Clearwater, Sue

Full Name: Sue Clearwater

Status: Resident of La Push – human

Date of Birth: not mentioned

Originally From: La Push

Hair Color: not mentioned – presumed to be black

Eye Color: not mentioned

Height: not mentioned

Physical Description: “Her face was thin and fierce, an expression that was accented by her short, severe hairstyle; it was as short as her daughter Leah’s …” (BD4 p. 52)

Occupation: Council member

Family Members: Harry, husband (deceased); Leah, daughter; Seth, son

Nick Names:

Hobbies: cooking

Personal History: Bella knew Sue and her family from her childhood visits to Forks. As a teen, she re-met Sue the day Bella and Jacob went searching for motorcycle parts in Hoquiam (NM6 p. 149). The Clearwaters, Blacks, and Swans ate dinner together that night and Sue teased her husband about his dietary habits and tried to get him to choose something healthy to eat as part of his dinner (NM6 p. 149). Sadly, Harry died of a heart attack (NM16 p. 369); it turns out that his heart attack was partly due to discovering that their two children turned into werewolves (Q&A).

In Jacob’s words, shortly after Harry’s death, Sue was “having some trouble … with her kids” (EC14 p. 320). This mainly had to do with their new status as werewolves, but other factors came into play. Leah was difficult to deal with, a “wolverine” (EC Ep p. 626). Billy Black says that Seth was easier for Sue to raise, but she struggled with her son’s friendship with Edward Cullen, as vampires were sworn enemies of werewolves. Sue attends Bella and Edward’s wedding with her son Seth. She was uncomfortable being there and spent most of the time close beside her son and Billy Black (EC4 p. 52-3).

Sue became a member of the Quileute council in Harry’s place and was present during the most recent storytelling circle (EC11 p. 241). Sue was kept in the loop during the werewolf battle with the newborn vampires via phone (EC26 p. 588), so she knew that her children were safe and how the fight progressed. The human and shapeshifting leaders of the Quileute respected Sue’s opinion, such as on the decision on how to deal with the issue of Bella’s pregnancy (BD13 p. 258)

Harry’s friends, such as Billy Black, made a point of visiting her at the Clearwater house after her husband’s death(EC14 p. 320). Other frequent visitors included Old Quil and Sam (BD13 p. 262). Sue also visited her friends in return; she brought Charlie lunch one day in December at his house because he was such a terrible cook. (BD33 p. 629)

Her friend Billy in these words describes Sue: “Amazing woman. She’s tougher than grizzlies, that one. … Sue, she would have made one hell of a wolf.” (EC Ep p. 626). Jacob echoes that sentiment when he hears Jared describe Sue as being brokenhearted, alone and abandoned when Seth and Leah join Jacob’s pack: “Sue was tougher than anyone I knew. Tougher than my dad, tougher than me. Tough enough to play on her kids’ sympathies if that’s what it took to get them home.” (BD13 p. 261)

Charlie’s friendship slowly develops into something more and Sue ends up spending the Christmas holiday with Charlie at his home. (BD34) By the end of the series, Bella has an “aha” moment about Sue and her father: “Sue would be with Charlie – the werewolves’ mom with the vampire’s dad” (BD Ch. 39 p. 752). How this potential relationship affected the friendship between Billy and Charlie is not fully revealed.

Portrayed in the film by: Alex Rice

Prepared by: LadyDi