Belle Black
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Isabella "Belle" Brady Black Kiriakis is a character on the television drama Days of our Lives.
Actress Kirsten Storms most notably portrayed Belle from 1999-2004. Following Storms' departure, Belle was recast with Charity Rahmer, who was replaced with Martha Madison before her first episode even aired, and only appeared on-screen in a total of sixteen episodes. Madison has portrayed the character since 2004.
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[edit] Fictional character history
Originally, the residents of Salem believed that Belle was the daughter of Marlena and Roman. In truth, Belle was the product of a one-night-affair between Marlena and John Black. Belle's true parentage might never have been revealed if it weren't for her older sister Sami who discovered the truth and kept the secret for several months. She even kidnapped Belle and tried to have her legally adopted. In the end, however, it was Stefano DiMera who revealed the truth after reading Sami's diary.
During her formidable teen years at Salem High School, Belle started an ill-fated relationship with (at the time) bad boy Philip Kiriakis, but soon devoted all her attention to Shawn-Douglas Brady. Best friends with Mimi Lockhart, she also added new girl Chloe Lane to her circle of friends. All of her peers were shocked to see her spending time with "Ghoul Girl" Chloe, but eventually everyone accepted their friendship.
Belle joined her fellow teens on a trip to Puerto Rico, where they were supposed to study the environment. Instead, she, Shawn and Philip went on an adventure to find some missing jewels, including a ruby belonging to Alice Horton. Much to the dismay of the criminally-minded Paul, the teens were successful and Shawn was able to return the ruby to his grandmother.
Once back in Salem, Jan continued to confide in Shawn her pregnancy as a result of her rape by Paul on the island. Shawn agreed to stand by her and say he was the father, even though this destroyed his relationship with Belle. She was devastated and couldn't believe someone she had trusted as much as Shawn could hurt her like this. However, she made it through her senior year at Salem High and when, at the end of the year, the truth about Jan and Shawn came out, Belle managed to forgive him and they were reunited at the Last Blast Dance. She forgave him, but was still tentative about their relationship. That same summer, during the Gemini meteor showers on the Fourth of July, Belle and Shawn got the surprise of their lives up at Lookout Point when an apparent alien space ship landed. They rescued the aliens and spent the rest of the summer looking after them and keeping them hidden from the rest of Salem. Shawn often wanted to turn them in, but Belle never gave up her strong desire to help her twin alien friends. The government though, with the help of Belle's father John, took Rex and Cassie, the "aliens" into custody and discovered they were really human.
Belle started college at Salem University, where she lived in Hartley House, an on-campus dorm, with Shawn. Rex and Cassie also moved into the dorm, and Mimi lived at home while attending college. Belle still had to deal with Cassie's unstoppable attraction to Shawn, among other problems. Belle and Shawn did commit to their future together, though. They each wear purity rings, signifying this commitment.
Shawn and Belle suffered another set-back after Victor and Nicole's New Year's Eve wedding at which Colin Murphy was murdered. Shawn had shot at Colin and missed, but he thought he was responsible. Shawn broke up with Belle to deal with it on his own. She didn't understand why, but they were finally reunited after Larry Welch (falsely) confessed to the crime. Meantime, Belle had started working as an intern for Basic Black. Her work ethic contrasted with Shawn's more easy-going approach to life, causing her eventually to break up with him. While they were separated, she went on a reality show, Love is Blind, with Cassie and Mimi. Belle won the game and her prize was a date with a blindfolded hunk. He turned out to be Philip Kiriakis, now stationed on a Marine base near Salem. But was he just a Marine? Turns out, he was a member of the ISA and Belle nearly got into trouble several times when she was with him.
Belle's lingerie and swimwear designs were featured in a Basic Black fashion show with a very unhappy ending; Bo and Hope were attacked. They survived and so did her future as a fashion designer. When she became horribly distraught over the murders of the Salem Stalker -- even removing her purity ring and wanting to live for the moment -- her father and Shawn conspired to send her to Europe on Basic Black business. She returned for the holiday season and to her life with Shawn.
