Nerd Girls Save The World: 17 Of Pop Culture’s Greatest Female Geeks

Velma Dinkley (Image via Turner Home Entertainment)

11. Velma Dinkley (Scooby Doo)

Ah, classic nerdery. Rarely has that been more distinct than in Scooby Doo’s resident nerd, Velma Dinkley.

Velma is serious about science. Though aspects of her presentation, like her bowl cut and frequently lost glasses, are played for laughs, she’s not messing around when it comes to brains. She’s got very specific scientific interests and eventually becomes a NASA research scientist. During her time with the rest of the Scooby Doo denizens, she rarely shies away from using her intellectual powers for good. In more current Scooby Doo series, she has enthusiastically embraced modern technology as a way of solving even more mysteries.

Velma’s also known for her various catchphrases, including “jinkies!” and “my glasses!”, wherein she constantly loses her glasses in the middle of some dire situation. May we suggest contacts or Lasik? At the very least, let’s all pitch in and get Velma some sort of lanyard for her glasses.

Thanks to her high intelligence, Velma is usually the first member of the gang to figure out the mystery. Despite this, she’s gained a bit of a reputation as a know it all (starting to sound familiar), and she seems a little stuck playing second fiddle to the glamorous red-haired Daphne. Oh, well. We still love smart, sassy Velma best any day of the week.