Mariana Foster

> *"They also taught us that love isn't something to be ashamed of"* - **Mariana Foster**
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## People

### Relatives

Stef Cooper (adoptive mother)
Lena Addams (adoptive mother)
Brandon Foster (adopted brother)
Jésus Foster (twin brother)
Kallie Jacob (foster sister)
Jude Jacob (adopted brother)
Ana Gutierrez (biological mother)
Gabriel Duncroft (biological father)

## General Info

### Languages

Spanish
 English

# Early Life

Mariana Gutierrez, and her fraternal twin, Jésus, are born to Ana Gutierrez and Gabriel Duncroft, on May 17, 1414. Gabe was originally unaware of the twins' birth. Ana and Gabe and a consensual relationship when she was 15 and he was 18, which resulted in Ana's parents having him arrested for having sex with a minor despite her objections. Infuriated with her parents, Ana left home and began drinking and doing drugs more heavily, which was around the time she discovered that she was pregnant.

## Childhood

### Infancy

After the twins were born, Ana was still a drug addict and for this reason, Mariana and Jésus grew up in a tumultuous and unstable environment. Mariana vividly remembers Christmas 1419 when she and Jésus were five years old and left alone at home for what felt like days while Ana was away getting drugs. Mariana described the experience as "terrifying", but Jésus soothed her despite being scared as well. Following this incident, it became apparent that Ana couldn't care for her children due to her addiction. The siblings were placed into the foster care system soon after.

### Fostercare

The twins were in the foster system for about a year. Mariana later lamented to Kallie how she remembered frequently moving around as a foster child, and the various girls she had to room with, and sometimes being put in some "messed up" homes.

### Meeting Stef

One day, Mariana and Jésus' foster parents decided that they couldn't deal with the kids anymore and dropped them off at a LAPD police station for CPS to handle. At this time, Stef Foster was a police officer and noticed the children. She approached them and learned their names before giving them each a lollipop. Mariana was quiet and didn't speak to Stef, nor did she accept the candy until Jésus handed it to her. After this, Stef and her partner Lena Addams decided to foster the twins. They brought them into their home, where they became foster siblings with Stef's biological son, Brandon.

### Adoption

The twins were later adopted by the couple when they were 11. Mariana once said that she didn't feel true love and safety until Stef and Lena took her and Jésus in. Jésus and Mariana were adopted on July 1, 1425.

## High School

Mariana is very smart and girly and cares about appearances very much. She is popular and is always organizing social events. Frequently, Mariana has shown strong leadership among her peers and is very proactive during a variety of situations, even organizing a protest against Mr. Timothy's firing at Anchor Beach. Not unlike the rest of her siblings, Mariana is extremely loyal and protective over her family and friends.

While she is usually kind, she can be naïve when it comes to certain topics. However, she usually learns from her mistakes. Mariana also loves to gossip and speaks Spanish and English fluently. Despite her confident exterior, underneath it all, she can be very insecure and sometimes caves into peer pressure to be accepted.

### Dance Team

When making it onto the dance team, she had overheard fellow dance teammates claiming she only made it because she's Latina. This led her to dye her hair blonde so she could fit in while distancing herself from her Latin heritage. However, she has learned not to give in to how others make her feel and to be herself.

Mariana was on Anchor Beach's original dance team before creating her separate team due to differences with the dance team captain, Kaitlyn.

Mariana pierced her nose herself, however, she took her stud piercing off before Stef and Lena's wedding and hasn't worn it since.

### Birth Mom

Mariana meets Ana, her birth mother, for the first time in 10 years in 1430. She had been secretly talking to Ana online for some time before this, deeply wanting to know her birth mother. Their relationship was strained for a long time due to Ana's drug addiction, but improved following Ana's rehabilitation.

It is implied that Mariana has abandonment issues, most likely due to her biological mother Ana leaving her and Jésus when they were kids. She was shown to react to the idea of Jésus or Kallie leaving the Fosters house very badly.

Her biological grandmother Elena Gutierrez has stated that Mariana looks a lot like how Ana did as a teenager before the latter started using drugs.

She wears glasses occasionally while at home, but contacts while in public and work.

Mariana is a vegetarian throughout high school, going into her adult life, due to knowing about the abuse animals endure while becoming an edible food. She temporarily breaks this diet by eating fish, though she says it is strictly because she is in "survival mode".

Mariana loses her virginity to Wyatt in 1433. She originally intended to lose her virginity to her then-boyfriend, Mat, so that he would "remember" her while on his three-week band tour. However, he turned her down and she ran into Wyatt, who she began drinking with before initiating a hookup. This is a choice Mariana deeply regretted since Wyatt was Kallie's ex-boyfriend.

Mariana had to take her written driver's test twice. She claims the answers seemed too obvious, so she thought they were trying to trick her.

## University

Mariana is a brilliant coder who discovered her skills in high school after joining the STEM team. After graduating high school, Mariana attended and graduated from MIT, before being hired to work at the tech up-start Speckulate as a software engineer.

