Angela Channing (maiden name Gioberti; formerly Erickson, Stavros and Agretti) is a fictional character on the American prime time soap opera Falcon Crest, portrayed by Jane Wyman from 1981 to 1990.

"[1] After shooting the original pilot episode of the series, called The Vintage Years and featuring Wyman in a silver wig, the actress pushed for changes in Angela.

[7] Hamner had warned Wyman that the press would call Angela a female J. R. Ewing, the amoral oil baron from Falcon Crest's lead-in series, Dallas, played by Larry Hagman.

"[8][9] She said, "I remade my character",[7] and explained: After I told them I was plenty old enough and had enough gray hair without putting on that dreadful wig, I decided to do something about Angela.

[8][9][10] Journalist Claudia Luther wrote that "the role gave Wyman an opportunity to break away from her nice-girl image and play a female power broker intent on ruling over her family of winemakers at whatever cost.

"[8][9] Wyman underwent abdominal surgery in early January 1986, missing five weeks of production and subsequently not appearing in two episodes of season five.

"[6][11][12] The character, positioned as "a Napa Valley winery owner who maintained her power with a steely will",[6] has been described as "icy",[13] "vicious",[14] "domineering",[13] "formidable",[2] "ruthless",[15] "conniving",[16] "wily",[17] "power-mad",[6][12][18] "villainous",[19] "backstabbing",[12] "a female tyrant",[20] and as "an iron-fisted matriarch who will let nothing stop her quest for power and goes head-to-head with anyone trying to gain control of the coveted Falcon Crest Vineyards.

"[21] Jamey Giddens of Daytime Confidential called Angela "the most cunning, lethal, downright venomous one of them all" among prime time soap opera villainesses from the 1980s, and described her as "the indominable Angela, a woman wouldn't think twice about stabbing her own children, grandchildren, nieces and nephews in the back if it meant maintaining control of her grandfather's legacy, Falcon Crest.

"[14] Angela runs the winery and her family "with the precision of a drill sergeant", and is "feared, loathed and respected" by everyone in the Tuscany Valley.

[22] From the very first episode, in which Angela makes the accidental death of her brother Jason Gioberti (Harry Townes) seem less suspicious to preserve her stake in the Falcon Crest vineyard,[8][9] she schemes against her nephew Chase Gioberti (Robert Foxworth),[14] who has inherited enough of the vineyard from his father Jason's will to be a threat to Angela's interests.

[8][9] Angela is a dominating force even at home,[22] grooming her grandson Lance Cumson (Lorenzo Lamas) to eventually take over the business, and seeking to control every aspect of his life in the meantime.

[8][9] She plots for Lance to marry Melissa Agretti (Ana Alicia), the fiery heiress to valuable vineyards Angela covets, but finds only a "formidable foe" in Melissa, who pits Lance and Chase's son, Cole Gioberti (William R. Moses), against each other and repeatedly crosses Angela.

[14] In the series finale "Home Again", Angela is shown "waxing nostalgic about her years of manipulation and skullduggery to keep the Falcon Crest winery in her control.

Angela is infuriated by the continuing irresponsible behavior of her grandson Lance Cumson, and courts Chase's son Cole Gioberti as the potential heir to Falcon Crest.

Romance is rekindled between Angela and her ex-husband Douglas Channing while she is in Italy with Cole for an important wine-tasting competition, but she rejects his proposal to remarry.

He magnanimously offers 50 percent of the vineyard to Angela, and though she detests the thought of sharing Falcon Crest with anyone, she has no choice and accepts.

Angela tries to thwart Chase's claims to Falcon Crest, as well as his attempts to break her stranglehold on county water supplies.

Chase uses evidence of Angela's complicity in a deadly gas explosion to force her into sharing the operation of Falcon Crest with him.

Angela is determined that Chase not discover that she secretly owns and profits from the company that distributes Falcon Crest's wine.

In the aftermath of Richard's "death", Angela surprises her family and friends with her resignation over the loss of Falcon Crest to Melissa.

Richard agrees to sell Falcon Crest back to Angela on the condition that half will go to his sons in the event of her death.

As the wedding reception draws to a close, Angela recalls all the people who passed through Tuscany Valley during the last decade and toasts the future of Falcon Crest.