Zoey

"Zoey unfolded into an everyday young woman who everyone can relate to."

- Andrea Wicklund, Valve.

"No one left behind, right?"

- Zoey

Zoey is one of the four playable Survivors in Left 4 Dead. Her original design was based on Alesia Glidewell, who also worked with Valve on Portal as a model for the character Chell. However, when the character designs were updated later in development, Zoey was made to resemble actress/model Sonja Kinski instead. Ironically, her name means "life" in Greek. In official media, she is usually seen wielding dual Pistols. Zoey, along with Louis and Francis, appears in Left 4 Dead 2 in the campaign The Passing as they meet with the Left 4 Dead 2 Survivors. Unlike her attitude in Left 4 Dead, she comes off as somewhat more serious and, at times, angry. This is probably due to the fact that she is hit very hard by Bill's death. Zoey's facial features are portrayed by Sonja Kinski and she is voiced by Jen Taylor.

Background
Zoey was once a student at Aldrich in Philadelphia under a scholarship to become a filmmaker. Instead of attending classes, she spent her time watching horror films given to her by her father ranging from zombies, to slasher murderers, to extra terrestrials. Her father, Wade, wished for her to become a police officer, often taking her to shooting ranges to get her into some practice. These actions caused tension between her divorced parents one night and started a heated argument between the two regarding their daughter's future. The argument was short lived however when an Infected suddenly found his way into their living room and attacked Zoey's mother, Carolyn. Her father was able to kill the Infected but not before it attacked Zoey's mother. Holding Carolyn in his arms, Wade commanded Zoey to call for an ambulance. Zoey came back to witness her father being mauled by her mother, who quickly noticed her daughter's presence and lunged at her. Before she could reach Zoey however, Wade shot her in the back of the head. His last request was for Zoey to kill him before he became an Infected. She then reached for her father's gun and after a heart breaking "I love you", pulled the trigger. Weeks later, Zoey was shocked to discover that her father may have been a Carrier and the mercy-killing could have been in vain.

Relationships with other Survivors
Overall, Zoey is perhaps treated the kindest by the other Survivors. In The Passing, unlike Francis and Louis, she rarely talks about Bill's death and seems to have been hit hard by the loss. Her tone and seriousness change when she talks about his death. Her aggressiveness towards the Left 4 Dead 2 Survivors might hint at her struggle in coping with Bill's death.
 * Bill: In many ways, Zoey and Bill have a father-daughter sort of relationship. When it is revealed how her parents died, she hugs him for comfort, and she is seen resting on his shoulder in the evacuation vehicle. In general, he seems to become slightly more emotional if Zoey dies when compared to the others. She also seems to care about his well-being.
 * Francis: Originally, Valve intended Zoey and Francis to have a relationship, but this was deemed to be "distracting" by the play-testers. In her cut quotes, Zoey picks on him often. . Although their former relationship is no longer very evident, she still seems to be friendly towards him ("Groovy," which was something he'd said before). In The Passing, she's baffled by Rochelle showing an attraction to Francis, and claims she is going to throw up. On the other hand, she finds it cute that Francis still has "that side of him" deep down despite his tough guy attitude when he flirts with Rochelle.
 * Louis: Zoey tends to tease him from time to time, and becomes a little more emotional when he dies . In The Passing, she shows concern for his injury, mentioning to the Left 4 Dead 2 Survivors they have a wounded man up there.
 * Coach: Zoey and Coach do not have much interaction. Coach though, will sometimes playfully pick on Ellis for his crush on her.
 * Ellis: Zoey seems to like Ellis. She mentions his name the most out of the Survivors and calls out his name twice as he is leaving, wondering if she should have asked him to join her group or gone with him shortly after. She also sadly states "I'm going to miss Ellis," and "I hope I'll see him again." Zoey will also playfully mimic Ellis' Keith stories as he is leaving.
 * Nick: Zoey and Nick do not get along. He will sometimes insult her at the beginning of The Riverbank, calling her "Cupcake" and asking if there's a "man" up there he can talk to. She'll respond with sarcastic helplessness and then snap "I could shoot you where you stand." or "Go to hell, Colonel Sanders!" (The founder of KFC.)
 * Rochelle: Zoey and Rochelle will often exclaim to each other how they are relieved to find another woman still alive. They compliment or thank the other's Special Infected kills during the finale, and Zoey seems happy to throw her an item. However, she is baffled by the idea that Rochelle has feelings for Francis.

Quotes and Captions
"See: Zoey/Quotes and Captions"

Behind the Scenes
Zoey sounded older in early footage of the game. See this video for an example.