Bella Black-Lahote (Swan)

Bella Black (Swan) was born on September 13, 1987, to Renée and Charlie Swan, a young couple living in the small town of Forks, Washington. Her parents divorced when she was only three months old. Renée took Bella with her to Downey, California, to live with her difficult grandmother, before moving to Riverside after her mother got her education degree and landed a job as a kindergarten teacher at a local school. When Bella was six years old, they moved to Phoenix, Arizona. During most of her childhood, she would visit her father in Forks for one month every summer, and got acquainted with Rachel, Rebecca and Jacob Black, the children of Charlie's best friend, Billy Black, though they never became real friends. Bella found the climate in Forks unpleasant, though, and from 2002 onward, Charlie vacationed with her in California instead. She briefly took ballet and piano lessons, but quit them after some time because she found them too difficult. Bella never fit in with her peers in California or Arizona. She had always had the feeling of being a little out of sync with everyone - including her mother, who was her best friend. While her mother was impractical, absentminded and liked to shift from one interest to the next, Bella grew up as the more responsible and independent individual. At an early age, she took over most of the household responsibilities. Sometimes, she would feel like she was the adult and Renée was the child. During free time, she preferred to sit home and read, in part because she was extraordinarily clumsy. Her naturally responsible nature carried over into her schoolwork, where Bella was generally a straight-A student. Her plan for the future was to get a degree in education and teach, like her mother. Renee's career was the one thing that Bella truly respected. However, she intended to teach at the high school level. When Bella noticed that Renée felt lonely due to the lack of romance in her life, she encouraged her mother to go on more dates. Eventually, Renée fell in love with and married a minor league baseball player named Phil Dwyer. Bella wasn't entirely fond of the idea, but nevertheless offered her blessing. They married in the same month that Bella turned 17. While Phil traveled around for his job, Renée stayed home with Bella; however, Bella, noticing her mother's unhappiness with this arrangement, chose to move in with her father in Forks so Renée could go on the road with Phil during baseball season, leading to the beginning of Twilight.