Doctor Girlfriend

Dr. Mrs. The Monarch (formerly Doctor Girlfriend, birth name Sheila) is a fictional character on the Adult Swim animated series The Venture Bros. Professional partner and wife of supervillain The Monarch., Dr. Girlfriend is voiced by co-writer Doc Hammer, though she was voiced by Jackson Publick in her first appearance, “The Terrible Secret of Turtle Bay.” After the finale of season 2 and beginning with season 3, this character is referred to as Dr. Mrs. The Monarch.
Background
Dr. Girlfriend is a veteran super-villain, serving as second-in-command for many different super-villains over the years under several names. She has a doctorate in an unnamed field, and appears proficient in mechanics and general sciences, as evidenced by her having built the Monarch's first pair of functional wings, his ill-conceived "sunshine gun", and several tracking devices used for her own purposes.
At the start of the series, Dr. Girlfriend’s relationship with the Monarch had begun to suffer due to his vendetta against the Venture family. In hopes of trying to bridge the gap between the two sides, she convinces the Monarch to reach out to Hank and Dean Venture as a friend when Monarch confides that Dr. Venture emotionally neglects his children. Despite her efforts, the Monarch continues his vendetta against the Ventures throughout the first season, until their breakup in "Trial of the Monarch".
In season 2, Doctor Girlfriend had gone back to working with her former lover Phantom Limb, going by Queen Etherea again. However, Phantom Limb's pompousness grated her and she reunites with The Monarch, the two of them marrying in "Showdown At Cremation Creek".
Personality
Dr. Girlfriend’s attractive appearance and intelligence and her supposed reputation as "easy" has resulted in her gaining a favorable reputation amongst super-heroes in the Venture Bros. universe. Many heroes have attempted to convince Dr. Girlfriend to become their arch-enemy, though she’s turned them down due to her preference to stay with the Monarch and not strike out on her own. Phantom Limb acknowledged that Dr. Girlfriend had the strength and determination to be one of the world’s greatest villains if she would commit herself to her craft.
Rumors of transsexualism
One of the running gags of the show’s run is the rumor amongst characters that Dr. Girlfriend is a transsexual. These rumors are based upon the fact that the character is voiced by Doc Hammer, whose portrayal of the character’s voice is a deep, raspy masculine sounding tone. Hammer also played Dr. Girlfriend in live-action on a first season Venture Bros. DVD extra which showed behind-the-scenes, on-set interviews with the cast of a fictional live-action Venture Bros. movie.
Smoking
The episode “Victor. Echo. November.” has the character herself debunk the rumors when Triana Orpheus and her friend Kim encounter Dr. Girlfriend in the ladies’ room. Dr. Girlfriend sighed and said, before being asked any questions, “Yes, I belong in here, I just have a deep voice.” In the episode “Fallen Arches,” Blacula-hunter Jefferson Twilight inquires, upon hearing Dr. Girlfriend’s voice, whether she merely smoked cigarettes or ate them. In the episode "Home Is Where the Hate Is", the Monarch catches her smoking a cigarette. Dr. Girlfriend states that she has been smoking since 1989, and according to Hatred smokes through three packs a day. In the episode "The Invisible Hand of Fate", she is briefly seen as a teenager at college, where her voice is deep but occasionally breaks into its original, lighter tone.
Publick has also commented that much like her passion for the clothing of Jacqueline Kennedy, Dr. Girlfriend’s voice is based upon the former first lady’s own deep, semi-masculine voice.

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See Also

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