Isabella "Bella" Aryn Salvatore (née Gilbert) is a main character on The Vampire Diaries and The Originals and a recurring character on Legacies.
Isabella is a member of the Gilbert Family, the Claire Family, and the Petrova Family. She is also a member of the Salvatore Family due to her marriage to Damon.
Early Life[]
In 1998 or 1999, when Bella was only six, her parents got divorced. After the divorce, her father wasn't really part of her life growing up and was pretty much non-existent. Her mother got remarried when she was thirteen and then sent her to live with her uncle Grayson and aunt Miranda when she was sixteen, during her sophomore year of highschool.
This was due to the fact that her step-father was a businessman and travelled a lot and that Bella thought her mother should go with him. It wasn't meant to be a permanent arrangement though, but then Grayson and Miranda passed away and Bella though Elena and Jeremy needed her more.
She ended up forming a close bond with her cousin, Elena, during this time; which came as a surprise to Bella. It would later be revealed this was due to their doppelganger connection, which pulled them towards one another.
She met Damon first, before the accident. They talked about her relationship with her boyfriend, Tyler, and how she felt it wasn’t what she wanted anymore. He tried to compel her and was surprised when he couldn’t. (He later admitted he thought about killing her that night, but he was curious as to why he couldn’t compel her as that has never happened to him.) She later loses recognition of the past few hours as she hit her head in the accident. It is later revealed that because of her psychic abilities, her head is more protected which is why it needs much more focus on the vampire’s part to work.
Appearance[]
As a human, Bella has long, slightly wavy dark brown almost black hair and green eyes. In comparison, Emily has long, more curly, and tinted red hair. Bella has a pale complexion and doesn't worry too much about make-up and clothes. She is very natural and wears simple clothes, such as hoodies and jeans.
As a vampire, Bella cuts her hair shoulder length and has it lighter, keeping it wavy. Due to Caroline and later Rebekah, she now dresses in more fashionable outfits. She doesn't care about appearances as much as Caroline or Rebekah, but she does care more than when she was a human.
Personality[]
Bella has always been kind-hearted, intelligent, stubborn, loyal, self-sacrificing, strong-willed, brave, trusting, somewhat perceptive, compassionate, a bad liar, sarcastic (when angry/annoyed especially), curious, protective, and bubbly. She has a lack of self-knowledge and no sense of self-preservation. She is always putting others before herself. She has a sarcastic and humorous side, especially when it comes to Damon. This side of her comes out more as the series goes on. As a human, Bella is also shy, clumsy, introverted, and insecure. These traits gave Bella the nickname "Bella Swan" by Damon, which she hates. As a vampire, however, her true self shines through and she becomes stronger, more independent, and confident.
Powers and Abilities[]
As a human[]
As a vampire[]
Doppelganger History and Bella's Role[]
Brenna[]
Brenna was the original. She was Amara’s sister and best friend. They were very close (and because of this, all their doppelgangers will always be apart of each other’s lives as well). And when Amara fell in love with Silas, they both had plans to become immortal and be together forever. But Amara would not leave Brenna, which is why she also became an immortal. And since she was also friends with Qetsiyah, she felt betrayed by her and gave her her wish to be with Amara forever by making them both the Anchor.
Mila[]
Mila was the original doppelganger, and she was best friends with Amara’s doppelganger, Tatia. Tatia fell in love with Elijah, while Mila fell in love with Kol. Kol had just admitted his feelings towards her before he was turned into a vampire. She was later killed by Klaus, on accident, but him and Elijah later told Kol that she had gone missing, to protect him. When he wouldn’t let her go, his mother placed the same spell on Kol that she did Elijah to make him forget. Mila and Tatia’s blood was later used for the curse that was placed on Klaus. Mila was used to bind her blood to the Amulet. The amulet or the doppelganger could then be used to break the curse, however the amulet was destroyed soon after. The amulet was used as a gateway to focus through the moonstone. The amulet and the moonstone are two halves of a whole. The amulet is now in Mila’s blood, and, as a result, her doppelgangers. This will also make other spells stronger if her blood is used.
Emiliya Petrova[]
The next doppelganger, Emiliya, was also the half-sister of the next Amara doppelganger, Katerina. She was sent to England by her father, as he was afraid she would tell people about his indiscretions with a servant, resulting in her birth. She had just recently found out the truth and was furious. Her mother had never been very kind to her and now she knew why. She was upset about being separated from her sister. But a few years later Katerina was sent away after having a child out of wedlock and they met again in England. And were soon met by the Originals, when Emiliya took a quick fondness towards Kol. And him to her. They never stopped loving each other. And she hasn’t given up on seeing him again. She turned herself to avoid being sacrificed in Klaus’ ritual. Kol was daggered when he tried to defend her. When he first woke up and found out how long it's been, he freaked out thinking Klaus had probably killed her.
