View source for Lord Voldemort

{{short description|Fictional character from Harry Potter}}
{{Redirect|He Who Cannot Be Named|the member of the Dwarves|Dwarves (band)|Him Who Is Not to be Named|Hastur}}
{{pp-semi-indef}}
{{pp-move}}
{{Use British English|date=November 2020}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=February 2022}}
{{Infobox character
| name = Lord Voldemort
| series = [[Harry Potter]]
| image = lordvoldemort.jpg
| caption = Ralph Fiennes as Lord Voldemort{{efn|''[[Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 1]]'' (2010)}}
| first = ''[[Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone]]'' (1997)
| last = ''[[Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows]]'' (2007)
| creator = [[J. K. Rowling]]
| portrayer = {{Plainlist|
*[[Ralph Fiennes]]{{efn|''[[Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (film)|Goblet of Fire]]''{{nbsp}}{{nbsp}}{{nbsp}}{{nbsp}}{{nbsp}}{{nbsp}}{{nbsp}}{{nbsp}}{{nbsp}}{{nbsp}}{{nbsp}}{{nbsp}}<br>''[[Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (film)|Order of the Phoenix]]''<br>''[[Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (film)|Half-Blood Prince]]'' (archival footage)<br>''[[Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 1|Deathly Hallows – Part 1]]''<br>''[[Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2|Deathly Hallows – Part 2]]''}}
*[[Ian Hart]]{{efn|''[[Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (film)|Philosopher's Stone]]''}}
*[[Richard Bremmer]]{{efn|''Philosopher's Stone'' (flashback)}}
*[[Christian Coulson]]{{efn|''[[Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (film)|Chamber of Secrets]]'' (teenager)}}
*[[Hero Fiennes Tiffin]]{{efn|''Half-Blood Prince'' (child)}}
*[[Frank Dillane]]{{efn|''Half-Blood Prince'' (teenager)}}
}}
| voice = [[Eddie Izzard]]{{efn|''[[The Lego Batman Movie]]''}}<br />[[Liam O'Brien]]{{efn|''[[Lego Dimensions]]''}}
| full_name = Tom Marvolo Riddle
| aliases = The [[Dark Lord]]
| family = {{Plainlist|
* Tom Riddle (father)
* Merope Gaunt (mother)
}}
| relatives = {{Plainlist|
* Thomas Riddle<br>(paternal grandfather)
* Mary Riddle<br>(paternal grandmother)
* Marvolo Gaunt<br>(maternal grandfather)
* Morfin Gaunt<br>(maternal uncle)
}}
| nationality = British
| lbl21 = House
| data21 = [[Slytherin]]
| lbl22 = Born
| data22 = 31 December 1926
| lbl23 = Died
| data23 = 2 May 1998
}}

'''Lord Voldemort''' ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|v|oʊ|l|d|ə|m|ɔr}} {{respell|VOHL|də|mor}}, {{IPAc-en|-|m|ɔr|t}} {{respell|-|mort}} in the films){{efn|According to Rowling, the 't' in ''Voldemort'' is silent,<ref name="accio-quote.org">{{Cite web |last=Takahama |first=Valerie |date=26 October 1999 |title=Enchanted with Potter Literature: Fans line up for hours to get their books signed |url=http://www.accio-quote.org/articles/1999/1099-orangecounty-takahama.html |access-date=28 December 2006 |website=[[The Orange County Register]] |publisher=Digital First Media |location=Santa Ana, California}}</ref> as it is in the French word for 'death', {{lang|fr|[[wikt:mort|mort]]}} ({{IPA|fr|mɔʁ|pron|LL-Q150 (fra)-GrandCelinien-mort.wav}}),<ref name="hp-lexicon.org">{{Cite web |title=HPL: Lord Voldemort: Quick facts |url=http://www.hp-lexicon.org/wizards/voldemort.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20040603063243/http://www.hp-lexicon.org/wizards/voldemort.html |archive-date=3 June 2004 |access-date=12 September 2020}}</ref> and [[Jim Dale]] pronounced it as such in the first four U.S. [[audiobook]]s. After the release of the film version of ''Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone'', where the characters pronounced the 't', Dale changed his audiobook pronunciation accordingly.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Anderton |first=Ethan |date=11 September 2015 |title=J.K. Rowling Clarifies Voldemort Pronunciation in Harry Potter |url=https://www.slashfilm.com/your-voldemort-pronunciation-is-probably-wrong/ |access-date=27 April 2018 |website=[[/Film]]}}</ref> [[Stephen Fry]] pronounced the name including the 't' for all the UK audiobooks.<ref>{{Cite magazine |last=Dibdin |first=Emma |date=10 September 2015 |title=You got this Harry Potter character's name wrong |url=http://www.digitalspy.com/movies/harry-potter/news/a667879/turns-out-youve-been-saying-this-harry-potter-characters-name-wrong-for-years/ |magazine=[[Digital Spy]] |location=London, England |access-date=27 April 2018}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Levine |first=Nick |date=31 May 2017 |title=J.K. Rowling responds to Stephen Fry 'Harry Potter' feud rumours |work=[[NME]] |publisher=[[TI Media]] |location=London, England |url=https://www.nme.com/news/j-k-rowling-responds-to-stephen-fry-harry-potter-feud-rumours-2081848 |access-date=27 April 2018}}</ref>}} 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 [[anagram]]matic [[sobriquet]] for his birth name '''Tom Marvolo Riddle''', is the [[archenemy]] of [[Harry Potter (character)|Harry Potter]], who according to a [[prophecy]] has "the power to vanquish the [[Dark Lord]]". After killing Harry's parents, [[List of supporting Harry Potter characters|Lily]] and [[James Potter (character)|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 [[Fictional universe of Harry Potter#Blood purity|blood purity]] signifies his aim to rid the [[Wizarding World|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]],<ref name="HP2ch17">{{HPref|book=2|chapter=17}}</ref><ref name="HP6ch20" /> one of the four founders of [[Hogwarts]] School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. He is the leader of the [[Death Eater]]s, a group of wizards and witches dedicated to ridding the Wizarding World of Muggles and establishing Voldemort as its supreme ruler.

== Character development ==
In a 1999 interview, Rowling claimed Voldemort was invented as a nemesis for Harry Potter, and she intentionally did not flesh out Voldemort's [[backstory]] at first. "The basic idea [was that Harry] didn't know he was a wizard ... And so then I kind of worked backwards from that position to find out how that could be, that he wouldn't know what he was. ... When he was one year old, the most evil wizard for hundreds and hundreds of years attempted to kill him. He killed Harry's parents, and then he tried to kill Harry—he tried to curse him. ... Harry has to find out, before we find out. And—so—but for some mysterious reason the curse didn't work on Harry. So he's left with this lightning bolt-shaped scar on his forehead and the curse rebounded upon the evil wizard, who has been in hiding ever since."<ref name="rehm" />

