Drusilla, or Dru for short, is a fictional character on the television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel, portrayed by Juliet Landau.
Flashbacks in both series reveal Drusilla's past as a young psychic in Victorian London who was driven insane by Angel before he ultimately turned her into a vampire.
The duo was conceived as a Sid and Nancy-inspired vampiric pair so Landau chose to portray Drusilla with a Cockney accent, while the character's physical appearance drew from sources such as supermodel Kate Moss and the 1990s heroin chic aesthetic.
Landau went on to co-write a two-issue Drusilla story arc for IDW Publishing's Angel comic book series in 2009, which continued her character's storyline.
Drusilla's history unfolds in flashbacks scattered among numerous episodes of both Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel; they are not presented in chronological order.
In "Lie to Me", Angel explains that, in 1860 when he was still Angelus, he became obsessed with Drusilla, a beautiful young Catholic woman who lived with her parents and two sisters in London.
At first, Angelus suspected Drusilla of being a burgeoning saint, but he learned that she instead had psychic abilities (an uncommon but confirmed power of random humans in the Buffyverse), and was capable of occasionally foretelling the future, especially tragic situations.
On the day she was to take her holy vows, Angelus made her watch as he killed every person in the convent and engaged in sexual relations with Darla.
At some point before their arrival in Sunnydale in late 1997, Drusilla is attacked and severely injured by an angry mob in Prague, leaving her in a weakened and frail condition.
Spike cares for her, and the couple decide to travel to the Hellmouth in hopes that its energy will help to restore Drusilla's strength and health.
Spike has Buffy's friend Willow magically transfer his soul to Drusilla to give her a shot at redemption, but they are forced to reverse the spell when it drives her even madder than she already is.
The character next appears in Angel & Faith by Dark Horse Comics in the story arc "Daddy Issues" (2012), in which Drusilla has become sane thanks to the Lorophage demon, popularly referred to as the Highgate vampire, which ate her trauma and pain.
Dark Horse intended to release the 5-issue miniseries Drusilla: Run and Catch, examining what happened next for her, but it was delayed until the conclusion of Season Nine.
She returns in the second series, in which she helps the demon Archaeus (the Master's sire) build an army of vampires to take over Magic Town.
Darla had demonstrated a similar technique when she sired Angel; whether this is due to vampiric abilities or physical manipulation of nails is unclear.
She receives vivid visions that contain possible glimpses of the future, and can also see into people's minds and project false imagery into them (e.g. in "Becoming, Part Two", when she convinces Giles that she is really Jenny Calendar).
For instance, when she is happy, she will squeal and laugh like a young child, but she is happiest when committing torture, hunting humans, or witnessing mass destruction.
Drusilla's costumes were initially intended to be a "cross between a Victorian period look and the Kate Moss heroin chic fashion look," says Landau.