Vanessa Doofenshmirtz

"It means I'll finally have proof. Ha, you are so busted."

- Vanessa

Vanessa Doofenshmirtz is a recurring character in Phineas and Ferb, and the daughter of Heinz and Charlene Doofenshmirtz. She was born on the 15th of June, coincidentally the same day as Linda and Lawrence's wedding anniversary. ("Dude, We're Getting the Band Back Together") She can not be considered an antagonist but she sometimes helps her father with his schemes.

Personality
Vanessa's behavior is comparable to that of a typical teenager. She cares about her reputation, having been upset when her clothes were mistakenly switched with Candace's. Vanessa has always been found with the "punk" or "goth" crowd, as seen in her childhood photos and her friends' appearance ("Hail Doofania!", "Dude, We're Getting the Band Back Together", "Brain Drain").

It is evident that she desires to have a car of her own. She once tried to prove herself responsible enough to own a car by trying to acquire a rare element, Pizzazium Infinionite, in the Superduper Mega Superstore for her father when he needed it ("Vanessassary Roughness"). She has also shown this when he told her he'd brought her a gift which would be in his words, 'The key to her happiness', openly hoping for a car, but dismayed to find out it was a Mary McGuffin doll she had asked for when she was seven. ("Finding Mary McGuffin")

She is or was on her school's swimming team. She also performed ballet as a young girl and was in a school production. ("Finding Mary McGuffin")

Although she tries to deny it when around her father, she is evil to a small, yet significant extent. She has aided in Heinz's schemes on rare occasions, zapping pigeons with a hypnotic device as part of his plan to have them release their fecal waste upon the mayor on one ("Tree to Get Ready") and picking up blueprints for his "Space laser-inator" he would use to control Danville on another ("I Scream, You Scream"). She'd even snatched a Mary McGuffin doll from a little girl when she felt the need to keep her father's gift to her ("Finding Mary McGuffin"). The most prominent display of this trait was during the Summer Solstice while she was in Paris, when she "rented" a scooter, threatened Major Monogram with a hairdryer acting as if it was a weapon, and hijacked Agent P's hover car to make her escape ("Phineas and Ferb Summer Belongs to You!"). Though largely in denial of the evil inherited from her father, she has admitted her possession of it.

Physical appearance
Vanessa has blue eyes, dark brown hair, which she wears long and freely down her back. She wears a tight-fitting black leather coat, black long pants, and black calf-high boots. She is also a beautiful and slender teenager. She did not inherit any of her father's features except the color of her hair and the color of the eyes. Her clothes are in the basic military Goth fashion. She wears black goth clothes and when a mix-up at a laundrette leaves her in Candace's clothes, Vanessa thinks she looks like a candy cane.

Heinz Doofenshmirtz
Vanessa does not approve of her father's evil schemes but often finds herself reluctantly participating in them anyway. She generally looks on when Perry the Platypus escapes and doesn't do anything to stop him when he is thwarting her father's evil schemes. Dr. Doofenshmirtz is under the impression that she has an interest in evil, which Dr. Doofenshmirtz calls the "family business". Based on a photo showing her and her father, she appears to have always had a sour disposition, especially around her father.

When Dr. Doofenshmirtz introduces her as his "assistant" to Perry, Vanessa says, "Whatever," and dons earplugs to listen to her MP3 player, ignoring them both. Towards the end of the day, she is disgusted that her father installed a self-destruct button on his latest contraption. She declares, "I am so out of here. This is the worst 'bring your daughter to work day' ever!" This is the first actual indication of their relationship. Vanessa is familiar with technology, as she is able to use the escape pod to flee from her father's evil hideout. ("S'Winter", "The Magnificent Few")

Vanessa gets frustrated or embarrassed by Heinz Doofenshmirtz's behavior quite quickly, which is typical for a girl of her age. She is especially annoyed with her father treating her like a little girl, whether it be by providing an overly girlish birthday party for her or him giving her a doll in her teen years. ("I Scream, You Scream", "Dude, We're Getting the Band Back Together", "S'Winter", "Hail Doofania!", "Finding Mary McGuffin", "Skiddley Whiffers")

Despite her annoyance towards her father, Vanessa does appreciate some of what he does for her. He taught her how to drive, and she understands that he really does try to look out for her best interests, thus allowing her to acknowledge that he's not always that bad of a father. Also, in a moment of kindness, she is seen cheering for him during the kickball game (though she admitted to the person next to her that she didn't actually think he would succeed). Perhaps the most pressing example is when she helps her father find pizzazium infinionite in a store to prove herself responsible so she can get her own car. ("Vanessassary Roughness")

