"Listen to me. I need you to be greedy. A man will come and kill you. I cannot have use with you anymore. This is how it has to be. This man is killer professional just like you. He will finish you. Please don't kill him back. I hate you. Maybe someday I will forget you bye bye." -Diana Burnwood to Agent 47 in Hitman Absolution-

Diana Penelope Burnwood is the deuteragonist of the HITMAN series, as one of the former "handlers" at the International Contract Agency—the Agency or ICA. She provided Agent 47 with clients, targets, and information in this capacity. She went Freelance with 47 after they both destroyed Providence and 47 exposed the ICA to the world. The pair collectively now operate a murder-for-hire service by themselves with no ties to the ICA, as assassin and handler.

Diana has, since Hitman's inception, been a prominent part of every story and proved a valuable asset to Agent 47; as well as being one of his extremely few genuine friends.

Diana was born to Sir Peter Lloyd Burnwood, 5th Baronet, and his wife Lady Nancy Burnwood (nee Summers). She grew up wealthy and had her primary education at High March School, Beaconsfield, Bucks, 1975–1984. As a student, Diana was mostly conscientious and attentive. She showed great potential in oral and written communication, and was above average in math and science.

She began her secondary education at the Institute Le Rosey in Rolle, Switzerland. She attended this prestigious school between the years 1984–1985, but for unknown reasons, she left to begin her education back home in England. While at Le Rosey, Diana was noted as achieving consistently high grades.

Diana later attended the Wycombe Abbey School in High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire, England, starting in 1985. Around the same time, a facility in Surrey owned by Blue Seed Pharmaceuticals leaked dangerous chemicals into the water throughout the Surrey/Buckinghamshire region. The resulting damage lead to 80 people dying of illness, including Diana's younger brother, James Oliver Burnwood (1980-1989). During or shortly after James' funeral, Diana's parents died in a car bombing on the orders of Blue Seed executives and their connections at the secret society Providence. 47 was the operative hired by Providence to kill Diana’s parents, and personally triggered the car bomb.

As a teenager, she fell in with a female arms dealer and gang boss named Savi, who helped her exact revenge on Blue Seed executives during the first quarter of Agent 47: Birth of the Hitman. The first time Diana confronted one of the executives alone in his office, she hesitated to pull the trigger, and the executive was killed by one of Savi's snipers instead. Police soon showed up to investigate the gunshots, and Diana had to flee the police. Offended that Savi would put her in such a dangerous position, she usurped Savi's best men and overthrew her.

Diana's family losses and secret life with Savi did little to trouble her at school, where she was relatively popular and kept good grades.

In Hitman: Codename 47, Diana was only a minor character, as this was her first assignment as a handler as well as being a newly-appointed handler of an agent known only as 47, who up until that point was relatively unknown himself. As Agent 47's handler, her duties were to send him briefings and mission details before the start of a mission. However, she only communicated via texts, and never spoke to Agent 47 in person. It was during this time that Diana was given the entry-level rank NOV within the ICA.

In Hitman 2: Silent Assassin, Diana speaks to Agent 47 through an Agency communication line and details his mission briefings in voice messages. This added layers of personality to Diana, and her role was gradually expanded in subsequent games. It was during this time that Diana was promoted to the rank PLUS within the ICA.

Just like the previous game, Diana narrated mission briefings. However, since the majority of the game depicted Agent 47's memories of previous missions, her role was not as major as in Hitman 2: Silent Assassin.

Diana was briefly shown at the end of the game. It was during this time that she was promoted to the rank ALPHA within the ICA.

In Hitman: Blood Money, Diana was a double agent. She faked Agent 47's death, saving the Agency from liquidation and dodging death herself. In the end, her efforts paid off when the Agency was brought back online. It was even implied that Diana was promoted to a higher position, despite the fact that she had apparently lost contact with Agent 47.

In the opening movie of the mission Requiem in Hitman: Blood Money, her hair was of a brunette color. Her face was shown at the end of the game, when her reflection was barely visible in a window. While for the rest of the game, her face is unseen. It was during this time that Diana was promoted to the rank GAMMA within the ICA.

Yes, this is my version of Diana Burnwood from Hitman Absolution. Enjoy it! And no, no perverts, I'm not going to release the original Naked Diana model (which I also have, by the way) unless you ask for it, of course! Enjoy my Diana Burnwood. By the way, excuse me for being so disconnected. I'm not dead, I'm just "tweaking things" and preparing "other" things.