Throughout The Vampire Diaries[]
Season 1: September 2009-February 2010[]
She forms a close brotherly bond with Stefan through Elena. She trusts him completely from just a few conversations with each other. And this didn’t change when she found out he was a vampire. In fact, it only made her more curious about him. She would consistently tell Elena she’s being ridiculous. And that what Stefan was had absolutely nothing to do with who he was. Damon becomes curious about her because of this. And also the fact that he can’t compel her, even without vervain. He found her very strange. She broke up with Tyler before the series began, and he tries to get back at her by being with Vicky. But they have a complicated relationship, with some hook-ups throughout this season. Besides this, Bella spent some time with Damon and found herself growing attracted to him, but feared his dangerous side. And then when she found out about his obsession with Katherine, it makes her even more worried about her growing feelings. Especially when he starts showing an interest in Elena. And he also opens up to her about his memories coming back. Katherine did compel him one time. It was to forget about Emily, who he was growing feelings for. He doesn’t know what it means as those memories feel distant and he doesn’t have much of a connection to them. Bella gets jealous when Damon dances with Elena, because of his connection to Katherine and as a result his interest in Elena, so she leaves the party. She also finds out this season that her mother isn't her birth mother. Her mother adopted her when she divorced her father and he became estranged to her. At the end, Emily is back and posing as Bella. She’s jealous of Damon’s interest in her and her sister look-a-like and flirts with him as Bella to mess with them. Then her sister kisses him as Elena.
Season 2: February-May 2010[]
Damon is convinced of his feelings for Elena, despite his insistence before that he just cared about Katherine and later confusing feelings for Emily as he was forced to relive memories of her. And he’s convinced he kissed Elena even though she says they didn’t. Stefan gets overprotective when he finds out Damon thought he was kissing Elena, but she stops him and tells him she wouldn’t do that. Which hurt Damon. Bella later sees Damon confessing his love for Katherine. Bella leaves, surprised by how hurt she felt and starts to tear up. Upset, Damon follows her home and forcefully kisses her and then kills Jeremy. She later asks him if he even cares that he keeps hurting her. And she doesn’t believe him when he says he doesn’t care about Katherine anymore either. Bella runs to Tyler which makes Damon jealous. And after drinking, which she normally doesn’t do, they hooked up. Damon and Emily hook up when Damon finds out. They later talk after their short lived fling and he told her he really did care about her before and part of him always will. “But you love my doppelganger,” she says. “It’s okay. Trust me when I say I understand.” “You love someone?” “I have for over 500 years. I hope to see him again one day.” This made him realize his feelings for Elena where all wrapped up with Katherine, and he doesn’t feel that way about her anymore. He realizes the person he cares most for is Bella, but his feelings and hurt over Katherine for over a hundred years had clouded his feelings for Bella. Bella finally forgives him in episode 8 after she was kidnapped and saw how concerned he was for her. He tells her he loves her and then compels her to forget as he thinks she deserves better than him. Bella is aware of her feelings for Damon, but has been there for Tyler as he changed into werewolf, and is aware there are still feelings there. In the second half of the season, Bella starts becoming curious about being a vampire as part of her has always hated being human. This surprises Elena, who continuously tries to talk her out of it. Despite this, she gets upset with Damon for feeding her his blood because he took the choice away from her. But she later accepted it as she would rather be a vampire than die. But she hated that she would make Elena a vampire too, since they would be even more connected during the sacrifice. Bonnie was able to save both of them. While Damon is dying she tells him that she loves him and that she knew it for a while. And if he stopped being an ass and pushing her away she would have told him sooner.