In the second book, Rowling establishes that Voldemort hates non-[[Fictional universe of Harry Potter#Blood purity|pure-blood]] wizards, despite being a half-blood himself. In a 2000 interview with the [[BBC]], Rowling described Voldemort as a self-hating bully: "Well I think it is often the case that the biggest bullies take what they know to be their own defects, as they see it, and they put them right on someone else and then they try and destroy the other and that's what Voldemort does."<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.accio-quote.org/articles/2004/0304-wbd.htm|title=JK Rowling talks about Book Four |publisher=cBBC Newsround |date= 4 March 2004|access-date=2 April 2018}}</ref> In the same year, Rowling became more precise about Voldemort. She began to link him to real-life tyrants, describing him as "a raging [[psychopath]], devoid of the normal human responses to other people's suffering".<ref>{{cite magazine|first=Jeff|last=Jensen|url=http://www.accio-quote.org/articles/2000/0900-ew-jensen.htm|title='Fire' Storm |magazine=[[Entertainment Weekly]] |publisher=[[Meredith Corporation]]|location=New York City|date=7 September 2000|access-date=2 April 2018}}</ref> In 2004, though, Rowling said that she did not base Voldemort on any real person.<ref>{{Cite web |title=2004: Accio Quote!, the largest archive of J.K. Rowling interviews on the web |url=http://www.accio-quote.org/articles/2004/0304-wbd.htm |access-date=2024-01-15 |website=www.accio-quote.org}}</ref> In 2006, Rowling told an interviewer that Voldemort at his core has a human fear: the fear of death. She said: "Voldemort's fear is death, ignominious death. I mean, he regards death itself as ignominious. He thinks that it's a shameful human weakness, as you know. His worst fear is death."<ref name="www.accio-quote.org">{{cite web |url= http://www.accio-quote.org/articles/2005/0705-tlc_mugglenet-anelli-2.htm |first1=Melissa |last1= Anelli |first2= Emerson |last2=Spartz |title= The Leaky Cauldron and MuggleNet interview Joanne Kathleen Rowling: Part Two |website= The Leaky Cauldron |date= 16 July 2005 |access-date= 2 April 2018}}</ref>

Throughout the series, Rowling establishes that Voldemort is so feared in the wizarding world that it is considered dangerous even to speak his name. Most characters in the novels refer to him as "You-Know-Who" or "He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named" rather than say his name aloud. In ''[[Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows]]'', a "[[Taboo#Popular culture|taboo]]" spell is placed upon the name, such that Voldemort or his followers may trace anyone who utters it. By this means, his followers eventually find and capture Harry and his friends [[Ron Weasley]] and [[Hermione Granger]]. In the second book, Rowling reveals that ''I am Lord Voldemort'' is an [[anagram]] of the character's birth name, Tom Marvolo Riddle (in translated editions of the book, his middle name or entire birth name is/are often changed in order to allow anagrams to be formed in other languages).<ref>{{Cite web |date=2017-11-15 |title=13 'Harry Potter & The Chamber Of Secrets' Translations Of The Name Voldemort That Make The Dark Lord Seem Laughable |url=https://www.bustle.com/p/13-harry-potter-the-chamber-of-secrets-translations-of-the-name-voldemort-that-make-the-dark-lord-seem-laughable-4064898 |access-date=2024-08-12 |website=Bustle |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Translations |first=Day |date=2017-07-04 |title=Harry Potter in Translation: From Serpentard to Rumpledunk |url=https://www.daytranslations.com/blog/harry-potter-translation/ |access-date=2024-08-12 |website=Day Translations Blog |language=en-US}}</ref>

According to the author, Voldemort's name is an invented word.<ref>{{cite web |first=Christopher|last=Lydon|url=http://www.accio-quote.org/articles/1999/1099-connectiontransc2.htm|title=J.K. Rowling interview transcript|publisher=The Connection ([[WBUR-FM]]) |date=12 October 1999|access-date=2 April 2018}}</ref> The name ''Voldemort'' is derived from the French ''vol de mort'' which means "flight of death" or "theft of death".<ref>{{cite web |date=17 July 2019 |title=The different meanings behind Lord Voldemort's many names |url=https://www.wizardingworld.com/features/the-different-meanings-behind-lord-voldemorts-many-names |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210204052409/https://www.wizardingworld.com/features/the-different-meanings-behind-lord-voldemorts-many-names |archive-date=4 February 2021 |access-date=26 December 2021 |website=[[WizardingWorld.com]]}}</ref>

== Appearances ==
=== ''Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone'' ===
[[File:Voldemort in Movie 1.jpg|thumb|right|Voldemort, voiced by [[Ian Hart]], on the back of [[Professor Quirrell]]'s head in ''[[Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (film)|Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone]]'']]

Voldemort makes his debut in ''[[Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone]]''. In this story, Rowling introduces him as the Dark Lord who tried to kill Harry Potter because the boy was prophesied to destroy him. Voldemort murdered Harry's parents, [[James Potter (character)|James]] and [[Lily Potter|Lily]], but as a result of his mother's love and willingness to sacrifice herself for him, baby Harry survived when Voldemort tried to murder him with a [[Avada Kedavra|Killing Curse]]. Voldemort was disembodied, and Harry was left with a mysterious, lightning bolt-shaped scar on his forehead as a result.

In the book, Voldemort unsuccessfully tries to regain his dissolved body by stealing the titular [[Sorcerer's Stone|Philosopher's Stone]]. To achieve his objective, Voldemort uses [[Professor Quirrell]]'s aid by latching onto the back of the latter's head. However, at the climax of the book, Harry manages to prevent Voldemort from stealing the stone.

=== ''Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets'' ===
In the second installment, ''[[Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets]]'', Rowling introduces Voldemort's true identity, former Hogwarts pupil and Slytherin prefect Tom Marvolo Riddle, who appears as a manifestation of the Dark Lord's teenage self that resides inside a magical diary found by [[Ginny Weasley]]. In this book, Ginny is written as a shy girl with a crush on Harry. Feeling anxious and lonely, she begins to write into the diary and shares her deepest fears with the sympathetic Tom. However, at the climax of the story, when the manifestation of Riddle rearranges the letters in his name to write "I am Lord Voldemort", it is revealed that Tom and the Dark Lord are just one person and that he is a descendant of one of the school's founders, Salazar Slytherin. Riddle states he has grown strong on Ginny's fears and eventually [[demonic possession|possesses]] her, using her as a pawn to unlock the [[Locations in Hogwarts#Chamber of Secrets|Chamber of Secrets]], whence a [[Basilisk (Harry Potter)|basilisk]] is set free and petrifies several Hogwarts students. Harry defeats the manifestation of Riddle from the diary and the basilisk.<ref name="HP2ch17"/> In ''Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince'', [[Albus Dumbledore]] reveals to Harry that the diary was one of Voldemort's [[Horcruxes]].

=== ''Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban'' ===
Voldemort does not appear in the third book, ''[[Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban]]'', either in person or as a magical manifestation. He is, however, heard when Harry passes out from the harsh effects of a [[Dementors|Dementor]]. Towards the end of the story, [[Sybill Trelawney]], the Divination professor, makes a rare genuine prophecy: "The Dark Lord lies alone and friendless, abandoned by his followers. His servant has been chained these twelve years. Tonight, before midnight, the servant will break free and set out to rejoin his master. The Dark Lord will rise again with his servant's aid, greater and more terrible than ever before."<ref name="HP3ch16">{{HPref|book=3|chapter=16}}</ref> The servant is eventually revealed to be [[Death Eater#Peter Pettigrew|Peter Pettigrew]], who, for the 12 years since Voldemort's fall, has been disguised as Ron's pet rat, Scabbers.

