Lauren Tanner

Lauren Tanner is a main character in the ABC drama series Make It or Break It. She is a gymnast at The Rock and best friends with Kaylie Cruz. She is portrayed by Cassie Scerbo.

She is a gymnast at The Rock, nicknamed "The Queen of the Beam". Lauren is very vindictive and manipulative and always tries to get her way. She is in love with Kaylie's boyfriend Carter and sleeps with him at a party. After Carter and Kaylie break up, they resume sleeping together, but she eventually breaks up with him and gets him kicked out of the gym when he can't tell her that he loves her. Her mother is an addict who abandoned her and her father when she was young. After her mother dies, she learns that her mother tried to see her many times, but her father kept pushing her away. Lauren and Payson go against each other to see who will be the captain but they end up becoming co-captains.

Background[]

Lauren is a gymnast at The Rock. Lauren is also known as the 'Bitch'. She showed complete displeasure at having Emily Kmetko in the gym, scheming to try and find a way for her to be kicked out. She left The Rock after being beaten by Emily for 3rd place in the National Trials, but came back when The Rock found a new head coach, Sasha Belov. She has a crush on Carter, Kaylie's boyfriend, and later has sex with (and loses her virginity to) him as result of depression on her birthday. Lauren told Payson and Kaylie that she lost her virginity, but she does not say with whom. She shows jealousy towards Kaylie, even stealing a necklace that Carter gave to her. She is best friends with Kaylie and Payson. Lauren and her father, Steve, both dream of her participating in the Olympics. However, Lauren's performances, although full of 'fire' (as described by Sasha Belov), lack likeability because Lauren never smiles. This is due to the fact that Lauren's biological mother is an addict, who loves getting high more than Lauren. According to her father, she has checked in and out of rehab numerous times, and wants nothing do with Lauren. In the episode "All's Fair in Love, War, and Gymnastics", Lauren leaves Carter's cell phone in Kaylie's parent's bathroom, where Kaylie's dad finds it, with pictures of Kaylie kissing Carter. After further rejection from Carter, she comes crying to Summer, since she is the only one who was there for Lauren. They talk and become close friends. Summer and Steve break up after Summer found out that Steve threatened Lauren's mom not to come to Nationals. This, however, makes Lauren believe that Summer left her, however Summer later shows up right after one of Lauren's routines, saying how she will always be Lauren's friend. Lauren later comes in fourth at Nationals. Although Kaylie still feels somewhat betrayed by Lauren, they agree not to let a boy come between them. Lauren promises not to have any contact with Carter, but when Carter needs a place to live, Lauren offers her attic. Lauren and Carter become close after he moves in, and he realizes that she is the one who has been there for him. They eventually get together, and are in a relationship. Carter breaks up with her after she steals Emily's floor routine, telling her that he could never love someone who hurts people so deliberately. She is jealous of her father's relationship with Chloe, and tries to ruin it. She think that the Kimetko's are only interested in their money. She finds out that her father is funding Emily's scholarship after Ellen Beals intentionally gives her the envelope of receipts.

Personality[]

Lauren is seen as the "mean girl" and is called the "bitch of the beam", due to her talent on the beam and her bitchiness. She does though have a soft side when it comes to her friends and family. She tries to hide her soft side and ignore her feelings but in truth she is very sensitive.

Bio[]

Take-no-prisoners Lauren has a humbling experience when she chokes during the meet in China. It shakes her famous confidence – but not for long. She attacks her training like never before, and yet something – or someone – distracts her. Namely Carter.

Lauren gives Carter a place to stay when he has no place else to go -- even though she risks losing Kaylie's friendship forever. Lauren desperately wants to be Kaylie's best friend again, but she can't help but reach out to Carter. As time goes by, Lauren wins back Kaylie's friendship, only to jeopardize it again when Kaylie finds out about Carter's living arrangement.

It is also worth noting that Lauren is also the most manipulative of the gymnasts, often moving the plot forward and causing the conflict. She has her father, Steve Tanner, wrapped around her pinky finger. She takes being spoiled to a professional level with her constant, "Daddy I Want This" attitude. A few of her infamous acts is getting Sasha Belov removed from coaching after leaking a video of Payson and Sasha. She also can control Summer, the assistant manager of the gym.

Lauren will go from set jawed amazon to crying waterworks girl whenever the situation calls for it, she is like a chameleon. Her spoiled attitude is only matched by her powers of persuasion. When she broke the news to her dad that she was the one who leaked the tape; which she intended to be a power move to keep him under her thumb, Steve called her bluff and went to talk to the staff. Through crying and telling Steve that she will change and that he can't do this to his daughter, and how much she loves him, he relented.

