Irina

"I have to report a crime. The Cullens, they've done something terrible."

- Irina talking about the Cullens to the Volturi.

Irina (pronounced Ear-ee-na) was one of the original Denali "sisters", along with Tanya and Kate, and an originator of the myth of the succubus. She was a "vegetarian" and led a very peaceful lifestyle with her "family". The Denalis consider themselves to be the Cullens' extended family or "cousins". She and Laurent were in a relationship before he was killed by the shape-shifters in New Moon. Irina was killed by Caius to enrage her sisters, after giving false information to the Volturi about Renesmee Cullen.

She is portrayed by Maggie Grace in the movie adaptations of Breaking Dawn.

Early life
Irina was the third vampire added to the Denali coven, after Tanya and Kate. As a human, she was a pretty peasant girl living in a small farm community. She physically resembled Kate and Tanya, and Sasha decided to change her with the idea of adding a new sister to her "daughters". Irina, Tanya, and Kate loved their mother as much as she loved them. They were orphaned by the Volturi because their mother was harboring an immortal child named Vasilii; a human child that was turned and therefore couldn't learn to control himself due to his primitive mind. Irina and her sisters were devastated by their mother's death, but they did not fault the Volturi for their decision. Sasha knew the laws as well as they did, and none of the sisters could understand what she'd done. They did, however, understand her decision to keep them in the dark about Vasilii's existence; sisters' total innocence of Sasha's act was the only reason the Volturi spared them.

To avoid their pain, the sisters started flirting with men, both human and immortal, though—flirtatious by nature—none of them settled with one mate. In the beginning, their relationships with humans usually ended with the man's death. Their behavior earned them a place in human legend as the succubus: a female demon who seduces her prey before draining them of life. Eventually, the pain and guilt of these losses became unbearable for them: there were some men that they grew attached to, which made it painful for them when they died at their hands. The Denali sisters then lived a vegetarian lifestyle to avoid slaughtering the men that they grew fond of and yet maintain intimacy with them. Over a century later, they were later joined by two compassionate vampires named Eleazar and Carmen.

The Denalis never met any other coven that shared their way of life until they crossed paths with the Cullens. They quickly bonded over their shared lifestyle, and considered one another extended family from that time forward.

New Moon
After Laurent came to live with the Denali coven, Irina became incredibly drawn to him, and Laurent enjoyed her affection. But before they could move on to the next level, their relationship ended following Laurent's death at the hands of the Quileute shape-shifters when he attempted to kill Bella for her blood.

Eclipse
When the Cullens asked for the Denali coven's aid against Victoria's newborn army, she wanted revenge on the wolves in exchange for their aid, but they disagreed and so the Denalis turned down their alliance temporarily.

Breaking Dawn
"The Cullens are innocent. I take full responsibility for my mistake. I'm sorry."

- Irina's last word to the Cullens and her family.

In the books, Irina did not show up at Bella and Edward's wedding because she was still upset with the Cullens. In the movie, she did attend the wedding and had promised to behave, but felt utterly hurt when she saw Seth Clearwater, one of the shape-shifters, and refused to believe the Cullens about Laurent trying to kill Bella. After their brief confrontation, she left the reception.

Three months later, Irina was on her way to Forks to make peace with the Cullens when she suddenly spotted Bella, Jacob, and Renesmee hunting from a distance. The moment she saw Renesmee, she was misled to believe that she was an immortal child created by the Cullens. Knowing that creating an immortal child is an illegal action, Irina ran to tell the Volturi, but not before Bella saw her.

A few days later, Alice foresaw the Volturi's decision to visit Forks, and explaining that she was not trying to predict their actions, but trying to find Irina, Bella came to the conclusion that Irina assumed that Renesmee was an immortal child and that she must have decided to go to the Volturi to tell them about Renesmee.

Irina arrived in Forks with the Volturi, with the intent to punish the Cullens. She was called upon by Caius to bear witness to Renesmee. She explained to the Volturi that she was upset because the shape-shifters killed Laurent, but the Cullens refused to let her avenge him. However, upon realizing her mistake, she no longer wanted to complain against the wolves or the Cullens and sincerely apologized to them for the situation she had put them through. The moment she said that she was willing to take full responsibility for her error, Caius signaled the guard and Irina was destroyed in front of all the vampires present. Caius merely looked on and proceeded to set Irina ablaze, as a plot to enrage Kate and Tanya into making the attack and starting the fight. Caius later justified this by saying that "now she has taken full responsibility of her actions". The situation did not turn for the worse and Irina's sacrifice was not in vain.

After the confrontation ended with only Irina's death, the Denalis returned home to mourn for their fallen sister and celebrate the addition of a new comrade, Garrett, who had become Kate's mate.

