| This article is about the alias Charles DiLaurentis. You may be looking for her true identity or information regarding, Charlotte DiLaurentis. |
| “ | My mom always said that nothing is more believable than a really good lie. | ” |
— Charles to Bethany Young
| ||
Charles DiLaurentis, born Charles Drake, was the name given to Charlotte DiLaurentis at her birth. She was the first-born child of Mary Drake and Ted Wilson, the adoptive child of Jessica and Kenneth DiLaurentis, the maternal cousin and adoptive sibling of Alison and Jason, and the half-sister of Alex Drake and Spencer Hastings.
The name Charles first appeared while The Liars were hostage in A's Dollhouse. A delusional Spencer noticed that the blocks in her room were an anagram for "Charles DiLaurentis". She confronted Alison about her discovery, but Alison's father lied that Charles was just an imaginary friend. The Liars put the pieces together to learn that Charles was, in fact, Uber A. Alison and Jason were sent messages signed by Charles to lure them into meeting with their person behind the mask, while the Liars actively worked to figure out who Charles was.
In "Game Over, Charles", it was revealed that Charlotte DiLaurentis was born Charles and transitioned from her assigned gender of male to her true identity of female. She hoped it would be easier for her siblings to know her as Charles before revealing her true identity. She explained her story to Alison and how she had been wrongly blamed for the death of Marion Cavanaugh by Bethany Young.
Biography
While in college, Mary Drake had a relationship with Ted Wilson, which resulted in her unexpected pregnancy. She was committed to Radley Sanitarium before Ted was aware the child existed. Mary gave birth to Charles and directly after the birth, Jessica, Mary's twin sister, adopted Charles alongside her husband, Kenneth DiLaurentis. They later became parents to two more children, Jason and Alison. Jason was a few years older than Alison, and had a better recollection of Charles. He believed the two were full siblings.
As Charles aged, her behavior began to worry Jessica and Kenneth, as she suffered from behavioral episodes, some of which were violent and psychopathic. However, some of these "episodes" were the early formation of Charles realizing her identity as a transgender girl, something that made Kenneth uncomfortable. He twisted narratives to make Charles's expressions of traditionally feminine products or wardrobe to be acts of psychopathy. One day, Charles tried to comfort a crying Ali by giving her a bath, but the young Charles mistakenly placed the baby in a bathtub full of scalding hot water. Because baths always soothed Charles, she believed it would work for her sister. The water was not only hot, but filled over Alison's face, beginning to drown her. Kenneth saved young Alison and used the accident as an excuse to admit Charles to Radley Sanitarium. While Jessica continued to visit Charles and spend time together, Kenneth wanted nothing to do with his daughter and erased her from the DiLaurentis family the best way he could. Jason was told that the brother he had was merely an imaginary friend named "Charlie". When Jason asked his father where Charlie was, his father told him that Charlie had to "go away for a while".
Now an inpatient at Radley, Charles befriended a young girl of a similar age, named Bethany Young, who supported Charles' dream of escaping Radley and transitioning into a girl. The pair would often play on the rooftop of Radley, until Marion Cavanaugh, a fellow patient at Radley, discovered Bethany. To protect Charles and herself, Bethany pushed Marion off the roof and framed Charles for the murder. Jessica paid off a young Darren Wilden to say that Marion committed suicide.
Charles was often visited by Jessica and occasionally by her Aunt Carol. Unlike her husband, Jessica embraced Charles' desire to physically transition into a female and helped her achieve this. When she was sixteen, Charles was taken out of Radley for a symbolic burial for "Charles DiLaurentis", and was then readmitted to Radley Sanitarium as Charlotte DiLaurentis. Jessica then crafted a story about Charles overdosing in Radley, donating her organs, and then being cremated and buried in Carol's backyard. She did this out of shame for admitting her daughter was transgender and out of fear of her husband's retaliation.
Series
Season 5
Spencer sees a video of a young Charles and his family, minus Kenneth DiLaurentis in A's vault in the dollhouse.
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.
Jason and Alison receive a video from Big A of their younger selves celebrating a birthday for Charles whom they were told was a cousin named Freddie. The boy asks Jessica when he has to go back, and she tells him not for a long while and to just have fun.
It's revealed that Charles DiLaurentis is, in fact, Charlotte DiLaurentis, alias CeCe Drake, and he transitioned at the age of 16.
When he was little, Charles tried to stop Alison from crying as he thought a way of helping her would be a bath. The event almost led baby Alison to drown, a fact that infuriated his adoptive father. They decided Charles is a danger for their children, so they sent him to Radley Sanitarium. Jessica visited him as often as she could, but Kenneth had never visited him.
There, he befriended Bethany Young. When Charles was 12, Bethany pushed Marion Cavanaugh from the Radley's roof and blamed Charles for it. Jessica had to pay Wilden in order that the death will be ruled as a suicide.
Appearances (4/160)
Season 5 (1/25)
Season 6 (3/20)
Quotes
Jessica: I love you, Charlie. And I always will. Charles: I love you more, mommy. |
Charles [to Bethany]: My mom always says that nothing's more believable than a really good lie. |
Charles [to Bethany]: We just need to come up with a great story. Something fabulous and devastating at the time. |
Charles: Does it look like I could survive in the woods? Bethany: You're too pretty for that. |
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