
 * Oh, There You Are Perry
 * Vanessassary Roughness
 * Finding Mary McGuffin