Charles DiLaurentis

"He cried when it was time to leave, said it was the best birthday he ever had."

- Alison about Charles

Charles DiLaurentis is the birth name of Charlotte DiLaurentis before she transitioned.

Charles is the older brother of Alison DiLaurentis and older half-brother of Jason DiLaurentis. As a child, Charles was admitted to Radley Sanitarium, due to what Kenneth DiLaurentis, his father, described as behavioral episodes. Charles was confirmed to be the Big A who stole the game from Mona.

Although Charles was assumed alive, it was revealed in "Don't Look Now" that he had "killed" himself at the age of 16 through pill overdose. However, his Radley file suggested he donated his organs, but Mona suggests that his organs would have been unsuitable for donation based on his medication list.

In the following episode, "No Stone Unturned" it was revealed by Mona (through information she got from Lesli) that he escaped "that night" with Bethany Young, meaning that he was alive after he turned 16. He was revealed to be a transgender CeCe Drake/Charlotte DiLaurentis in Game Over, Charles as well as being blamed for the murder of Marion Cavanaugh by Bethany Young.

Biography
Charles is fifteen months older than Jason. As a child, he worried his parents, Kenneth and Jessica, as he suffered from many behavioral episodes which were assumed have been violent and/or psychopathic. It is revealed that these "episodes" were the early formation of Charles' transgender identity, something Kenneth was uncomfortable with. Charles was admitted to Radley when Alison was eleven months old. He tried to comfort a crying Ali by giving her a bath, but the young Charles mistakenly placed her in a bathtub full of scalding hot water, which was too full for the child. Kenneth misinterpreted this as Charles attempting to drown her, and decided it was time for Charles to be admitted to a mental institution.

As a child, Jason was convinced he had an imaginary friend named "Charlie". When Jason asked his father where Charlie was, his father told him Charlie had to "go away for a while". It was later revealed that "Charlie" was actually Charles, and was a real person. Jason resents his father for lying to him about Charlie's existence.

Charles transitioned into Charlotte DiLaurentis/CeCe Drake after his falsified death.

Series
Welcome to the Dollhouse
 * -|Season 5=

Spencer sees a video with Charles and family minus Kenneth DiLaurentis in his vault in the dollhouse.

Game On, Charles
 * -|Season 6=

The video in the vault plays again with all the Liars watching it. At the end it shows Charles, Jessica, Jason, and baby Alison.

O Brother, Where Art Thou

Jason and Alison see a video of their younger selves celebrating a birthday for Charles whom they thought was a random cousin. The boy asks Jessica when he has to go back, and she replies not for a long while and to just have fun.

Appearances (6/140)
Season 5 (1/25)
 * Welcome to the Dollhouse

Season 6 (5/20)
 * Game On, Charles
 * O Brother, Where Art Thou
 * FrAmed
 * Last Dance
 * Game Over, Charles