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For Cinderella's Storybrooke counterpart, see Ashley Boyd. For Henry Mills's wife, see Cinderella (Hyperion Heights). For the fairytale, see Cinderella (Fairytale). For the film, see "Cinderella (Film)". |
Princess Ella, better known as Cinderella, is a character on ABC's Once Upon a Time. She débuts in the fourth episode of the first season. She is portrayed by guest star Jessy Schram, and is the Enchanted Forest counterpart of Ashley Boyd.
Cinderella is based on the titular character from the fairytale, "Cinderella", and the Disney film Cinderella.
History
Ella is a housemaid for her stepmother Lady Tremaine and her stepsisters Clorinda and Tisbe. Lady Tremaine became her stepmother after Ella's father married her, but after her father's death, Tremaine made Ella into a maid. For years, Ella often sees fireworks coming from a nearby castle whenever a celebration is going on. During one day, Tremaine criticizes Ella for not finishing her work, while Ella points out that neither Clorinda or Tisbe are helping. Tremaine coolly explains that, had Ella's father left her with money, she could've hired a proper staff, but instead, he only had Ella. When a royal messenger, Jacob, arrives from the King's castle, Clorinda and Tisbe rush out to look presentable, while pushing Ella out of the way. They receive an invitation to an upcoming royal ball, where Tremaine intends to have her daughters dazzle Prince Thomas. Ella later watches her stepmother attempt to pick out gowns for Clorinda and Tisbe, and she gathers enough courage to ask if she can attend the ball as well. When Clorinda inquiries about what she will wear, Ella pulls out a dress she inherited from her deceased mother. Tremaine gives the dress to Clorinda, who puts the gown into the furnace, as Tisbe holds back Ella. Afterwards, Ella cries over the ruined dress, and Clorinda coins the nickname "Cinderella" for her because of the dress being covered in cinders. After her stepfamily leave, Ella's mouse friend Gus comes to comfort her, during which she discovers a key in her mother's dress. She recalls the story her mother told her of the key's magic powers, which could turn any door into a portal to the Land of Untold Stories. Shrugging it off as silly, since magic doesn't exist, Ella drops the key into a box. ("The Price of Gold," "The Other Shoe")
The night of the ball, Cinderella sees her stepmother and two stepsisters leave for the castle. She watches them with longing, and after they are gone, her Fairy Godmother arrives to grant her wish to attend the ball and meet her prince. Before the fairy can work her magic, she is killed by Rumplestiltskin's fireball. He, in turn, collects the Fairy Godmother's wand as Cinderella is drawn into signing a deal with him so she can change her life permanently. As part of the contract, she'll forfeit something precious to him in the future. Desperate, she agrees and Rumplestiltskin transforms her rags into a beautiful gown. ("The Price of Gold")
At the ball, Cinderella is escorted in by a human Gus, whom she excuses to allow him to pursue a tray of cheese. She spots Clorinda and Tisbe, but in her hurry to avoid them, she bumps into Princess Snow. Snow befriends Ella and nudges her towards Prince Thomas, who is interested in her. Ella shares a dance with the prince, in which she decides not to tell him her name, and he dubs her the "girl with the glass slippers". After their dance ends, Thomas excuses himself, but tells her not to go anywhere for the time being. Ella is giddy with happiness over this encounter, however, she sees Thomas meeting with Clorinda and giving her a rose. Prompted by Tremaine's callous remarks that Thomas is toying with her, Ella flees from the ball, accidentally leaving behind one of her glass slippers. At home, Gus reminds a heartbroken Ella of the key, and she decides to test it on the wardrobe, which opens a portal. Before she can leap through, she is stopped by Clorinda, who clears up the misunderstanding about Thomas, as the rose was from Thomas' footman Jacob, whom she loves. Clorinda also reveals Thomas is looking for Ella, and that she intends to run away with