Physical description
"Her hair was pale, pale blonde, almost silver. This was the gleam that had caught my eye. It hung straight as a ruler to a blunt edge at her chin, parted evenly down the center. She was a stranger to me. I was absolutely certain I'd never seen her before, even as human. None of the faces in my muddy memory were the same as this one. But I knew her at once from her golden dark eyes. Irina had decided to come after all."

- Bella, upon seeing Irina for the first time.

Irina was described as being a vampire with straight, chin-length, silvery blonde hair, standing 5'2" and had golden eyes that turned black when she was thirsty. Her features were so beautiful that any man who saw her became mesmerized by her beauty.

In the Breaking Dawn films, her hair is wavy, long and it is of golden blonde color, usually combed in an updo. She stands at 5'9", the tallest of the Denali sisters, in the films.

Personality
Due to her mother's passing for creating an immortal child, Irina, along with her sisters, were "purists" when it came to vampire laws. For centuries, they had enjoyed the pleasurable company of men, both human and vampire, but learned to achieve monogamy when Laurent came into her life.

Relationships
Irina is the deceased mate of Laurent, the youngest adoptive sister of Tanya, Kate and the deceased Vasilii, the adoptive daughter of Sasha and coven members with Eleazar and Carmen.

Laurent
"He wanted to be like us. To live in peace with humans. With me."

- Irina on Laurent.

Laurent was Irina's mate. He came to Denali after he left James and Victoria. There, he and Irina met, and fell in love, though she was more serious about their relationship than him. However, Laurent had trouble sticking to the vegetarian diet, and occasionally hunted humans.

In March, he went back to Forks as a favor to Victoria to see if Bella was still under the protection of the Cullens. It was there that he got killed by the Quileute werewolves when he attempted to kill Bella Swan to sustain his own thirst, abruptly ending Irina and Laurent's relationship before they could move on to the next stage. Irina was enraged and deeply hurt by his death and because of this, the Denali coven were prevented from helping the Cullen family during the newborn crisis of Seattle. In the movie, Irina points out that she did not believe that Laurent had tried to kill Bella.

In Breaking Dawn, Irina's anger at the Cullens' refusal to let her exact revenge on the wolves continued, but it did not cloud her judgment, as she admitted her mistake and willingly accepted her punishment.

Tanya
Tanya is Irina's eldest adoptive sister, as well as leader of the Denali coven after their "mother" was killed centuries ago by the Volturi at the crime of creating an immortal child.

Irina loved her and her siblings above everything else, which drove her to confess her mistakes in order to protect them. Tanya was so enraged by her death that she attempted to attack the Volturi to avenge her sister. Even though she did not act on her anger, she has been permanently scarred by Irina's death.

Kate
Kate is Irina's other adoptive sister, and the only one with a gift.

Irina loved her and her siblings above everything else, which drove her to confess her mistakes in order to protect them and resulted in her death. Kate was so enraged by her death that she attempted to attack the Volturi to avenge her, using her gift on anyone who attempted to stop her until Bella blocked her power and Garrett restrained her. Even though she did not act on her anger, she has been permanently scarred by Irina's death.

Eleazar
"How could she do this thing?"

- Eleazar on Irina's "betrayal" of the Cullens

Eleazar is a member of the Denali coven, who joined them with his mate Carmen after leaving the Volturi to lead a more peaceful existence. Eventually, they met the Denali sisters and found interest in their "unusual" lifestyle. Irina and her sisters invited the visitors to stay and try out their lifestyle, and eventually their stay became permanent.

Carmen
"Irina? Come meet Bella."

- Carmen to Irina.

Carmen is a member in the Denali coven, and Eleazar's mate. Though it is not determined how close they really were, it seems they had a fairly mutual connection, as Eleazar points out that abstaining from human blood allows them to form true family bonds. No doubt, the loss of Irina had hurt Carmen as well as Tanya and Kate. In the movie adaption, she was shown grieving with Tanya and Kate after the Volturi confrontation.

Sasha
Sasha was Irina's adoptive mother and founder of their coven. After creating Tanya and Kate, Sasha was intrigued with the idea of adding a new sister to them and found their physical features quite similar. It did not take long before Irina learned to love her new family, who in return loved her.

Losing their mother was a tremendous blow for all three of them, and in the aftermath of that loss, Irina and her sisters became purists of the Volturi's laws. Even after so many centuries, she and her sisters still mourned Sasha's death, without however quite forgiving her for her crime.

Film portrayal
Irina is portrayed by Maggie Grace in Breaking Dawn - Part 1 and Breaking Dawn - Part 2.

Appearances

 * Breaking Dawn
 * Breaking Dawn - Part 1
 * Breaking Dawn - Part 2

Mentioned in

 * Midnight Sun
 * New Moon
 * Eclipse