Anya Jenkins is a major character in Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Introduced as a minor antagonist in Season 3, she becomes an anti-hero and ally to the Scooby Gang from the Season 3 finale onward.
She was portrayed by Emma Caulfield.
She was originally known as Aud having been born in a Swedish village in the 9th century. When Aud's lover Olaf cheated on her she used magic to turn him into a troll. This attracted the attention of D'Hoffryn who turned her into a demon who grant the wishes of scorned women. Aud then became known as "Anyanka" with her power lying in an amulet.
Anyanka spent many centuries granting wishes before arriving in Sunnydale to punish Xander Harris for cheating on Cordelia Chase with Willow Rosenberg. She used the alias Anya Emerson and tricked her into making a wish. This created an alternate reality where Buffy had never come to Sunnydale. However, Rupert Giles, destroyed Anya's amulet turning her back into a human.
Anya sought out Willow's help in regaining her powers but this backfired when Vampire Willow was summoned from the alternate timeline. This backfired leaving Anya stuck as a high school student. She started having feelings for Xander even asking him to prom but fled when the mayor of Sunnydale started his Ascension into a demon. Anya returned several months later resuming her relationship with Xander.
Xander invited her to a Halloween where trouble was caused by a demon. She helped save everyone else by seeking out help from Giles. The rest of the group did not liker her that much but stuck around mainly for Xander even saving him from drowning. After Giles opened an occult store called the Magic Box Anya was hired as an employee because of her skill with finances.
When Giles left Sunnydale, Anya was left in the store and argued with Willow accidently releasing her former lover Olaf. They managed to banish him to the Land of the Trolls together. Anya then assisted in the battle against Glory by giving advice on how to beat her and saving Xander from fallin rubble before being knocked out.
Shortly, after the battle Xander asked Anya to marry him and she accepted. Unfortunately, Xander had cold feet which led to him calling off the marriage. The reason why Xander called off this marriage because of one of the men Anya punished posed as Xander’s future self to show his fake future about what happens if he marries Anya. Why Xander decided not to go through with it. This led to Anya becoming a demon again. She had trouble granting wishes leading to her becoming a known as a soft serve. Anya then granted a wish by summoning a demon to rip of the hearts of a group of fraternity boys.
She regretted what she did which led to D'Hoffryn turning her back into a human by killing another demon named Halfrek who had been a close friend of Anya. Anya and Xander eventually made up with each other. But they never officially got back together and ultimately Anya was killed in the final battle by a Turok Han vampire.
[]
 uffyverse Heroes
| ||
|
Scooby Gang Founding Members:Buffy Summers |
Willow Rosenberg |
Xander Harris |
Rupert Giles Later Additions: Cordelia Chase | Angel | Daniel Osbourne | Anya Jenkins | Spike | Riley Finn | Tara Maclay | Dawn Summers | Andrew Wells | Robin Wood | Faith Lehane | Jenny Calendar Angel Investigations Later Additions: Wesley Wyndam-Pryce | Charles Gunn | Lorne | Winifred Burkle | Connor | Harmony Kendall | Spike | Illyria | Other Slayers Other Allies | ||