Esme Cullen

Esme Cullen (born Esme Anne Platt and later Esme Anne Evenson) is known as the motherly figure to the Cullens in the Twilight Series by Stephenie Meyer. These books include; Twilight, New Moon, Eclipse, Breaking Dawn, as well as Midnight Sun. She is wife to Carlisle Cullen and a mother figure to Edward Cullen, Alice Cullen, Rosalie Hale, Emmett Cullen and Jasper Hale.

Personal life
Esme was born sometime in 1895. Little is known about her early life, but that she lived near the outskirts of Columbus, Ohio. She met Dr. Carlisle Cullen for the first time when she was 16 and had just broken her leg climbing a tree. He soon moved out of town, but Esme never forgot the experience. While she initially wanted to move West to become a school teacher, she was pressured by her parents to remain and marry. At the age of 22, she married Charles Evenson, hoping to please her parents and willing to attempt to be happy, but soon realized her husband was an abusive man. Her parents coached her to keep face, and much to her relief, her husband got drafted during World War I.

A while after he came back she found out that she was pregnant, which gave her motive to run away. She fled north to become a teacher, and in 1921, her son was born, and subsequently died a few days later of a lung infection. After the baby's death, Esme felt that she no longer had any reason to live. She tried to commit suicide by jumping off a cliff, and was presumed dead when she was brought into the morgue, but her heart was still beating. Dr. Cullen was working in the area at the time and recognized her as the happy, beautiful young girl he treated ten years early. Carlisle did not want Esme to suffer any longer so he decided to change her into a vampire as she was dying anyway. Esme then married Dr. Carlisle Cullen, and she joined the Cullen's coven in 1921. She welcomed Bella as a part of their "family" because of her warm nature, and has always treated the rest of the Cullens like this, too. She has a special spot in her heart for Edward because he was the first of her adoptive children.

Physical traits and personality
Esme is an extremely warm individual who is gifted with the ability to loving passionately. She is described as being 5'6", with caramel colored hair. She also has gold/black eyes, pale skin that sparkles in the sunlight, and purple circles under her eyes like the rest of the Cullens. However, these fade when she is well-fed. She has a heart-shaped face and her figure is described as being slender but rounded. Bella describes her as being similar to "one of the ingenues of the silent movie era." She always has a maternal ache in her, which is why she is able to open her heart to her adoptive children and Bella.  This was caused because her first and only child died when it was only a few days old. When Bella first meets Esme, she says that Esme reminds her of Snow White.

Charles Evenson
According to the Twilight Lexicon, in Esme's human life, she was married to Charles Evenson. Esme was indifferent to Charles but decided to marry him, to please her parents, in 1917. She soon regreted the decision as Charles became increasingly violent and abusive towards her. In 1920, Esme ran away from him after discovering she was pregnant with their first child.

Carlisle Cullen
Esme first met Carlisle, at the age of 16, after breaking her leg while playing in a tree. She was instantly taken with Carlisle, so after this meeting, no man was every able to measure up to the standards set by the handsome doctor. Later, Carlisle would save Esme from her failed suicide attempt and make her part of his vampire family. The Carlisle-Esme relationship is one built on a strong spiritual and intellectual bond. Only aiding the relationship is the fact the pair is completely in love with one another. Obviously, Esme has never regreted becoming a vampire as she is able to spend eternity with the man/vampire of her dreams.

Movie portrayal
Meyer stated on her website that her favorite Esme suggestions based on looks are Mary Louise Parker and Jean Louisa Kelly.