=== ''Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire'' ===
In ''[[Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire]]'' (2000), Voldemort reappears at the start and the climax of the book. Rowling lets many seemingly unrelated plot elements fall into order. It is revealed that Voldemort's minion [[Barty Crouch Jr]], disguised as Hogwarts professor [[Mad-Eye Moody]], has manipulated the events of the [[Triwizard Tournament]] in Harry's favour. Voldemort's goal is to [[Teleportation|teleport]] Harry under Dumbledore's watch as a reluctant participant to the [[Little Hangleton]] graveyard, where the Riddle family is buried.<ref name="HP4ch32333435" /> Harry is captured and, after Pettigrew uses Harry's blood to fulfil a gruesome magical ritual, Voldemort regains his body and is restored to his full power.<ref name="HP4ch32333435">{{HPref|book=4}}</ref> For the first time in the series, Rowling describes his appearance: "tall and skeletally thin", with a face "whiter than a skull, with wide, livid scarlet eyes and a nose that was as flat as a snake's with slits for nostrils".<ref name="HP4ch32333435" /> Rowling writes that his "hands were like large, pale spiders; his long white fingers caressed his own chest, his arms, his face; the red eyes, whose pupils were slits, like a cat's, gleamed still more brightly through the darkness".<ref name="HP4ch32333435" /> It is revealed that with Pettigrew's help, Voldemort had created a small, rudimentary body, corporeal enough to travel and perform magic, and formulated a plan to restore his own body by capturing Harry. A portion of the plan had been overheard by [[Frank Bryce]], a gardener, whom Voldemort then killed.<ref name="HP4ch1">{{HP4ref|book=4}}, chapter 1</ref> Voldemort then completes his plan and returns to life in his full body as a result of the ritual with Harry's blood. He then summons his Death Eaters to the graveyard to witness the death of Harry as he challenges Harry to a duel. However, when Voldemort duels Harry, their wands become magically locked together due to the twin phoenix feather cores of the wands. Because of a phenomenon later revealed as [[Priori Incantatem]], ghost-like manifestations of Voldemort's most recent victims (including Harry's parents) then appear and distract Voldemort, allowing Harry just enough time to escape via [[Portkey]] with the body of fellow-student, [[Cedric Diggory]], who was murdered by Pettigrew on Voldemort's orders.<ref name="HP4ch36">{{HPref|book=4|chapter=36}}</ref>

=== ''Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix'' ===
Voldemort returns near the end of ''[[Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix]]'' (2003). He engineers a plot to free [[Bellatrix Lestrange]] and other Death Eaters from Azkaban and then embarks on a scheme to retrieve the full record of a prophecy stored in the [[Department of Mysteries]] regarding Harry and himself. He sends a group of Death Eaters to retrieve the prophecy, where the [[Order of the Phoenix (organisation)|Order of the Phoenix]] meets them. All but Bellatrix are captured, and Voldemort engages in a ferocious duel with Dumbledore. When Dumbledore gets the upper hand, Voldemort attempts to possess Harry but finds that he cannot; Harry is too full of that which Voldemort finds incomprehensible, and which he detests as weakness: love. Sensing that Dumbledore could win, Voldemort disapparates, but not before the Minister for Magic sees him in person, making his return to life public knowledge in the next book.<ref name="Fry2005">{{cite web |title=Living With Harry Potter |url=http://www.accio-quote.org/articles/2005/1205-bbc-fry.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090602092002/http://www.accio-quote.org/articles/2005/1205-bbc-fry.html |archive-date=2 June 2009 |access-date=15 August 2007}}</ref>

=== ''Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince'' ===
In ''[[Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince]]'' (2005), Voldemort continues his rise to power. He murders [[Amelia Bones]] of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement and begins to target members of the Order of the Phoenix. In a series of flashbacks, it is revealed that Voldemort was the son of the witch [[Merope Gaunt]] and a Muggle named Tom Riddle. Riddle abandoned Merope before their child's birth, soon after which Merope died.<ref name="HP6ch10" /> After living in an orphanage, young Riddle met Dumbledore, who told him he was a wizard and arranged for him to attend Hogwarts.<ref name="HP6ch13" /> Riddle was outwardly a model student, but inwardly took sadistic pleasure in using his powers to harm and control people. He eventually murdered his father and grandparents as revenge for abandoning him.<ref name="HP6ch17" /> The book also discusses Riddle's hatred of Muggles, his obsession with [[Horcrux]]es, and his desire to split his soul to achieve immortality.<ref name="HP6ch23" /> Rowling stated that Voldemort's conception under the influence of a love potion symbolises the coercive circumstances under which he was brought into the world.<ref name="AfterBook7">{{cite web|url=http://the-leaky-cauldron.org/2007/7/30/j-k-rowling-web-chat-transcript
| title=J.K. Rowling web chat transcript| date=30 July 2007|access-date=15 August 2007}}</ref>

In the main plot of the book, Voldemort's next step is to engineer an assault on Hogwarts, and to kill Dumbledore. This is accomplished by [[Draco Malfoy]], who arranges transportation of Death Eaters into Hogwarts by a pair of Vanishing Cabinets, which bypass the extensive protective enchantments placed around the school.<ref name="HP6ch27">{{HPref|book=6|chapter=27}}</ref> The cabinets allow Voldemort's Death Eaters to enter Hogwarts, where battle commences and Dumbledore is cornered. Hogwarts professor (and re-doubled agent) [[Severus Snape]] uses the [[Magic in Harry Potter#Unforgivable curses|Killing Curse]] against Dumbledore when Draco could not force himself to do so.<ref name="HP6ch27" />

=== ''Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows'' ===
In ''[[Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows]]'' (2007), Voldemort furthers his quest for ultimate power. He disposes of the Minister for Magic and replaces him with [[Pius Thicknesse]], who is under the [[Imperius Curse]].<ref name="DH121315">{{HPref|book=7|chapter=1}}</ref> Establishing a [[totalitarian]] [[police state]], he has Muggle-borns persecuted and arrested for "stealing magic" from the "pure blood" wizards.<ref name="DH121315" /> After failing to kill Harry with Draco's father [[Lucius Malfoy]]'s borrowed wand (to avoid the effect of [[Priori Incantatem]]),<ref name="DH4">{{HPref|book=7|chapter=4}}</ref> he goes on a murderous search for the [[Elder Wand]], the most powerful wand ever created, seeing it as the weapon he needs to overcome Harry's wand and make him truly invincible. His journey takes him to [[Nurmengard]], the prison where [[Gellert Grindelwald]] is kept, and he kills Grindelwald as well. He finally locates the Elder Wand and steals it from Dumbledore's tomb.

Later, Voldemort finds out that Harry and his friends are hunting and destroying his Horcruxes when informed of their heist on the Lestranges' vault at Gringotts in search for [[Helga Hufflepuff's Cup|Hufflepuff's Cup]].<ref name="DH27">{{HPref|book=7|chapter=27}}</ref> After offering the occupants of Hogwarts mercy if they give up Harry, he assembles a large army and launches an invasion of the castle, where Harry is searching for [[Rowena Ravenclaw's Diadem|Ravenclaw's Diadem]].<ref name="DH31">{{HPref|book=7|chapter=31}}</ref> Voldemort orders his pet snake [[Nagini (Harry Potter)|Nagini]] to execute Snape, believing it would make him the true master of the Elder Wand, since Snape killed Dumbledore.<ref name="DH32">{{HPref|book=7|chapter=32}}</ref> He then calls an hour's [[armistice]], in exchange for Harry.<ref name="DH34">{{HPref|book=7|chapter=34}}</ref> When Harry willingly walks into Voldemort's camp in the [[Hogwarts#Forbidden Forest|Forbidden Forest]], Voldemort strikes him down with the Elder Wand.<ref name="DH34" /> However, the use of Harry's blood to resurrect Voldemort's body proves to be a major setback: while Harry's blood runs in Voldemort's veins, Harry cannot be killed as his mother's protection lives on now in Voldemort too. Instead, Voldemort unknowingly destroys the part of his own soul that resides in Harry's body. 

Voldemort forces [[Rubeus Hagrid]] to carry Harry's apparently lifeless body back to the castle as a trophy, sparking another battle during which Nagini, his last Horcrux, is destroyed by [[Neville Longbottom]]. The battle then moves into the Great Hall, where Voldemort fights [[Minerva McGonagall]], [[Kingsley Shacklebolt]], and [[Horace Slughorn]] simultaneously. Harry then reveals himself and explains to Voldemort that Draco became the true master of the Elder Wand when he disarmed Dumbledore; Harry, in turn, won the wand's allegiance when he took Draco's wand. 