Jacob. Knowing her stepmother will never let the couple be, Ella gives her the key so she can be in a land where Tremaine will never find them. When Tremaine threatens to shatter the remaining glass slipper, which is Ella's proof to Thomas of who she is, she reveals Clorinda's location to her. However, Ella's luck runs out, as Tremaine destroys the slipper anyway. Tremaine then locks her in a room, leaving her unable to meet with Thomas when he comes to find her, but with help from Gus, Thomas unlocks the door. Ella apologizes for deceiving him and believes he won't want her now, but Thomas proves his feelings for her are genuine and proposes to her. She accepts, but then excuses herself to stop Tremaine. Ella reveals she is engaged to Thomas, while Clorinda realizes Ella ratted her out to her mother. Before Ella can help her stepsister, Tremaine goes to the Land of Untold Stories and drags Clorinda there with her. ("The Other Shoe")
On the eve of her wedding celebration to Thomas, Cinderella happily watches the fireworks display on the balcony, before she and her future husband go downstairs to greet their guests. As a waltz begins, she dances with Thomas' father, who teasingly hints at his desire for a grandchild. Charming offers good wishes for a happy marriage before Thomas cuts in, but Cinderella is then whisked off for some time with Snow, who is proud of her for changing her life. Changing partners again, Cinderella is shocked to see Rumplestiltskin, and even more stunned when he asks for her first-born child as part of their deal. ("The Price of Gold")
After some time, Cinderella discovers she is pregnant and decides to run away from the kingdom, but Thomas catches her in the act. After much questioning, she admits her deal with Rumplestiltskin, and as his payment he wants their child. Thomas assures her that he will fix this, and they simply need to make a new deal to undo the old deal. With Prince Charming and Grumpy, a special prison is created to trap Rumplestiltskin. Cinderella must get Rumplestiltskin to sign a new contract with a magic quill dipped in squid ink to paralyze him. She manages to seal the deal with Rumplestiltskin, who is then taken away by Prince Charming and Grumpy. With that problem settled, Thomas suggests to Cinderella that they name their child Alexandra. Suddenly, she begins feeling contractions as Thomas rushes to fetch water from the well. When the pain stops, she calls him back. Not hearing a response, she searches for him and finds his cloak. Fearing the worst, she confronts Rumplestiltskin, demanding answers about what he did to Thomas, and learns the price for breaking the original deal is her husband's disappearance. ("The Price of Gold")
Sometime before or after this, Cinderella gifts Snow White and Prince Charming, who are expecting their first child, a unicorn mobile. ("Best Laid Plans")
For events occurring after the casting of the first curse, see Ashley Boyd.
Family
| Mother † | Father † | Lady Tremaine | Unknown | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Cinderella | Prince Thomas | Clorinda | Tisbe | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Alexandra | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Notes:
- Solid lines denote blood relationships
- Dashed lines denote marriage relationships that result in offspring
- † denotes the deceased
- Cinderella's father was married first to her mother
- Cinderella has two stepsisters via Lady Tremaine's previous marriage
- Alexandra was conceived in the Enchanted Forest, but born in Storybrooke
Trivia
Character Notes
- The Fairy Godmother, who appears to Cinderella, is also patron to King George's family. ("The Price of Gold," "The Shepherd")
- Cinderella and Snow White were pregnant at the same time. However, Snow White gave birth before the Dark Curse arrived and Cinderella did not. This resulted in her counterpart Ashley's twenty-eight years long pregnancy until giving birth following Emma's arrival to Storybrooke. ("The Price of Gold")
- Cinderella, her stepfamily, and Prince Thomas have the longest gap between their first and second appearances, with one hundred and nine episodes between "The Price of Gold" and "The Other Shoe".
