Vanessa Wheeler

Vanessa Wheeler
Portrayed by	Kate Vernon
First mentioned	Upon This Rock
In-story stats
Known ability	None
Gender
Home	Los Angeles, CA; formerly a suburb outside New York, NY
Residence	formerly a large estate outside New York City
Occupation	Cellist
Significant other	formerly Samuel Sullivan‎

Vanessa Wheeler is Samuel's long-lost love.

Character History

Upon This Rock

The young Samuel Sullivan was in love with Vanessa and "carried a big torch for her". However their love apparently couldn't blossom because their carnival moved to another town. Samuel blamed his brother Joseph for this and he was certain that if he could control his powers, people from all over the world would come see him, including Vanessa.

Let It Bleed

Samuel uses ink to draw a picture of Vanessa, which gets later torn during a battle with Sylar. After the fight is done, Samuel uses tape to repair it and puts it gently in a drawer of a desk in his trailer, where lots of other pictures of Vanessa can be seen.

Close to You

Looking for Samuel Sullivan, Noah and Lauren manage to locate Vanessa, who grew up with him. They also find recent footage from a security camera showing them together. Noah calls Vanessa, saying that he's trying to find Samuel, but Vanessa claims she doesn't know anyone by that name. When Noah points out that Samuel grew up on her family's estate, she hangs up.

Noah takes Matt to the auditorium in Los Angeles where Vanessa is rehearsing with her orchestra. Noah approaches her and she tries to deny knowledge of Samuel, but he points out that he has photos of them together. Matt reluctantly influences her mind, making her decide to trust them and talk. She explains how Samuel's family worked for hers, and how Samuel used to write her love letters when they were young, but one day she came home and discovered that the Sullivans had moved away. They were later reunited during her college years, when he turned up at her room and they began a relationship. After a couple of weeks, he asked her to marry him and come to the carnival, but she refused. Noah warns that Samuel has become more dangerous since then, and Vanessa admits that Samuel has been trying to contact her recently, talking about how much he misses her and how they'll be together again. Noah asks Vanessa to call him the next time Samuel shows up.

Noah and Matt place a tracking chip on Vanessa and watch from outside her home as she waits for Samuel to arrive. But Samuel slips in through the back and Eli's clones cause a distraction. When Noah and Matt catch up with Samuel, Vanessa is already gone.

At the carnival, Eli watches over Vanessa until Samuel brings her some tea. She asks to go home and feels she has been kidnapped. Samuel admits that he had envisioned that everything would be perfect when she arrived, but believes Noah got to her first. Vanessa has no idea what he's talking about and points out that Samuel is the one keeping her captive. When she tries to leave, Samuel grabs her. He claims he has something beautiful to show her, and promises to take her back to California after she sees it, if she still wants to go.

Trivia

• Vanessa was mentioned, seen in pictures, and heard in audio form before her first actual scene.
• Vanessa plays the cello with the LA Chamber Orchestra, a real orchestra.
• According to the Federal Inter-Agency Database, Vanessa's Social Security number is 998-68-3066. Her primary address is 6209 Moulton Avenue, Los Angeles, CA 90031, and she has lived there since 2003. Vanessa's phone number is 323-555-0128, and her email address is Vwheeler@finderspyder.com. Vanessa grew up at 27438 Lakeshore Drive in Canandaigua Lake, NY (from 1973 to 1989). From 1989 to 1995, she attended Yale University in New Haven, CT. From 1996 to 2003, Vanessa lived at 2693 Franklin Ave. #4, in Los Angeles. (Close to You)