Refusing to believe this, Voldemort casts the Killing Curse with the Elder Wand while Harry uses a Disarming Charm with Draco's, but the Elder Wand refuses to kill its master and the spell rebounds on Voldemort who, with all of his Horcruxes destroyed, finally dies.<ref name="DH36">{{HPref|book=7|chapter=36}}</ref>

Rowling stated that after his death, Voldemort is forced to exist in the stunted infant-like form that Harry sees in the [[London King's Cross railway station|King's Cross]]-like limbo after his confrontation with Voldemort in the Forbidden Forest. Rowling also mentioned that, despite his extreme fear of death, he cannot become a [[Magical creatures (Harry Potter)#Ghosts|ghost]].<ref name="bloomsbury">{{cite web |url=http://bloomsbury.com/jkrevent/content.asp?sec=3&sec2=1 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071031070152/http://bloomsbury.com/jkrevent/content.asp?sec=3&sec2=1 |title=Webchat with J.K. Rowling |archive-date=31 October 2007 |url-status=dead |access-date=8 July 2014}}</ref>

== Portrayal in films ==
[[File:riddleinhogwarts.jpg|thumb|Young Tom in his fifth year at [[Hogwarts]] as played by [[Christian Coulson]] in ''[[Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (film)|Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets]]''.]]
Voldemort appears in every [[Harry Potter (film series)|''Harry Potter'' film]], with the exception of ''[[Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (film)|Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban]]''. Several actors have portrayed him in his varying incarnations and ages.

In ''Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone'', Voldemort's manifestation is as a face on the back of Quirrell's head, an effect achieved by computer generated imagery. [[Ian Hart]], the actor who played Quirrell in the same film, provided the voice and the facial source for this character. Voldemort also appears in a scene in the Forbidden Forest where he is seen drinking the blood of a unicorn. As Voldemort's face was altered enough by CG work, and Hart's voice was affected enough, there was no confusion by Hart's playing of the two roles. In that film, he was also shown in a flashback sequence when he arrived at the home of James and Lily Potter to kill them. In this scene Voldemort is played by [[Richard Bremmer]],<ref name="mn-cast-confusion">{{cite web | url=http://www.mugglenet.com/castpages/credits.shtml | title=Credit Confusion | publisher=MuggleNet | access-date=7 January 2007 | url-status=dead | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071029190049/http://www.mugglenet.com/castpages/credits.shtml | archive-date=29 October 2007 | df=dmy-all }}</ref> though his face is never seen. His next appearance would be in ''Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets'' as the 16-year-old Tom Marvolo Riddle (portrayed by [[Christian Coulson]]).

[[File:Ralph Fiennes 2013.jpg|thumb|left|upright|[[Ralph Fiennes]] portrays Voldemort from ''Goblet of Fire'' to ''Deathly Hallows Part 2''.]]

In ''Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire'', Voldemort is initially only heard, possessing the scratchy, weak voice heard in the first film. By the film's climax, however, he appears in his physical form for the first time, played by [[Ralph Fiennes]]. As in the book, Voldemort is shown clad in dark black robes, being tall and emaciated, with no hair and yellowish teeth; his wand has a white tone, and the handle appears to be made of bone; his fingernails are long and pale blue while his toenails appear to be infected. Unlike in the book, his pupils are not cat-like, and his eyes are blue, because producer [[David Heyman]] felt that his evil would not be able to be seen and would not fill the audience with fear (his eyes do briefly take on a snake-like appearance when he opens them after turning human, but quickly turn normal). As in the book, the film version of Voldemort has snake-like slit nostrils with the flesh of his nose significantly pressed back. Ralph Fiennes' nose was not covered in makeup on the set but was digitally removed in post-production. In this first appearance, Voldemort also has a forked tongue, but this element was removed for the subsequent films.

Fiennes stated that he had two weeks to shoot the climactic showdown scene where he is gloating over a terrified Harry, played by [[Daniel Radcliffe]]. Fiennes said with a chuckle: "I have no doubt children will be afraid of me now if they weren't before." In preparation, he read the novel ''Goblet of Fire'', but jokingly conceded: "I was only interested in my scene, and I had to go through thousands and thousands of other scenes which I did, dutifully, until I got to my scene and I read it many, many, many, many, many times and that was my research."<ref>{{cite web|first=Paul|last=Fischer|url=http://www.darkhorizons.com/news05/fiennes.php |title=Ralph Fiennes for 'White Countess' and "Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire" |website=[[Dark Horizons]]|date=21 October 2005|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20051026014441/http://www.darkhorizons.com/news05/fiennes.php |url-status=dead |archive-date=26 October 2005 |access-date=7 January 2007 }}</ref> Fiennes reprised his role as Voldemort in ''[[Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (film)|Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix]]''<ref name="oop-press-release">{{cite web|url=http://www.prnewswire.co.uk/cgi/news/release?id=176487|title=Helena Bonham Carter Joins the All-Star Cast and Nicholas Hooper Signs on to Compose the Score of Warner Bros. Pictures' Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix|date=2 August 2006|publisher=[[Warner Bros.]]|access-date=23 December 2006}}</ref> and ''[[Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 1]]'' and ''[[Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2|Part 2]]''.

Fiennes's nephew, [[Hero Fiennes Tiffin]], portrayed Tom Riddle as a child in ''[[Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (film)|Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince]]''. By the time filming arrived [[Christian Coulson]] was 29, and not considered suitable to return as the adolescent Riddle. [[Thomas James Longley]] was originally scheduled to take over the role, but last minute renegotiations saw [[Frank Dillane]] cast instead.<ref name="Crawley">{{cite news | title = Thomas James Longley | url = http://www.crawleyscastingcalls.com/index.php?option=com_actors&Itemid=56&id=4334&lettre=L | access-date = 25 October 2011 | archive-date = 27 January 2012 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20120127095407/http://www.crawleyscastingcalls.com/index.php?option=com_actors&Itemid=56&id=4334&lettre=L | url-status = dead }}</ref><ref name="Dark Horizons">{{cite news|title=Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince Trivia |url=http://www.darkhorizons.com/films/36/Harry-Potter-and-the-Half-Blood-Prince |website=[[Dark Horizons]]|date=15 July 2009 |archive-url=http://arquivo.pt/wayback/20090705222220/http://www.darkhorizons.com/films/36/Harry-Potter-and-the-Half-Blood-Prince/ |url-status=dead |archive-date=5 July 2009|access-date=25 October 2011 }}</ref>

== Stage adaption ==

In the 2016 stage play ''[[Harry Potter and the Cursed Child]]'', it is revealed that Bellatrix gave birth to Voldemort's daughter Delphi before the Battle of Hogwarts. Twenty-two years later, Delphi poses as Cedric's cousin and manipulates Harry and Ginny's second son [[Albus Severus Potter]] and his friend, Draco and [[Astoria Greengrass]]'s son [[Scorpius Malfoy]], into stealing a prototype Time Turner with which she hopes to resurrect her father. Using the Time Turner, Scorpius accidentally creates an alternative timeline where Voldemort killed Harry at the battle and now rules the wizarding world. In an attempt to achieve this future, Delphi travels to [[Godric's Hollow]] on the night Voldemort killed Harry's parents, hoping to avert the prophecy that led to her father's downfall. After receiving a message from his son, Harry, together with Ron, Hermione and Draco (who by now has become friends with Harry after they join forces to save their respective sons) transfigures himself into Voldemort so that he can distract Delphi, allowing them to overpower her. The real Voldemort kills Harry's parents as prophesied, and Delphi is sent to Azkaban.

== Characterisation ==
=== Outward appearance ===
After he regains his body in the fourth book, Rowling describes Voldemort as having pale skin, a chalk-white, skull-like face, snake-like slits for nostrils, red eyes and cat-like slits for pupils, a skeletally thin body and long, thin hands with unnaturally long fingers.<ref name="HP4ch32333435">{{HPref|book=4}}</ref> As mentioned in the first chapter of the seventh book, he also has no hair or lips. Earlier in life, as seen through flashbacks contained in the second and sixth books, Tom Marvolo Riddle was handsome<ref name="HP6ch13">{{HPref|book=7|chapter=13}}</ref> and tall with pale skin, jet black hair, and dark brown eyes. He could charm many people with his looks. The transformation into his monstrous state is believed to have been the result of creating his Horcruxes and becoming less human as he continued to divide his soul.<ref name="HP6ch23">{{HPref|book=6|chapter=23}}</ref> In the films, Voldemort's eyes are blue with round pupils, as the decision was made not to have his portrayer Ralph Fiennes wear colored contact lenses.

