10 Things You Didn't Know About Ashley Graham In Resident Evil

Ashley Graham in known by many players as one of the most annoying companions in Resident Evil 4. The President’s daughter was a central force in the game’s plot and Leon must continually find ways to protect and save her from harm.

Related: 10 Things You Never Knew About Resident Evil 4

While these are the things the average player knows there are some things about her that many might not be aware of. Whether it’s scrapped costume designs, fun facts about the voice actress or her pain in the neck award here are some things you might not know.

10 Originally Wore A Different Outfit

Ashley’s outfit is very recognizable given the bright orange coloring of her sleevless turtleneck and how impractical a short green skirt is when dealing with cultists and monsters. But it turns out that her original outfit would have been far more practical.

The beta version of the character has her outfitted in a long sleeve red coat with a belt, brown gloves, long black pants, and brown boots. Perhaps the change was made to make her seemingly more helpless or to include the infamous response she gives when players are perverted and try to look up her skirt.

9 Was Designed After Brooke Elizabeth Mathieson

The character was designed to resemble Brooke Elizabeth Mathieson who acted as the face model for the character. It’s not known if she’s done similar work before or since Resident Evil 4 and if so it’s by far her most notable role.

Interestingly Capcom hired the woman to start in their commercial showcasing the game ported over to the Wii. An easter egg in the commercial is that she’s wearing the outfit and ring necklace worn by the main character Fiona Bell in Haunting Ground, a spinoff of the Clock Tower series produced by Capcom as well.

8 Special Costume Is A Suit Of Armor

If the player successful completes Ada Wong’s story in Separate Ways it unlocks a special costume for Ashley Graham that is a suit of armor. Many perceived this to be a tongue in cheek apology by the studio developers as it protects Ashley from harm.

RELATED: Resident Evil 4: 5 Reasons Why It’s Survival Horror (& 5 It’s Not)

Enemies can’t lift her up, bear traps don’t affect her, and it’s harder to damage her. Amusingly whenever she falls into Leon’s arms from a jump or fall he’ll be noticeably affected by the additional weight.

7 Attending University In Massachusetts

In the early parts of the game it’s established that Ashley was kidnapped from a university she was attending in Massachusetts. The game never makes any mention of which particular university she attended nor what degree she was pursuing.

It was during a trip home that she was kidnapped by the cultists and taken to Spain. It’s unclear whether she had a security detail or not and how this played a role in the kidnapping.

6 No Self Defense Training

An interesting fact about Ashley is that she possesses no self-defense or combat training whatsoever. This is not typically unusual for your average 20-year-old university student, but as the daughter of the President of the United States of America it seems strange.

No doubt this was done intentionally to make her helpless and require Leon’s assistance throughout the campaign. But if this was the case it becomes even more unusual she didn’t seem to have a security detail on her when she was traveling home.

5 Was Originally Sherry Birkin

Ashley Graham Was Originally Sherry Birkin, the little girl from Resident Evil 2 and would play an important role in later games. This would have cemented the connection this character had to Leon and the franchise as a whole.

However it’s likely this idea was scrapped as Sherry’s parents were deceased as a result of the events in Resident Evil 2. Perhaps in an effort to sustain continuity and avoid any retcons they created an entirely new character.

4 Many Thought She’d Be In Resident Evil 6

When details of Resident Evil 6 emerged many players assumed that Ashley would be making a return. This was due to the revelation that the President of the U.S. had been attacked and infected with the virus. There was also footage of a young woman who bore certain similarities to Ashley.

The President was actually a Benford instead of a Graham and the young woman was Sherry Birkin. It’s safe to say that while some players were disappointed there wouldn’t be a connection to Resident Evil 4 many were relieved Ashley wouldn’t be making a return.

3 Received A Pain In The Neck Award

The gaming site GameDaily included Ashley in their weekly article admiring various ‘babes’ of gaming. In a collection of hottest blondes they cited Ashley Graham as being among one of the most attractive blondes of gaming at the time.

RELATED: 10 Things You Never Knew About Resident Evil 3.5

TheGamer Report

Level up your gaming knowledge with TheGamer, your passport to the world of gaming. Subscribe By subscribing, you agree to receive newsletter and marketing emails, and accept Valnet’s Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. You can unsubscribe anytime.

Amusingly they also cited her for the ‘Pain In The Neck’ award stating that while she was certainly attractive she was also incredibly helpless and extremely annoying.

2 She Was In TEPPEN

Capcom’s card game features a Resident Evil storyline that has Albert Wesker start a tournament called “Survival Of The Worthy”. This pits various Capcom characters against his bioweapons to find the perfect host to house him and his powers.

Ashley makes an appearance in this game as one of the fighters. She appears in her standard outfit and her suit of armor, though interestingly doesn’t receive any benefits from wearing the armor.

1 The Voice Actor Also Worked On Spongebob Squarepants

The voice actor for Ashley is Carolyn Lawrence. Many fans might not be aware that she also lent her creative talents to voice another, much more mainstream character, Sandy Cheeks.

That’s right, the voice of Ashley is also the voice of the beloved squirrel from the Spongebob Squarepants tv show. In fact her career has seen Carolyn participate in a number of projects such as The Fairly Oddparents, Spyro: Year Of The Dragon, Everquest II, and Ratchet & Clank: Going Commando.

NEXT: 10 Things You Didn’t Know About Resident Evil Gaiden On Game Boy Color