Bella Swan may have been the central character of Stephenie Meyer’s Twilight saga, but the epic supernatural romance series was filled with other humans, vampires and shapeshifters whom fans haven’t stopped obsessing over in the decade since Breaking Dawn hit bookshelves. Fans still fantasize about sharing a sleeping bag with Jacob Black and having a picnic in a field of flowers with Edward Cullen, but for some Twihards, all they want to do is spend a day shopping or exploring Italy with Alice Cullen.
SHE WAS BORN MARY ALICE BRANDON
Other than Rosalie Hale, whose pride in her heritage made her opt to keep her full name after becoming a vampire, none of Carlisle and Esme’s “children” in the Olympic coven go by the names they were born with. Emmett McCarty and Edward Masen both changed their last names to Cullen to match their new parents, while Jasper Whitlock changed his last name to Hale to match his supposed biological sister Rosalie.
HER SISTER’S NIECE IS STILL ALIVE
When the Cullen family left Forks after an incident at Bella’s 18th birthday party made Edward believe they were a threat to her safety, Alice used her free time to research the human life she struggled to remember. She discovered that she grew up in Biloxi, Mississippi, and had a younger sister named Cynthia.
HER FATHER WAS A JEWELER
In Meyer’s Official Illustrated Guide, the author provided Alice fans with some much-needed backstory for the beloved psychic vampire. While Edward and Rosalie both grew up in upper-class families and were accustomed to the level of wealth the Cullen family achieved as vampires, Alice was never particularly rich and she probably wasn’t able to pursue her love for fashion until she joined the Olympics coven and was able to afford her expensive wardrobe.
SHE HAD PREMONITIONS BEFORE SHE WAS A VAMPIRE
When some humans are turned into vampires, they develop additional powers beyond the standard gifts of enhanced speed, super strength, hardened skin and the ability to sparkle in the sunlight. Edward wasn’t able to read minds and Jane wasn’t able to create the illusion of pain in other’s minds until they became immortals, but Alice was actually born with her ability to see the future.
SHE WAS ACCUSED OF CURSING HER LOVED ONES
Some of Alice’s visions predict negative futures for the people she cares about, so she did everything she could to warn her loved ones of what was to come. She quickly discovered that this was a mistake, as people refused to believe her predictions and when they came true, they accused her of being some sort of witch.
SHE FORESAW HER MOTHER’S TRAGIC PASSING
Alice’s most traumatic vision was of her mother’s life being suddenly cut short by an unknown, sinister figure. She warned her mother, and was actually able to convince her to stay locked up in their house for a while. When her father returned from a trip, however, he demanded Alice to stop making up stories and encouraged his wife to pay less attention to Alice’s premonition.
HER FATHER TRAPPED HER IN A MENTAL ASYLUM
When Alice’s father remarried very shortly after her mother’s tragic and fatal accident, clues dropped by her new stepmother made it clear that their union had been arranged long before her birth mother was taken out of the picture. Alice initially believed her stepmother was responsible for the accident, but she eventually had a vision of her father paying someone to eliminate both her mother and herself and realized he was behind everything.
SHE WAS CLOSE WITH A VAMPIRIC ASYLUM EMPLOYEE
While Alice was living at the mental institution her father had trapped her in, she met and became the favorite of a vampire who worked in the building. The vampire chose to work at the asylum because he could freely feed off of the humans inside of it without anyone really caring when they mysteriously passed away, but his fondness for Alice kept him from ever feeding on her.
HER VAMPIRE FRIEND REGULARLY TESTED HER POWERS
When Aro met Alice in Italy at the end of New Moon, he immediately saw the value of Alice’s psychic talent and wanted her to join the Volturi’s army of powerfully vampire gifteds. He wasn’t the first vampire to take a special interest in Alice, though—the vampire asylum employee she befriended before she was made immortal was also fascinated by her ability to see the future.
SHE ENCOUNTERED JAMES YEARS BEFORE ‘TWILIGHT’
When James crossed paths with the Olympic Coven during their epic baseball game in Twilight, Alice discovered that she and James had met decades prior and that he was actually the reason she was turned into a vampire.
SHE’S LOST HER MEMORY TWICE
Alice’s childhood wasn’t particularly positive, so it may be for the best that the electroshock treatments she received while locked away in the mental institution took away all of her memories.
