Isabella "Bella" Marine Cullen (born Isabella Oriole Masen, on September 13, 1901 in Chicago, Illinois) is an American telepathic vampire and a founding member of the Olympic coven. She is the Edward Swan and the sire of Sore and Renesmee Cullen. Bella is the adoptive daughter of Carlisle and Esme Cullen, as well as the daughter-in-law of Edward Sr., and Elizabeth Targaryen. She is the adoptive sister of Emmett, Brianna, and Alice Cullen, and Rosalie and Jasper Hale.
After nearly dying from the Spanish influenza in 1918 in Chicago, Bella was turned into a vampire by Carlisle, as the only alternative to death. Over the next ninety years, the pair gathered a family of vampires around themselves and called themselves "vegetarians".
Biography[]
Early life[]
Isabella Oriole Masen was born on September 13, 1901; the only child of Charlie and Renée Masen. Her father provided Bella with many advantages as a successful lawyer, including music lessons and the opportunity to attend private school; however, she and her father were rather emotionally distant due to his busy career that often drew him away from home for business. This absence was made up for by her relationship with her mother; she was the center of her life.
Bella excelled at her studies and became an accomplished pianist. As she grew older, Bella became enamored with the life of a soldier. World War I raged during most of her adolescence, and Bella dreamed of joining the army as soon as she turned 18, which she reminisced about, saying that her love for her mother was the only thing that made her reluctant to the thought other than her underage. That changed, however, when she and her parents became sick with the Spanish Influenza in 1918. Her father died in the first wave of the influenza. Bella's mother later contracted the Spanish Influenza and begged the doctor who was taking care of them, Dr. Carlisle Cullen, to do everything within his power to save her daughter. (Renée: "You must do everything in your power. What others cannot do, that is what you must do for my Bella.") Carlisle acted on her wishes when Bella was near death herself. Shortly after Renée died, Carlisle took Bella from the hospital, brought her to his house, and there changed her into a vampire.
Bella formed a deep bond with Carlisle, who became a father figure to her, gaining Bella's trust and love the way her natural father never had. It was Carlisle who first realized Bella's telepathic abilities; he noticed Bella answering questions that Carlisle had not asked aloud. Bella had always had a knack for reading people; after her transformation, this ability blossomed into a true psychic talent. In 1921, Bella gained a mother when Carlisle changed Esme into a vampire to save her life after her suicide attempt. Bella was still young enough to appreciate a mother's care, and Esme gave it to her.
Bella did have a rebellious period at the beginning of her vampire life and left Carlisle and Esme in 1927. During her lone time, she used her mind reading ability to attack the worst people of society, thinking that, as long as she was serving justice, it would not matter that she was feeding on humans. her first victim was Esme's abusive ex-husband, Charles Evenson. A few years later, she regretted this decision and returned to Carlisle's family and their diet of animal blood in 1931. In 1933, Carlisle changed a would-be socialite named Rosalie Hale into a vampire after finding her left for dead by her fiancé. Carlisle and Esme were sometimes concerned that she had no romance in her life, which was partly what prompted Carlisle to change Rosalie. However, as stunningly beautiful as Rosalie was, Bella could not stand her shallow and self-absorbed mind, and the two became nothing more than siblings, and weren't always on good terms. In 1935, Emmett McCarty joined the family when Rosalie found him near death from a bear attack and fell in love with him. Already vampires, Jasper and Alice sought out and found the Cullens in 1950, and adopted themselves into the family after both escaping their tragic pasts. The moment they arrived, Alice moved into Bella's room, much to her dismay.
When the Cullen family were living in Alaska, they encountered the Denali coven, the only other group that shared their diet of animal blood. The leader Tanya showed affection toward Bella, but she did not share that interest.
By 2005, she had attended several colleges and universities, earned two medical degrees and studied several subjects. With her natural parents both passed away, she inherited the Swan house in Chicago, and about every 50 years, she would inherit her family fortune from herself, pretending to be a new heir.