Elizabeth “Betty” Cooper is a friendly, down to earth girl who is a staple in Archie Comics. She is smitten with Archie Andrews, and has a longtime friendship and rivalry with Veronica Lodge (who also has a thing for Archie). Betty was introduced in Pep Comics #22 (December 1941) alongside Archie and Jughead Jones, and was created by Bob Montana and John L. Goldwater.

She is the third youngest child of Alice and Hal Cooper, living a comfortable middle class life in Riverdale. Betty enjoys cooking, playing sports, hanging out with her friends at the beach and Pop’s Chock’lit Shoppe, and pursing a relationship with Archie. In The Archies band, Betty is one of the singers, the lead guitarist, and percussionist.

Betty is a multitalented girl who skis, races cars, has helped Archie repair his car on multiple occasions, and is one of the smartest kids in school. A kind and giving girl, she helps her community by rescuing injured animals, spending time with senior citizens, and donating to the homeless.

There have been countless Archie comics stories about the love triangle between Betty, Veronica, and Archie. The red-headed star of the book is torn between the two girls, wavering back and forth between them on a regular basis. When they are competing for Archie’s affection, Betty and Veronica often go overboard trying to impress him and end up making fools of themselves.

In contrast, when the girls aren’t fighting over Archie, they have a close friendship. The girls are opposites in many ways – Betty is the girl next door, Veronica is the flashy, rich girl – but those differences haven’t stopped them from supporting each other. In fact, their chemistry as friends is the basis for multiple Betty & Veronica titles, going back to Archie’s Girls Betty and Veronica in 1950. It ran for 347 issues, then was followed by Betty and Veronica Digest Magazine that began in 1980 and ran for 208 issues, and Betty and Veronica that started in 1987 wen went for 278 issues. Since then, the pair have starred in many more series and specials.

Betty is also close friends with Jughead Jones, and the two speak candidly about what’s going on in their lives. Her friend group includes Ethel Muggs and Midge Klump, she is sometimes friends with Cheryl Blossom (sometimes sees Cheryl as a threat for Archie’s attention), and she has occasionally dated Reggie Mantle.