Set Dressing
- Among the numerous fairytale illustrations pinned to the wall in Henry's room are two copies of an illustration by the artist and book illustrator Helen Stratton from a 1903 edition of Grimms' Fairy Tales. The image depicts a scene from the "Cinderella" fairytale, in which a bird gives the titular character a beautiful ball gown. One image is pinned next to Henry's door[1] while another copy is among the images adorning the wall next to Henry's bed.[2] ("The Thing You Love Most," "The Stranger")
- An engraving[3] by the nineteenth century French artist Gustave Doré also appears. It is from Les Contes de Perrault, an 1867 edition of the seventeenth century French author Charles Perrault's fairy tales. It depicts a scene from "Cinderella", where the prince lets the titular character try on the glass slipper. ("The Stable Boy," "A Land Without Magic")
Costume Notes
- The earrings worn by Cinderella for her wedding[4] are Betsey Johnson Bow & Teardrop Earrings[5] (no longer available). ("The Price of Gold")
Goofs
- If you look closely, or play it in slow motion, as Cinderella signs Rumplestiltskin's contract, the first letter she writes is clearly a C; seemingly proving that her true name is Cinderella, and "Ella" is simply her nickname. "The Other Shoe" proved it was a mistake. ("The Price of Gold," "The Other Shoe")
Appearances
| Once Upon a Time: Season One | ||||||||||
| "Pilot": | "The Thing You Love Most": | "Snow Falls": | "The Price of Gold": | "That Still Small Voice": | "The Shepherd": | "The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter": | "Desperate Souls": | "True North": | "7:15 A.M.": | "Fruit of the Poisonous Tree": |
| Absent | Absent | Absent | Appears | Absent | Absent | Absent | Absent | Absent | Absent | Absent |
| "Skin Deep": | "What Happened to Frederick": | "Dreamy": | "Red-Handed": | "Heart of Darkness": | "Hat Trick": | "The Stable Boy": | "The Return": | "The Stranger": | "An Apple Red as Blood": | "A Land Without Magic": |
| Absent | Absent | Absent | Absent | Absent | Absent | Absent | Absent | Absent | Absent | Absent |
| Once Upon a Time: Season Two | ||||||||||
| "Broken": | "We Are Both": | "Lady of the Lake": | "The Crocodile": | "The Doctor": | "Tallahassee": | "Child of the Moon": | "Into the Deep": | "Queen of Hearts": | "The Cricket Game": | "The Outsider": |
| Absent | Absent | Absent | Absent | Absent | Absent | Mentioned | Mentioned | Absent | Absent | Absent |
| "In the Name of the Brother": | "Tiny": | "Manhattan": | "The Queen Is Dead": | "The Miller's Daughter": | "Welcome to Storybrooke": | "Selfless, Brave and True": | "Lacey": | "The Evil Queen": | "Second Star to the Right": | "And Straight On 'Til Morning": |
| Absent | Absent | Absent | Absent | Absent | Absent | Absent | Absent | Absent | Absent | Absent |
| Once Upon a Time: Season Four | ||||||||||
| "A Tale of Two Sisters": |
"White Out": |
"Rocky Road": |
"The Apprentice": |
"Breaking Glass": |
"Family Business": | "The Snow Queen": |
"Smash the Mirror": |
"Fall": | "Shattered Sight": |
"Heroes and Villains": |
| Absent | Absent | Absent | Absent | Absent | Absent | Absent | Absent | Absent | Absent | Absent |
| "Darkness on the Edge of Town": |
"Unforgiven": | "Enter the Dragon": | "Poor Unfortunate Soul": |
"Best Laid Plans": | "Heart of Gold": | "Sympathy for the De Vil": |
"Lily": | "Mother": | "Operation Mongoose Part 1": |
"Operation Mongoose Part 2": |
| Absent | Absent | Absent | Absent | Mentioned | Absent | Absent | Absent | Absent | Absent | Absent |
| Once Upon a Time: Season Six | ||||||||||
| "The Savior": | "A Bitter Draught": | "The Other Shoe": | "Strange Case": | "Street Rats": | "Dark Waters": | "Heartless": | "I'll Be Your Mirror": | "Changelings": | "Wish You Were Here": | "Tougher Than the Rest": |
| Absent | Absent | Appears | Absent | Absent | Absent | Absent | Absent | Absent | Absent | Absent |
| "Murder Most Foul": | "Ill-Boding Patterns": | "Page 23": | "A Wondrous Place": | "Mother's Little Helper": | "Awake": | "Where Bluebirds Fly": | "The Black Fairy": | "The Song in Your Heart": | "The Final Battle Part 1": | "The Final Battle Part 2": |
| Absent | Absent | Absent | Absent | Absent | Absent | Absent | Absent | Absent | Absent | Absent |
| Once Upon a Time: Novels | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Once Upon a Time: Specials | ||||||||||
| "Magic is Coming": |
"The Price of Magic": | "Journey to Neverland": | "Wicked is Coming": | "Storybrooke Has Frozen Over": | ||||||
| Archive | Absent | Archive | Archive | Absent | ||||||
| "Secrets of Storybrooke": | "Dark Swan Rises": | "Evil Reigns Once More": | "The Final Battle Begins": | |||||||
| Archive | Archive | Archive | Archive | |||||||
| Other Appearances | ||||||||||
Note: "Archive" denotes archive footage.
