Emma Caulfield Ford (born April 8, 1973) is an American actress. She is best known for her starring role as former demon

Anya Jenkins Anyanka Christina Emmanuella "Anya" Jenkins (born as Aud) is a fictional character created by Joss Whedon for the television series ''Buffy the Vampire Slayer''. She also appears in the comic book series based on the television show. Portrayed by ...

on the supernatural drama television series ''

Buffy the Vampire Slayer ''Buffy the Vampire Slayer'' is an American supernatural drama television series created by writer and director Joss Whedon. It is based on the 1992 film of the same name, also written by Whedon, although the events of the film are not consid ...

'' (1998–2003), which earned her a nomination for the Satellite Award for Best Cast. She had recurring roles as Susan Keats on the Fox

teen drama In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular super-g ...

series ''

Beverly Hills, 90210 ''Beverly Hills, 90210'' (often referred to by its short title, ''90210'') is an American teen drama television series created by Darren Star and produced by Aaron Spelling under his production company Spelling Television. The series ran for ...

'' (1995–1996), as Emma Bradshaw on the CW teen drama series ''

Life Unexpected ''Life Unexpected'' is an American teen drama television series that aired for two seasons from January 18, 2010 to January 18, 2011. It was produced by Best Day Ever Productions and Mojo Films in association with CBS Productions and Warner Bro ...

'' (2010–2011), and as Sarah Proctor on the

Disney+ Disney+ is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service owned and operated by the Media and Entertainment Distribution division of The Walt Disney Company. The service primarily distributes films and television se ...

miniseries '' WandaVision'' (2021). She starred in the

supernatural horror film Supernatural horror film is a film genre that combines aspects of horror film and supernatural film. Supernatural occurrences in such films often include ghosts and demons, and many supernatural horror films have elements of religion. Common theme ...

'' Darkness Falls'' (2003) and in the

romantic comedy Romantic comedy (also known as romcom or rom-com) is a subgenre of comedy and slice of life fiction, focusing on lighthearted, humorous plot lines centered on romantic ideas, such as how true love is able to surmount most obstacles. In a typic ...

film ''

Timer A timer is a specialized type of clock used for measuring specific time intervals. Timers can be categorized into two main types. The word "timer" is usually reserved for devices that counts down from a specified time interval, while devices th ...

'' (2009), and had a supporting role in the comedy film '' Back in the Day'' (2014).

Life and career

Caulfield was born on April 8, 1973, in

San Diego, California San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the eighth most populous city in the United Stat ...

, to Denise and Rodney Chukker. Caulfield's first notable role was as

Brandon Walsh Brandon Walsh is a fictional character played by Jason Priestley on Fox television series ''Beverly Hills, 90210''. He was the first character introduced in the ''Beverly Hills, 90210'' franchise and served as the lead male character in the tel ...

's girlfriend, Susan Keats, on ''

'' in 1995. She appeared for thirty episodes in the series before departing in 1996. In 1998, Caulfield starred in her most famous role to date, as

on the WB's hit show ''

''. Originally, her character was only to appear for two episodes. However, audiences responded well to Anya, resulting in ''Buffy the Vampire Slayer'' creator

Joss Whedon Joseph Hill Whedon (; born June 23, 1964) is an American filmmaker, composer, and comic book writer. He is the founder of Mutant Enemy Productions, co-founder of Bellwether Pictures, and is best known as the creator of several television serie ...

's decision to add her to the main cast. In 2003, Caulfield landed her first lead role in the horror movie '' Darkness Falls'', which debuted at number one in the U.S. box office. In 2004, she appeared on ''

Monk A monk (, from el, μοναχός, ''monachos'', "single, solitary" via Latin ) is a person who practices religious asceticism by monastic living, either alone or with any number of other monks. A monk may be a person who decides to dedic ...

