Twilight: How (And Why) All Of The Cullens Were Turned Into Vampires (2024)

In The Twilight Saga, vampire backstories for every member of the Cullen family are unique and explain when, how, and why they were turned into vampires. The books and movies follow Bella Swan (Kristen Stewart) as she is introduced to the world of the vampires through the Cullen family. Twilight's vampire backstories are explored more fully in the books than in the movies, and they're a great way to understand each character and the motivations that drive them throughout the series. From Carlisle to Bella, the history of the Cullens extends across time periods and countries.

A human is turned into a vampire when another vampire bites them, but doesn't kill them. Instead, the poison from the vampire's teeth takes over their body, stops their heart, and turns them into the beautiful, superfast, and strong creatures that Bella Swan encounters in the series. Carlisle Cullen uses his medical knowledge to save lives and only turns humans into vampires when they would die otherwise. This was the case with all four of the Twilight vampires he turned: Edward, Esme, Rosalie, and Emmett. Alice and Jasper joined the family after they had already been turned into vampires.

Carlisle Cullen

Played By Peter Facinelli

Twilight

PG-13

Where to Watch

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Release Date

November 21, 2008

Director

Catherine Hardwicke

Writers

Melissa Rosenberg

Cast

Robert Pattinson , Ashley Greene , Peter Facinelli , Rachelle Lefevre , Elizabeth Reaser , Kristen Stewart , Nikki Reed , Jackson Rathbone , Cam Gigandet , Kellan Lutz , Taylor Lautner , Anna Kendrick , Billy Burke

Runtime

121 minutes

Carlisle is the oldest of the Cullens, born in 1640 in London, and his mother died giving birth to him. His father was an Anglican pastor who led a group that sought out and killed people they thought were witches, werewolves, and vampires to root out "evil" in their community. When his father was too old to continue these raids, Carlisle took over — though he never much agreed with them. Carlisle discovered a group of real vampires living in the sewers of London and led an attack against them, but he was bitten and left for dead.

According to Carlisle's backstory, he hid for three days while his body was transformed into a vampire. Once he understood what he had become, he tried every way he could to kill himself, but his body was invincible. As a vampire, he resolved to only drink animal blood from the very start and traveled the world, spending some time with the Volturi in Italy, before settling in the United States and becoming a doctor. He then went on to form the Cullens, making the decisions that would lead to most of the Twilight vampire backstories known by fans.

Edward Cullen

Played By Robert Pattinson

Edward was born in 1901 in Chicago as Edward Anthony Masen, the only child of an affluent lawyer and his wife Elizabeth, to whom Edward was very close. All three of the Masens caught the Spanish Influenza in the pandemic of 1918, the father dying first. On her deathbed, Elizabeth begged Carlisle Cullen, who was the doctor treating them, to do everything he could to save her beloved son.

As Edward himself was dying, Carlisle snuck him out of the hospital and back to his home, where he turned Edward into a vampire and became a father figure to him. Edward then became very rich after he inherited the Masen family fortune and accumulated wealth throughout his long life, as did the other Cullens.

Esme Cullen

Played By Elizabeth Reaser

Esme was born in 1895 on a farm in Columbus, Ohio. When she was 16, she was treated for a broken leg by none other than Dr. Carlisle, with whom she bonded instantly. Years later, she was forced by her family to marry an abusive man, eventually running away from him when she discovered she was pregnant. In 1921, she gave birth to the child, but they died just two days later. Devastated, Esme attempted to die by jumping off a cliff.

The men who found her took her directly to the morgue, but Carlisle, who was working in a hospital nearby, noticed her heart was still beating. Carlisle recognized her as the girl he had met years before and decided to save her life by turning her into a vampire.

Rosalie Hale

Played By Nikki Reed

Rosalie has perhaps the darkest Twilight vampire backstory. She was born in 1915 in Rochester, New York to a wealthy family and was incredibly beautiful. At 18 years old, she became engaged to a bank owner's son who she didn't love. One night in 1933, shortly before their wedding, Rosalie came across her fiancée completely drunk with a group of friends who all sexually assaulted her and beat her.

Carlisle found Rosalie nearly dead and carried her away, where he turned her into a vampire and welcomed her into their family. According to Rosalie's backstory, the first thing she did was murder all her abusers, including her ex-fiancée, before settling down to become one of the Cullens. Rosalie, however, exercised remarkable self-control as a new vampire, refusing to drink the blood of any of the men who assaulted her, killing them outright.