Her control over Summer happens when she breaks down into a helpless needy girl and calling Summer her step mom and that she never had a mom, that no one loves her etc etc... (by now the audience is probably yelling at the screen, "Don't fall for it Summer! ").

Things begin looking up when Lauren snags a bronze medal at the rematch against the Chinese team. And when Carter kisses her, it seems Lauren finally has what she's always wanted.

Lauren is known for being 'Queen of the Beam' and also is known in the fandom for her intricately braided hairstyles.

Throughout the Series[]

Season 1[]

In the first season, Lauren is in love with Kaylie's boyfriend, Carter Anderson. In episode 3 "Blowing Off Steam", she sleeps with Carter, losing her virginity to him, after he fights with Kaylie at a kegger. Carter and Kaylie get back together, and Lauren promises to keep their night a secret, also suggesting that they should become friends with benefits. Carter rejects this offer, staying with Kaylie until she finds out. Kaylie and Carter break up, and he eventually goes for Lauren. Lauren's mother is an addict who abandoned her for drugs, Summer her soon-to-be stepmother, tracks down Lauren's mother Leslie, and gives Lauren her number. Lauren calls Leslie and invites her to nationals. Lauren is disappointed, however, when Leslie fails Lauren.

At Nationals, Summer calls her and yells at her for disappointing Lauren and learns that Lauren's dad, Steve, threatened her to keep her away. Her mother dies in a car accident, and Lauren doesn't seem to care. She then finds out that Leslie tried to see her many times but Steve wouldn't let her threatening that he would get her arrested if she tried to visit Lauren without his permission. Lauren is upset over this, and moves out of her dad's house for a while, living with Summer instead.

Season 2[]

Season 2 starts with Lauren Kaylie and Emily having a photo shoot at the rock and them getting news that they are suspended from the meet in France. Later on we find to that she and Carter are having a secret relationship that he doesn't want to define.

Lauren's gymnastics camp "big sister," Darby, comes in as a replacement coach for Sasha after he leaves The Rock after his incident with Payson. Payson kissed Sasha during one-on-one training, which is caught on the training cam that Lauren finds one morning. She then takes the footage and sends it to Ellen Beals, after editing it to only be them kissing, removing the part where Sasha pushes her away.

Darby has an unconventional way of coaching, and lets Lauren and Payson compete for a chance at the position of team captain. She ends up appointing them co-captains. Another of Darby's coaching methods has them switching routines, Lauren and Payson having switched with each other. Lauren tells Payson that she is "not sexy enough" for her routines. Payson ends up showing up dressed like Lauren and nailing her "sexy routine."

Lauren also competes with Payson for a guy's affections. Max is new to the gym, and at first seems to be into Lauren but also shows interest in Payson. Lauren thinks that he is really just interested in her, but after they get into a car accident and he ends up in the hospital he calls Payson's name. The nurse goes to the waiting room to say he is asking for his girlfriend, Lauren thinks it's her and goes in to find out that it's really Payson's name he is calling. She eventually tells Payson this, and she gets together with Max. Soon Payson finds out that Max is bisexual after kissing his friend. His friend tells the girls and Payson and Lauren are shocked.

Lauren talks to Sasha after he comes back to the Rock. She tells him whats she feels, meanwhile, she still gets to go to worlds after the accident, but Max won't be able to go to Worlds. Kaylie and Payson come to check on Lauren, and Austin comes to see how Max is doing. Summer comes to see if Lauren is okay but she told her that she must tell Sasha what she did to him. After talking to her Sasha shows up and yells at her. She thinks that Summer told him but she didn't, after she tells Lauren what she has to do. Lauren wants to know why Summer is making her do it, when she already said sorry for everything that she did.

Notable Skills[]

-Wendy Capshaw states that Lauren performs a standing full twisting tuck on beam

-"The Tanner", a move on beam Lauren created and named after herself.

Relationships[]

Steve Tanner: Steve is Lauren's dad, and former manager of The Rock. Steve is a rich lawyer who always tries to get the best for his daughter. He dated Summer Van Horne, but Summer broke up with Steve after discovering that Steve had threatened Lauren's mom not to come to Nationals. He has been dating Emily's mom after inadvertently meeting her online and arranging a date without knowing who she was. They kept the relationship a secret from Lauren and Emily, but after Steve bought Emily's prom dress for her, Lauren found out. Emily eventually found out as well, causing a rift between the two. He was secretly funding Emily's scholarship to the Rock under a fake sports endowment group. He was discovered when Ellen Beals give Lauren the envelope containing the information. He is running for President of the Parent's Board.