content: '''Melisandre of Asshai''' is a fictional character in the ''A Song of Ice and Fire'' series of fantasy novels by American author George R. R. Martin and its television adaptation ''Game of Thrones''.  She is a priestess of the god R'hllor (also called the Red God or the Lord of Light) from the continent Essos and a close advisor to King Stannis Baratheon in his campaign to take the Iron Throne. She is often nicknamed '''the Red Woman''' due to the color of her hair and clothes, and has mysterious powers over fire and shadow. She is a prominent example of Martin's use of magic within the story, and is the source of several important prophecies that guide the narrative.
  Introduced in ''A Clash of Kings'' (1998), Melisandre has come to Westeros to propagate her faith in the Red God.  She subsequently appeared in Martin's ''A Storm of Swords'' (2000) and ''A Dance with Dragons'' (2011).  Melisandre is not a point-of-view character in the first four novels, her actions are witnessed and interpreted through the eyes of other characters such as Davos Seaworth and Jon Snow.  In the fifth novel ''A Dance with Dragons'', she has a single point-of-view chapter.  George R. R. Martin stated she will return as a viewpoint character in future novels.
  Melisandre is portrayed by Dutch actress Carice van Houten in the HBO television adaptation, in a performance which earned van Houten a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actress in a Drama Series nomination.