After a search that took years, her father gives her a doll that she had wanted when she was seven. Her father said to her: "Remember how you said if I got you a little Mary McGuffin doll, I'd be the world's greatest dad?" to which she replied sourly: "Yeah, when I was, like, seven". Even though it wasn't a car like she'd wanted and was something she no longer had interest in, she appreciated that he never forgot about it and took the time to find one for her. Later, the doll falls into the hands of a little girl, and, after mulling over what to do for a moment, she snatches it away; evidently, it had much sentimental value to her. When Heinz finds out he happily takes it as a sign that she's becoming "evil" and Heinz says that they could definitely build on her act of evil ("Finding Mary McGuffin"). Vanessa is upset that her father is always thinking about work, even on their vacation alone together. However, she is touched when he flies half-way around the world to find her again. Also, when he is about to be arrested by Major Monogram and Perry, she pulls out a hairdryer (which sort of looks like a ray gun) and helps him escape. Heinz takes this as a sign that Vanessa is, at least, a little bit evil, as Major Monogram and Perry hadn't known it was a hairdryer when she pointed it at them. ("Phineas and Ferb Summer Belongs to You!")

Roger Doofenshmirtz
Unlike her dad, she actually likes her Uncle Roger. Oddly, this doesn't stop her from helping her father with his plans to ruin him, but she does voice her disdain at having to be involved. ("Tree to Get Ready")

Charlene Doofenshmirtz
On a few occasions, Vanessa tries to prove to her mother that Dr. Doofenshmirtz is evil, much like Candace's attempts to bust her brothers (but far less frequently). Charlene dismisses Vanessa, usually by reassuring her that no one's truly evil. It appears that Charlene is under the impression that Vanessa thinks her dad is evil because of their divorce, as she tells Vanessa that her father split because of their differences, not because he was a bad person. It appears that she spends more time with Charlene rather than Heinz Doofenshmirtz since Vanessa is not featured in many episodes, although her parents alternate weekends. Her mother encourages her to donate to charity, which she appears to do fairly regularly. ("I Scream, You Scream", "Hail Doofania!", "Finding Mary McGuffin")

Johnny
In the first three seasons, Vanessa had a crush on Johnny. Later it was revealed that Johnny is Vanessa's boyfriend. (It was implied while she was partying with her friends at a dump.) ("Dude, We're Getting the Band Back Together", "Brain Drain", "Skiddley Whiffers")

In “Minor Monogram”, Vanessa broke up with him because she thought Johnny felt that a video game was more important than her.

Lacey
Lacey is a friend that Vanessa talks on the phone with while she is wearing Candace's clothes. Although not stated on-screen, she could very well be considered Vanessa's version of Candace's friend Stacy Hirano, based on how Vanessa talked with her that day. ("Hail Doofania!")

Perry the Platypus
Vanessa is usually indifferent to Perry as well as anything concerning her father's numerous evil schemes. On one occasion she thanked Perry for helping her father decorate for her birthday party ("Dude, We're Getting the Band Back Together"), and she seems to always say hello to him when their paths cross. ("Phineas and Ferb Summer Belongs to You!")

Candace Flynn
Vanessa and Candace have met on more than one occasion. They meet for the first time on the ski lift in Phineas and Ferb's massive backyard ski resort. Both of them expressed annoyance towards the "schemers" of their respective families: Candace's brothers and Vanessa's father ("S'Winter"). They both have similar desires to expose the "schemers" to their mothers, although Vanessa tries to prove her father is evil, while Candace merely wants to "bust" her brothers ("I Scream, You Scream"). Their traditional clothing was accidentally switched at the laundromat much to their dismay since their tastes in clothing are vastly different. They briefly meet at the laundromat, and they noticed the other wearing their clothes ("Hail Doofania!").

Candace and Vanessa fought over a Mary McGuffin doll in the charity store. The doll literally fell into the hands to a little girl. While Candace decided that she was too old for dolls, Vanessa snatched the doll from the girl and made her cry. The incident might indicate the evil side of Vanessa's personality, although it was probably duе to the fact that Vanessa had some sentimental attachment to the doll, as it was a present for her that her father had been searching for years. Needless to say, Dr. Doofenshmirtz was very pleased with his daughter's evil conduct ("Finding Mary McGuffin"). When they are both sitting beside each other in the plane going around the world, she remembers Candace's name. They also decide to stay by the plane together instead of going to meet Uncle Sabu and asks what Ferb's name is short for. Candace simply replies, "I... don't... know." ("Phineas and Ferb Summer Belongs to You!"). Candace also remembers Vanessa's name when they're at the library and briefly makes fun of Vanessa's last name. Vanessa invites her to her dad's place to look for Candace's book. While they're there Vanessa asks Candace if she needs to find small disappearing objects, like socks, as finding missing objects is the subject of the book. Candace replies that she's looking for stuff like Rollercoasters, buildings to the moon and stampeding cows. When Candace leaves because her mother didn't see the "thing in the backyard," Vanessa asks if she still wants the book, and Candace responds, "It's Flawed." ("Doonkleberry Imperative")

The two are on friendly terms as of recent; Candace even helped Vanessa learn and like the world of Ducky Momo, something Vanessa wouldn't usually appear to enjoy ("It's No Picnic").

