Kirsten Cohen

Biography
Full Name	Kirsten Nichol Cohen
Status	Alive
Relatives	Caleb Nichol (father ; deceased) Rose Nichol (mother ; deceased) Hailey Nichol (younger sister) Lindsay Gardner (younger paternal half-sister) Marissa Cooper (younger paternal step-sister ; deceased) Kaitlin Cooper (younger paternal step-sister) Seth Cohen (older son ; with Sandy) Ryan Atwood-Cohen (older adoptive son ; with Sandy) Sophie Rose (younger daughter ; with Sandy) Sophie (mother-in-law ; deceased) unknown name (father-in-law ; deceased)
Occupation	Business woman High school student (Harbor High School ; graduated) College student (University of California, Berkeley ; graduated)
Residence	Berkeley, California
Series Information
First Appearance	1.01: "Premiere"
Last Appearance	4.16: "The End's Not Near, It's Here"
Portrayed by	Kelly Rowan

Kirsten Cohen (née Nichol) was one of the main protagonist of "The O.C.".  She was portrayed by Kelly Rowan.

Kirsten is the wife of Sandy Cohen, mother to Seth Cohen, and the adoptive mother of Ryan Atwood, she also will give birth to a a daughter Sophie Rose. Originally portrayed as being unwelcoming towards Ryan in the Cohen household, she began to develop feelings for the brooding teenager, going on to accept him as a central member of her family.

Story of the character

Life before Season 1

During high school, Kirsten dated Jimmy Cooper but she broke up with him when she was admitted to the University of California, Berkeley--at least, that was her excuse for the break-up. The truth was that she was pregnant but she decided to abort (a secret she never revealed to Jimmy, but instead revealed it to Sandy, but only years later when she was pregnant with Sophie Rose). She married husband Sandy Cohen sometime during her rebellious twenties (she states that when they fell in love, she "lived in a mail truck and stank of patchouli"). Since marrying Sandy and giving birth to their son Seth, Kirsten joined her father at the Newport Group, becoming somewhat of a workaholic.

Season 1

During the first season, Kirsten has to deal with suddenly having another child: Ryan Atwood. At first she steadfastly resists having Ryan stay in the Cohen house, but in the third episode, she and Seth rescue Ryan from juvenile detention. After Ryan's biological mother, Dawn, embarrasses herself, her son and everyone else at a society event, Kirsten and Sandy agree to officially adopt Ryan.

Kirsten also plays a large role in her father's business. She is very successful, and on numerous occasions this causes Sandy to feel a little insecure.

Season 2

Her true problems began during the second season when she fears that her husband is "cheating" on her with his old fianceé, Rebecca Bloom. Sandy and Kirsten's marriage begins to deteriorate, and she turns to alcohol to compensate. Her alcoholism is fueled by working closely with Carter Buckley, whom she has a crush on.

While Sandy is away with the boys in Miami, she invites Carter over and they share a passionate kiss before he decides to leave town. After Carter leaves, Kirsten's drinking problem becomes worse. She drives drunk and gets into a severe car accident, which leaves her undamaged.

When her father, Caleb, tries to talk to her about her drinking issue, Kirsten says extremely rude things. This is the last time she sees her father; he dies later that night when he suffers a heart attack and drowns in the pool at his mansion.

At Caleb's funeral, Kirsten makes a scene by drinking far too much and screaming at Sandy in the middle of the reception. After an intervention from her family and friends, she goes to rehab.

Season 3

Kirsten begins the season at rehab, where she is detoxing. Thanks to the support of the Cohens and their friends, slowly, she is returning to being the old Kiki, the one, who didn't need to stick to the bottle to feel good. But things get " complicated ", when Kirsten meets Charlotte Morgan, a con artist who claims to be interested in her but in reality is only after her for money. Fortunately, Charlotte fails in intent, thanks to the intervention of Julie Cooper, then Charlotte leaves.

She returns home to Newport and creates a high-class dating service with Julie.

In the season finale, she is encouraged by Sandy's decision to return to the public defender's office, giving up all interest in Newport Group.

Season 4

At the beginning of the season, Kirsten, Sandy, Seth and Summer bring the deeply depressed Ryan back to the Cohen house five months after Marissa's tragic death in an automobile accident caused by Kevin Volchok. Kirsten and Sandy then venture to Mexico to chase down Ryan and Seth, who have gone in search of Volchok in Mexico. On Thanksgiving Day, Kirsten helps Taylor Townsend overcome the shock of Veronica throwing her daughter out of her house, and cooks dinner with Taylor, Summer and Seth, since Sandy and Ryan are busy attempting to get Volchok to turn himself in for vehicular homicide in Marissa's death.

Kirsten is working on New Match, an agency for romantic dates. This season, the friendship with Julie, suffers a setback, when Kirsten, discovers that Julie, used their agency, as a kind of brothel for wealthy women, cause of this Kirsten, initially, she decides to break her friendship with Julie. Subsequently however, Julie decides to make amends and between the two returns the friendship, also they decide to continue working together. This time, however, in the right way.

Later in the season, on her 40th birthday, Kirsten finds out that she's pregnant. This reminds her of the time when she dated Jimmy Cooper. During the great earthquake, she is injured with bruise, but fortunately, her unborn daughter has not been hurt, the girl will be born then, in the finale. Also in the same episode, Kirsten together with Sandy and little Sophie Rose (called like that in honor to Kirsten's and Sandy's mom's), will move into the couple's old house in Berkeley.

Memorable quotes

See Memorable Quotes by Kirsten Cohen

References

Season 1

• Pilot

• The Model Home
• The Gamble
• The Debut
• The Outsider
• The Girlfriend
• The Escape
• The Rescue
• The Heights
• The Perfect Couple
• The Homecoming
• The Secret
• The Best Chrismukkah Ever
• The Countdown
• The Third Wheel
• The Links
• The Rivals
• The Truth
• The Heartbreak
• The Telenovela
• The Goodbye Girl
• The L.A.
• The Nana
• The Proposal
• The Shower
• The Strip
• The Ties That Bind

Season 2

• The Distance
• The Way We Were
• The New Kids on the Block
• The New Era
• The SnO.C.
• The Chrismukkah That Almost Wasn't
• The Family Ties
• The Power of Love
• The Ex-Factor
• The Accomplice
• The Second Chance
• The Lonely Hearts Club
• The Test
• The Rainy Day Women
• The Mallpisode
• The Blaze of Glory
• The Brothers Grim
• The Risky Business
• The Rager
• The O.C. Confidential
• The Return of the Nana
• The Showdown
• The O.Sea
• The Dearly Beloved

Season 3

• The Aftermath
• The Shape of Things to Come
• The End of Innocence
• The Last Waltz
• The Perfect Storm
• The Swells
• The Anger Management
• The Game Plan
• The Disconnect
• The Chrismukkah Bar Mitz-vahkkah
• The Safe Harbor
• The Sister Act
• The Pot Stirrer
• The Cliffhanger
• The Heavy Lifting
• The Road Warrior
• The Journey
• The Undertow
• The Secrets and Lies
• The Day After Tomorrow
• The Dawn Patrol
• The College Try
• The Party Favor
• The Man of The Year
• The Graduates

Season 4

• The Avengers
• The Gringos
• The Cold Turkey
• The Metamorphosis
• The Sleeping Beauty
• The Summer Bummer
• The Chrismukk-huh?
• The Earth Girls Are Easy
• The My Two Dads
• The French Connection
• The Dream Lover
• The Groundhog Day
• The Case Of The Franks
• The Shake Up
• The Night Moves
• The End's Not Near, It's Here