=== Personality ===
Rowling described Voldemort as "the most evil wizard for hundreds and hundreds of years".<ref name="rehm">{{cite web |url=http://www.accio-quote.org/articles/1999/1299-wamu-rehm.htm |title=J.K. Rowling on The Diane Rehm Show |publisher=WAMU Radio Washington, D.C. |date=20 October 1999 |access-date=15 August 2007}}</ref> She elaborated that he is a "raging [[psychopath]], devoid of the normal human responses to other people's suffering", and whose only ambition in life is to become all-powerful and immortal. He is also a [[sadistic personality disorder|sadist]] who hurts and murders people—especially Muggles—for his own amusement. He has no [[conscience]], feels no remorse or empathy, and does not recognise the worth and humanity of anybody except himself.<ref name="EW2000">{{cite web |first=Jeff|last=Jensen |url=http://www.accio-quote.org/articles/2000/0900-ew-jensen.htm |title=Fire Storm|magazine=[[Entertainment Weekly]] |publisher=[[Meredith Corporation]]|location=New York City|date=7 September 2000 |access-date=20 April 2008 }}</ref>
He feels no need for human companionship or friendship and cannot comprehend love or affection for another. He believes he is superior to everyone around him, to the point that he frequently refers to himself in the third person as "Lord Voldemort".<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.wizardingworld.com/features/things-you-may-not-have-noticed-about-lord-voldemort |title=Things you may not have noticed about Lord Voldemort |website=[[Pottermore]] |date=19 March 2018 |access-date=17 August 2020}}</ref> Rowling also stated that Voldemort is "incredibly power hungry. [[Racism|Racist]], really",<ref>{{Cite magazine|title=A Good Scare |url=http://www.time.com/time/pacific/magazine/20001030/potter.html |magazine=[[Time (magazine)|Time]]|issue=43|date=30 October 2000 |access-date=3 November 2008 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080114013140/http://www.time.com/time/pacific/magazine/20001030/potter.html |archive-date=14 January 2008 }}</ref> and that if Voldemort were to look into the [[Mirror of Erised]], in which one sees one's greatest desire, he would see "Himself, all-powerful and eternal. That's what he wants."<ref>{{cite web |title=What Jo says about...Lord Voldemort, aka Tom Marvolo Riddle |url=http://www.accio-quote.org/themes/voldemort.htm |access-date=3 November 2008}}</ref>

Rowling also stated that Voldemort's conception by influence of Amortentia—a [[love potion]] administered by his mother, a witch named [[Merope Gaunt]], to the Muggle Tom Riddle—is related to his inability to understand love; it is "a symbolic way of showing that he came from a loveless union—but of course, everything would have changed if Merope had survived and raised him herself and loved him. The enchantment under which Tom Riddle fathered Voldemort is important because it shows coercion, and there can't be many more prejudicial ways to enter the world than as the result of such a union".<ref name="AfterBook7" />

Like most archetypical villains, Voldemort's arrogance leads to his downfall. He also suffers from a [[Death anxiety|pathological fear of death]], which he regards as a shameful and ignominious human weakness. According to Rowling, his [[Boggart (Harry Potter)|Boggart]] would be his own corpse.<ref name="www.accio-quote.org"/> Rowling also said that the difference between Harry and Voldemort is that Harry accepts mortality, and thus Harry is, in the end, stronger than his nemesis.<ref name="AfterBook7" />

=== Magical abilities and skills ===

Rowling establishes Voldemort throughout the series as an extremely powerful, intelligent, and ruthless dark wizard, described as the greatest<ref>[[Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets]] Chapter 1 The Worst Birthday</ref> and most powerful Dark Wizard of all time.<ref>[[Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire]] Chapter 2 The Scar</ref><ref>{{cite web| url = https://www.pottermore.com/explore-the-story/lord-voldemort| title = Lord Voldemort-Pottermore}}</ref> He is known as one of the greatest [[Magic (Harry Potter)#Legilimency and Occlumency|Legilimens]] in the world and a highly accomplished [[Magic (Harry Potter)#Legilimency and Occlumency|Occlumens]]; he can read minds and shield his own from penetration. Besides Dumbledore, he is also the only wizard ever known to be able to apparate silently. Voldemort was also said to fear one wizard alone, Dumbledore.<ref name="HP5ch33435">{{HPref|book=5|chapter=36}}</ref>

In the final book, Voldemort flies unsupported, something that amazes those who see it.<ref name="DH4" /> Voldemort, like his ancestral family, the Gaunts, is a [[Parseltongue|Parselmouth]], meaning he can converse with serpents. This skill was inherited from his ancestor, Salazar Slytherin. The Gaunt family speak Parseltongue among themselves. This highly unusual trait may be preserved through inbreeding, a practice employed by the Gaunt Family to maintain their blood's purity. When Voldemort attempts to kill Harry his ability to speak Parseltongue is passed to Harry through the small bit of the former's soul. After that bit of soul is destroyed, Harry loses this ability.<ref name=LeakyCauldron20070730>{{cite web|url=http://the-leaky-cauldron.org/2007/7/30/j-k-rowling-web-chat-transcript|title=JK Rowling web chat transcript|date=30 July 2007}}</ref> In a flashback in the sixth novel, Voldemort boasts to Dumbledore during a job interview that he has "pushed the boundaries of magic farther than they had ever before".<ref name="HP6ch20">{{HPref|book=6|chapter=20}}</ref> Dumbledore states that Voldemort's knowledge of magic is more extensive than any wizard alive<ref name="HP5ch33435"/> and that even Dumbledore's most powerful protective spells and charms would likely be insufficient if Voldemort returned to full power. Dumbledore also said that Voldemort was probably the most brilliant student Hogwarts has ever seen.<ref name="HP2ch17" /> Although Voldemort remains highly accomplished and prodigious in skill, he is enormously lacking and highly inept in the most powerful magic, love. This inability to love and trust others proves to be Voldemort's greatest weakness in the series. Voldemort initially voices scepticism that his own magic might not be the most powerful,<ref name="HP6ch20" /> but upon returning to power, he admits to his Death Eaters that he had overlooked the ancient and powerful magic which Lily Potter invoked and that would protect Harry from harm.<ref name="HP4ch33">{{HPref|book=4|chapter=33}}</ref>

On her website, Rowling wrote that Voldemort's wand is made of yew, whose sap is poisonous, and which symbolises death. It forms a deliberate contrast to Harry's wand, which is made of [[holly]], which she chose because holly is alleged to repel evil.<ref name="WAND">{{cite web|url=http://www.jkrowling.com/textonly/en/extrastuff_view.cfm?id=18 |title=Section: Extra Stuff WANDS |access-date=15 August 2007 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070724184214/http://www.jkrowling.com/textonly/en/extrastuff_view.cfm?id=18 |archive-date=24 July 2007 }}</ref>

Rowling establishes in the books that Voldemort is magically connected to Harry via Harry's forehead scar. He disembodies himself when his Killing Curse targeting Harry rebounds on him, leaving the scar on Harry's forehead. In the books, and to a lesser extent in the films, Harry's scar serves as an indicator of Voldemort's presence: it burns when the Dark Lord is near or when Voldemort is feeling murderous or exultant. According to Rowling, by attacking Harry when he was a baby Voldemort gave him "tools [that] no other wizard possessed—the scar and the ability it conferred, a magical window into Voldemort's mind".<ref name="scarfaq">{{cite web|url=http://www.jkrowling.com/textonly/en/faq_view.cfm?id=84 |title=jkrowling.com F.A.Q |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120205110922/http://www.jkrowling.com/textonly/en/faq_view.cfm?id=84 |archive-date=5 February 2012 }}</ref>

=== Family ===
Voldemort was born Tom Marvolo Riddle on 31 December 1926. His mother Merope died in childbirth, leaving the baby to grow up alone in an orphanage.<ref name="voldbirthdatefaq">[http://www.jkrowling.com/textonly/en/faq_view.cfm?id=119 F.A.Q] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120214193435/http://www.jkrowling.com/textonly/en/faq_view.cfm?id=119|date=14 February 2012}}</ref> In ''[[Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire]]'', it is revealed that Voldemort murdered his father and grandparents, leaving himself the only surviving member of the Riddle family.

