Zelena (Once Upon a Time)
In December 2013, Rebecca Mader was cast as the Wicked Witch of the West. She made multiple appearances during the second half of season three and was promoted to a series regular for the show's fifth season. The role of the Wicked Witch of the West was written specifically for Rebecca Mader. It was announced that the writers had chosen not to continue with Zelena's storyline and Mader would not be returning for the seventh season of the show. However, Mader later revealed that she would be returning for multiple season seven episodes.
Zelena (Once Upon a Time)
Zelena (which means "green" in some Slavic languages) is a vile woman with a soft spot for flying monkeys. Born to Cora in the Enchanted Forest, Zelena spent her life in Oz after being abandoned by Cora when she was a baby. After finding out about her sister, Zelena becomes envious of her sister's privileged life and literally turns green with envy. Like her mother and half-sister, Zelena was trained in magic by Rumplestiltskin, but due to his belief that he was the thing Zelena loved most -- not a big leap, since she did not have much love in her life -- the Dark One abandoned her in favor of Regina.