Facts
Full Name: Charlene Marie Sutton [Née Nelson]
Date of Birth: February 10th, 1963
First Appearance: 1.02 “Who We Are”
Current Occupation: Unemployed, Socialite
Stock Holder, Sutton Enterprises
Previous: Untold
Hometown: Stone Creek
Current Residence: 980 Cutler St., Stone Creek. [Faustino Cottages #7]
Previous: 1507 Mango Ln., Stone Creek. [Hollyoak Manor]
205 Mulberry Ln., Stone Creek [Nelson Home]
Relations
Parents: Franklin & Mary Jo Nelson [Both Deceased]
Siblings: Frank Nelson
Children: Charlie Sutton [w/Patrick Sutton]
Gillian Sutton [w/Patrick Sutton]
Significant Other(s): Reichen Calbourne; Dating, 2012
Previous: Patrick Sutton, Married in 1984; Divorced in 2012
Kevin Saunders, Affair in 2009; Ended in 2011
Numerous Affairs.
Others: Deborah Nelson [Sister-In-Law]
Laurie Jonas [Niece]
Kyle Nelson [Nephew]
Davis Nelson [Nephew]
Kirsten Sutton [Daughter-In-Law]
Damien Crenshaw [Son-In-Law]
Megan Sutton [Granddaughter]
Peter Sutton [Former Brother-In-Law]
Patsy Sutton-Clarke [Former Sister-In-Law]
Kimberly Sutton [Former Sister-in-Law / Friend]
History
The younger sister of Frank Nelson, Charlene Marie Nelson was born on February 10th, 1963. While previous generations of the Nelson family had been raised in money; it wasn’t so for Charlene or her older brother, Frank. Shunned from a legacy that was once theirs it was their father who instilled the need to marry into power at a young age as he lived in the past and became an alcoholic. Her mother, however, tried to remind Charlene and her brother that all they needed was their family in order to be happy. She grew up a miserable child, the few memories she had of being happy were far and in between. In High School, Charlene became an alcoholic and spent most of her time with the wrong crowd, drinking booze and having sex in order to find herself and while her friends went away to college or left Stone Creek altogether, Charlene was left behind.
When Patrick Sutton returned to Stone Creek in search of his High School love, Shannon Thurlow, it was Charlene that he met first. He noticed how vulnerable the woman was and once he became aware of Shannon’s departure with a man named Mathias Jurado, he took up Charlene as a charity case. They would eventually marry in 1984 and delve into an understanding. While Patrick used her for companionship, Charlene was able to fill her loneliness with money and alcohol. Their first child had been born in 1983; they named him Charlie Heath Sutton and she adored him so. Often claiming the little boy as only hers.
Her father died in 1984 from a heart attack, this was the chain-reaction that brought her brother and his new wife, Deborah Faulkner back to Stone Creek where they chose to reside in 1986
Charlene gave birth to a baby girl in 1986, three years after their first born. Gillian was a gorgeous baby with deep blue eyes and golden locks, she was definitely a Sutton heir.
That following year, although Gillian had become Patrick’s favorite, Charlene realized that her marriage would never be anything more than an arrangement and upon Patrick’s urgency she began carrying on one-night stands. At first it had become to fill the void that had ironically grown out of the void she had covered up with money and power. Then it had become a game until Charlene began an on-going affair with a man named Kevin Saunders in 2009.
Their children had all grown up; Charlie Sutton, a kind-hearted man had been attending boarding school in Paris, France when he met a young blond named Kirsten Thurlow and rescued her from a man who tried to rape her. They started a summer romance that produced a child. Charlene’s youngest child, Gillian Sutton, had used her looks and family name to travel the world and manipulate her way into the pockets of numerous rich men.
Patrick was furious when it was revealed that Megan was indeed the product of a Thurlow and a Sutton tryst and once Charlie claimed both Megan and Kirsten as his family, Patrick cut his son out of his life. It was a decision that Charlene had to respect, but she didn’t agree with.
Start of the Series...
In 2010, Gillian Sutton, came back to Stone Creek on the arm of Damien Crenshaw. Unaware of her presence in town, Charlene and the rest of the family were shocked to see her during the Founder’s Ball. This troubled the family. Patrick couldn’t get past the fact that Gillian slandered the family name by revealing an engagement so wildly, while Charlene worried about Damien’s age compared to their daughter. The days following, bother parties tried to come to a mutual understanding, but Gillian couldn’t give up her engagement to Damien and eventually left the Holly Oak Manor and severed ties with her family. With both of her children not talking to Patrick, Charlene was fed-up with her husband’s antics and during Thanksgiving dinner she excused herself from his presence and found herself back in the arms of Kevin Saunders.
Throughout her relationship with Kevin she made certain that they followed a couple of rules that Charlene had made for herself. One rule was that she would never stay the night at Kevin’s home. But after he divorced his wife; Melanie, Kevin begged to do the same of Patrick. Her love for Kevin was deep but she couldn’t find the means to leave a powerful man like Patrick Sutton. After her daughter’s departure from the Holly Oak Manor, Charlene began to stay with Kevin, breaking one of her rules as she fell deeper in love with the man. Realizing his wrong, Patrick tried to win Charlene back, unknowing that she was staying with Kevin.
Because of the friendship that Patrick and Kevin sort of shared, he was angered to find out that Kevin and Charlene had been carrying-out an on-going affair for years. He insulted Kevin by bribing Charlene to stay with him with the promise of a seat on the City Council. In 2011 she chose to stay with Patrick, who had enlisted Kevin to be his campaign manager while he ran to be the next Mayor of Stone Creek. Ryan Bauer would soon join the campaign, which gave Kevin his out. He left Stone Creek behind in search of his ex. wife, Melanie.
Charlene would become a reclusive and her drinking heavier. It wasn’t long before she was drinking on a daily basis for every meal and although people began to worry about her, nobody said a thing. During a Thanksgiving dinner she was able to reconnect with her son, Charlie Sutton, while attending a dinner at the Thurlow families home. She would also reach out to her daughter, Gillian. But December of that same year her son and his family found Charlene on the living room floor of the Holly Oak Manor. After a fit of drinking, she had collapsed. Charlene was rushed to the hospital and it was determined that she had had alcohol poisoning, which nearly cost her life. Patrick was angry with the way his wife chose to handle her issues, but he soon softened to her by bribing Seth Keeler to keep the accident out of the papers. He then discussed with Charlene the true intentions he had for when he first met her. Gillian was angry with her mother and accused her of being weak. She admitted to the accusation and told Gillian that she had wanted to raise Gillian to be the spitting image of Shannon Thurlow, Patrick’s true love.
February 2012, brought the realization that she needed to be on her own. After a conversation with her husband; Charlene decided that they needed a divorce. She said her goodbyes to Patrick and moved in with her son, Charlie. While at the store, she met a man named Reichen Calbourne and he let on that he could tell she was an addict. Reichen invited her to AA Meetings where she could talk about her addiction and maybe find friends with the same disease. There was a spark between the two of them as they started to spend more time together.
Portrayed by: Laura Linney [2010-Present]