Season 3: June-November 2010[]
The beginning of this season starts with Bella, Elena, and Damon trying to find Stefan. Klaus later figures out that he needs both the blood of Elena and Bella, as they are connected, to make hybrids. Bella eventually decides she wants to be a vampire, much to the dismay of Elena and Bonnie, but realizes she can’t as Klaus needs her blood and would surely kill her if she turned. Bella gets upset with Damon for not trying harder to help Stefan, his brother and one of her best friends, after what he did to save his life. And he continued to do things that hurt her, but she could see he was trying. This weighed on Damon as Stefan told him that he wouldn’t be good enough for her, and after Stefan seemed to totally betray them he felt he didn’t have to feel guilty for “wanting what he wants”. But when he finds out the opposite is true, Bella tells him he doesn’t need to feel guilty anymore, he just needs to try to do the right thing. When you care for someone, that’s what you do. In episode 14, because of her resemblance to Emily, Kol compels her to forget Damon and think that she’s in love with him. She later finds out the truth, but Kol refuses to give her her real memories back. In episode 19 she goes on a road trip to see if she started having feelings for Damon again. In the season finale she tells him that she loves him for the first time again. Despite the circumstances, Bella becomes friendly with Elijah, and even Klaus and Rebekah on occasion. (Which Damon hates). She drowned with Elena after driving off the road, right after she tells Damon she has to go back to her friends and Elena needs Stefan. She told him she loved him and he would be okay.
Season 4: November 2010-June 2011[]
Bella’s a vampire! Damon tells her he’s been slipping his blood to her the last couple of months without her knowing. Her memories of Damon and everything else she’s been compelled to forget are returning. And she’s sired to Damon. She can’t drink from blood bags, but Elena can. When Elena starts hallucinating, Bella starts hallucinating too. In episode 7, Damon feeds off Bella for the first time. In the next episode he finds out she is sired to him and starts questioning her true feelings. Bella tries to convince him differently, but he tries to do what he thinks is best for her. Elena and Stefan break up because he continues to keep things from her and wants to “fix” her. In episode 15 Bella and Elena turn their emotions off as they can’t handle losing anymore people. Bella becomes peppy and sadistic with her emotions off and finds Elena to be annoying and easily amused. This causes them to go their separate ways. But when Rebekah suggests that they go after Emily and Katherine, they steal Damon’s car and go together. She finally turns her emotions back on in episode 20 when Damon brings Tyler back and tells her he’s selfish enough to do whatever it takes to bring her back to him. Then he tortures him in front of her. Her and Elena are on rocky terms now that they are both vampires and are changing. Tyler kisses her after things end between him and Caroline. They’ve gotten closer recently as she is on rocky terms with Damon and Elena. She’s confused and tells him she needs to think. She told Damon after the fact that part of her will always care for Tyler and she just doesn’t know what she wants right now. Being a vampire and the sire bond confused her. In the season finale Bella tells Damon that despite everything she’s in love with him. Stefan is heart broken when Elena tells him that she doesn’t know what she wants. If she’s going to be a vampire she needs to find out who she is and be okay with that person. And she needs to do it alone. Bella says goodbye to Stefan as he realizes there really isn’t a purpose for him in Mystic Falls anymore, he will see them again but he needs time.
Season 5: September 2011-May 2012[]
Bella and Damon have a “honeymoon” summer together, as this is the first time they were together without anything in between them. Then Bella, Elena, and Caroline leave for college. However, Bella is hesitating as her and Elena are still on rocky terms. Despite everything Elena still loves Stefan and is by his side through everything. They even kiss again, but Stefan says nothing has really changed between them and Elena was just afraid to lose him. And maybe this time away from each other is good because he wants them to be together because they want to be not because they have to be. Katherine, desperate and missing her sister, decides to possess Bella. She then breaks up with Damon and he kills Aiden. Katherine decides to get back with Stefan, despite being in Bella’s body, strongly confusing him. When Bella gets control back in episode 16 and finds out the truth, she confronts Damon. He keeps secrets, she forgives him. It seems like all she does is forgive him. Is this their fate? You killing people because I upset you? She says she doesn’t know if she can forgive him again, at least not yet. She needs her space, especially since she’s so confused about everything that’s happened these last few weeks. Deeply upset with Damon, she starts hooking up with Enzo, but tries to keep it from him. Her and Enzo even start to care for each other, much to her surprise. In episode 19, Damon finds out he attempts to kill Enzo, but when she begs him not to he agrees and turns his anger on her instead. She told him that she needed space, giving him hope that he would be forgiven one day, but then she gets together with someone else. She tells him it’s not like that. In episode 21 Damon and Bella start speaking to each other again. And by the end of the episode she tells him she will always love him. She isn’t capable of anything else. In the season finale she tells him that he isn’t dying, not without her. And if he doesn’t want to waste time, then he shouldn’t argue with her. He kisses her and tells her he loves her before they kill themselves. Bella comes back safely, but Damon doesn’t and it is assumed that him and Bonnie are gone.
