The Twilight series is full of all kinds of crazy, from its worldwide bestseller status to its controversial films, not to mention getting busy moms to read again while simultaneously teaching outdated and unhealthy notions to teenage girls. The supernatural elements, love triangle, and wide array of characters spoke to many readers and viewers, creating a devoted fan following that often either sided with Team Edward or Team Jacob.
Even some fans who scorn the not-so-healthy dynamic between the main protagonists still found their fandom within the Cullen family, the Olympic coven of vampires started by Dr. Carlisle Cullen. Born in 1600s England, Carlisle has seen much in his life, and his kindness for others eventually led to his saving the traumatized patients who were near the end of their lives and making them his family. After Alice and Jasper joined the family per Alice's vision, the clan was near complete, which is where we find them when Bella Swan's story begins.
Carlisle and Esme's family may exemplify better relationships than the book's main protagonists, but there are still some pretty weird and questionable family secrets to mull over. It's one thing to create your own family by picking and choosing people on the worst days of their lives, but it's quite another to be jealous over your brother's new sweetheart when you've already married your own vamp-- several times.
From Esme's age upon first meeting Carlisle to that time they all gender-swapped, here are 20 Crazy Revelations About The Cullen Family Only True Fans Know.
20 Carlisle Made Jasper And Rosalie Twins
Why do Rosalie and Jasper have the same last name, many fans might wonder. In order to make his "adoptive" children appear more related, Carlisle Cullen gave Jasper, whose last name was originally Whitlock, the same last name as Rosalie Hale, dubbing them twins since they had similar facial features and could pass as close siblings.
This doesn't allow Alice and Jasper or Rosalie and Emmett, whom are married, to share surnames, but it does provide a little distance between the Cullen "kids" to help them appear less like Lannister siblings with the hots for each other. The two have Rosalie's surname name not only because she was in the coven first and has dibs, but because she was attached to it. Rosalie also pretty much usually gets what she wants, as any fan has noticed.
19 They Have A Family Crest In The Movie
Some fans might notice the Cullen family crest present in the films. While this isn't a canonical component from the books, each member of the family wears their own representation of the crest to demonstrate their loyalty toward their family and one another. It seems a bit archaic, especially since a third of the family didn't even join until the 1940s.
The lion, hand, and trefoil in the crest are meant to symbolize the family's strength, faith, and perpetuity.
The Cullen men sport their crests on leather cuffs, while the women of the family get more creative pieces, from Rosalie's pendant necklace to Alice's choker and Esme's silver bracelet. As the family patriarch, Carlisle wears a crest ring, and when Bella joins the family she wears a leather cuff.
18 Their Skin Sparkles Because It's Hard And Unbreakable
To be fair to the glittery vampires in the Twilight films, there's really not much you can do to translate diamond-like skin on camera without it looking goofy. Making fun of "sparkle vamps" might be easy and fun, but it's clear in the books that Meyer wanted the skin to seem as strong and unbreakable as possible, much like diamonds. Sure, it still reflects sunlight and leaves the vampires at the mercy of the weather, but it seems a bit cooler in the books.
In the films, it might appear that the author thought it would be a good idea to mold the traditional vampire with Guy Diamond from Trolls, creating a glitter party every time the sun hits their skin. As amusing as this is to poke fun at, it obviously wasn't the author's full intention.
17 Logan Lerman and Henry Cavill were the first choices To Play Edward
It's no secret that Robert Pattinson dissed the Twilight series as well as his own character in it. He thought that Edward was manic depressive and played him as such, and he wasn't shy about vocally expressing his dislike to anyone who might listen.
We have to wonder if, after hearing Pattinson's many complaints, Meyer really regretted the casting choice.
Had the choice been in the author's own hands, she says that she would have selected either Logan Lerman or Henry Cavill to play Edward. Every author has a dream list of actors who they believe might bring their characters to life best, and perhaps her ideas would have resulted in a more book-accurate Edward Cullen. Then again, Lerman and Cavill are pretty different actors so it's anyone's guess as to how that could have turned out.
16 They were all gender-swapped by the author
Author Stephenie Meyer penned a non-canonical work known as In Life And Death: Twilight Re-Imagined. In the book, which was written to celebrate Twilight's 10th anniversary, Meyer presents not only an alternate ending but alternate versions of all of her characters, with most of them gender-swapped. It's weird that Bella's parents weren't swapped, but all of the Cullens and Bella herself received new, opposite gender identities.
Sadly we'll never know why Renee Dwyer was never good enough to be police chief of Forks, but we did get to see her son, Beaufort Swan, move there to live with Charlie and fall for Edythe Cullen, who tells him to "try not to get caught up in antiquated gender roles."
