All about Piper

[Phoenix]

Piper Halliwell is a fictional character from the WB fantasy comedy-drama series Charmed and its subsequent spin-offs. The character is portrayed by actress Holly Marie Combs, and appeared in every episode of Charmed from its 1998 pilot episode to its 2006 series finale. Piper was conceived and developed by Charmed creator Constance M. Burge as the middle of three sisters, until the death of elder sister Prue Halliwell (Shannen Doherty) at the end of the third season. After the discovery of her long-lost half-sister, Paige Matthews (Rose McGowan), Piper becomes the eldest of three sisters for the remainder of the series' run.

In Charmed, Piper is one of the show's titular characters, the prophesied Charmed Ones, powerful good witches who fight against the forces of evil. Her storylines revolve around her attempts towards a normal life despite her supernatural abilities, overcoming obstacles in her romantic relationship with guardian angel Leo Wyatt (Brian Krause), and saving their eldest son Wyatt from becoming evil. Piper began the series with the ability to place objects and individuals in stasis, but later developed the power to incite molecular combustion as the series progressed. After the series' eight season run, Charmed comic books are set to publish from 2010, following Piper's life subsequent to the television series.

Combs was cast as Piper after initially auditioning for the role of Prue. Outside of the television series, the character has appeared in spin-off material, including the novel series, the video game, and the board games. For her role as Piper, Combs has won a Best Lead Actress in a Science Fiction Series award in the 2003 RATTY Awards, and a Best Television Actress award in the 2005 Series Magazine Awards. She has also been nominated for a further three RATTY Awards. In 2008, AOL Television named Piper the third greatest fictional witch in television history after Samantha Stevens from Bewitched and Willow Rosenberg from Buffy the Vampire Slayer