Victoria Winters

Victoria Winters is a character featured in the 1960s ABC television series Dark Shadows. Originally played by Alexandra Moltke, she debuted in the very first episode and appeared in nearly every subsequent episode throughout the character's run on the series. In later episodes, when Moltke proved unavailable to play the part due to pregnancy, the role was given over to actress Betsy Durkin and again to Carolyn Groves. Alexandra Moltke played the character in 337 episodes of Dark Shadows. Betsy Durkin played her in 10 episodes and Carolyn Groves played her in 3. Victoria Winters has also been a prominent figure in the Dark Shadows series of novels written by Marilyn Ross.

Biography
Victoria Winters was born an orphan in New York in the year 1947. She was found at the Hammond Foundling Home with a note attached to her blanket which read, "Her name is Victoria. I cannot take care of her." As the baby was discovered in the dead of winter, the administrators of the foundling home gave her the last name Winters.

Growing up in the home, Vickie received a monthly stipend of fifty dollars. The money came in an envelope post marked Bangor, Maine with no return address.

When she was an adult, Vicki received a job offer to come to Collinsport, Maine to work as a governess for the Collins family. Vicki always suspected that her family roots originated in Maine and so reluctantly took the job and traveled by train to Collinsport. There, she met the head of the Collins family household, Elizabeth Collins Stoddard. Elizabeth lived with her teenage daughter Carolyn Stoddard, her irrascible brother Roger Collins and his troubled son David. The first few months at the estate were extremely nerve-wracking for Vicki. Though she had befriended Carolyn, it took a while longer for Roger and David to warm up to her. David was going through severe behavioral issues and openly showed his contempt for Vicki. Roger, who was in the midst of his own chaotic drama at the time, likewise treated Vicki extremely poorly.