Chell

“

You really are doing great... Chell. Click to listen — GLaDOS

”

Chell is the silent protagonist of both Portal and Portal 2. Little is known about her past beyond her being abandoned at birth and her stubborn will to live. She wields only the Handheld Portal Device throughout her entire quest for freedom.

History

Most of Chell's history remains a mystery. Throughout Portal 2, GLaDOS mentions numerous times that Chell was abandoned at birth and later adopted, though the credibility of GLaDOS' word is left up to the interpreter. Many of GLaDOS' comments throughout Portal 2 and the latter stages of Portal are in an effort to belittle, annoy, or distract Chell from achieving her goal, whether or not statements of her adoption are true or not is up for debate.

Gallery

Chell

Chell first-person view in portal 2.   Chell in Portal.   Alésia Glidewell posing for a Chell reference shot.   Chell image from the official Aperture Science Collaborative Disposition Test.   Chell from the Audiosurf part of the Valve Potato Fool's Day ARG.   Chell Valentine from Valve's official Portal 2 blog.

Trivia

• One of the Bring Your Daughter to Work Day science-fair entries within Portal 2 is signed, "by Chell"; indicating Chell was the daughter of an Aperture Science employee. The entry seemingly began as a potato, interacting with "an element from daddys work" and has now grown massively out of control and taken up roots in the structure.
• The turret opera at the end of Portal 2 mentions Chell by name, calling her "cara mia" – "my dear" in Italian. This implies a deeper connection between Chell and GLaDOS than was previously let on.
• Chell is modeled after actress Alésia Glidewell.
• In Portal, Chell may sometimes emit small screams when hurt. However, these voice clips are simply archive recordings from Half-Life 2's female citizens, who were voiced by Mary Kae Irvin.