==== House of Gaunt ====
Most of the [[Exposition (literary technique)|exposition]] of the '''House of Gaunt'''{{'}}s background occurs in ''[[Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince]]'', through the medium of Dumbledore's [[Pensieve]]. The Gaunts were once a powerful and influential family, and are the last known descendants of [[Salazar Slytherin]]. However, a vein of mental instability and violence within the family, reinforced through [[cousin marriage]]s intended to preserve the pureblood line, had reduced them to poverty and squalor, as shown in the Pensieve's "memory" that Harry and Dumbledore witnessed. Like Salazar Slytherin, the Gaunts spoke Parseltongue. At the time of the story, the Gaunts' only material asset is a ramshackle shanty in Little Hangleton, that stood in a thicket in a valley opposite the Riddle House. Like the Riddles, the Gaunts were also unpopular with the local residents, with a reputation for being vulgar and intimidating.<ref name="HP6ch10">{{HPref|book=6|chapter=10}}</ref>

Marvolo Gaunt was the last family patriarch. He was sentenced to a short term in Azkaban for his and his son's assault upon a [[Ministry of Magic]] official; this affected his health and he died soon after returning home. His [[Seal (emblem)|signet ring]] passed to his son, Morfin Gaunt, who was convicted of assaulting a Muggle, and later died in Azkaban, convicted this time as a party to the murder of Tom Riddle Sr and Riddle's parents.<ref name="HP6ch17">{{HPref|book=6|chapter=17}}</ref>

Dumbledore discovers the real culprit while visiting Morfin in Azkaban to gather information about Voldemort. After Dumbledore successfully extracts Morfin's memory of his encounter with his nephew, he tries to use the evidence to have Morfin released, but Morfin dies before the decision can be made. The House of Gaunt ended with Morfin's death.

Merope Gaunt ({{IPAc-en|m|@|ˈ|r|oʊ|p|i}}) was the daughter of Marvolo, and sister of Morfin. Harry's first impression of her was that she looked "like the most defeated person he had ever seen". She married Tom Riddle Sr and became pregnant within three months of the wedding.<ref name="HP6ch10" /> It is suggested that she tricked her husband into loving her by using a love potion, but sometime during her pregnancy, chose to stop administering the potion. It is implied that Merope had grown tired of living the lie and thought that her husband might have grown to love her, or that he might have stayed for the sake of their unborn child; however, he left her. Desperate, Merope wandered through the streets of London. The only thing she had left was the heavy gold locket that had once belonged to Salazar Slytherin, one of her family's most treasured items, which she sold for a small amount. When she was due to give birth, she stumbled into a [[Muggle]] orphanage, where she gave birth to her only son. She died within the next hour.

== Reception ==
Several people have drawn a parallel between Voldemort and some politicians. Rowling has said that Voldemort was "a sort of" [[Adolf Hitler]],<ref>{{cite web| url = http://www.accio-quote.org/articles/2000/fall00-bbc-newsround.html| title = Transcript of interview with J.K. Rowling, BBC Newsround, Fall 2000}}</ref> and that there is some parallel with [[Nazism]] in her books.<ref>{{cite news | title=New Interview with J.K. Rowling for Release of Dutch Edition of "Deathly Hallows" | date=19 November 2007 | url =http://www.the-leaky-cauldron.org/2007/11/19/new-interview-with-j-k-rowling-for-release-of-dutch-edition-of-deathly-hallows | work=The Volkskrant | access-date =6 March 2008 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |first=Tina|last=Jordan|url=http://popwatch.ew.com/2007/10/20/rowling-outs-du/ |title=J.K. Rowling outs Dumbledore! |magazine=[[Entertainment Weekly]]|publisher=[[Meredith Corporation]]|location=New York City|date=20 October 2007|access-date=8 July 2014}}</ref> Rowling also compared Voldemort to [[Joseph Stalin]].<ref>{{cite web| url = http://www.the-leaky-cauldron.org/2007/11/19/new-interview-with-j-k-rowling-for-release-of-dutch-edition-of-deathly-hallows| title = New Interview with J.K. Rowling for Release of Dutch Edition of "Deathly Hallows" – The Leaky Cauldron| date = 19 November 2007}}</ref> [[Alfonso Cuarón]], director of ''[[Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (film)|Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban]]'' compared Voldemort to [[George W. Bush]] and [[Saddam Hussein]], who he said "...have selfish interests and are very much in love with power. Also, a disregard for the environment. A love for manipulating people."<ref>{{cite web|first=Nev|last=Pierce|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/films/2003/07/28/reel_life_july_28_2003_article.shtml|title=Reel Life|website=[[BBC Films]]|publisher=[[BBC]]|location=London, England|date=28 July 2003|access-date=16 January 2019}}</ref><ref>{{cite magazine|first1=Carla|last1=Power|author-link=Carla Power|first2=Devin|last2=Gordon|url=http://www.newsweek.com/id/152656/page/1|title=Caution:Wizard at Work|magazine=[[Newsweek]]|publisher=[[IBT Media]]|location=New York City|date=4 August 2003|access-date=1 May 2009|archive-date=5 July 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090705023238/http://www.newsweek.com/id/152656/page/1|url-status=dead}}</ref> Andrew Slack and the Harry Potter Alliance compare [[media consolidation]] in the US to Voldemort's regime in ''Deathly Hallows'' and its control over the ''[[Daily Prophet]]'' and other media saying that "Once Voldemort took over every form of media in the wizarding world, [[Dumbledore's Army]] and the Order of the Phoenix formed an independent media movement called 'Potterwatch'. Now the HP Alliance and Wizard Rock have come together to fight for a Potterwatch movement in the real world to fight back against Big VoldeMedia from further pushing out local and foreign news, minority representation, and the right to a Free Press."<ref>{{cite news|first=Sharon|last=Steel|url=http://thephoenix.com/article_ektid53334.aspx|title=Challenging Voldemedia|newspaper=[[The Boston Phoenix]]|date=20 September 2007|publisher=Phoenix Media|location=Boston, Massachusetts}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|first=Andrew|last=Slack|url=https://www.huffingtonpost.com/andrew-slack/harry-potter-fans-and-the_b_77235.html|title=Harry Potter Fans and the Fight Against 'VoldeMedia'|website=[[HuffPost]]|date=17 December 2007}}</ref> Julia Turner of ''[[Slate Magazine]]'' also noted similarities between the events of ''[[Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince]]'' and the [[War on Terror]]. She said that Voldemort commits acts of [[terrorism]] such as destroying bridges, murdering innocents, and forcing children to kill their elders.<ref name="osama">{{cite web|first=Julia|last=Turner|url=http://slate.com/id/2123105/|title=When Harry Met Osama; Terrorism comes to Hogwarts|website=[[Slate (website)|Slate]]|publisher=[[The Slate Group]]|location=San Francisco, California|date=20 July 2005|access-date=30 July 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110926225422/http://slate.com/id/2123105/|archive-date=26 September 2011|url-status=dead}}</ref> Rowling compared Voldemort to [[Donald Trump]] during [[2016 Donald Trump presidential campaign|his 2016 presidential campaign]].<ref>{{cite magazine |url=https://time.com/4140185/j-k-rowling-donald-trump-voldemort/ |title=J.K. Rowling Just Compared Donald Trump to Voldemort and Guess Who She Thinks Is Worse |magazine=Time |last=Rhodan |first=Maya |date=8 December 2015 |access-date=30 March 2022}}</ref>

