Catherine Madison

Catherine Madison is a fictional witch featured in the WB Network television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Played by actresses Robin Riker and Elizabeth Anne Allen, she appeared in the third episode of season one, "Witch".

Biography
Catherine Madison was a resident of Sunnydale, California, as well as a powerful witch. In her youth, she attended school at Sunnydale High and was captain of the cheerleading team. Nicknamed "Catherine the Great", she made the team tri-county champions, a feat that had never been accomplished before or since. In senior year she and an unidentified male student were crowned Homecoming Queen and King. After graduation Catherine and he were married. Not long after, they gave birth to a daughter named Amy. As years passed, Catherine began practicing witchcraft. She grew quite strong, but when her husband found out about his wife's practices, he refused to deal with it. When Amy was twelve-years-old, her father abandoned them and ran off with a local girl known only as "Miss Trailer Trash". The severity of the break-up left the Madisons in financial ruin. Catherine persevered and eventually put herself in cosmetology school. She proved to be very successful and was able to afford an elegant home and buy Amy anything she ever wanted.

As Amy grew older, Catherine became more obsessed with reliving her glory days on the high school cheerleading squad. With the intent of having Amy join the squad, Catherine put her through a rigorous regiment of training six hours every day; three in the morning and three in the evening. She was militant about Amy's weight control and if she suspected that her daughter was even an ounce overweight she would padlock the door to the refrigerator. Despite how often she practiced however, Amy could not meet her mother's high expectations. Catherine came to realize that no matter what, Amy would never have the manual dexterity to become a cheerleader. Feeling as if Amy was wasting her youth, she literally took it away from her. Using her magic, she crafted a spell that allowed her to switch minds with her daughter. Although she still possessed all of her old skill, she was still restricted by Amy's body. When she tried out for the cheerleading team, she failed to make a very strong impression and only became a third string alternate. Catherine could not abide this. The only way Catherine/Amy would be able to make the team however was if another girl was to lose her spot. She used her powers to make one cheerleader, Amber Grove, burst into flames. Amber was replaced by Cordelia Chase. Catherine stole one of Cordelia's undergarments and used it in a spell to render her temporarily blind. When Cordelia was forced to resign her position from the squad, she was replaced by Buffy Summers. Catherine crafted a vengeance spell, which lowered Buffy's immune system, giving the appearance of one who was severely intoxicated.

When Buffy's mentor Rupert Giles learned that Buffy had become the victim of a witch, he took her to the Madison house in the hopes of finding the witch's spell book. At the time, he believed that it was actually Amy Madison who was the witch. It was Buffy who deduced the truth and figured out that Catherine was conducting her affairs through Amy's body. They located Catherine's spell book and were able to find a counter spell to all of her effects. They brought it back to the high school while Catherine was serving on the cheerleading squad at a pep rally. Giles recited the incantation to reverse the spell and Catherine's mind returned to her rightful body. Catherine fought against Buffy and tried to kill her with a powerful hex. As she hurled the mystic bolt however, Buffy deflected it with a mirror, reflecting the blast back upon her. In a spectacle of dazzling light, Catherine Madison's body disappeared. Her essence was locked inside a bronze statue of herself located within a trophy case in the school commons. When Sunnydale High School was destroyed two years later during graduation ceremonies, the statue was destroyed, presumably killing Catherine in the process.

Notes & Trivia



 * Elizabeth Anne Allen, who primarily played Amy Madison, also played Catherine Madison during the scenes where they were occupying each other's bodies.


 * Catherine Madison is the first supernatural entity to fight up against Buffy Summers who was not a vampire.