15 Rosalie Carries A Torch For Edward
Rosalie's jealousy towards Bella is one of the many things about the Cullens that is just too crazy to make sense. While it's weird enough that Carlisle "made" her as a girlfriend for his lonely son Edward, who wasn't interested in the beautiful woman due to her own vanity, her fury over his rejection carried through to her own marriage.
Her jealousy over Bella occurred long after she and Emmett had married, making it super weird.
Granted, Rosalie always wanted a baby and she's also jealous that Bella has that ability, giving much higher priority to protecting Bella's baby than saving its mothers own life. It's clear that Rosalie is inwardly cheering for Bella's demise so that she might get to be the baby's surrogate mother.
14 Renesemee Was Originally An Animatronic Puppet
One of the craziest things that happened in the Twilight saga wasn't in the books; it didn't even make the cut for the film. Bella and Edward's daughter, Renesemee, is an extraordinary girl who is precocious beyond measure, ages more rapidly than humanly possible, and weirdly "imprinted" on her future lover, Jacob, not long after her birth. That's all insane enough, but movie makers increased the creepy factor by using an animatronic to portray the tyke.
The thing was so scary that it was dubbed "Chuckesmee." Its enormous eyes put anime cartoons to shame. It was too unnatural to use in the movie. We don't blame them for trying, given how unique a child Renesemee is, but cutting Chuckesmee was one of the best decisions made in the series.
13 Alice Was Committed To An Asylum By Her Father
All of the Cullens have tragic histories that led to their transformations, and Alice's is one of the most heartbreaking of them all. She saw visions of her mother being taken out by someone, which were largely ignored until they happened. When Alice's father's new lover looked to be the culprit, along with her dad he committed his own daughter to an asylum.
She was shaved bald, given shock therapy, and tormented to the point of having memory loss.
Luckily all that is in Alice's past. The "pixie" member of the Cullen family, she appears dreamy and carefree as a vampire, and you would never guess at the horrors she's witnessed in her life.
12 Carlisle Doesn't Know How Old He Is
Given how precise Carlisle's explanations and memory are, it would seem as if he has all the answers. The truth is that he isn't even sure about how old he is. Given that he was born during a period when the passing of time wasn't taken nearly as seriously as it is today, we can forgive him for only assuming that he hails from the 1640s.
Carlisle's pastor father had way too much on his hands to worry about things like birthdays, what with all the werewolf and vampire slaying and ridding the world of sin. His mother wasn't around to mark the occasion, either, given that she passed away during childbirth. Carlisle does know his vampire age, however, since he was turned in 1663.
11 Rosalie Wanted To Eat Emmett And Save Him
If it was weird witnessing Edward disgustedly sneer at Bella while stifling his hunger for her blood, picture Rosalie trying not to eat Emmett when saved him following a brutal bear attack.
Marrying food seems to be a habit for the Cullens.
Rosalie's revelation that it took every ounce of her willpower to not consume Emmett as he lay succumbing to his wounds points toward the whole "lion fell in love with the lamb" thing being a family tradition. The difference is that Rosalie fell for Emmett, who dubbed his would-be predator his "angel," and begged Carlisle to turn him when he was already losing his mortal life.
10 Esme Is The Oldest Family Member
There's a reason why the Cullen coven members all look so dewy and fresh-faced: none of them were turned before age 30. In fact, the oldest Cullen in terms of aging is Esme, who was turned at the ripe old age of 26. While Esme is not the oldest family member in "vampire years," she's certainly the oldest, physically speaking. She aged for longer than even her husband, who was turned at age 23.
Esme is naturally the oldest family member in the visual department as a result, appearing older than her children and husband. The idea that 30 is old seems to be supported by both teenagers and vampires.
9 Esme Met Carlisle At Age 16
One of the first indications that the Cullens are creepy has nothing to do with vampirism. When Carlisle Cullen first met the woman he would marry, Esme Anne Platt was a carefree 16-year-old girl-- and his patient.
In 1912, the teen broke her leg while falling from a tree and Carlisle treated the injury.
This time Carlisle treated her, it was after she tried to take her own life following an abusive marriage and the loss of her infant child. Then there's the fact that she was still technically married when Carlisle turned her to save her and they fell in love, which is pretty weird given that chastity and marriage are central themes of the book.
8 Jasper Is Older Than His "Mother"
Most mothers, even step-mothers and adoptive mothers, are older than their children, but that's not true for the Cullens. On the contrary, Esme, who was born in 1895, is actually younger than Jasper, born in 1844. He has seen more of life than his mother. Jasper was even in the Civil and Southern Vampire Wars!
