Cruella De Vil

Cruella De Vil is a supporting character on Once Upon a Time.

Before the Curse
"The game is rigged. The villains never win."

Cruella De Vil is summoned to Maleficent's Forbidden Fortress along with Ursula by Rumplestiltskin, who wants the three villainesses to team up with him in order to steal something that will make it so they can achieve their happy endings - the Dark Curse. Though reluctant at first, they soon agree to work together and make their way to a dark cave. Cruella's magic is first needed to control a horde of poisonous bugs, which she inhabits and forces to deviate, granting them access to what's inside. Maleficent then uses her staff to swallow the fire that surrounds what they're aiming to steal, and Ursula grabs it using one of her tentacles - the scroll which contains the curse, sealed in a glass orb which is then dropped into Rumple's hand. A grand demon named Chernabog then emerges and Rumple leaves the three ladies to deal with it, having planned on betraying them all along, and the trio has to work together in order to escape. Maleficent tackles the beast as the other two get away, and Ursula uses her tentacle to pull her to safety. From then on, they decide to form a tight-knit alliance with one another.

Whilst Belle, Rumplestiltskin's maid, is outside doing laundry, she becomes distracted by a small dalmatian, which she proceeds to follow. It isn't long before she loses it and someone grabs her from behind, kidnapping her. Rumplestiltskin soon receives a sand dollar with a message inside which depicts a captive Belle; she tells him that he has to meet with her kidnappers and give them his magic gauntlet in exchange for her life, and later he arrives at a cliff with said magic gauntlet that points to a person's greatest weakness, and he meets who he expects to meet: Maleficent. However, Ursula the Sea Witch is also there, to his surprise, and, to his further surprise, so is Cruella De Vil. He is hesitant about handing the gauntlet over, but when Ursula begins strangling Belle with her tentacles, he quickly tosses it over to Cruella, who explains that they shall use it to point to their enemies' weaknesses and then they shall be the victors. Rumple leaves with Belle whilst the self-proclaimed Queens of Darkness leave with the gauntlet, only to have Rumple corner them later and steal it back with ease, for one must have a death wish to demand a ransom from the Dark One. The Queens lament their loss, and Cruella points out that the game is rigged and that the villains never win. They suggest that Rumple join then so that they can change the game together, but he refuses, saying that he wins and he wins alone.

Snow and Charming return from their honeymoon to find everyone in their castle under some sort of sleeping curse, and the culprit is soon revealed as Maleficent, who's come to make a deal with the two royals along with Cruella and Ursula: they want to go with them to the Tree of Wisdom, which only answers the questions of the most valiant heroes, so that they can figure out a way to stop Regina's Dark Curse. Snow and Charming agree to go with them, begrudgingly, but begin to have their doubts when Maleficent slaughters good soldiers who stand in their way; as such, they take off in the middle of the night when the self-named "Queens of Darkness" are sleeping, and they find the tree by themselves. However, when they ask it a question, it repels them, and the three villains soon catch up and realize that the reason it didn't answer them is because Snow is pregnant and, being a product of true love, their baby has potential for great darkness as well as a great good. The trip is deemed useless and the separate parties part ways, but Maleficent later revisits Snow in the middle of the night and reveals to her that she's pregnant as well, which is why it's so important to her that this curse be stopped. She wishes to join forces with Snow, but Snow declines, refusing to delve into darkness while trying to protect her child for she believes that there is a better way of doing things. She vows that she will never be like Maleficent.

Season 4
Cruella's husband and source of income is arrested by the FBI and she scarcely manages to snatch away one of her priceless fur coats before they take everything, just as Rumplestiltskin and Ursula approach her in order to strike a bargain - she aids in their plan, and she shall receive her happy ending. Cruella is enticed by the idea and agrees to drive the three of them in her vintage car to a quaint little town called Storybrooke, where magic is present. When Cruella and Ursula learn that this town cannot be seen or entered, however, the former pulls a gun on the Dark One and threatens him, warning him not to betray them like the last times because he is nothing but a weak cripple without his powers; he assures them that he won't, pointing out that so much of his plan relies on him placing his trust in them, and they agree to proceed, using his cell phone to make contact with the Evil Queen. They tell her that they've turned over a new leaf and want to enter Storybrooke, and she agrees to help them should they help in turn to defeat Chernabog, who's attacking the town. They give Regina the information she needs and Chernabog is defeated, followed by Cruella and Ursula being given a scroll that allows them to enter Storybrooke. Later that night, the give the same scroll to Rumple and he enters too, regaining his magic and losing his limp. He reveals his plan to both resurrect Maleficent and turn Emma Swan to the dark side while, later that night, his two lady villainesses meet up with Snow White and Prince Charming, who threaten to kill them should they reveal what happened all those years ago.

Cruella and Ursula, after taking much issue with the service over at Granny's Diner, head to Mr. Gold Pawnbroker & Antiquities Dealer under the pretense of wanting a new hood ornament for Cruella's car, when in fact they want to steal a totem of Maleficent's in aid of her resurrection; they are successful. However, they are pulled over by Emma and Charming, the latter of which finds the totem and takes it, realizing what the two villainesses are up to and deciding to head with Snow down to the mines in order to steal Maleficent's ashes to nullify the revival. As they soon learn, this was all a part of Cruella and Ursula's plan, and Cruella takes a small knife and cuts into the hands of the two heroes: the totem was unneeded, but the blood of the people who wronged Maleficent most is very useful indeed. It is dropped onto the ashes, and Maleficent rises once and for all. They decide to spare the Charmings, preferring to leave them stewing in their own guilt, and the three Queens of Darkness - together again - head to the town's woods. Maleficent completes the totem and shakes it, revealing it to have been a rattle intended for the baby she lost at the hands of the Charmings.

Regina approaches the Queens of Darkness as they hang out in an empty Granny's Diner and says that she'd like to join them in ruining everyone else's happiness (when in fact she's going undercover for the town's heroes in order to get info on the trio of villainesses). They decide to play a game in order to find out if she's gone as soft as everyone says, parking Cruella's car on the train tracks and making it so that whoever poofs them away first is the loser. Regina assumes this role and the Queens are disappointed, but Maleficent assures her associates that it means nothing except that her old friend is rusty. After a night of wreaking havoc together, the Queens return to Rumplestiltskin, who later reveals himself to Regina. She and Maleficent have just kidnapped young Pinocchio because it is believed that he knows something about the Author - a mysterious magical someone who appears to have control over the fates of happy endings. Rumple explains that Pinocchio will never remember anything so long as he's a child, and so he transforms him into the man he used to be, known as August W. Booth.

Gallery
Gallery of photographic stills released to promote the character.