Elizabeth Wakefield

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Elizabeth (right)

Elizabeth Wakefield was one of the two main characters in the fictional book series Sweet Valley High. She was played by Cynthia Daniel in the TV series of the same name.

[edit] Character

Spoiler warning: Plot and/or ending details follow.

Despite being more sensible and down to earth than her twin sister, Elizabeth was one of the only students in Sweet Valley who rivaled Jessica in the popularity stakes. She was known for being practical and a good listener, and her peers often confided in her. Elizabeth was born four minutes before Jessica. Like her sister, she was named after her ancestors, Elisabeth Johnson.

Although Liz had many friends, her best friend was Enid Rollins and later Maria Slater, a close friend from middle school. Her first boyfriend and her first love was Todd Wilkins.

Liz's dream was to be a writer and she was a dedicated staff member of her school newspaper The Oracle in which she wrote some features stories. She considered Oracle editor in chief Penny Ayala, arts editor Olivia Davidson and, for a brief period, sports editor John Pfiefer amongst her closest friends. Staff advisor Roger Collins was her mentor.

At the insistence of her twin sister, Liz pledged and was accepted into Pi Beta Alpha, but she considered herself a member in name only.

Liz was close to Regina Morrow and her brother Nicholas, which was unusual, since she usually doesn't like to mingle with the wealthy, however, their sincerity changed her mind. She was the recipient of Nicholas's affections when he first moved to Sweet Valley, but she insisted that she loved Todd and the two became good friends. Regina's death affected her deeply, particularly since they had fought the last time they had seen each other.

Other friends of Liz's include Julie Porter, whom she also knew since middle school; and Caroline Pierce. She initially had little time for Jessica's friends although she and Cara developed a friendship after Cara began dating Steven. Liz tolerated Lila for Jessica's sake, and even sprang to her rescue when Lila was arrested for shoplifting.

After Todd moved to Vermont, Liz began dating Jeffrey French, a photographer for The Oracle and star of the soccer team. They broke up when Todd returned to Sweet Valley. Elizabeth got back together with her first love and first boyfriend. Elizabeth and Todd stayed together for a long time, until the Jungle Prom. After they work things out, Elizabeth and Todd get back together and are a couple again. At the end of the series she was torn between Todd and Devon Whitelaw, who turned out to be a liar and a coward. She broke up with Todd in the last book of the Sweet Valley High series.

The Secret Diary series reveal that Liz has had flings with two of Jessica's boyfriends, Ken Matthews and Sam Woodruff. Elizabeth often cheated on her boyfriends and every time it was said how "uncharacteristic" it was of her--when in reality, given the number of times she cheated, it was totally in character.

[edit] Sweet Valley University

Liz went through a lot of changes in college, ending both her relationship with Todd Wilkins and her friendship with Enid (now Alex) Rollins. She began dating Tom Watts, a journalist for the campus news station. Tom has been on an on/off relationship with Elizabeth, and star of SVU football team. After their difficult break up, she found comfort with Todd and the two fell back in love. That ended when Todd's ex girlfriend was diagnosed with cancer.

During sophomore year, Liz endured a tempestuous relationship with her annoying roommate, Sam Burgess, which later turned into a romantic one. Convinced that Sam was a cheater and not good enough for her twin sister, Jessica set out to prove things to Liz by getting Sam to kiss her. Liz caught her boyfriend making out with her twin sister and, without waiting for an explanation, set off for London, where the Elizabeth series took place.