Lord Voldemort

"Voldemort" redirects here. For the software project, see Voldemort (distributed data store).
"He Who Cannot Be Named" redirects here. For the member of the Dwarves, see Dwarves (band). For Him Who Is Not to be Named, see Hastur.

Lord Voldemort
Harry Potter character
Ralph Fiennes as Lord Voldemort[a]
First appearanceHarry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (1997)
Last appearanceHarry Potter and the Cursed Child (2016)
Created byJ. K. Rowling
Portrayed by
Voiced byEddie Izzard[h]
Liam O'Brien[i]
In-universe information
Full nameTom Marvolo Riddle
AliasesThe Dark Lord
Family
  • Tom Riddle (father)
  • Merope Gaunt (mother)
Relatives
  • Thomas Riddle
    (paternal grandfather)
  • Mary Riddle
    (paternal grandmother)
  • Marvolo Gaunt
    (maternal grandfather)
  • Morfin Gaunt
    (maternal uncle)
NationalityBritish
HouseSlytherin
Born31 December 1926
Died2 May 1998

Lord Voldemort (/ˈvoʊldəmɔːr/ VOHL-də-mor, /-mɔːrt/ -⁠mort in the films)[j] is a fictional character and the main antagonist in the Harry Potter series of novels by J. K. Rowling. He first appears in Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (1997) and returns either in person or in flashbacks in each novel in the series except the third, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, in which he is only mentioned.

Voldemort, an anagrammatic sobriquet for his birth name Tom Marvolo Riddle, is the archenemy of Harry Potter, who according to a prophecy has "the power to vanquish the Dark Lord". After killing Harry's parents, Lily and James Potter, he attempts to murder the boy, but instead leaves him with a scar on his forehead in the shape of a lightning bolt. Nearly every witch or wizard dares not utter his name and refers to him instead with such monikers as "You-Know-Who", "He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named", or "The Dark Lord". Voldemort's obsession with blood purity signifies his aim to rid the wizarding world of Muggle (non-magical) heritage and to conquer both worlds, Muggle and wizarding, to achieve pure-blood dominance. Through his mother's family, he is the last descendant of the wizard Salazar Slytherin,[6][7] one of the four founders of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. He is the leader of the Death Eaters, a group of wizards and witches dedicated to ridding the Wizarding World of Muggles and establishing Voldemort as its supreme ruler.


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  1. ^ Takahama, Valerie (26 October 1999). "Enchanted with Potter Literature: Fans line up for hours to get their books signed". The Orange County Register. Santa Ana, California: Digital First Media. Retrieved 28 December 2006.
  2. ^ "HPL: Lord Voldemort: Quick facts". Archived from the original on 3 June 2004. Retrieved 12 September 2020.
  3. ^ Anderton, Ethan (11 September 2015). "J.K. Rowling Clarifies Voldemort Pronunciation in Harry Potter". /Film. Retrieved 27 April 2018.
  4. ^ Dibdin, Emma (10 September 2015). "You got this Harry Potter character's name wrong". Digital Spy. London, England. Retrieved 27 April 2018.
  5. ^ Levine, Nick (31 May 2017). "J.K. Rowling responds to Stephen Fry 'Harry Potter' feud rumours". NME. London, England: TI Media. Retrieved 27 April 2018.
  6. ^ Rowling, J. K. (1998). "The Heir of Slytherin". Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets. Bloomsbury. ISBN 0747538492.
  7. ^ Cite error: The named reference HP6ch20 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).