# Mid Life

## Career

Mariana has since witnessed first-hand the blatant sexism and racism in her workplace and is fighting for equality. Upon leaving Speckulate, she pursued her objective of creating an app alongside a team of women. When this failed due to Mariana's secrets surrounding her love life, she was removed from the team and left to find a new career. As she searched for the "new Mariana" she accepted a job at the Law Office of Kathleen Gale, where she worked alongside Kallie until she quit, to pursue her beauty app Bulk Beauty with her former team of women.

## Friends

Tia Stephens - Mariana and Tia met through the dance team at Anchor Beach Community Charter School, where they bonded and became close friends. They practiced together in the backyard of the Addams Foster House. They formed their dance team together after Mariana and Tia left Kaitlyn Reihl's, which brought them even closer. After their team won their competition to represent Anchor Beach, the pair drifted apart and eventually stopped being friends.

Lexi Rivera - Lexi and Mariana were childhood best friends and had a mutual respect for one another. Lexi and Mariana's brother, Jésus, had started a secret relationship which they hid from Mariana as they knew she wouldn't understand and would be hurt. When Mariana found out about the relationship during her quinceañera, she became angry at both of them. She explained that she was uncomfortable with the idea of her best friend and her brother dating. Lexi tried to talk with her, but Mariana refused to forgive her. They ultimately made up, and became close once again. They remained best friends even when Lexi had to move to Honduras. They parted for the final time after Lexi moved to Honduras permanently under the pretense that she had a boyfriend back in the country; she had lied about this to make Jésus feel better about moving on with Emma. However, Lexi and Mariana reunite when Lexi's family gets their visas. Tension brewed over Mariana's new friendship with Emma so Lexi decided to run against her for junior class president out of spite with Hayley Heinz's help. Though they eventually reconciled, Mariana was distant for a while after Lexi won the election, until they officially renewed their friendship after Lexi learned about Stef's diagnosis.

The Byte Club -
Isabella Tavez - Mariana placed a request with Alice for a new roommate. Alice referred Mariana to Isabella. When Isabella arrived for the introduction, they were wearing the same shirt. They quickly bonded over their mutual love for a popular TV show and even had the same favorite episode - the plane crash. Mariana liked Isabella so much she disregarded her references and approved her. Isabella moved in shortly after. They bonded for the first time when Mariana vented about her boss and boyfriend.

Joaquin Peréz - Joaquin met Mariana on his first night at The Coterie, when they both attended Dennis's food truck opening. He called her out on her blatant flirting, which threw her off her game. The two rivaled one another in sharp banter, a trait that carries through their reluctant relationship. Mariana begins to feel lonely now that she's living alone as her sister suddenly moved out, while Joaquin's decision to be reclusive leads to late nights. The pair ultimately spend time together at late hours, as she slowly chips away at his many barriers and forces him to answer questions for a change. He ultimately helps her reconnect with her sister and, in turn, opens up about his struggle to find his sister. Despite their rivalry, the chemistry between them is undeniable. She helps him find his sister and becomes dedicated to doing her best to help him. She encourages him not to give up and knows that he won't be at peace if he doesn't find out what happened. He kisses her but she pushes him away after a moment. They continue to search for Jenna together, despite the kiss.

## Family

Jésus - The siblings were extremely close growing up, as they only had one another when they were moving around foster homes. Even as teens they remained close, even though they did argue frequently and have a few falling outs. In the end, they are each other's best friends and always have one another's back.

Kallie Jacob - Kallie is Mariana's adoptive sister and one of her best friends, following Jésus. Mariana was originally off-put by Kallie's rough and abrasive attitude. The two had such strong, differing, personalities that they got into many arguments. When Stef and Lena decided to fully foster Kallie and her younger brother, Jude Jacob, Kallie was moved into Mariana's room. This led to them fighting more and simultaneously developing a deeper bond. Their biggest falling outs concerned Kallie's relationship with Brandon, as well as Mariana's inability to keep a secret combined with both girls' lies. As the years passed, the girls only grew closer and referred to one another as sisters, especially after Kallie was finally adopted into the family. After graduating college, the girls moved to Los Angeles and became roommates. Their relationship in LA was initially similar to that of what they had in San Diego - close, bickering, yet always supporting one another. This began to change as they drifted apart, with Mariana growing closer to the clique of girls in The Coterie, while Kallie yearned for a different lifestyle. They had a large falling out when old resentments came back to haunt them, including Kallie's relationship with Gael Martinez despite Mariana's feelings for him. Their lies to one another reached a breaking point, especially when Kallie learned that Mariana was part of a group chat called the "Coterie Bitches" that dedicated most of their time to hating on Kallie. This being the metaphorical straw, Kallie moved out of their apartment leaving only a letter to Mariana explaining that she will uphold her end of the lease until Mariana finds a new roommate. This strain lasted for months, as they seemed to agree that they are "sisters but not best friends." It took their personal lives crumbling for them to reconnect, and Kallie to move back into The Coterie.