Willow Danielle Rosenberg is the show's only major character known to be Jewish, and later was one of the most prominent lesbian characters in American television. In 2007, AOL named her the second greatest witch in television history, behind Samantha Stephens of Bewitched.


Willow is presented as a bookish nerd with considerable computer skills, dowdily dressed and easily intimidated by more popular girls in school. She grows faint at the sight of monsters, but quickly forms a friendship with Buffy Summers and is revealed to have grown up as friends with Xander. They are mentored by the school librarian who is also Buffy's Watcher, Rupert Giles, who often works closely with Willow in researching the various monsters the group encounters.As the series progressed, Willow became a more assertive and even sensual character; in particular, she became a powerful Wiccan and a lesbian, Willow is Buffy's best friend through everything that happens and is over all very nice. Willow changes the most, becoming a complex portrayal of a woman whose powers force her to seek balance between what is best for the people she loves and what she is capable of doing. Her character stood out as a positive portrayal of a Jewish woman and at the height of her popularity, she fell in love with another woman, a witch named Tara Maclay. They became one of the first lesbian couples on U.S. television and one of the most positive relationships of the series.