Currently Siblings only. I’m not fucking around with the parents and shit. do not quote me on these dates and ages for some reason when i try and do math for this series i black the fuck out and lose the capacity to understand basic addition, subtraction and dates. idk why but it’s true.
Anything in the bios that takes place after about 1913 is totally unknown to Genevieve until someone informs her as she cut ties with the family at that point.
FAIR WARNING even with me pretending that i’ve got a big spoiler to protect while writing this I was still pretty liberal with info on the siblings that would technically not be known until later installments since they don’t appear in person until like.... season 3-4.
NAME: Joesph Van Houten
DOB: 1885
AGE: 34 (1919 | S1) 37 (1922 | S2) 39 (1924 | S3) 42 (1927 | S4) 44 (1929 | S5) 48 (1933 | S6)
FACECLAIM: Charlie Hunnam
OCCUPATION: Wartime Ambulance Driver | Unemployed | Medical Student | Surgeon (it’s a process obvs)
INFO: Originally the obvious heir to the Van Houten fortune but being the primary focus of both of his abusive parents took a toll on him psychologically and broke him at a very young age. Joesph always had issues with anger which only got worse with age until he suffered violent rages that could be triggered by nearly anything and he terrorized and abused his siblings for years. He’s closest to Adeline of all of them as they form the “acceptable utilitarian” children block (their mother sees the rest as completely superfluous) and she’s really the only one who gets him or he listens to most of the time. By the time WW1 broke out he’d had two wives die mysteriously and was a complete mess. He enlisted as a ambulance driver in the war and has being trying to undo some of the damage done to him and that he did to others so he can bare living with himself.
NAME: Adeline Van Houten
DOB: 1887
AGE: 32 (1919 | S1) 35 (1922 | S2) 37 (1924 | S3) 40 (1927 | S4) 42 (1929 | S5) 46 (1933 | S6)
FACECLAIM: Charlize Theron
OCCUPATION: Socialite
INFO: Considered to be heartless and promiscuous (tho the second is only rumored outside the family) Adeline likes to be the second to whoever looks like they’re the top dog. She fancies herself a power behind the throne type at times but the reality is she’s just a sidekick and enabler and in fact helped perpetuate much of the abuse and hurt in the family by not stopping Joesph or siding with their father. She’s extremely self centered and honestly just doesn’t think about shit that’s not immediately relevant to her self so her cruelty isn’t always intentional but simply from a place of ignorance and thoughtlessness.
NAME: Matthew Van Houten
DOB: 1890
AGE: 29 (1919 | S1) 32 (1922 | S2) 34 (1924 | S3) 37 (1927 | S4) 39 (1929 | S5) 43 (1933 | S6)
FACECLAIM: Harry Lloyd
OCCUPATION: Solider | Business Man
INFO: Matthew is gay and only closeted due to the times and his standing. He’s very self-centered and luxury oriented. Many call him a snake and he’s the first to agree that he is and always has been. But the war did give him some perspective and he now at least takes a passing interest in other people’s well being though his own always comes first. Set to be the heir to the Van Houten fortune since Joesph is too broken to handle it. Remains close with a Sinti German soldier he rescued during the war from a body pile who now runs a business they co-own in London.
NAME: Matilda Van Houten
DOB: 1891
AGE: 28 (1919 | S1) 31 (1922 | S2) 33 (1924 | S3) 36 (1927 | S4) 38 (1929 | S5) 42 (1933 | S6)
FACECLAIM: Fiona Glascott
OCCUPATION: Socialite
INFO: Matilda is very much the punching bag of the family for a few reasons: 1. because she’s the easiest target as she’s the emotionally weakest 2. she contributed to Christine’s death and 3. her attempts to gain attention/affection/validation put her in situations that make it easy to mock her. she’s extremely insecure, self-loathing and desperate and none of it is helped by the fact that all her attempts to build a better life for herself fall apart.
NAME: Christine Van Houten
DOB: 1893
AGE: 14
if she lived:
26 (1919 | S1) 29 (1922 | S2) 31 (1924 | S3) 34 (1927 | S4) 36 (1929 | S5) 40 (1933 | S6)
FACECLAIM: Dalila Bela
OCCUPATION: Dead.
INFO: Meek and very much a shrinking violet. Her personality was likely not just effected by the abuse but also her chronic illness/poor health which would have effected her energy levels. Was arguably the nicest of all the Van Houten children and enjoyed art and sewing.
Christine died at the age of 14 after Matilda poisoned her sisters at a tea party in a misguided cry for attention and their mother did not call a doctor. Adeline and Genevieve survived thanks to their better overall health but Christine died in agony from arsenic poisoning.
NAME: Genevieve Van Houten
DOB: 1895
AGE: 24 (1919 | S1) 27 (1922 | S2) 29 (1924 | S3) 32 (1927 | S4) 34 (1929 | S5) 38 (1933 | S6)
FACECLAIM: Vanessa Kirby
OCCUPATION: Burgeoning Architect and Construction/Real Estate Mogul
PERSONALITY: The youngest and considered by the family most pointless child Genevieve has spent most of her life in fear of her older siblings and parents. She coped with it all by spending as much time out of the house as she could either out in nature at the Lake Erie estate near Buffalo or on the streets in New York. It’s because of this in part that she’s the most hands on and unafraid of getting dirty. She is also known for her intense emotional outbursts and at times violent impulsive reactions to stressors. When she entered school she was known to get in fights with other girls claiming bullying and how things weren’t “fair” but this ended after it gained her additional abuse.
