Ashley Graham was the daughter of former US President Graham. She was kidnapped by gun-for-hire mercenary
Jack Krauser in 2004 and brought to an unknown area of Spain under the instructions of
Osmund Saddler, leader of the
Los Illuminados cult, and held there, seemingly holding her for ransom.
US Intelligence learned of this and sent
Leon S. Kennedy to investigate her disappearance and attempt to locate her abductors. True to his mission, he located Ashley and they worked together to try and escape the area and get her back onto American soil. However, Ashley had been infected with a Las Plagas parasite like all of the other local villagers - and the main goal of her capture was to infect her with the parasite and then send her back to America in order for Saddlers influence over her to infiltrate the US government and then gradually take over the world.
Thankfully, using a medical device built by Luis Sera, the parasite was removed from Ashley's body before it reached maturity and therefore nullified any influence Saddler could have had on her.
Leon and Ashley managed to escape after the defeat of the
Los Illuminados and returned her home safely.
In the game, Ashley's default attire is a woollen orange sleeveless sweater with a green plaid skirt and boots. Through beating the Separate Ways scenario, an alternative outfit can be unlocked which is a suit of armour which makes her seemingly invincible - a common complaint from players about Ashley is around how defenceless she is, the developers must have had similar thoughts to include this costume as a bonus. There is also another costume named Pop Star which could be a reference to Britney Spears, as she and Ashley share a similarity.
When she is partnered up with
Leon, she has her own health bar (which can be extended with Yellow Herbs), and she can be loosely controlled by directing her. Certain interactions require
Leon to assist her such as climbing down from high places, recovering from a bear trap, and being caught by enemies. There is also a small stealth portion of the game where you solely play as Ashley - no weapons can be used, but ammo can be collected to hand over to
Leon later when they re-join.