'' as Meredith Preminger in the episode "Mr. Monk and the Girl Who Cried Wolf". Caulfield also produced and starred in the satire ''Bandwagon'', playing a fictionalized version of herself. The movie was written and directed by close friend and fellow actress Karri Bowman. It screened at various festivals, although it has not been picked up for distribution. Several members of ''Buffy the Vampire Slayer'' cast and crew have cameos in the film. In 2010, Caulfield posted the original ''Bandwagon'' to

YouTube YouTube is a global online video sharing and social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by Google, and is the second mo ...

along with a 12-part webseries sequel set several years later. Caulfield is also the co-author of the

webcomic Webcomics (also known as online comics or Internet comics) are comics published on a website or mobile app. While many are published exclusively on the web, others are also published in magazines, newspapers, or comic books. Webcomics can be c ...

''Contropussy'', which has been published by

IDW Publishing IDW Publishing is an American publisher of comic books, graphic novels, art books, and comic strip collections. It was founded in 1999 as the publishing division of Idea and Design Works, LLC (IDW), itself formed in 1999, and is regularly re ...

. Caulfield starred in the independent feature film ''TiMER'', released May 2009. She starred as the lead role in the FunnyOrDie short film, ''Don't Panic, It's Organic''. In 2012, she received critical acclaim for her guest appearance on the ABC

fantasy Fantasy is a genre of speculative fiction involving magical elements, typically set in a fictional universe and sometimes inspired by mythology and folklore. Its roots are in oral traditions, which then became fantasy literature and d ...

series '' Once Upon a Time'', as the Blind Witch from the fairytale

Hansel and Gretel "Hansel and Gretel" (; german: Hänsel und Gretel ) is a German fairy tale collected by the German Brothers Grimm and published in 1812 in ''Grimm's Fairy Tales'' (KHM 15). It is also known as Little Step Brother and Little Step Sister. Hansel ...

. She guest starred in the second season of the

Jane Espenson Jane Espenson (born July 14, 1964) is an American television writer and producer. Espenson has worked on both situation comedies and serial dramas. She had a five-year stint as a writer and producer on ''Buffy the Vampire Slayer'' and shared a ...

scripted romantic comedy web series, '' Husbands''.

Personal life

Caulfield was married to Cornelius Grobbelaar from 2006 to 2010. In 2016, Caulfield confirmed she was expecting a child with Mark Leslie Ford, which was later confirmed to be a girl; later that year, she gave birth to a daughter. In October 2022, Caulfield revealed she has

multiple sclerosis Multiple (cerebral) sclerosis (MS), also known as encephalomyelitis disseminata or disseminated sclerosis, is the most common demyelinating disease, in which the insulating covers of nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord are damaged. This ...

Filmography

Film

Television

Awards and nominations

Beverly Hills Film Festival The Beverly Hills Film Festival (BHFF) is a film festival in the United States founded in 2001 by independent filmmaker Nino Simone. The festival is an international competition dedicated to showcasing the art and talent of emerging filmmakers ...

*2007: Won, "Best Actress in a Short Film" – ''Hollow''

Satellite Awards The Satellite Awards are annual awards given by the International Press Academy that are commonly noted in entertainment industry journals and blogs. The awards were originally known as the Golden Satellite Awards. The award ceremonies take place ...

*2003: Nominated, "Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role in a Drama Series" – ''Buffy the Vampire Slayer''

Saturn Awards The Saturn Awards are American awards presented annually by the Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror Films. The awards were created to honor science fiction, fantasy, and horror in film, but have since grown to reward other films be ...

*2003: Won, "Cinescape Genre Face of the Future Award (Female)" – ''Darkness Falls'' & ''Buffy the Vampire Slayer''

Sydney Film Festival The Sydney Film Festival is an annual competitive film festival held in Sydney, Australia, usually over 12 days in June. A number of awards are given, the top one being the Sydney Film Prize. the festival's director is Nashen Moodley. Histo ...

*2007: Won, "Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role" – ''Hollow''

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Caulfield, Emma American expatriates in England American film actresses American soap opera actresses American television actresses American voice actresses American people of English descent American people of German descent American people of Luxembourgian descent American people of Portuguese descent Living people Actresses from San Diego People educated at the American School in England 20th-century American actresses 21st-century American actresses American Christians 1973 births People with multiple sclerosis