DETAILS –
age: thirty five
affiliation: citizen
occupation: con artist
pronouns: she/her/hers
bio triggers: noneÂ
   There was a ten year gap between Cleo and her older brother, Clinton. For that reason, she never seemed to get along with him. He was always fighting with her over this or that. Her parents always took her brother’s side rather than her own. From that young age, Cleo realized that if she wanted to get something done, she was going to have to do it herself. She couldn’t count on others to help her, even her own family. She retreated back to books, teaching herself to read and write at an early age. Her parents barely realized their daughter was a genius. Although Cleo made she that she didn’t make any waves, being part of the background was fine with her. She didn’t need to be the center of attention. She was even more in the background once her sister was born. Clara was a bright young child just as Cleo was. Cleo continued to stick to herself, even though she and Clara were only four years apart. Cleo did what she was supposed to do, covering for her sister without making it seem like she was actually covering for her sister. School almost came naturally for her. Maths and sciences were her favorite, but she was also really talented at literature and theater as well. Cleo was a well rounded child, unlike her older brother who was only good at sports. When he went off to college on a full football scholarship, Clara became what the Baldwin’s focused on. She didn’t mind, of course.
   After graduating high school, she found a small job, beginning to plan her future before she even knew that her sister would be on board with her plans. It was better to start ahead of time instead of before there was no time. Cleo was twenty when her sister was sixteen and she finally confronted her sister. Clara was surprised that she wanted this, but Cleo was as sure as ever that she wanted to start conning people out of their money. She wanted a life where she never had to settle down and be normal— something that she never cared to do. The sisters began making plans— or making changes to the plans that she started. She was ecstatic to begin a lifestyle that she had dreamed of for years. Traveling and being out in the world was something that Cleo had always wanted, but it was a lifestyle that she was not able to afford. Not unless she took it for herself and luckily her sister was down to help her. Cleo realized that no matter how manipulative her sister was, she was twice as bad, and she was vengeful too. The young beauty was worse than her sister, but even so, she pretended that she was just a pretty face, because everyone trusted a pretty face. She was a self-made woman, who was vengeful, graceful, and she wasn’t afraid of danger.
   Her career started with the bank robbery. No one saw it coming, and they didn’t know it was even the Baldwin sisters who did it. The two of them escaped, and left no trail behind. Life on the road was not terrible. It was easy to con people out of money. Clara was her little doll. She could con money out of even the most frugal person. But it was never enough for Cleo, she wanted more. She needed more. So more is just what they did. The two sisters never stayed in a town for more than three or four weeks. Cleo got restless, and paranoid that they might leave a trail. After that time, they would pack their bags and move to another city. For years they did the exact same thing. MOVE, CON, MOVE, CON. It was like it was a lifestyle for the two of them. Cleo was happy, and Clara was too– at least from what she could tell. Emotions had never been Cleo’s best area. She was happy... happier with this life; she thought her sister was too.
   Then came Los Angeles and after their fail in Chicago she was ready for a change in cityscape. Cleo wasn’t an idiot; her sister had taken too much damage with their last con. She could see that her sister was hurting, but she wanted her sister to grow up and learn that bad things happened. Clara needed to get over what happened in Chicago. After establishing themselves in the city, they began to plan their next con. Their target the illustrious actress with a growing career. The blonde wouldn’t know what hit her. The sisters wanted to make sure that their con went off without a hitch. They wanted no problems. It took months to plan, but Cleo could tell that Clara was getting too attached to Alana Sommers, too attached to the city, too attached to everything. It angered Cleo. Once again Clara was screwing up. She had spent her entire life planning for this sort of career, her sister was not about to settle down when they worked so hard. So she came up with an elaborate plan, but a plan that even Clara wouldn’t be able to see through all the glamour and SHIT of. One that might have involved something entirely illegal-- but it’s not like Cleo cared.
   Cleo knew that Clara was going to set her up with Matthew Duke. The man was someone that worked close to Alana, the on set doctor or something, she didn’t know, she didn’t care. Her plan was set in motion. Cleo had always pretended to like him, although she was not that fond of him. But Clara thought that her sister had a soft spot for the man; which was all part of her plan. The night that Alana was going to the movie premier, Cleo went on her date with Matthew. Cleo bit her tongue, pretending to be a nice woman, not the manipulative bitch she actually could be. She laughed at his lame jokes, smiled and kissed him goodnight at the end. She wanted to throw up. Men were not her strong suit. She did not want a life with a man. Nor anyone for that matter. The date left a bad taste in her mouth, but apparently Matthew was not as perceptive as she was. He asked to take her on another date, and she said yes. Cleo had no idea what time Clara came home that night. The next morning the newspaper had a huge photograph of none other than Alana Sommers on the front page. Cleo couldn’t bite back the rage she felt. They should have conned the woman a long time ago, now she was missing and she had no way of ever getting hold of the woman’s fortune. They should have left the city a long time ago. Outraged, she yelled at her sister. Cleo didn’t mean it, but she was just very angry. She wanted to move, but she knew that Clara wanted to settle down here. Cleo was smart enough to know that. Everything had backfired. And it was due to a certain blonde woman. While Cleo might not have kidnapped the woman, she wondered what Alana could be involved in to make someone want to kill her. The dark haired woman wanted to find out. So perhaps she just needed to keep up that persona she had created while she was around Matthew. Because she knew she wasn’t leaving the city any time soon.
Not when the fortune of an actress was at the tip of her fingers.
   MIA VEGA. friend Cleo likes Mia. The other is much like her -- rough around the edges, yet Mia is much more tender than Cleo is. For some reason, Cleo wants to take the younger one under her wing. However, she knows that Mia is hiding something. Cleo doesn’t want to get betrayed by Mia, so she keeps her at a length. There’s just something about the other that makes the Baldwin really wants to get to know Mia.Â
   CLYDE THERIOT. acquaintance Clyde, despite being a younger fellow, is an old soul. Cleo loves that about him. The two have not shared many conversations, however, she does like getting to know him. Cleo spends a lot of time at his bar because a lot of rich people hang around the bar. She wants to get to know Clyde better, but she knows that she and Clara aren’t going to be in the city for much longer.
   FAIRA WALKER. annoyance Faira is just so different. She’s kind and friendly. Everything that Cleo hates in a person. Faira is just the good to Cleo’s corrupted side. Cleo only met the young woman because Faira is a waitress at the diner that the Baldwins are close to. If there was another diner closer to their apartment, that’s where Cleo would go, but there isn’t one for miles and she just can’t justify going further than a mile out of the way. Faira wouldn’t bother her so much if she’d just quit asking questions.Â
   VERA CLIFFORD. unlikely friend Vera is one of Cleo’s best friends. She doesn’t care for Vera’s fascination for the Sommers case, but Cleo knows that she’ll be useful. Cleo didn’t expect to actually like the woman, but Vera is quite friendly and easy to talk to. Although the woman doesn’t know much about Cleo, she’s honestly one of the first people she’d got to when she’s in trouble. Having her so interested in the Sommera care is actually beneficial to Cleo as well -- because she wants to know where the blonde actress is like all of Los Angeles.
   Additional Connections: Clara Baldwin, Cleo Baldwin, Matthew Duke
CLEO BALDWIN is portrayed by Hayley Atwell
She is currently OPEN
Her faceclaim is SEMI-NEGOTIABLE
Approved faceclaims choices: TBD















