Elise Rothman

"I don't know if Phoebe ever thought of me as her friend... but I always thought of her as mine."

- Elise reveals her fondness for Phoebe.

Elise Rothman was the editor-in-chief of The Bay Mirror, where Phoebe Halliwell worked as an advice columnist. While she initially appeared as a tough and pragmatic business woman, she later showed her caring side when dealing with Phoebe, leading to a close friendship between the two. She even described Phoebe as the daughter she never had.

Although Elise remained unaware of magic, she eventually learned the sisters' secret and became a trusted friend and ally.

Karen Young
In 2002, Elise had a difficult relationship with her columnist Karen Young, even threatening to fire her if she missed a column. When Karen became infected with a demonic power, she became increasingly unstable and wanted to attack Elise. While her sisters took care of Karen, Phoebe stepped in and wrote the column instead. After Karen was saved, she finally told Elise the truth and quit. Being impressed with Phoebe's column, Elise then hired her to replace Karen.

Ask Phoebe
When Phoebe became influenced by evil, her column became more hostile. Elise confronted Phoebe, as it could lead to a potential lawsuit, and told her she would be fired unless she rewrote it. Phoebe became angered and nearly attacked her with fire until Cole arrived to calm her down.

Over the course of the next few months, Ask Phoebe became a huge success and even had billboards across the city. As a result, the relationship between Phoebe and Elise also improved. When Cole saved a woman from a burning building, Elise wanted Phoebe to do an interview with him. Phoebe tried to explain their complicated relationship, but Elise ordered her to do the interview anyway.

Elise did a lot to promote Ask Phoebe, like having Phoebe give advice on the radio, and stressed the importance of Phoebe's career. Due to Cole's interference, Elise was forced to temporarily suspend Phoebe to avoid a malice case when a woman sued Phoebe for giving bad advice. To compete with another columnist named Spencer Ricks, Elise arranged for Phoebe to be a part of a local celebrity photo shoot.

When the absence of Sandmen caused people in the city to act irritated and violent, Elise was thrilled with the amount of news. When the paper got a new boss, Jason Dean, Elise welcomed him and introduced him to Phoebe. They later brainstormed to further expand her column. Some time later, Elise arranged a meeting to syndicate the column nationally, though Phoebe had to leave when she suddenly became deaf.

When the paper was hosting a charity bachelor auction, Phoebe helped Elise with the planning at P3. They briefly discussed Jason, whom Phoebe had started a relationship with. Elise then adviced Phoebe to bid at the auction, so she could live vicariously through her. Elise later hosted the auction until Phoebe arrived as the Goddess of Love and lured all the men with her.

Under influence of her new empathy power, Phoebe assaulted Elise while channeling the anger of a reporter, starting a riot. However, Phoebe was unable to remember this due to the Cleaners' interference. An angry Elise called Phoebe into her office and demanded an explanation, though Phoebe was unable to remember until she had a premonition. The event was later erased by the Cleaners.

Elise congratulated Phoebe on her hot streak, telling her the column was never more revealing. This changed when Mitzy Stillman magically assumed Phoebe's identity and changed the column, causing Elise to call Phoebe about her horrible advice.

When Jason asked Phoebe to move to Hong Kong with him, Elise was very supportive and told Phoebe she could even send the column over. She then revealed that she gave up everything for her career, which she regretted, and that she did not want Phoebe to do the same.

Phoebe's Sabbatical
In the fall of 2004, Phoebe was shocked to learn she had unintentionally used the same advice twice. Elise was not bothered by it, though Phoebe had trouble accepting it. Elise then suggested that she'd take a sabbatical and that they would hire a ghost writer. Elise already had a writer in mind and wanted Phoebe to meet him. Phoebe was shocked to discover it was a man named Leslie St. Claire. However, after some flirting, they kissed passionately in front of Elise.

Phoebe later returned to work and Lesie left. When she and her sisters planned to create Utopia with the Avatars, Phoebe packed up her things at the paper, as conflict would soon be gone. Elise thought she was quitting and was confused as Phoebe left without giving much explanation.

Phoebe's Fake Death
In 2005, after the Charmed Ones faked their death, Elise revealed to Julie Bennett that she viewed Phoebe as not just an employee, but as someone she viewed as the best friend she ever had. She then hired Julie as a replacement until the sisters returned to their original lives.

Learning About Magic
In 2008, Elise learned that another employee of the Bay Mirror, Mika, was dating a man with a history of aggression and violence against women, named Cal Greene. After she informed Mika of this, Cal brutally attacked and nearly killed her, though Paige was able to heal her in time.

Phoebe was outraged by what happened and wanted to kill him, though her sisters calmed her down and they came up with another solution. The sisters told Elise about magic and then recreated the attack on camera by using a spell on Elise while Paige glamoured into Cal. After the attack was streamed on the internet, Cal was arrested and charged by Nathaniel Pratt.

Elise later helped Phoebe look into Coop's past and revealed she was still coming to terms with the existence of magic.

Gaining Magic
When Rennek switched magic to all mortals in the world, Elise gained the power to enhance nature. She noted that her paper only reported on magical things and was included in the "family meeting" to discuss the situation. Along with Henry Mitchell, she decorated the manor so it would blend in the magical neighborhood. She later helped take care of the non-magical beings at Knox Academy when the entire city was in chaos.

When the Charmed Ones decided to confront Rennek at The All, Elise was one of the many friends and allies to help in the battle. She used her power to make plants grow to ensnare the Automatons. After Rennek was defeated and the balance restored, Elise lost her powers.

Romantic Life
"There's a whole generation of women out there who followed the dream, built successful careers, but at the expense of everything else. Now I'm not saying I think they all made mistakes because some of them are very happy. But some of us aren't. Trust me, you don't wanna wake up one day and realize that all you've got is your career."

- Elise to Phoebe.

She married and divorced a man named James L. Connors, whom she described as a schmuck. In 2005, she went on a date with a man named Richard Dillard, her second-in-command at the paper. Because they were out together, Phoebe was left in charge of the paper.

In a conversation with Phoebe, Elise noted that she was someone who focused solely on her career, letting it get in the way of everything else, including any sort of a romantic life. Then one day, she regretfully realized that all she had was her career.

Powers and Abilities
Temporary Powers
 * Nature Enhancement: The ability to grow and manipulate plantlife. Elise gained this power during the global switch of magic. She is first seen using this to enlarge a bunch of flowers that she brought for Phoebe. She later used it in combination with Henry Mitchell to decorate the manor so it would blend in with the newly magical neighborhood.

Physical Appearance
Elise has short, light-brown hair during the series, getting gradually longer and turning more chestnut as the series progresses, but typically fluctuates in terms of length. Since she was a boss at the Bay Mirror, she is almost always seen in semi-formal clothing. She also wears glasses when reading.

Notes and Trivia

 * Appearing in a total of 23 episodes, Elise is the second-most recurring character in Charmed, after Wyatt Halliwell.
 * Her ex-husband's name is taken from James L. Conway, a producer of the show.
 * Currently, Elise is one of only two mortals outside of the Halliwell family featured in the Charmed Comics who know about the Charmed Ones (the second being Darryl Morris).
 * Rebecca Balding also portrayed Jackie in the season 1 episode "The Fourth Sister".

Appearances
Elise Rothman has appeared in a total of 23 episodes of throughout the course of the series. She also appeared in 6 issues of the comics.