Disposition:
Aside from Nick and Brooklyn, Cara doesn't think that anyone else knows where she comes from. She doesn't want everyone to know that she's only living in the basement to prove her father wrong, and show him that she can survive on her own, because it's essentially making a joke out of the dire situation that they're all in. For her, being homeless will always be a temporary thing. She has too much of an ego right now to move back in with her father and stepmother, and if she uses his credit card to rent an apartment or a hotel room, it'll just prove that she isn't surviving on her own. Going as far as to live in a musty basement says a lot about how out of touch she is with being truly homeless and having no other options but to live there, but it also speaks to how she wants to be independent.

In a lot of ways, Cara is your stereotypical rich girl. She has always been ignorant to a lot of the problems that "real" people face, but coming onto the streets has certainly changed that for her. Only a little over a year ago, she was the girl snapping at waiter's for bringing out a slightly incorrect order at the upscale restaurant that she and her friends were dining at. She had to have the newest phone, the nicest shoes, and the most expensive bag. Material items made her feel good, and they still do, but she's not a snob or a bad person. Once she realized that the exclusive world she lived in was not the real world, she got a bit of a reality check. She's the type of girl who is willing to change and wants to be compassionate and down-to-earth, but takes a little longer getting there because a lot of the problems that she has are so different than those of the people she lives with. What might come off as her being arrogant or out of touch with reality is simply her not living in the same reality as the others. She really tries to understand where they're coming from and does have a lot of sympathy for them, but just as much as she wants to offer that support, she doesn't. It wouldn't mean anything for her to give her input when she doesn't fully understand their situation and her opinions don't hold any weight. Because of this, Cara tries to keep to herself. She definitely doesn't isolate herself and enjoys conversing with the others, but she doesn't throw herself onto people and doesn't come close to Holly's level of friendliness. Her main goal in the basement is to not step on any toes. She's happy to make friends and be friendly to everyone else, but she doesn't go overboard with it. By the others, she would probably be described as being positive and easy to talk to, but not overbearing or extremely friendly.

Likes:
Birthdays, vanilla scented things, iced coffee, lemonade, babies, alcohol, fruity drinks, dancing, swimming, warm weather

Dislikes:
Cold weather, being out at night (if she's sober), beef jerky, her father, her stepmother, terrorism, cream cheese, wool sweaters, rodents, insects

Fears:
Terrorism, being cut off from her father's money (the only link she has to her "real world"), her friend's finding out about her situation, being infertile, STD's

Dreams:
Her short term goal would be for her stepmother to leave the picture, and for her to be able to resume her normal life. Three years have gone by without that happening, so it's pretty clear that it won't be a reality any time soon. Cara is still too resilient to give in yet, so her more realistic goal is to at least become civil enough with her father to talk him into paying for a separate apartment for her in the city. She does eventually want to go to college (with no specific major in mind).

Background:
Caraline was born into a life of wealth and privilege, and becoming homeless definitely wasn't a part of the game plan that Lauren and William Forrester created for their only child. Being raised in the Upper East Side of New York meant that Cara lived the silver spoon life. The preschool she attended cost more than some colleges do. She went to the same elementary school as the children of billionaires and brushed shoulders with future politicians and actors and musicians. With everything at her fingertips, it seemed impossible that her life could ever take such a drastic turn forcing her onto the streets. In a way, it didn't. Choosing to be homeless, or rather, live in a dingy basement of a bar, when you have a key to a ten bedroom penthouse on the other side of town is a bizarre and incomprehensible choice and Cara knows this. For her, it's so much more complicated than that, though.

Her mother was one of the 2,606 victims of the World Trade Center attack in 2001. Cara was a child at the time, and while not old enough to fully grasp the idea that her mother had perished in an unthinkable way, she knew that her mother was dead. She had been close with her mother, who had opted to raise her rather than follow the Upper East side norm of hiring a live-in nanny to deal with the 3 AM feedings and crying fests. It was only when Cara was old enough to start school that her mother resumed her top position at the law firm her father (Cara's grandfather) owned, and even then, for the short amount of time that she was working, she still made time for her daughter. The same couldn't be said for William, who, when he wasn't spending time at the investment firm he was the CEO of, was having affairs. He was doing so before his wife passed away, so needless to say, once she was gone, he moved on fairly quickly. Cara moved on from her mother's death as well. It was a tragic event, but she never felt responsible for it, it didn't cause her lifelong depression or ruin her chance at a normal life. It sucked, and no amount of nannies could ever replace her mother's devotion, but Cara was young enough where it became normal to live without her mother.

She doesn't realize it, but it did have a bit of an effect on her as she grew up. Not only did she lack her real mother, but when she turned seventeen, her father started dating their au pair, Alice. At this time, she had been living nanny-free for nearly three years, so her father suddenly hiring a twenty-one-year-old Swedish woman to care for her was absolutely strange and illogical. Sure, Cara had become a tad bit rebellious. She was out nearly every night partying underage with her friends, but her father wasn't around to parent her ever before, and she was used to disregarding his authority. Regardless, she didn't need someone only four years her senior babysitting her, and soon it became apparent that Alice wasn't there for Cara. Six months after moving in, William proposed to her. To say that Cara was caught off guard is an understatement. She had seen her father go through pretty, young girls on a monthly basis but none of them, especially not one who came from nothing, ever lasted. And yet, suddenly, he was marrying this one. Maybe it was because she was so young, or maybe it was because Cara really wasn't okay with the idea of her mother being replaced, but either way, she had it out for this woman, and in an attempt to run her out, made the possibility of the three of them living peacefully together impossible.

Cara was spoiled and used to getting her way, and as a last ditch effort, refused to apply to any colleges unless her father kicked Alice out. It was the seventeen-year-old version of holding her breath until her face turned blue if her parents refused to buy her the doll she wanted. Unlike that, though, this didn't work. Her father told her to go to school or get a job, or get out. He probably didn't mean it, but Cara wanted to spite him and left after graduating high school. She spent a year with her grandparents in Miami, Florida, before coming back to New York at her grandmother's insistence that she make amends with her father. Two minutes into their reunification and she stormed out in tears, and decided to return to "running away". It was childish and absurd for a girl like her to think she could survive on her own (which wasn't really on her own, since her father left one of her credit cards activated). She had no street skills, no experience doing anything on her own, and a lifetime of luck with living on the other end of the lifestyle spectrum. If it wasn't for her meeting Nick and Brooklyn at a club one night, she probably would have returned home after the summer ended and her friends all left for college. Living with the rest of the group is not something that Cara wants or plans on doing for the rest of her life, but she's still too prideful to run back home to her dad and stepmother. While she's currently living in the same place as the others, it's not a secret to anyone that Cara isn't in the same predicament as them. What's a game that she can end at any time to her, is a life to these other people.

Job:
She is not working at the moment. Her credit card linked to her dad's bank account is still functioning, so there's no need for her to work. She does, however, have a bar tending license that she and a couple of friends earned when they turned eighteen, so if need be, she could always do that.

Height/Weight or build:
5'10, 130 lbs

Eye color:
Blue

Hair color:
Blonde

Other:
N/A

Face claim:
Lindsay Ellingson