Tom Marvolo Riddle, who later took the name Lord Voldemort, is the principal antagonist of the Harry Potter film series created by J. K. Rowling. A half-blood wizard descended from Salazar Slytherin through his mother Merope Gaunt, he was raised in a Muggle orphanage and sorted into Slytherin at Hogwarts, where he opened the Chamber of Secrets. He is widely regarded within the story as the most powerful and dangerous Dark wizard of his age, rivalled only by Albus Dumbledore.
Seeking to conquer death, Riddle split his soul into multiple Horcruxes and reinvented himself as Lord Voldemort, commanding the Death Eaters through the First and Second Wizarding Wars. His attempt to kill the infant Harry Potter rebounded and cost him his body; after regaining physical form he pursued Harry across the remainder of the series. He is finally destroyed at the Battle of Hogwarts when his own Killing Curse rebounds upon him.
The Harry Potter Wiki treats "Tom Riddle" and "Lord Voldemort" as the same character. This overview covers his screen appearances and is drawn from that source under CC BY-SA; detailed chronology is presented in the Timeline.
Key events in the life and history of Tom Riddle.
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Where Tom Riddle appears across works and media.
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This page is maintained and fact-checked by volunteer editors.