Velma Von Tussle

"'Those poor runners-up may still hold some grudges. They padded their cups, while I screwed the judges.' – Velma Von Tussle, '(The Legend of) Miss Baltimore Crabs'"Velma Von Tussle (born Velma Venal) is the producer of The Corny Collins Show and the mother of its lead female dancer, Amber.

Pre-1962
Velma's greatest life achievement happened in 1945, when she won the Miss Baltimore Crabs pageant by sleeping with the judges. A year later, she married the man of her dreams, Rollo Von Tussle, a wealthy racketeer, who owns station WZZT.

In 1946, she gave birth to her first (and only) daughter, Amber, in the back of a limousine. Since she never made the name for herself she thought she would, it's now her life's ambition to make a name for her daughter.

Five years later, Rollo was tragically killed in an explosion at a pornography salon. Consequently, Velma takes over the television station and inherits his estate.

1962
It has now been ten years since Velma took over WZZT-TV. In addition, more recently, she has become the producer of The Corny Collins Show. With the nationwide Miss Teenage Hairspray pageant just days away, she will stop at nothing to win Amber the crown. She even bribes the cameramen to give her daughter more closeups.

When Tracy shows up to the audition, Velma and Amber cannot believe she seriously believes she'd have a shot of making it on the show. So, she humiliates her and sends her on her way. However, fatefully, Corny notices Tracy at the sock hop and immediately adds her to the council. As a result, Velma threatens to fire Corny for going behind her back and hiring Tracy. Corny snaps back at her, sending her into a fit of rage.

After she and the other women are arrested at the protest, Governor Tawes – a college boyfriend – decides to release Velma and Amber with "sincere apologies... and personal compliments."

Ultimately, Amber loses the Miss Teenage Hairspray pageant to Tracy, despite Velma's tireless attempts at keeping Miss Turnblad and friends away from the Baltimore Eventorium, including hiring armed guards. However, Corny goes behind her back once again and teams up with Motormouth Maybelle to hatch a counter attack against Velma. Additionally, Harriman F. Spritzer, the President of Ultra Clutch, offers her the vice president position at Ultra Glow, a chain of beauty products for women of color.