Instead he's still a perpetual child who, though he's been a vegetarian vampire since 1948, still somehow has problems sniffing human blood-- despite the fact that he attends a human high school. One paper cut and the blood thirst sets in, so perhaps Esme is needed to help guide Jasper a bit.
7 Edward Re-Inherits His Own Fortune
Growing up as a teenager who must attend multiple high schools and colleges dozens of times seems like a purgatorial punishment at the very least, but the Cullen "kids" have other perks that come with their agelessness.
Edward Cullen, who inherited his family home in Chicago as well as their fortune, doesn't have to pass it on to his progeny.
His immortality allows him to simply re-inherit his own fortune every fifty years or so, acting like a new heir to the family each time. While Edward's multiple degrees could help him earn a living or pass the time before Bella arrives on the scene, he appears to enjoy brooding until he's tormented by her scent.
6 They Appear In Seven Short Films
Robert Pattionson and the gang aren't the only actors who have portrayed the Cullens of Twilight. Seven short films, known as The Storytellers: New Voices of the Twilight Saga, aired on Facebook in 2015. They were in partnership with the books' author as well as Tongal, Women In Film, Volvo Cars and Lionsgate in a competition to help promote more women directors. Prizes like $100,000$ and a new 2015 Volvo XC90 were awarded to the winners.
The top film, Kailey and Samantha Spear's The Mary Alice Brandon File, explores one of the best Twilight vampire back stories that many fans would rather see in the films: Alice's dark past. It's just over 12 minutes long and stars Paloma Kwiatkowski as Alice.
5 Alice And Jasper Are The Only Two Not Made By Carlisle
While it might appear that Carlisle has chosen his designer vampire family, not every member of the Olympic coven was made by the doctor.
Already vampires, Alice and Jasper found the family through one of Alice's visions.
Knowing that they would be accepted and loved by Carlisle, Esme, Edward, Rosalie, and Emmett, the two ensured their vegetarianism before making their way to the family. Alice also met her soulmate, Jasper, after seeing him in a vision, and their meeting at a diner where she revealed this information had to have been interesting, as he quickly fell in love with her.
4 Rosalie Has Several Advanced Degrees But Remains A High School Student
Some Cullen family vampires have impressive degrees that they don't seem to use for anything. To major in something as specific and challenging as astrophysics seems like a pretty tight investment. You might think Rosalie would put her degrees in business, electrical engineering and astrophysics to use at some point, but she doesn't seem to really do much with them.
The same goes for Edward, who holds two medical degrees. After going on a vigilante eating spree and worrying that his soul is condemned for eternity, you would think that he would be quick to add saving lives (other than Bella's) to his list of hobbies.
3 Emmett Is The Only Family Member With No Degree
After attending many high schools and colleges, one might think that every member of the Cullen family has achieved a degree. This is true save for Emmett, who has no degree to speak of. He's like that undecided major who's in his seventh undergraduate year and still missing his 8:00 class regularly because of the previous night's frat party, except he's way past that seventh year. The rest of the Cullens seem to have their unique interests and academic pursuits, but Emmett, who grew up a rich party boy and womanizer before a bear attacked him, seems to have the same goals he had during his human days.
Having unlimited interests is cool, but Emmett's pretty much just known for being "the strong one."
His lack of dedication to any subject only gives him a meathead appearance.
2 Rosalie And Emmett Have Married Many Times
It would seem like vampires really have no need to get married, but marriage is a central theme as something the "good," vegetarian vampires do to be together in the series. The hunter vampire, James, doesn't have a wife but a "mate" in Victoria.
Rosalie and Emmett take this ceremony a bit too far, having multiple weddings over the years just for the heck of it. Sure, the Cullens have unlimited income at their disposal, but using that money for more altruistic purposes might help atone for something like, say, watching the Volturi take out mass groups of tourists and doing nothing. Rosalie loves attention so much that she uses her immortal status as a chance to get married over and over again.
1 They Have A Weird Obsession With Being Married And "Completing Each Other"
There's really no reason for the vampires in the Cullen coven, save for "parents" Carlisle and Esme, to be married. They have to start over as teens every so often anyway, and they can't even share each other's last names or act as husbands and wives in public. So why get married? Rosalie gets to be a bridezilla every so often just for the heck of it, but this weird obsession with completing one another through marriage alone really doesn't add up. The author, Stephenie Meyer, makes getting married a crucial requirement of the series for any of the couples to be together, which is outdated and unsettling for many readers.
It's even explicitly stated that Alice and Jasper weren't whole people until they met and married.
This detracts from their otherwise quite interesting personalities and histories.
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Do you have any other revelations to share about the Cullens in Twilight? Leave them in the comments!
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