| Annie Wilkes | |
|---|---|
 Kathy Bates as Annie Wilkes in the 1990 film adaptation | |
| First appearance | Misery (novel) |
| Last appearance | Castle Rock (season 2) |
| Created by | Stephen King |
| Portrayed by | Kathy Bates (1990) Sharon Gless (1992) Susan Penhaligon (2005) Laurie Metcalf (2015) Henna Haverinen (2019) Lizzy Caplan (2019) Madison Johnson (2019, child) Ruby Cruz (2019, teen) Mari Turunen (2019) Mirva Tolppanen (2022) Satu Silvo (2025) |
| In-universe information | |
| Full name | Anne Marie Wilkes Dugan |
| Nickname | Dragon Lady |
| Gender | Female |
| Occupation | Nurse (R.N.; formerly) |
| Family | Carl Wilkes (father; deceased) Crysilda B. Wilkes (mother) Nancy Wilkes (mother; film canon) Paul E. Wilkes (brother) Evangeline Wilkes (half-sister, Castle Rock only) |
| Spouse | Ralph Dugan (divorced) |
| Nationality | American |
Annie Wilkes is a character originating from Stephen King's 1987 novel Misery, in which she acts as one of the two central characters and main antagonist. In 2022, King picked her as his personal favorite character among all those he created in his literary career.
A nurse by training, Annie is a devoted fan of the works of romance author Paul Sheldon, whom she rescues after a car accident and brings back to her home. As she nurses him back to health, Sheldon gradually realizes how deranged Annie is, and becomes her unwilling captive. The character has become one of the stereotypes of the nurse as a torturer and angel of mercy.
The character has been portrayed in various audio, screen and stage adaptations of Misery, notably in a 1990 film adaptation in which she was portrayed by Kathy Bates, who won the Academy Award for Best Actress for her performance. A heavily altered version of the character also acts as main protagonist of the second season of the television series Castle Rock (itself loosely based on various works of King) in 2019, in which she is primarily portrayed by Lizzy Caplan.