Emmett Cullen

Played By Kellan Lutz

Emmett was born in 1915 in Gatlinburg, Tennessee, to a large family, and he worked on the nearby railroad. He was a rambunctious teen who loved adventure and hunting. In 1935, he was in the mountains and ended up attacked by a black bear.

Rosalie found him and carried him over a hundred miles back to Carlisle to save his life. She wanted to save him because she thought he looked innocent, young, and beautiful but didn't trust herself to change him without killing him. Emmett became a vampire because of Rosalie's intervention and Carlisle's bite.

Alice Cullen

Played By Ashley Greene

Alice Brandon's Twilight vampire backstory saw her born as Mary Alice Brandon in 1901 in Biloxi, Mississippi. From an early age, she had premonitions that led many in town to believe she was a witch. After her mother was murdered and her father remarried, Alice escaped to a nearby town, having a vision that her father was the one responsible.

There, her father had her committed to an asylum where she befriended an unnamed vampire doctor. Later, she had a vision that a tracker named James (the same one who later tried to kill Bella in Twilight) was looking for her, so Alice's vampire friend turned her into a vampire to protect her and then sacrificed himself to James to give her time to escape. She went on to meet Jasper, and they joined the Cullens in 1950.

Jasper Hale

Played By Jackson Rathbone

Jasper was a young major in the Confederate Army in Texas when his Twilight vampire backstory began. He was turned into a vampire by Maria, another vampire, who wanted him to lead an army of young vampires she was creating to fight in the Southern Vampire Wars.

He was already an empath before becoming a vampire, and Maria used his abilities to influence the feelings of others to control her newborn vampire army. Jasper worked with her until 1938, when he ran away to the North with another vampire friend of his named Peter. He met Alice at a diner in 1948 and joined the Cullen family along with her shortly after.

Bella Swan

Played By Kristen Stewart

The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn - Part 1

PG-13

Where to Watch

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Release Date

November 18, 2011

Director

Bill Condon

Writers

Melissa Rosenberg

Cast

Kristen Stewart , Robert Pattinson , Taylor Lautner , Billy Burke , Peter Facinelli , Elizabeth Reaser , Kellan Lutz , Nikki Reed , Jackson Rathbone , Ashley Greene

Runtime

117 Minutes

See Also

Twilight: How Each Cullen Family Member Became a Vampire

Bella Swan has the best-known Twilight vampire backstory since the audience actually sees hers unfold. Bella starts out as a human at the beginning of the Twilight series. She was born in 1987 and moved to Forks to live with her dad when she was 17 years old, as shown in the first book and movie. In the fourth book of the series, Breaking Dawn, and the fourth movie, Breaking Dawn - Part 1, Bella is turned into a vampire after marrying Edward.

Though Bella told Jacob that becoming a vampire wasn't originally the plan, it seems that Edward expected Bella to become a vampire from the very beginning. Edward transforms Bella by injecting her heart with his venom after it stops beating following the birth of their daughter, Renesmee. Once a vampire, Bella becomes the most recent addition to the Cullen clan and is the only one changed during the Twilight series.

Renesmee

Played By Mackenzie Foy

The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn - Part 2

PG-13

Where to Watch

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Release Date

November 18, 2011

Director

Bill Condon

Writers

Melissa Rosenberg

Cast

Kristen Stewart , Robert Pattinson , Taylor Lautner , Billy Burke , Peter Facinelli , Elizabeth Reaser , Kellan Lutz , Nikki Reed , Jackson Rathbone , Ashley Greene , Michael Sheen , Dakota Fanning

Runtime

117 Minutes

Renesmee is the only vampire/human hybrid featured in the Twilight series, and her backstory is told primarily through Breaking Dawn. Not only that, but her existence and Bella's life-threatening pregnancy are what cause Edward to change Bella into a vampire in the first place. Renesmee has special powers, gifted to her by her vampire side, and is able to show people her thoughts by touching them. Jacob imprints on her, creating a special bond between the two.

