Faye Valentine, born approximately 80 years before we see her, was in a terrible accident while flying as a passenger in a shuttle. Her body was frozen and later revived. The organization which brought her back tried to make her pay a substantial amount of money in return for being cured/repaired and brought back to life. Instead, Faye chose to run. Faye's debt when she was brought back was a whopping 300,028,000 woolongs, plus whatever Whitney's debt was slapped onto that. She was 20 years old when brought back, and is 23 during the Cowboy Bebop storyline.

We see Faye first, in a little store, where she is attacked by three men. Being out-gunned, they bring her to a casino where she is propositioned by the owner of the casino to fulfil a deed for him in return for her debt being paid off. Feeling trapped, as it was either work for this guy, or be turned in to the police, Faye co-operated with him. It was a misunderstanding and a mistaking identity which brought her and Spike together to meet for the first time: Faye thought he was the man she was supposed to receive information from. Having foiled the situation, and being captured by Spike and Jet when she was trying to run again, she found herself with a bounty on her head, as well as her debt. It was a clever escape which got her away from the Bebop at first, but later on, she finds herself on the ship again and proclaims herself a comrade and member of the crew.

As a person, Faye Valentine is lonely. Honestly, that is what I believe. She wants to be around someone and wants to care about people, but her own fear of becoming close to those people frightens her, and she runs. Having been betrayed earlier, when she was woken up from deep sleep, she trusted one man, and he left her behind. Some people may believe that Faye is just greedy, but I believe that she is a good-natured person inside, just a little eccentric.

I believe that Faye is the most tragic main character of Bebop. Because she was thrown into a situation she didn't ask for and because she is treated the way she is, I think she handles herself very well. Other characters in the series deal with their issues and end up generally happy at the end.

Despite her loneliness and self-induced isolation, Faye often runs away from and pushes the people she is close to away. On several occasions, she runs away from the Bebop, but steals money or keeps at least one tie in a desperate subconscious hope that someone will go after her. Despite her stubborn will and independence, she is a small child simply wanting to be loved and accepted. She is an outcast, much like the rest of the Bebop-gumi, and finds acceptance and comfort living there.

Faye acts as a role model of sorts to Ed, being the only other female on board the ship. She often talks to Ed and even though she tries to be manipulative, she manages to set a good example from time to time for her. I would say that Faye and Ed share the closest bond, compared to Faye and the rest of the crew.