Twilight introduced a different type of vampire, one who can resist exposure to sunlight but has sparkly skin, though they do have the basic characteristics of these mythical creatures, such as immortality and feeding on blood – so how old were Edward and the rest of the Cullens? In 2005, Stephenie Meyer shared her world of vampires, werewolves, and humans in the novel Twilight, the first entry in a series of four books, with the final one, Breaking Dawn, published in 2008. The series followed the romance between vampire Edward Cullen and mortal Bella Swan.
The Twilight Saga is available to stream on Hulu.
Twilight was a hit with readers, and it didn’t take long to attract the attention of film studios. The series jumped to the big screen in 2008. The Twilight Saga found its leads in Robert Pattinson, Kristen Stewart, and Taylor Lautner, who played Edward, Bella, and Jacob, respectively. Of course, some characters that couldn’t be left behind were Edward’s family, the Cullens, who played a bigger role in the stories as the saga progressed. The Cullen family, also known as the Olympic Coven, were all different ages, brought together by Dr. Carlisle Cullen.
Carlisle Cullen (365 Years Old)
Played by Peter Facinelli
The leader of the Cullen coven was Dr. Carlisle Cullen who married Esme. Together, they served as parent figures to their adoptive children: Edward, Rosalie, Emmett, Alice, and Jasper. Carlisle is the oldest of the Cullen family of vampires, having been turned after discovering a group of vampires living in the sewers in London over 300 years before the events of the Twilight Saga take place.
Carlisle was born in 1640 and was turned into a vampire in 1663 when he was 23 years old. Taking 2005 as the setting of both the Twilight book and the film, Carlisle was 365 years old when the saga began.
In the Twilight series, each of the Cullen family members became a vampire in a unique way. Here’s the full list of every character’s backstory.
Edward Cullen (104 Years Old)
Played by Robert Pattinson
The first one to join the coven was Edward, born in 1901 and turned into a vampire by Carlisle in 1918, when he was 17 years old. Edward was dying of influenza, and his mother begged Carlisle, who had become a doctor by then, to save him. Carlisle took a dying Edward to his home and turned him, adopting him as his own son to fulfill Edward’s mother’s dying wish. By the time the Twilight Saga began, Edward was 104 years old.
Esme Cullen (110 Years Old)
Played by Elizabeth Reaser
Then came Esme Cullen, who Carlisle met in 1911 but wasn’t changed until 1921. In 1911, she was 16 years old and suffered a broken leg, which Dr. Cullen set for her. She eventually married an abusive man and ran away from him, losing her child just two days after their birth. In 1921, Esme was suffering from injuries from a suicide attempt following the loss of her child. Esme was born in 1895, and was 26 when she became a vampire, which makes her 110 years old at the beginning of Twilight.
Rosalie Hale (90 Years Old)
Played by Nikki Reed
Next to join the coven was Rosalie Hale. Though all the family members suffered before Carlisle found them, Rosalie has one of the darkest backstories of the Cullen family. Carlisle found Rosalie on the street after she was raped and attacked by her fiancé and his friends. Rosalie was born in 1915 and was turned into a vampire in 1933 at the age of 18, so she was 90 years old when the saga began.
Emmett Cullen (90 Years Old)
Played by Kellan Lutz
Just two years after Carlisle turned Rosalie into a vampire, Rosalie found Emmett after a bear attack. Emmett was so badly wounded that he couldn’t move. Rosalie carried him to Carlisle herself and asked Carlisle to change him. Emmett and Rosalie were born in the same year, but he was turned into a vampire in 1935 at the age of 20, which also makes him 90 at the start of the Twilight series.
Alice Cullen (104 Years Old)
Played by Ashley Greene
Unlike the rest of the Cullen family, Alice and Jasper weren’t turned by Carlisle but went out looking for the Cullens based on Alice’s visions. Alice (Ashley Greene) was born in 1901 and she led an unhappy life. She had visions even as a human and discovered her father was responsible for hiring someone to kill her mother. He deemed her crazy and had her held in an asylum after she accused him since she had no proof.
Alice was turned into a vampire at the age of 19, in 1920, by a vampire working at the asylum she was sent to. He did so to protect her. By the time Twilight began, Alice was the same age as Edward (104 years old).
Jasper Hale (161 Years Old)
Played by Jackson Rathbone
Of the adopted children in the Cullen family, Jasper is actually the oldest, but he has the most trouble sticking to their “vegetarian” diet of no human blood since he’s actually been vegetarian for the shortest amount of time. Jasper was born in 1844. He was a Confederate soldier who had a great capacity for empathy, which was noticed by a vampire who wanted to use his skills.
Jasper was changed by a vampire named María in 1863, at the age of 19, and for a long time, he helped her create an army of newborn vampires whose emotions he controlled and whose strength she used. Years later, he met Alice and together they found and joined the Cullen coven, becoming Edward’s adoptive siblings. Jasper Hale, then, was 161 years old when the Twilight Saga began.
Bella Swan & Renesmee Cullen (18 Years Old And 4 Months Old)
Played by Kristen Stewart and Mackenzie Foy
Bella’s story in the Twilight franchise begins when she’s 17 years old. She marries Edward Cullen not long after becoming 18 and graduating from high school, but she doesn’t become a vampire at the start of their relationship. Instead, her dangerous pregnancy has Edward agreeing to turn Bella. Just before Bella’s 19th birthday, Renesmee is born and Edward turns her to save her life. Bella becomes a vampire at 18 and will always appear to be 18 years old, which leads her to joke with Edward about being a year older than him despite their actual significant age difference.
Renesmee is born during the events of The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn. Renesmee is a rare vampire-human child. She’s technically less than a year old during the story, but human-vampire hybrids age very quickly right after they are born, making her look older. She’s born in September and the Volturi come for her in December, making her less than four months old.
Renesmee, however, will only age for a few years before she’s reached the vampire equivalent of maturity, appearing as a young woman seemingly forever. The only other human-vampire child in the franchise is said to look like a teenager and stopped aging at seven years old. Renesmee’s aging is one of the most confusing aspects of the Cullens’ ages in the Twilight franchise, but she’s still technically an infant when the story ends.
Stephenie Meyer’s polarizing Twilight series is being rebooted into a brand-new TV show, but this time the 2000s vampire phenomenon will be animated.
Is A Vampire’s Age Related To Their Power Level In Twilight?
Newborn Vampires Are Temporarily More Powerful
Since many of the vampires in the Twilight books and movies have special powers, it’s natural to wonder whether this has anything to do with how old they are. According to Stephenie Meyer’s canon, however, the two traits actually aren’t linked for very long.
“New born” vampires are actually physically stronger and faster. There is a burst of initial strength and speed to help them aid in the transition to becoming a vampire for the first year after they turn, which is why Bella arm wrestles Emmett not long after turning, and why Jasper helps to create an army of new vampires in his early days as one. That strength, however, doesn’t last.
While it may be the case in other vampire mythologies that vampires become more powerful the longer they live (such as in Day Shift or even What We Do in the Shadows), in the Twilight world, powers can actually manifest in any vampire. This explains why very new vampires like Bella and Renesmee have abilities that much older ones do not. As they grow older and continue to gain practice with their powers, the vampires can certainly improve their skills, but they don’t inherently receive special or enhanced abilities with age.