Of course, the Salem Stalker was still at work. Nine people in total were murdered before the killer -- Belle's own mother Marlena -- was finally caught. Belle was devastated and could not believe that her mother was guilty. She even lied to Shawn to provide an alibi for one of the murders, then lived to regret it. Shawn's own grandmother was the next to go and, overcome by guilt, he left town to clear his head. But Belle wasn't alone for long. Philip, who is harboring a secret crush on her, moved in to provide solace. Although she resisted, Belle eventually gave in to Philip's charms. It didn't help that when Shawn finally returned, his personality was completely changed. He expressed hatred for Belle and for Philip and hooked up with Jan. Philip and Belle became engaged and Shawn's feelings about them didn't change until the night of their wedding. He realized he was still in love with Belle and crashed the wedding -- literally. He drove his motorcycle through the stained glass window of the church, very nearly killing himself and his beloved in the process. And he didn't even stop the wedding. So Belle and Philip were married, but she knew she was still in love with Shawn. She wanted to tell Philip the truth, but he shipped out with his Marine unit and was taken hostage. It wasn't long before Shawn headed out to rescue Philip, knowing Belle wouldn't be with him as long as her husband was missing.
Ignoring her feelings for Shawn, Belle stayed married to Philip because of the serious injuries he received in combat. Belle gave birth to a girl, Claire, who is actually Shawn's biological daughter, which was unknown to all for a long period. Recently, Claire's true paternity has become common knowledge. Because Belle is currently pregnant with another child by Shawn due to an in vitro mix-up, this creates serious problems for many. Belle has told Phillip that she does not love him the way she should, and loves Shawn, so Phillip left Salem and his family.
Belle was truly devasted when the baby she was carrying with Shawn, wasn't expected survive. Philip, as Belle's husband, had to make the decision to either end Belle's pregnancy or let Belle die. Although he told Belle he wouldn't let the baby die, he chose to have the pregnacy terminated. Belle was utterly devasted and lashed out at Philip. She eventually forgave him, but the two decided to call it quits.
Belle stayed with her parents following her traumatic experience, she was about to get back together with Shawn, when a misunderstanding pushed them further apart. Belle began to push Shawn on being a responsible father for their daughter. The two argued on several occasions and things came to a head when Shawn started to sleep with former hooker, Willow Stark . After Victor had Claire kidnapped, Belle and Shawn bonded and decided to get back together. Though they have several problems in their way, particuarly Willow the terror, and Victor who is helping Philip to take Claire from Shawn and Belle. She has lost temporary custody of Claire to Philip and Victor, and later discovered that Philip is planning to take Claire out of the country. Distraught Belle and Shawn "kidnap" Claire with the help of Max and Mimi.
[edit] Family, Marriages, Children & Relationships
[edit] Parents
- John Black (Father)
- Marlena Evans (Mother)
[edit] Sibling(s)
- D.J. Craig Jr. (Maternal Half-Brother, deceased)
- Eric Brady (Maternal Half-Brother)
- Sami Brady (Maternal Half-Sister)
- Brady Black (Paternal Half-Brother)
[edit] Marital Status
- Philip Kiriakis (Divorced) [05/2005-?]
[edit] Children
- Claire Kiriakis (Daughter, with Shawn-Douglas Brady; born September 27, 2005)
- Unnamed Child (Sex Unknown, with Shawn-Douglas Brady, via in vitro, miscarriage)
[edit] Other relatives
- Daphne DiMera (biological grandmother/adoptive great-aunt, deceased)
- Leopold Alamain (adoptive grandfather, deceased)
- Philomena Alamain (adoptive grandmother/ biological great-aunt, deceased)
- Frank Evans (grandfather, deceased)
- Martha Evans (Grandmother)
- Tony DiMera (half-uncle)
- Samantha Evans (aunt, deceased)
- Will Roberts (half-nephew)
- Robert Evans (great-uncle)
- Trista Evans (cousin, deceased)
- Lawrence Alamain (biological first cousin/ adoptive uncle)
- Nicholas Alamain (biological second cousin/ adoptive cousin)
[edit] Flings and relationships
- Shawn-Douglas Brady (dated/one night stand)
- Philip Kiriakis (lovers)