Voldemort has also been compared to other fictional characters, such as [[Sauron]] from ''[[The Lord of the Rings]]''; they are, during the time when the main plot takes place, seeking to recover their lost power after having been considered dead or at least no longer a threat, and are also so feared that they are sometimes unnamed.<ref>{{cite web|publisher=GreenBooks. TheOneRing.net |url=http://greenbooks.theonering.net/guest/files/050102.html| title=How Much Was Rowling Inspired by Tolkien?| first=Caroline | last=Monroe|year=2002|access-date=21 May 2006}}</ref>

The entertainment website ''[[IGN]]'' listed Voldemort as the seventh best ''Harry Potter'' character, calling him "truly frightening".<ref name="IGN Top">{{cite web|url=http://uk.movies.ign.com/articles/100/1002569p4.html|title=Top 25 Harry Potter Characters|first1=Brian | last1=Linder|first2=Phil | last2=Pirrello|first3=Eric | last3=Goldman|first4=Matt | last4=Fowler|date=14 July 2009|work=[[IGN]]|access-date=3 April 2011|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110831203220/http://uk.movies.ign.com/articles/100/1002569p4.html|archive-date=31 August 2011}}</ref>

== In popular culture ==
Several campaigns have used Voldemort to compare his evil to the influence of politicians, large media and corporations. "Lord Voldemort" is a nickname sometimes used for [[Peter Mandelson]].<ref>''[[Daily Telegraph]]'' page 23, 20 December 2008.</ref> Voldemort is also a recurring theme among [[wizard rock]] bands. ''[[Voldemort Can't Stop the Rock!]]'' is the second album from [[Harry and the Potters]], and the character is mentioned in songs such as "The Dark Lord Lament" and "Flesh, Blood, and Bone".

Voldemort also appears in the ''[[The Potter Puppet Pals|Potter Puppet Pals]]'' sketches by [[Neil Cicierega]]. One of the episodes including him was the seventeenth most viewed video of all time as of 2008 and the winner for "Best Comedy" of the year 2007 at YouTube.<ref>{{cite web|title= PotterPuppetPals Top at YouTube Awards |url= http://www.the-leaky-cauldron.org/2008/3/22/tic-tock-potterpuppetpals-top-at-youtube-awards|publisher=the-leaky-cauldron.org|date=22 March 2008}}</ref>

"Continuing the Magic", an article in the 21 May 2007 issue of ''[[Time (magazine)|Time]]'', includes mock book covers designed by author Lon Tweeten, laced with pop culture references. One of them, the "Dark Lord of the Dance", shows Voldemort teaming up with Harry on Broadway.<ref>{{cite news | title=Continuing the Magic | first=Lon|last=Tweeten |date=21 May 2007 |url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/pdf/20070521_essay.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070724184635/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/pdf/20070521_essay.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-date=24 July 2007 |magazine=[[Time (magazine)|Time]]| publisher=[[Meredith Corporation]]|location=New York City|access-date=11 May 2010}}</ref> In the ''[[MAD Magazine]]'' parodies of the films, the character is called Lord Druckermort, a backwards reference to the magazine's longtime caricaturist [[Mort Drucker]]. In [[Alan Moore]]'s ''[[The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, Volume III: Century#Chapter 2. Paint It Black|League of Extraordinary Gentlemen: 1969]]'', a young Tom Marvolo Riddle (introduced as "Tom", whose middle name is a "marvel" and last name is a "conundrum") appears, and becomes the new avatar of [[Oliver Haddo]] at the story's conclusion.<ref>{{cite comic|title=[[League of Extraordinary Gentlemen: Century]]|volume=3|issue=1|story=1969|writer=[[Alan Moore]]|artist=[[Kevin O'Neill (comics)|Kevin O'Neill]]|date=July 2011|publisher=[[DC Comics]]|location=New York City}}</ref> In ''[[A Very Potter Musical]]'', Voldemort is played by actor Joe Walker.

In a segment celebrating [[Children's literature#United Kingdom|British children's literature]] at the [[2012 Summer Olympics opening ceremony]] in [[London]], an inflatable Voldemort appeared alongside other villains, [[Queen of Hearts (Alice's Adventures in Wonderland)|The Queen of Hearts]], [[Captain Hook]], and [[Cruella de Vil]], to haunt children's dreams, before the arrival of a group of over thirty [[Mary Poppins (character)|Mary Poppins]] who descended with their umbrellas to defeat them.<ref>{{cite news |title=London 2012 Olympics opening ceremony – as it happened |first=Xan |last=Brooks |url=https://www.theguardian.com/sport/london-2012-olympics-blog/2012/jul/27/london-2012-olympics-opening-ceremony-live |newspaper=[[The Guardian]] |location=London, England|date=27 July 2012 |access-date=28 July 2012}}</ref>

In 2015, British activist [[Majid Nawaz]] used and popularized the term ''[[Voldemort effect]]'' to describe the inability to name, shame and isolate [[Islamist extremism]] from the moderate Muslim community.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.9news.com.au/world/reformed-ex-islamist-says-society-needs-to-take-on-voldemort-effect/55b47584-283b-4769-84be-2060dda67398 |title=Reformed ex-Islamist says society needs to take on 'Voldemort-effect'|date=29 October 2015 |publisher= [[Nine News Australia]]|access-date=30 January 2024}}</ref><ref name=matthew>{{cite web |url=https://archive.thinkprogress.org/the-voldemort-effect-4aabe89811b/ |title=The Voldemort Effect|author = Matthew Yglesias|date=16 January 2011 |access-date=30 January 2024}}</ref>

During the 2016 [[United States elections, 2016|United States elections]], [[Daniel Radcliffe]] was asked by [[Sky News]] journalist Craig Dillon if he would compare [[Donald Trump]] to Lord Voldemort; Radcliffe responded, "Trump is worse".<ref>{{cite web|url=http://news.sky.com/story/daniel-radcliffe-muses-trump-voldermort-comparison-10595539|title=Radcliffe muses Trump-Voldemort comparison|publisher=[[Sky News]]|date=27 September 2016|access-date=7 July 2019}}</ref>

Voldemort appears in ''[[The Lego Batman Movie]]'' as one of the prisoners in the [[Phantom Zone]] that [[Joker (character)|Joker]] recruits to take over [[Gotham City]]. Though Ralph Fiennes is featured in this movie as the voice of the British butler [[Alfred Pennyworth]], he does not reprise his role as Voldemort. Instead, Voldemort is voiced by [[Eddie Izzard]].<ref>{{cite web|first=Emily|last=Donn|url=https://screenrant.com/lego-batman-movie-cast-villains/|title=The LEGO Batman Movie Villain Voice Actors Revealed|website=[[Screen Rant]]|date=3 February 2017|access-date=3 February 2017}}</ref>

Outside of the ''Harry Potter'' video games, Voldemort is also a [[playable character]] in ''[[Lego Dimensions]]'', with archive audio of Fiennes' portrayal in the films used for his voiceovers.