At 17 her only friend Louisa Montalbán was murdered and Genevieve completely shutdown, a process that had been going on for years. She left the country completely essentially in the dead of night with no communication after that, the suspicious murder of a teacher Edmund Duhring, and graduating from their upper class all girls high school. She cropped up again in London as an architecture student. During the war she was noted for her acts of community service and volunteer work and was known by many as “The American” and tried to use that novelty to brighten people’s days somewhat. After the war and her graduation she once again vanished.
first off, Abraham van Houten 1 had 13 kids. I am not fucking around with the other 12 branches of this family unless i ABSOLUTELY HAVE TO. so this is just the direct route from genna’s grandfather-- so it’s her father, his siblings, and their children. i’ve included some info about the family members when it made sense/i cared enough about what they were doing to give them a blurb
Ezekiel van Houten — Grandfather. Fought in civil war. Religious fanatic. Was forced out of his position as the chairman of the family businesses by Solomon who used a claim of insanity/incompetence to do it.
Children: 9
Solomon, Grace, William, Abraham, Margaret, Friedrich, John, Olympia, George
Solomon van Houten — Genna’s Father. Current head of the family. Evil business man clip art
Children: 6
Gertrude van Houten Whitney — Sculptor, art patron
Children: 3
Camilla, Ulysses, Violet
Camilla (1897) — artist, collector, actress
Ulysses (1899) — writer, film producer
Violet (1903) — socialite, writer
William van Houten — Peerage man
Children: 5
William, Annamaria, John, Henry, Gwendolyn
William (1889) — was an MP until his father died in ~1921. WW1 vet tho not front line, combatted munition waste. Viscount. Wife was first woman to actually sit in the HoC bc Constance Markievicz was elected first but didn’t sit. Wife took his seat in HoC
Annamaria — She’s Also Here
John — died in infancy
Lt. Col. Henry — Gold Medalist in rackets 1908. Baron. WW1 Vet. Fought at Messines. Wounded. Lost right leg near Cambrai. Gives heavily to medical related things. Owns a newspaper.
Gwendolyn — Died at 13.
Abraham van Houten II — Politician. Republican. New York Congressman.
Children: 7
Alice, William, Henrietta, John, Lilian, Alfred, Elizabeth
Alice — dead childhood illness.
William — dead at 21 from influenza
John — disinherited because he married his brother’s ex.
Alfred — dies on the lusitania at like 30 something
Elizabeth — falls in love with and marries a Hungarian count
Margaret van Houten Shepard — Funds the YWCA
Children: 6
Cecil — rough rider
Margaret “Maggie” — Red Cross nurse
Robert — eccentric artist. Studied in France. Has 2 daughter, Julia (1898) and Dorothy (1905).
John van Houten — Soldier/Rough Rider. Inventor. Died on the titanic.
Children: 3
Vincent, Ava, John II
Vincent — works hard to turn around the reputation of the family with lots of community focused projects in NYC. Serves in WW1 navy. Close friends with Franklin Roosevelt. Also served in WW2 as a commodore.
Ava — moved to England at 9. marries a Russian prince in 1924. Divorces him in 1932. Mainly just says lots of affairs tbh.
John II — “the titanic baby” bc his mother survived while pregnant with him but his father died. Mainly just a huge mess.
Friedrich van Houten —
Children: TBD might have none I can’t remember my plan here.
Olympia van Houten Oczkowski — socialite.
Children: 1
Louis — father is a racer died in 1903. moved to England before. Mother dies in 1911. Orphaned at 16. Dies in the Italian gran prix in 1924 at 29
George van Houten — introverted with a passion for reading/education. Fluent in several languages. Thoughtful. Focuses on intellectual pursuits instead of business mainly. Builds whatever is this universe’s version of Biltmore in 1888
Children: 1
Euphemia — eccentric. Marries a lord : divorces in 1934. Moves to Paris, dyes her hair pink and changes her name to Nilcha. Marries some other stuffy English dude later
i’m working on the van houten extended universe (abraham van houten had 13 kids and then they have kids so there’s plenty of room and i kinda wanna do a family reunion type thing around s4-5)
here’s what we have so far:
cousin george who genna thought was dead bc he does mountains of cocaine. he’s been living in LA
cousin annalise who is just an early career meek role amy adams who has “well actually--” syndrome. genna has bullied her since they were kids. the relationship has not evolved
cousin benny who’s a like 6ft7 freak. very weird. unliked.
cousin andrew loafers but a person. insane politics.
the other cousin andrew alcoholic with a shit eating grin who thinks he’s dan draper
several as of yet unnamed bitches who play croquet and actually enjoy it. considered insane by genna
at least one slutty blonde out here looking for a sugar daddy
