Born Liam in 1727 in Galway, Ireland, he was sired by Darla in 1753 and changed his name to Angelus. Angelus achieved infamy as the most sadistic vampire in European history. Over the centuries he sired Drusilla, Penn, Sam Lawson, and Theresa Klusmeyer.

In 1898, Angelus was cursed by the members of Clan Kalderash as vengeance for killing their favorite daughter. They performed the Ritual of Restoration, which restored his human soul, thus afflicting him with a conscience and condemning him to an eternity of remorse for the crimes and atrocities he had committed while soulless.

In the late 20th century, after decades of guilt over his past atrocities, Angel, as he began calling himself, became an ally and lover of the current Slayer, Buffy Summers. The consummation of their relationship brings him a moment of true happiness, breaking the Romani curse and releasing Angelus upon Sunnydale. Willow was able to curse him once more. To give Buffy a normal life, Angel broke off their relationship and moved to L.A where he become a Champion of the Powers That Be.

In 2001 Angel and Darla conceived a child which Angel named Conner. Baby Connor was kidnapped and taken to the hell dimension Quor'toth, where he was raised, trained, and conditioned to hate Angel. As part of a deal with Wolfram & Hart, Angel had them alter reality to give Connor a normal human life. Trying to battle evil from within the belly of the beast Angel took control of Wolfram & Hart and with his team killed the members of the Circle of the Black Thorn.