Ferb Fletcher
Ferb first encountered Vanessa while picking up blueprints at the Blueprint Heaven. Ferb was so distracted by her charm that he ended up getting the wrong blueprint, ruining the plans of both Phineas and Dr. Doofenshmirtz ("I Scream, You Scream"). Ferb test-drove Meap's intergalactic spaceship around downtown Danville. When he spotted Vanessa on the street, he backed the ship up to her, lowered his sunglasses, adopting a cool-guy demeanor, which impressed Vanessa and made her smile ("The Chronicles of Meap"). Vanessa learned Ferb's name during a chance encounter at the Superduper Mega Superstore. Ferb saved her from a rampaging lawnmower and helped her obtain a canister of Pizzazium Infinionite for her dad. She rewarded him with a kiss on the cheek ("Vanessassary Roughness"). Vanessa has also wondered what Ferb is short for, as she asks Candace. Oddly, Candace doesn't know either ("Phineas and Ferb Summer Belongs to You!"). Vanessa's father does not approve of Ferb. ("The Chronicles of Meap" Character Commentary) in ("Act your age") Vanessa and Ferb appear to be dating.

Jeremy Johnson
When Jeremy goes to Doofenshmirtz's home to teach guitar lessons, Vanessa suddenly shows interest in him and his guitar, but quickly loses interest when he says he doesn't like hard rock. ("The Lizard Whisperer")

Monty Monogram
Starting with "Minor Monogram", Vanessa started a relationship with Major Monogram's son, Monty, by stating that she was done with her old boyfriend, Johnny, over a video game. After watching Monty defeat Rodrigo, a student of her father's, she said that was done with bad boys and it was time to start seeing a good guy. They met accidentally later on, at a cafeteria, and took a liking for one another basically from the start. Vanessa did not want her father to interrupt her, as she was dating his foe's son, so she asked Perry the Platypus to help her hide her presence from Heinz. Thanks to Perry, her father failed to notice them but then Monty started mocking Heinz's supposed stupidity. This made Vanessa mad so she started remarking on his father, Major Monogram, instead. As they were about to bid one another farewell forever, though, they decided to continue with their relationship, in spite of what each of them thought of the other's father. ("Sipping with the Enemy") They are dating each other in secret and the only person who has seen them on a date is Carl Karl ("My Sweet Ride").

Trivia

 * Dan Povenmire stated that he likes to think that Vanessa and Ferb will end up together when they are older (presumably beyond the scope of the show), when "that age difference won't be so much". This was confirmed in "Act Your Age" when Ferb and Vanessa were in the same car.
 * Vanessa is voiced by Olivia Olson, the daughter of script supervisor Martin Olson.
 * She appears to be left-handed, as she can be seen writing with her left hand during the song Busted. ("I Scream, You Scream")
 * Like her mom and dad she has a more yellow skin than other characters.
 * Vanessa celebrates her 16th birthday in "Dude, We're Getting the Band Back Together".
 * She wears Gothic clothing, with tight-fitting, black clothes and knee-high high-heeled black boots.
 * Vanessa is a good singer as she sings well in "I Scream, You Scream", "Vanessassary Roughness", and "Finding Mary McGuffin".
 * She was originally introduced as Dr. Doofensmirtz's assistant in "The Magnificent Few", but she was revealed to be Doofenshmirtz's daughter at the end of the episode.
 * In "Vanessassary Roughness", Vanessa is shown to be a fast runner.
 * She has a friend named Lacey. Just like Candace, she has a friend with a name ending in the same homophonic sound, Lacey and Stacy.
 * She appears in "Phineas and Ferb The Movie: Across the 2nd Dimension" in a deleted scene where she complains to her father before leaving. Later her 2nd Dimension counterpart appears trying to convince her father to stop outlawing any boy who shows an interest in her.
 * In "Skiddley Whiffers", it is revealed that she's allergic to bees.
 * Before breaking up with Johnny, she was attracted to evil boys, then she met Monty Monogram, then, she started to think that dating a good boy will be fine ("Minor Monogram").
 * In one episode ("Vanessassary Roughness") she is shown to be very nimble and flexible while pursuing "Pizzazium Infinionite".
 * In "Phineas and Ferb Summer Belongs to You!", she probably stole a scooter.
 * Her birthday is on the same day as Linda and Lawrence Flynn-Fletcher's anniversary ("Dude, We're Getting the Band Back Together").
 * She appears as a Rutian Twi'Lek in "Phineas and Ferb: Star Wars".
 * Her voice actress, Olivia Olson, also plays as Marceline the Vampire Queen on the animated show Adventure Time, who is a goth, like Vanessa. Curiously enough, both Vanessa and Marceline have to deal with their "evil" fathers. Olivia and her father, Martin Olson, reunite in Adventure Time where Martin voices Marceline's soul-sucking father, Hunson Abadeer, the ruler of the Nightosphere.
 * Thomas Sangster, the voice actor for Ferb, played opposite Olivia Olson in the film "Love Actually", where he is a young boy crushing on a girl, similar to Ferb and Vanessa's relationship. The difference is that they're the same age and that it's confirmed that she returns his feelings.