"How often do you think we write our own ending before the story is even finished? How often do we give up on ourselves when our lives are just starting? Things get hard and we immediately back away and assume that means we’re going in the wrong direction, doing the wrong thing. If anything, when the waters get thick, that’s our sign to keep going."
— Rachel Van Dyken, Toxic
Alexandra Elizabeth Collins
Nickname:
Alexa {what she introduces herself as}
Lexi {friends/family}
Age:
18
Birthday:
June 13th
Sexuality:
Heterosexual
Occupation:
Has her own clothing line "Lex" available at PacSun
Mother | Kristen "Kris" Collins | Age: 59 | Occupation: "Retired actress", TV personality, socialite
Father | Pierce Collins | Age: 59 | Occupation: Olympic gold medalist (track & field), CEO of Collins Aviation (company that sells aircraft supplies to executives and corporations)
Step-Mother | |
Brother | __ | Age:
Step-Sister | Tinashé Kachingwe | Age: 21 | Occupation: Singer. song-writer, former model, actress, dancer, producer, activist
History:
Both of Alexa's parents had made names for themselves well before she was born. Her father , Pierce, won a gold medal at the 1976 Olympics and following that, became a household name due to endorsements. He was married twice before he met Kris, but never had children in either of the marriages. Kris was a child actor who retired when she was in her early thirties and began her career as a talk show host. When she met Pierce, they both knew that they wanted to have children and they ended up having a son and daughter together. Their fourteen-year marriage seemed stable, or at least little Lexi thought it to be, but in reality, Kris had been stepping out on Pierce for almost ten years of. At least she had been good at hiding it though. When Lexi was around ten years old, her father was caught having an affair with a married woman, who he would go on to marry.
The divorce really bothered Lexi, and still does today. It resulted in a nasty custody battle with animosity from both sides spewing into the tabloids. Although she had been accustomed to being photographed at movie premieres and events that she attended with her parents, this was the time when she fell onto the paparazzi's radar. She was still young at the time, so they were mostly stalking the family to get remarks out of her parents, but not being able to drive to the grocery store without twenty cameras in her face was a scary experience regardless of whether the questions they were shouting were directed at her or not.
The year-long custody battle ended with Pierce being awarded primary custody of her and her brother. It was an unusual decision since it's generally the mother who's given more leeway than the father, but Pierce and Kris came to an agreement where he would increase the amount of settlement money she would receive in exchange. For their own children's sake, mostly, they didn't want this being leaked to the media but as usual, the secret settlement found its way to the public. Old enough to use Google at this point, it didn't take long for Lexi to read the many articles on how Kris essentially gave up her motherhood for a few million dollars. It was devastating to the young girl, especially as she was approaching her teen years and needed that maternal figure.
Instead of blaming her own mother for it, or embracing the beautiful and renowned fashion-designer that her father had married, she blamed her new step-mother for it. She was the reason that her father had cheated. She was the reason that her parents divorced. She was the reason that her mother dedicated her attention to everyone and everything besides her. This was egged on by her own mother, too. Instead of stepping up to the plate and admitting that she too had been cheating and caused an equal amount of damage to the marriage, she refused to go out without a fight. When Lexi did stay with her, she never hesitated to share how much she despised her ex's her wife and make false promises that she would spend more time with her daughter and even return to court to get full custody of her. The vows were empty and after years of hoping that she could somehow have a normal relationship with her mother, she grew up and realized that it was never going to happen. Her mother wanted to live life in the fast lane and most of the time, Lexi was nothing more than a pawn for her to use to hurt her ex-husband. The way that she encouraged Alexandra to lash out at her father and step-mother wasn't because she truly thought them to be unsuitable parents, but because she wanted them to at least look worse than her.
Although she eventually realized this, by now, Alexa's relationship with her father and step-mother was already rough. She had grown from a bratty pre-teen to a rebellious and completely disobedient teenager who rarely followed direction and actually made an effort to do the opposite of what her parents wanted her to do. It didn't help that her step-sister, Tinashé, was also going through her own stage of rebellion and was a perfect role model for Lexi to learn from. For the first three or four years that they were living together, Lexi wanted nothing to do with the older girl and until she began to break free of her mother's influence, refused to acknowledge her as family. She saw the way that her dad embraced Shay as his own child and especially when she was feeling attention-deprived already from her mother, this only upset her more. If she was going to have to settle with having only one parent, she wasn't going to share him with anyone. However, as she got past the stage of temper tantrums and slamming doors and moved onto bigger things - partying, drinking, and the likes, she was able to not only capture her father's attention (even if it was a bad way), but also the media's.
She was probably around thirteen when she started drinking. It generally just occurred at home when her sister would be throwing a big party and she'd invite a couple of her little friends over to partake in the mischief with her. When she was fifteen, she began to get closer with her mother again, but in more of a friend-relationship than mother-daughter. The two made headlines for clubbing together and by age sixteen, TMZ had obtained photos of the two doing cocaine together in a New York nightclub. Pierce did his best to intervene and rein Alexandra in, but she wasn't interested. Not only had she developed a relationship with her mother, but people knew who she was and most importantly, she was having fun. While she relished in the attention, she didn't appreciate all of it. In the beginning, she didn't mind being followed to clubs by paparazzi if it meant that it would piss her father off, but as her behavior worsened, their presence only increased. Two car accidents (luckily, neither were DUI related), one arrest for underage possession of alcohol and a slew of older celebrity face forced her face onto most tabloid covers throughout her sixteenth year.
