Summary

• Vampire backstories in Twilight reveal the unique transformations and motivations behind each Cullen family member's eternal existence.
• Human-turned-vampires develop extraordinary abilities, stunning speed, and super strength upon being bitten by another vampire.
• The storylines from the Twilight books delve deeper into Cullen family histories, highlighting motivations and character development.

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

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

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 ser