Here's every actor who has played Velma from Scooby-Doo in live-action thus far. While the franchise has come in many shapes and sizes in the last 50 years, it all started with the 1969 series Scooby-Doo, Where Are You! This animated show detailed the adventures of the Mystery, Inc gang as they investigated various "supernatural" events. Often, these investigations would reveal a human villain (or villains) behind the various hauntings - though, over the years, they've run in some real spirits and otherworldly creatures too.
The title character is a great dane that can speak a little English and is something of a coward. He's also immensely likable, and the Scooby-Doo Mystery, Inc gang has appeared in various cartoons, spinoffs, comics, and live-action movies. The original Scooby-Doo movie from 2002 is one of the franchise's best-known outings, for its cast - including Sarah Michelle Gellar and Matthew Lillard - and being an early mainstream credit for James Gunn. In fact, Gunn nearly made his directorial debut with a planned third Scooby-Doo; this follow-up was later canceled.
One of the most iconic of Mystery, Inc is resident genius Velma Dinkley. Famous for her glasses and turtleneck sweater, Velma is usually the first of the Scooby-Doo crew to realize what's going on first and has a vast array of knowledge on different subjects. Nicole Jaffe voiced the original Velma on Scooby-Doo, Where Are You! while Gina Rodriguez voiced her in the 2020 animated movie Scoob! Velma from Scooby-Doo has been portrayed a few times in live-action, with Linda Cardellini taking the role for 2002's Scooby-Doo and its sequel Scooby-Doo 2: Monsters Unleashed.
Scooby-Doo's Velma is still one of Cardellini's most famous roles, and she was a big fan of the cartoon growing up. Velma as a character has always been something of a gay icon to some followers of the show, and Gunn would it years later his original script for Scooby-Doo made it plain that Linda Cardellini's Velma was a lesbian. Warner Bros were uncomfortable with this approach and according to Gunn, kept watering this idea down. After the second live-action Scooby-Doo's box-office proved disappointing, the franchise was rebooted with the 2009 TV movie prequel Scooby-Doo! The Mystery Begins.
Scooby-Doo! The Mystery Begins revealed how Mystery, Inc first formed, while Hayley Kiyoko played the new live-action Velma. Kiyoko's performance was well-received, and she soon reprised the role for 2010's Scooby-Doo! Curse of the Lake Monster. Velma from Scooby-Doo's most recent live-action iteration came with STV prequel Daphne & Velma. As the title implies, instead of the whole gang, this outing focuses on Sarah Jeffery's Daphne while Sarah Gilman plays Velma. While this 2018 outing appears to have been moderately well-received, there's been no word of a sequel.