In a last-ditch effort to regain some control over his daughter, and remove her from her mother's influence too, Pierce sent Alexa to a rehabilitation center in a secluded area of Washington state for eight weeks directly following her seventeenth birthday. Although it was more of an emotional-counseling center than a drug and alcohol rehab, the goal was for her to return as a less impulsive and reckless teenager and one who wanted to do something positive with her life. She simply went through the motions, knowing that as long as she did, she could return home sooner. The experience definitely didn't change her behavior very noticeably, but did make her more aware of the path she was on. Upon returning home, she finished high school with a private tutor, spent two months in Europe and launched a small clothing line with the help of her step-mother. Although she's made a lot of positive process, she's getting bored and is considering returning to her old ways this summer.
Secret(s):
Everyone has them. If there was one thing your character doesn't want anyone to find out about, what is it?
Independent, extroverted, gregarious, adventurous
Character Flaws:
Rebellious, selfish, irresponsible, moody
Personality:
To those who know her, it's clear that Alexandra is an extrovert rather than an introvert. She's sociable, gregarious, adventurous and confident. Everyone has their insecurities but for the most part, at least physically, Alexandra is happy with how she looks. She savors selfies, photo shoots and and events where she can show off her appearance, and doesn't mind taking risks with her outfits and style. Her friends know her as a fun-loving and exciting girl who can't resist singing every song that comes on during car rides, and sneaking out at night to go to a party or just get In-N-Out. While she appreciates some of the finer things in life, she's simple at heart and something as simple as going to the beach with close friends can make her happy.
Her independence is something that has caused much controversy over the past few years. It's a positive trait in many aspects, since she isn't easily influenced by other people and has a strong willed personality. She doesn't mind setting new trends and standing out and is rarely a "follower" of a group. However, it can be argued that Alexandra wants to be independent more than she actually is, and that more than being independent, she's rebellious. If she doesn't want to do something, she's not going to do it, but if she's told to do something but someone of authority, she's going to do the complete opposite of what they say. It's passive aggressive, counterproductive and immature, but she's addicted to the attention and getting it in a negative fashion is the only way she really knows. She can't support herself financially and has no plans on going off to college or starting a career. Although she isn't going to be the girl who can be talked by a group of her peers into doing something, there are certain people in her life who have a big influence on her (ex. her mother) and her actions become less of her own when she's around them.
Her level of maturity depends on who you ask. When you look at the way she acts in public, you would imagine her to be a twenty-five-year-old. She's been crashing the club scene since she was sixteen, is an experienced alcohol user and even experiments with cocaine and ecstasy when it's given to her. If she's in the mood, she can have in-depth conversations with people and is well-spoken enough during interviews and such to come across as mature. The way she dresses has been a hot topic for people with nothing better to do, and overall, people tend to think that she acts too old for her age. She is only eighteen, though, which means she can be naive, reckless and immature. A lot of the "mature" things she does are done to spite her father or garner attention, both of which are more childish than they are mature. The media has painted a picture of her being the next Lindsay Lohan or Paris Hilton - the child who grew up too fast, with everything given to them, and will eventually take a painful spiral downward. They might not be wrong.
Likes:
Vanilla cupcakes | Makeup | Bora Bora | Her car | Parties | In-N-Out | Disney Land | New York City | Miami | Concerts | Sunbathing | Dogs | Surprises | Candles | Gifts | Thunderstorms | Coachella | Massages | Buying new underwear | Italian ices | Hair dye | Fashion | Nighttime flights | Selfies
Dislikes:
Paparazzi | Cigarettes | Snakes | Blood | Tabloids | Cats | School | School uniforms | Jelly | McDonalds | LA traffic | Frozen yogurt | Seagulls | Being told what to do | Going to the dentist | Taco Bell | Kids | Bugs | Orange juice
Fears:
Going to the dentist: She's the type who needs to get sedated for something as simple as a routine cleaning
Cats: It's definitely more of a fear than just a simple dislike. She's probably not going to come over if she knows you have a cat.
Falling: She isn't necessarily scared of heights since she can fly without a problem, but she doesn't do well on ladders, cliffs, etc. where she has a chance of falling far.
The media: She's constantly a target for the tabloids and even though she tries not to ever comment on any of the bizarre rumors, it scares her that they are able to spread lies to so many people.
Aspirations:
Her father insists that she go to college but Alexandra has no desire to go to school ever again. She doesn't know what she wants to do with her life really, but imagines that it will end up having to do with fashion or makeup.
5'6
Weight:
120 lbs
Hair color:
Naturally a dark brown hue. She has been experimenting with her hair lately though, and is currently wearing it with an blonde-ombre look.
Eye color:
Brown, but she will rock blue color-contacts occasionally
Other:
Multiple ear piercings, no permanent tattoos (although she did nearly give her father a heart attack with this temporary tattoo)