Season 6: September 3 2012 and June 24 2013 (but not physically)[]
After Damon gets sucked away, Bella realizes she doesn’t know herself at all and there isn’t a place for her here, at least not right now. So she takes off to find herself. She ends up on the Originals. When Damon gets back, he’s hurt to find out that Bella took off and no one knows where she is. Hurt by Stefan’s obvious growing feelings for Caroline, Elena and Damon find comfort in each other and start having a relationship as they have gotten closer after everything that’s happened with Bella and Stefan. But after Damon finds the cure for her and she turns back into a human, she feels that she made a lot of mistakes as a vampire. She never should have left Stefan and Damon should be with Bella. Bella mentally projected herself into Elena’s mind with the help of Davina/Emily. They talked and Bella apologized saying she should have tried harder to fix their relationship. Elena told her she understood. She changed as a vampire. Bella changed too, but while she was becoming a better person, Elena didn’t like who she was. They hugged and promised to have a better relationship once Elena comes back. Elena told Stefan thank you and she now realizes she will always love him. She didn’t tell him this so he would wait for her, she just wanted him to know. And she said she wanted him to live his life to the fullest. And she told Damon that she cares for him a lot but they both know they are not meant to be together. He had always loved Bella the most and he was hurt by her decision to stay gone even after knowing he returned. He thought he could mask the pain with her, but they both know that wouldn’t work. She then said she always knew where Bella was, but she didn’t want her to say anything. She wants Damon and Bella to be together, but Bella needs this time to herself.
Season 7 Time Jump: March2017-April 2017[]
After the 3 year time jump on The Vampire Diaries, Caroline convinces Bella to come back. She goes to see Klaus, but after finding out he’s been missing, runs into Bella instead. They have a happy reunion and she explains everything that’s happened while she was in New Orleans with the Originals. Caroline tells her she wanted to make her the Godmother of Lizzie and she wants her to meet her kids. Bella decides to come back, but stays in contact with Hayley so she can be apart of bringing the Mikaelson’s back together. When Damon and Alaric go to rescue Caroline, that’s when Damon sees Bella again for the first time. They go through some difficulties, but Damon eventually states he understands why she left. She said that she never stopped loving him, and she tried. They eventually get back together, making Damon happier than he’s been in a long time. Bella is devastated when he goes missing.
Season 8: July 2017-March 2018[]
Bella hasn’t been sleeping or eating very well after Damon disappeared. She’s putting all her energy into finding him. Because of this, her and Bonnie are closer than they have ever been trying to find Damon and Enzo. Even after everything Damon’s done, Bella refuses to give up on him. And Damon holds onto his feelings for her. After Stefan becomes human again, him and Caroline decide there is no future for them. Bella stays by his side and helps him get through his guilt over his actions. Damon and Bella get married, while pretending Stefan is marrying Caroline to lure out Katherine. When Stefan dies in Damon’s place, he sees Elena again and they admit how they have always loved each other. Bella can’t just let Stefan die, leaving her, Damon, and Elena. He sees Lexi again, who tells him his time isn’t up just yet. He has a good 60 years at least! Bella was able to save him at the last second with the help of Bonnie and the past witches one last time.
The Future (After 2018)[]
Stefan and Elena were both human now and eventually went on to get married. They had three children together; Addison Miranda, Hayden Grayson, and Lillian Alexia Salvatore and named Bella and Damon as Hayden's godparents. Damon and Bella got married again, as the first time was part of a scheme, but both a happy and content as vampire.
Bella is currently an author in her spare time and also helps teach at the Salvatore Boarding School with Caroline. When her and Damon aren't with one another, Damon is traveling the world with Bonnie. Stefan and Elena have since moved out of Mystic Falls, but Damon and Bella do make sure to visit them and the kids frequently.
Damon and Bella also did some traveling in 2018 for a year until she got called by Hayley, telling her that she found everything she needed to wake the Mikaelson's up.
Throughout The Originals[]
Season 2: September 2012 (episode 3)-February 2013[]
Throughout this season of The Originals she becomes like family to the Original family. She starts to have a deeper understanding for Klaus and decides to help him in his endeavers and protect his child. She becomes best friends with Rebekah, and is sad to see her leave but she understands. She becomes like a little sister to Elijah. And comes to care for Freya and Hayley. She starts to view Kol as a fun older brother and tries to help him and “Davina” however she can. It frustrates her to get pulled between all the Originals and their family drama. But even when she protects the others Klaus can’t bring himself to harm her. He trusts her, most of the time. And even when he doesn’t he still cares for her.