A 2018 Italian [[fan film]] titled ''[[Voldemort: Origins of the Heir]]'' depicts the story of Tom Riddle's rise to power.<ref name=Echites2018>{{Cite news|url=http://www.repubblica.it/spettacoli/cinema/2018/01/16/news/voldemort-186609861/?ref=RHPPRT-BS-I0-C4-P1-S1.4-T1|title= CINEMA Le origini di Voldemort in un film tutto italiano|last=Echites|first=Giulia|work=[[la Repubblica]]|access-date=17 January 2018|date=16 January 2018|language=it-IT}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/films/0/voldemort-origins-heir-review-fun-free-harry-potter-fan-film/ |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220110/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/films/0/voldemort-origins-heir-review-fun-free-harry-potter-fan-film/ |archive-date=10 January 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live|title=Voldemort: Origins of the Heir review: a fun-free Harry Potter fan film lifted by magical effects|last=Brown|first=Kat|date=18 January 2018|work=[[The Daily Telegraph]]|location=London, England|access-date=21 January 2018|language=en-GB|issn=0307-1235}}{{cbignore}}</ref>

Voldemort appears in ''[[Space Jam: A New Legacy]]'', in the crowd for the game between the Tune Squad and the Goon Squad.<ref>{{Cite web |title=A Dark Surprise Lord Voldemort To Appear In Space Jam Remake Starring LeBron James |url=https://rojakdaily.com/RojakDailyAMP.ashx?articleid=10282&title=a-dark-surprise-lord-voldemort-to-appear-in-space-jam-remake-starring-lebron-james |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200908015310/https://rojakdaily.com/RojakDailyAMP.ashx?articleid=10282&title=a-dark-surprise-lord-voldemort-to-appear-in-space-jam-remake-starring-lebron-james |archive-date=8 September 2020 |access-date=30 August 2020 |work=Rojak Daily}}</ref>

An upcoming French fan-made short-film titled ''The House of Gaunt'' ''- Lord Voldemort Origins'' explores the origin story of Voldemort and The Gaunt family.<ref>{{Cite web|title=最高顏值的佛地魔：一定要認識的新男神Maxence Danet-Fauvel|url=https://www.voguehk.com/zh/article/celebrity/the-actor-of-the-house-of-gauntmaxence-danet-fauvel/|access-date=6 March 2021|website=Vogue Hong Kong|date=20 September 2019 |language=zh-HK}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|last=Nacional|first=El|date=27 September 2019|title=Lanzarán The House of Gaunt, cortometraje sobre Lord Voldemort|url=https://www.elnacional.com/entretenimiento/lanzaran-the-house-of-gaunt-cortometraje-sobre-lord-voldemort/|access-date=6 March 2021|website=EL NACIONAL|language=es-VE}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|last=Demotivateur|title=Harry Potter : la première bande-annonce du film sur les origines de Voldemort est sortie|url=https://www.demotivateur.fr/entertainment/the-house-of-gaunt-le-trailer-sur-les-origines-de-voldemort-a-ete-devoile-24134|access-date=6 March 2021|website=Demotivateur|date=24 February 2021 |language=fr}}</ref>

In the ''[[Breaking Bad]]'' spinoff ''[[Better Call Saul]]'', [[Saul Goodman]], speaking to [[Mike Ehrmantraut]], nicknames the [[drug lord]] [[Gus Fring]] 'He Who Shall Not Be Named' in reference to Voldemort.<ref>Episode 6x11: ''[[Breaking Bad (Better Call Saul)|Breaking Bad]]''.</ref>

In May 2022, senior [[Australian Labor Party]] MP [[Tanya Plibersek]] compared former [[Minister for Defence (Australia)|defence minister]] [[Peter Dutton]] from the [[Liberal Party of Australia]] to Voldemort.<ref name=stinging>{{cite news |last=Murray|first=Duncan|date=26 May 2022|title=Tanya Plibersek says sorry for stinging insult of Peter Dutton|url=https://www.news.com.au/national/politics/voldemort-tanya-pliberseks-stinging-insult-of-peter-dutton/news-story/6c1f54cd15c628d25200b5bba72afea8|work=[[news.com.au]]|access-date=26 May 2022}}</ref> During a discussion about Dutton's prospects of becoming Liberal Party leader on Brisbane radio station [[4BC]], she said: "I think there will be a lot of children who have watched a lot of Harry Potter films who will be very frightened of what they are seeing on TV at night, that's for sure... I am saying he looks a bit like Voldemort and we will see whether he can do what he promised he would do when he was last running for leader which is smile more."<ref name=stinging/> A spokesperson from Plibersek's office said that she had reached out to Dutton soon after the interview to offer an unreserved apology and to say that she should have not made the remark.<ref>{{cite news|last=Butler|first=Josh|date=26 May 2022|title=Tanya Plibersek apologises 'unreservedly' for comparing Peter Dutton to Voldemort|url=https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2022/may/26/tanya-plibersek-apologises-unreservedly-for-comparing-peter-dutton-to-voldemort|work=[[Guardian Australia|The Guardian Australia]]|access-date=26 May 2022}}</ref> Labor Party leader, prime minister [[Anthony Albanese]] said Pilbersek's comments were "not acceptable" and that she had done the right thing in offering an apology.<ref name=respect>{{cite news|last1=Hitch|first1=Georgie|last2=Haydar|first2=Nour|date=26 May 2022|title=Peter Dutton seeks to recast his image as Tanya Plibersek apologises for likening him to Voldemort|url=https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-05-26/peter-dutton-recast-image-tanya-plibersek-voldemort-comment/101100708|work=[[ABC News (Australia)|ABC News]]|access-date=26 May 2022}}</ref> Dutton confirmed Plibersek had apologised.<ref name=respect/> In response, Dutton said that while the comments were unfortunate, they were "water off a duck's back."<ref>{{cite news |last1=Wood|first1=Richard|last2=Vidler|first2=Adam|date=26 May 2022|title=Peter Dutton brushes off 'Voldemort' jab ahead of taking Liberal reins|url=https://www.9news.com.au/national/federal-election-2022-peter-dutton-promises-to-unite-liberal-party-leadership-bid/70827cbb-2060-4601-8f73-d21eb5905d13|work=[[Nine News|9 News]]|access-date=26 May 2022}}</ref> He said that he realised that he was "not the prettiest bloke on the block" and said that he was bald due to being diagnosed with a skin condition.<ref>{{cite news|last=Lewis|first=Rhiannon|date=26 May 2022|title=Peter Dutton reveals he has rare condition after brutal 'appearance shaming' from senior Labor MP|url=https://7news.com.au/politics/peter-dutton-reveals-he-has-rare-condition-after-brutal-appearance-shaming-from-senior-labor-mp--c-6941889|work=[[Seven News|7 News]]|access-date=26 May 2022}}</ref>

== Notes ==
{{Notelist}}

== References ==
{{reflist}}

== Further reading ==
* {{cite news |date=23 December 2007 |title=TIME Person of The Year Runner-up: J.K. Rowling |url=http://www.time.com/time/specials/2007/personoftheyear/article/0,28804,1690753_1695388_1695569,00.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071221041701/http://www.time.com/time/specials/2007/personoftheyear/article/0,28804,1690753_1695388_1695569,00.html |archive-date=21 December 2007 |access-date=23 December 2007 |magazine=[[Time (magazine)|Time]]}}

== External links ==
{{commons category|position=left}}{{Harry Potter}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Voldemort}}
[[Category:Fictional immortals]]
[[Category:Fictional characters with body or mind control abilities]]
[[Category:Fictional cult leaders]]
[[Category:Fictional English people]]
[[Category:Fictional hypnotists]]
[[Category:Fictional illeists]]
[[Category:Fictional lords and ladies]]
[[Category:Fictional mass murderers]]
[[Category:Fictional patricides]]
[[Category:Fictional terrorists]]
[[Category:Fictional characters who use magic]]
[[Category:Harry Potter characters]]
[[Category:Literary characters introduced in 1997]]
[[Category:Male film villains]]
[[Category:Male literary villains]]
[[Category:Orphan characters in film]]
[[Category:Orphan characters in literature]]
[[Category:Dark lords]]