Stacy Rowe

Stacy Rowe is a fictional character created for the MTV animated series Daria.

Background
Stacy Rowe was a freshman (and later sophomore and junior) at Lawndale High, and secretary of the Fashion Club; a quartet of fashion-obsessed teenage girls who held regular meetings to discuss various facets of the fashion world and, in their own words, "solve crimes against fashion".

Stacy was perceived as "the weakest link" of the Fashion Club by Club President Sandi Griffin and was sometimes humiliated and verbally abused by her. Stacy is constantly insecure to the point of neurosis and would burst into tears when bad things happen to her.

Stacy constantly sought the attention and approval of fellow Fashion Club member Quinn Morgendorffer and would often side with Quinn when her friend butted heads with Sandi Griffin before getting bullied into taking Sandi's side. In a memorable scene from episode 208 "Gifted", Stacy completely relinquishes her own tastes just so they suit Quinn's, which Quinn didn't approve. It is shown on that episode that Stacy looks up to Quinn and considers her to be her best friend, sometimes to a point that even Quinn cannot tolerate. It should be noted, however, that Quinn may consider Stacy to be her best friend, as well: In the beginning of episode 407 "Of Human Bonding", when Quinn is only allowed to invite one friend for sleepover, Stacy is her first choice.

During season five of Daria, several episodes spotlighted Stacy: she was the only member of the Fashion Club to be drawn favorably in a group caricature portrait; she was Charles "Upchuck" Ruttheimer III's assistant in a magic act; and she snapped at Tiffany Blum-Deckler over her absent-mindedness when the two were left to run the Fashion Club all by themselves.

In the second movie Is It College Yet?, Stacy wished that Sandi would stop talking at her birthday. Sandi then came down with laringytis and Stacy believed it was her fault (Sandi went as far as calling Stacy a "saboteur"). Even though it was proved that it wasn't Stacy's fault, Sandi tried to get her to do a list of "chores" as an apology. Stacy refused and decided to take a sabbatical from the Fashion Club. (Note: It is disputed whether The Fashion Club still exist as an hierarchical group in the post-canon.)

Fan Response
Out of the members of the Fashion Club, Stacy quickly became a fan favorite of many fans of the series. Indeed, in spite of receiving little attention during the course of the series, many fans have devoted time and energy on fan fiction regarding Stacy and her struggles fitting in with the Fashion Club and her struggle to fit in and stand up for herself.

Doomed Stacy
One recurring theme in fanfics making use of Stacy plays off of her perceived weaknesses, turning her into a target for disaster. Stacy has appeared in a number of horror tales as a doomed protagonist, though she is sometimes depicted as suffering in defense of others or standing up for a cause she believes in, making her travails heroic.

Trivia

 * Stacy's last name was never revealed in the series. Its release was unofficial, and occurred on one of MTV's Daria sites. Despite this, it is regarded widely as Stacy's correct surname. However, in an interview with writer Anne D. Bernstein it was confirmed that Stacy's last name is, in fact, canon.


 * Stacy is voiced by actor Sarah Drew, who was originally only supposed to give a one-time voice-over for the show. Impressed, the casting directors offered her the role of Stacy.


 * Until the name 'Rowe' appeared, the fandom-generated last name for Stacy was 'Nibblett'.