Season 3: September 2013-March 2014[]
Bella is caught between Elijah and Klaus. And also furious for what Klaus did to Hayley. “She was wrong too!” she insisted. “But this isn’t about either of you. It’s about Hope. I know you love her, but I think you’re blinded. She needs both of you. If you really love her, you need to let her be loved as much she can. Don’t have her grow up to be all alone.” She later catches the eye of Lucien, who charms her. She refuses to trust him but she finds herself attracted to and drawn to him. They enter a sort of relationship, but she’s very secretive and still completely on Klaus’ side. She gets deeply upset with what happens to the Original family at the end of this season.
During Time Jump: 2014-2017[]
She spends time with Hayley and Hope for awhile trying to find a cure and save her new family. But she eventually gets pulled back into Mystic Falls by Caroline and has to face Damon again. She does everything she can to help Hayley, but she tells her she needs to this and they’ll keep in touch.
Season 4: May 2019-October 2019[]
Though she is still in contact with everyone from Mystic falls, she rushes to help her family in New Orleans. She helps Klaus connect with his daughter, as he is nervous as to how she will view him. They grow even closer as he sees how protective Bella is with his daughter, going as far as to say she will endure the Hallow so she doesn’t have to. But Klaus wouldn’t let her as he is also protective of her and wouldn’t risk her life. She also plays a role in convincing Freya to take a chance on Keelin. She is devastated when once again her family is split up. But she makes a promise to Klaus to look after his daughter, because he knows she’ll have an instinct to check up on and take care of him. She promises she’ll always be there for Hope. But she loves him and she’ll miss him. He has to promise to take care of himself, for Hopes sake. She cries and he tells her he loves her too. Ever since she came back into their lives all those years ago and confused them all. With each passing day it grew harder to escape her, until it was impossible. She was his best friend and his sister. He taught her family didn’t end in blood, but it was also the family you choose. She would always be apart of his Always and Forever.
During the 7 year time jump: 2019-February 2026[]
Bella stays with Hope, Caroline, Alaric, Josie, and Lizzie at the Salvatore Boarding School and teaches magic as well as other courses. In her free time she travels with Damon, sometimes Bonnie, and goes to visit Stefan, Elena, and her nieces and nephew. Her and Damon have an absence-makes-the-heart-grow-fonder type of relationship. They spend a lot of time together, but do their own thing for a while too, while writing and talking over the phone to each other. They are both very loyal. She also stays in contact with Rebekah and Kol. She has since lost touch with Klaus as he started avoiding everyone and everything. She misses him dearly but decided to give him some space as she has other priorities.
Season 5: February 2026-May 2026[]
Bella is very close to the children at the school. She hates that Hope isn’t able to see her family. With Damon off traveling the world with Bonnie, she convinces Caroline to find Klaus and talk some sense into him. She decides to leave the Boarding School and spend some time with Hope and try to find a solution to bring her family back together. Her and Damon talk frequently and he came to be her date to Freya and Keelin’s wedding. She was a bridesmaid. She is saddened by Klaus’s and Elijah’s death, but tries to stay strong for Hope.
Relationships[]
Elena Gilbert []
Damon Salvatore []
Stefan Salvatore []
Klaus Mikaelson []
Hope Mikaelson []
Tyler Lockwood []
Other Relationships[]
- Bella and Elijah (Friends/allies/former enemies)
- Bella and Freya (Friends/allies)
- Bella and Jeremy (Cousins/allies)
- Tyler, Bella, and Damon (Former love triangle)
- Bella and Rebekah (Best friends/allies/former enemies)
- Bella and Caroline (Close friends/work together)
- Bella and Hayley (Close friends/allies)
- Bella and Matt (Good friends)
- Bella and Enzo (Ex-lovers/frenemies)
- Bella and Katherine (Enemies)
- Bella and Emily (Former rivals/frenemies)
- Bella and Marcel (Former enemies/allies/frenemies)
- Bella and Lucien (Former Lovers/enemies)
- Bella, Lizzie, and Josie (Family bond)
- Bella and Evelyn (Family bond)
- Bella and Mikael (Enemies)
- Bella and Esther (Enemies)
- Bella and Kai (Enemies)
- Bella and Cade (Enemies)
- Bella and Silas (Enemies)
- Bella and Sybil (Enemies)