Caraline Lauren Forrester
Preferred Name
Caraline, Cara
Age:
23
Birthday:
May 1st
Sexuality:
Heterosexual
Hometown:
Upper East Side of Manhattan
Occupation:
Unemployed, part-time student at New York University
In a lot of ways, Cara is your stereotypical rich girl. She has always been ignorant to a lot of the problems that "normal" people face, and a lot of the time, comes across as being arrogant, ignorant, dismissive and entitled without even meaning it. She has a tendency to think that her normal is the same normal as everyone else, so complaining about how unworthy this building is of having her as a resident, when her co-residents can barely afford rent doesn't always make her look great. She's definitely materialistic, and loves having the newest and nicest of everything, but while she doesn't realize it sometimes, she is changing for the better, as of lately. For most of her life, she was only friends with people who were exactly like her in appearance, financial status, and background. Being tossed into a building with more diversity in those aspects has done good for her outlook on the world and her knowledge of how the real world works. While her disposition certainly reflects her background, it is important to note that Cara is open to change. She wants to grow, but as everyone can guess, something as significant as changing the way you've acted for over two decades, isn't something that will happen overnight.
She wants to be compassionate and down-to-earth, and genuinely tries to relate to people's problems and offer advice, but she 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. It's hard for her to shake herself free from the mindset that she is better than these people. 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 wouldn't be described as an open book. By the others, she would probably be described as being positive and easy to talk to, but not overbearing or extremely friendly, because she doesn't consider anyone else in the building to be a real friend. On the surface level, this may seem innocent, and reflect what she thinks it is - her knowing her place, and assuming that since she's the odd one out in this building, that no one really wants to be friends with her. However, it would be a lie to say that part of it doesn't reflect her thinking that she's a bit above most of the other residents here. She has friends, sure, but it's taken some time to make them.
Those who do know what Cara is truly like, usually have to accept, or at least put up with, her negative character traits, in order to enjoy the good ones. She's generous, enthusiastic, energetic, and sociable with people she trusts. She's very much a girly girl, and adores pampering herself and taking "me" time. Something that she definitely struggles with is accepting adulthood, and the responsibilities that come with it. It might tie into her upbringing, but in more ways than just that, Cara is still in an irresponsible and reckless teenager state of mind. She rarely takes account for her actions, struggles with accepting that she's wrong or having to apologize for anything, or thinking about her future in the way that a twenty three year old should be.
Likes:
Parties, vanilla scented things, the gym, iced coffee, babies, alcohol, fruity drinks, dancing, shopping, spas, warmth
Dislikes:
Cold weather, being out at night (if she's sober), beef jerky, her father, her stepmother, terrorism, beer, rodents, insects
Fears:
Terrorism, being cut off from her father's money (the only link she has to her "real world"), being infertile, STDs
Caraline was born into a life of wealth and privilege led by her parents, Lauren and William Forrester. She grew up with a younger brother, Ryan, in the Upper East Side of New York, essentially taking on an embodiment of a silver spoon life. The preschool she attended cost more than some colleges do, and she went to the same private K-12 school as the children of billionaires, politicians and actors and musicians.
Her mother was one of the 2,606 victims of the World Trade Center attack in 2001. Cara was only 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 and son. The same couldn't be said for William, who, when he wasn't spending time at the investment firm he was the CEO of, or cashing in on the mass amount of shares from the technology company that his late father had passed down to him, 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 and her brother 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 or her brother. 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 four 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, because he wasn't going to let her rack up thousands of dollars on his credit cards, party all night, be disrespectful, and not try to advance her life. Although she was an average student in high school, she hated the idea of spending another four years in school, so after graduating, she agreed to get a job. The job, however, was just being a promoter at a nightclub, which meant that all she had to do was bring pretty girls to party with her, to make the club attract more men, and in turn, make money. She got away with doing this for two years, while telling her father that she was working as a "salesperson" for some made up entertainment company, before he realized that she was lying. She had been living in her own nice apartment in Tribeca at the time, and once the lease on that was up, her father refused to pay for it again. Finally, she agreed to start college, but after being overwhelmed during her first semester at NYU, she insisted that she only go part time. Her father obliged with the request, and paid for a lease on a three bedroom apartment in the area, under the condition that she share it with her younger brother, who happened to also start NYU around that time.
5'11, 125 lbs
Eye color:
Blue
Hair color:
Blonde
Face claim:
Romee Strijd