Name: Daria Morgendorffer (our own goddess of the opressed)
Age: 17
Occupation: Member of the Junior Class of Lawndale High School
First Appearance: "Esteemsters"
Voice: Tracy Grandstaff
Favorite Pastimes: Watching "Sick, Sad World" and "Animal Maulings on Home Video", writing, embarrassing Quinn in front of her friends, talking to Jane and Trent (well, when she isn't too embarrassed to talk to Trent)

Daria is the show’s main character and the queen of cynicism, sarcasm, and dry wit. Her best friend, Jane, and she are probably the only half-intelligent beings in their town of Lawndale. She is plagued by insane parents and teachers, a super-popular sister, and extremely stupid classmates.

Daria is one of Lawndale High School’s “brains”, which means that she will graduate from high school, go to college on a scholarship for something other than football, and be moderately successful in the future. She hopes to be a gene-splicer when she gets out of school, but a mortician seems to be what the school’s career aptitude test has in mind.

Even though she seems so perfect (yes, this is from a brain; I know many people would not consider her perfect at all), she fortunately has a softer side that shows sometimes, especially around Trent. For instance, in "Road Worrier", she actually put on lipstick to impress Trent. It was an utterly horrible purple, shimmery colour, though, and rather fortunately for her, Jane noticed and embarrassed her into wiping it off. She's also admitted that she wouldn't be quite so misanthropic but she's so extremely sensitive that whenever she opens up, she gets injured, so she just doesn't give people a chance. (I can identify with this. Really, really identify with it.) Anyway, this helps a bit when we followers do something a bit vain and feel that we've betrayed our goddess. (Well, it helps me. I don't know that anyone else it this strange.)
Up until Season Four, Daria's crush on Trent was still going strong. But in this season, her abhorrence of Jane's Tom turned to luurrrrve and they've been going out since sometime between the end of "Dye, Dye, My Darling" and the beginning of "Is It Fall Yet?", the movie. Fortunately, Jane has gotten over the initial shock and hurt and actually thinks that they make a good couple. This, however, is not the opinion of many Daria viewers, and we just have to wait anxiously for Season 5 to reveal all. Of course, we shippers know that Daria is merely going through a confusing period of her life and she and Trent will still get together, and they had better get cracking with it soon, dammit.

Daria's Trivia

- Daria has a picture of Mark Twain on her sleepshirt

- Her room has padded walls, as the house's previous owners kept their schizophrenic aunt locked in it

- The schizophrenic aunt must have been confined to a wheelchair (possibly strapped down), as Daria's room has a wheelchair rail next to the door

- Daria collects fake human bones

- She has two TV's - one mounted on the ceiling in the corner opposite her bed (doesn't work - remote is missing) and one on a roller cart

Daria's Quotes

Mr. O'Niell: "Right here and now, let's pledge to make Daria's dream a reality."
Daria: "You mean the one where people walking down the street burst into flames?"
(“Café Disaffecto”)

"How come even in my fantasies everyone's a jerk?" ("College Bored")

"The whole thing's enough to turn your stomach. Which I guess is good if you want to be a model... eases the transition to bulimia." ("This Year's Model")

"Forget it. I don't like kids. I didn't even like kids when I was a kid." ("Pinch Sitter")

Quinn: "Can I have $29.99 for a removable nose ring? No piercing required!"
Daria: "Good idea. You don't need any more holes in your head."

Trent: "Do you ever feel like you're wasting your life?"
Daria: "Only when I'm awake."

Trent: "You know Daria, sometimes it's hard to believe you're in high school."
Daria: "I find the situation unbelievable myself."

Brittany: “Daria, this is my stepmom, Ashley-Amber. Do you recognize her?”
Daria: “I think so, but it's so hard to remember your childhood nightmares clearly.”
(“The Old and the Beautiful”)

Brittany: (to Kevin) “Hmph! For your information, there are plenty of guys who think I'm pretty and smart!”
Daria: “You can visit them at the Cedars of Lawndale head injury ward.”
(“Daria Dance Party”)

Brittany: “Then you just go ahead and do that because it's, it's over! And this time I mean it!”
Kevin: “Oh, yeah? It's double over for me!”
Jane: “You don't really think...”
Daria: “Forget it. That species mates for life.”
(“Daria Dance Party”)

Jake: “How come Quinn never introduces us to her friends?”
Daria: “Why don't you ask the little people who live in your potatoes?”
(“Daria Dance Party”)

Quinn: “A hundred dollars. It's yours. All you have to do is be my dance committee.”
Daria: “Put away the cash; I'll do it for free.”
Quinn: “You will?”
Daria: “Sure. And after that, we can play Mystery Date and have a taffy pull.”
(“Daria Dance Party”)

Quinn: (clears throat) “Does anyone notice anything special about me?”
Daria: “Yes. From just the right angle, I really can see through your head.”
(“It Happened One Nut”)

Helen: (reading Daria’s career aptitude test evaluation sheet) “A mortician? ‘Your lack of interest in personal interaction makes you an ideal candidate for working with the dead.’ Daria, have you given any thought to your career plans?”
Daria: “I guess I'll just wait around for people to kick the bucket.”
Helen: “I can't believe you're not more ambitious.”
Daria: “You want me to kill people to drum up business?”
(“It Happened One Nut”)

Kevin: “Wow! That's your third sale. I thought you brains only knew about school stuff, but, like, you know how to sell nuts, too. Amazing.”
Daria: “Yes, Kevin. You'd be surprised how handy a command of basic literacy skills can be.”
(“It Happened One Nut”)

Helen: “So how was the first day on the job?”
Quinn: “It went great. The animals love me.”
Daria: “I heard a canary got caught in the air filtration system at the mall. You wouldn't happen to know anything about that, would you?”
(“It Happened One Nut”)

Jake: (sniffs) “Hey, what's for dinner? Peanut butter sandwiches?”
Quinn: “That's Daria. She smells like peanuts from her stupid job.”
Daria: “I what?” (sniffs) “Oh, God. That explains those squirrels at the bus stop.”
Helen” “While we're on the subject, tell us about your job, Daria.”
Daria: “It went surprisingly well.”
Helen: “Really?”
Daria: “In fact, I doubt I can ever top today's performance. So I think I'll take early retirement, starting tomorrow.”
(“It Happened One Nut”)

“It's even worse than school. You're trapped in a much tighter space, the rules are stupider, and Kevin's very close.” (“It Happened One Nut”)

(To Jake) "And if you're looking for a way to keep yourself occupied, there are plenty of things that need to be done around the house. (Helen glares at her) What? You get to say it."
(Arts and Crass)

Daria's Poem from "Arts and Crass":
She knows she's a winner,
She couldn't be thinner.
Now she goes in the bathroom,
And vomits up dinner.

Back to Character Profiles

Back to my favorite characters Daria's main picture was taken from Outpost Daria, as was her alter-ego. The one of her on Beavis and Butthead is from Student Life at the Dawn of the New Millennium.