Renesmee is able to both eat human food and drink blood to sustain herself, though she prefers to drink blood. Once her existence is confirmed by the Volturi, she is hunted down by the Twilight vampires as they are convinced she is a turned vampire child, which is forbidden due to their dangerous nature. The Cullens are able to prove that Renesmee isn't a threat, and the Volturi leave the family alone once and for all.

Where Were The Cullens During New Moon?

New Moon Places A Larger Focus On Werewolf Jacob Black (Taylor Lautner)

The Twilight Saga: New Moon

PG-13

Where to Watch

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*Availability in US

Release Date

November 18, 2009

Director

Chris Weitz

Writers

Melissa Rosenberg

Cast

Kristen Stewart , Taylor Lautner , Robert Pattinson , Billy Burke , Ashley Greene , Anna Kendrick

Runtime

130 minutes

During the course of New Moon, Edward and the Cullen family were noticeably absent – so where did the Cullens go? During an incident at Bella's 18th birthday celebration, in which Jasper nearly attacks Bella, Edward decides that she is in too much danger by being involved with his family. He reacts to this by breaking up with her and then promptly falling off the face of the Earth, which fuels Bella's descent into a deep depression, although she begins to heal after bonding with Jacob and the rest of the werewolf clan.

Edward then reappears in Italy towards the end of New Moon with little explanation as to where he'd been this whole time. No concrete explanation is given, but there is a clue that's almost a blink-and-you'll-miss-it moment. When Edward calls and Jacob picks up, the statue of Christ the Redeemer can be seen in the background, meaning that Edward Cullen went to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

It's unknown if the Cullens were there the entire time or if they jumped around a lot. Regardless, the question is never answered in Stephanie Meyer's Twilight book, so the scene was probably added into the movie to avoid a plot hole.

Do Any Other Twilight Vampires Have Their Backstories Explained?

Backstories For Victoria And The Volturi Members Are Given

The Twilight Saga: Eclipse

PG-13

Where to Watch

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*Availability in US

Release Date

June 30, 2010

Director

David Slade

Writers

Stephenie Meyer , Melissa Rosenberg

Cast

Kristen Stewart , Robert Pattinson , Taylor Lautner , Billy Burke , Ashley Greene , Jackson Rathbone

Runtime

123 minutes

When it comes to Twilight vampire backstories outside the Cullen family, not many of them make their way into the trilogy of novels or the movies. Instead, they can be found in supplemental material for the franchise. There is a lot of extra material created because of how popular the franchise became, like The Twilight Saga: The Official Illustrated Guide. As a result, backstory, genealogical charts, and lore that didn’t make it into the main books found a home, and fans got a lot more information. Victoria and the twins, Jane and Alec, have pretty extensive Twilight vampire backstories.

Victoria hunts Bella with James in the first Twilight chapter, then on her own in New Moon after James’ death. She’s a formidable opponent because she’s got a supernatural sense of self-preservation, always knowing when to run and when to attack. That sense of self-preservation was actually born from her human life, which began as the illegitimate daughter of a servant and a lord in the 1500s in England.

Her older sister essentially raised her while they worked thankless jobs, and when her sister vanished one night after becoming a sex worker, Victoria had to protect herself. She escaped from the man whom her sister had been working for, living on the street. She became good at keeping her head down and hiding. When her sister suddenly reappeared, it was because she had been turned into a vampire, and she did the same to Victoria, giving her another way to protect herself. The Volturi eventually take Victoria’s sister from her, but she ends up with James.

Jane and Alec are some of the youngest (at the time they are turned) vampires in the Twilight franchise. The twin siblings actually exhibited powers before they became vampires as well. The leaders of the Volturi even had their eye on them as humans because they believed it would be useful to turn them once they became adults. Jane and Alec, however, didn’t make it to adulthood.

Instead, they were burned at the stake by the residents of the town where they lived during the Dark Ages. The townsfolk believed they were witches. When the Volturi found out Jane and Alec were being burned, Aro arrived to turn them into vampires just in time. The trauma of being burned at the stake, however, informed the type of vampire abilities they ended up with.

Jane’s rage consumed her, and she wanted everyone to feel the same level of pain that she did. That’s why she could psychically inflict the feeling of being burned alive on others. Alec, on the other hand, wanted to feel nothing and just die peacefully. His ability became that of turning off the senses of others. When it comes to the Twilight vampire backstory, it’s clear that both life and death inform how different vampires turn out.

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