RUMPLESTILTSKIN.

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biography.

As a child, Rumplestiltskin is raised only by his father, Malcolm, as his mother has presumably died shortly after his birth, protecting him. While still young, Rumplestiltskin watches his father, Malcolm, swindle a man and then get beat up for it, though he tries to intervene to protect him. The duped man steals Malcolm's money, leaving both father and son penniless. Before his father goes to look for work, he leaves his son with a pair of wool spinsters. Seeing his son's reluctance to stay behind, Malcolm gifts him a straw doll, telling him it will protect him if he gives it a name. Rumplestiltskin follows his advice and later names the doll "Peter Pan." 

During his time with the spinsters, he becomes skilled at spinning wool, with the women suggesting he can spin for kings and queens one day. With dreams of a future with his father, Rumplestiltskin envisions earning money to support the both of them, however, the spinsters don't think it's possible because of Malcolm's long-standing reputation as a cheat and coward. They hand him a magic bean, urging him to take himself to another land, before revealing that his father is still swindling people. In disbelief over their claims, Rumplestiltskin tracks down his father, who he berates for his terrible ways. Despite this, the boy still believes in him and suggests they can start over elsewhere by using the magic bean. 

They arrive in the realm Neverland, a place Malcolm traveled to in his sleep when he was a child, where anything is possible with the power of belief. However, during the excursion, Malcolm encounters the Shadow, who warns him that he won't be able to fly, even with the help of pixie dust, because adults don't belong in Neverland. Malcolm tells his son that he's given up on flying since adults can't be in this world. Rumplestiltskin doesn't mind, and wants to try another land as all that matters is being together. Rumplestiltskin is then suddenly grabbed by the Shadow, but he manages to hold onto Malcolm. His father, however, reveals he wants to stay in Neverland to regain his youth, and to do that, he must abandon his son. Malcolm then forces Rumplestiltskin to let go of him, to which the Shadow whisks the boy up higher, causing him to drop the doll. In his last glimpse of Malcolm, Rumplestiltskin sees him transform into a young boy, before the Shadow flies him back to the Enchanted Forest. Returning to the spinsters' cottage, he cries over losing his father, while the women allow him to stay with them.

When Rumplestiltskin is older, he marries a woman named Milah, and together, they live in a village spinning and selling wool. One day, he is drafted to fight in the ogre war, which he believes is an opportunity to prove himself brave and not like his cowardly father. In the training camp, he is assigned to watch over the Seer, who indicates she knows of his fate, and would gladly exchange this information for a glass of water. She tells him that Milah is pregnant, and that his actions on the battlefield will leave his son fatherless. Skeptical at first, Rumplestiltskin eventually believes what she says and intentionally injures himself, so that he can get out of the war and be with his son, Baelfire. Once he returns home, Rumplestiltskin attempts to explain to Milah about the seer's prophecy, but she is astonished that he is gullible enough to believe in such a thing. Disgusted with his cowardice, she argues it would have been much more honorable for him to die and for Baelfire to have a dead father that fought in the war.

Years later, after Baelfire has grown to be a young child, Rumplestiltskin offers to help Milah collect wood, insisting he can be useful despite his leg limp. Indifferent to his promises, she instead tells him to go play with their son, as it's one thing he can do. Suddenly, they hear Baelfire shrieking, and the pair find him collapsed in pain from a snake bite. After Milah kills the snake, she and Rumplestiltskin take their son to a healer named Fendrake, who warns that the bite is fatal and their son doesn't have long to live. He offers them an antidote for a hundred gold coins, something the couple obviously cannot afford. Leaving the healer's hut empty-handed, Milah devises a plan for her husband to kill Fendrake and steal the potion. When Milah procures a knife for him to use, Rumplestiltskin continues to be reluctant, even when she insists he needs to be brave for once. Eventually, she convinces him to go through with it, giving him a desperate kiss to shake him into a courageous stupor.

That night, Rumplestiltskin sneaks into the healer's hut while Fendrake is asleep. Fendrake awakes and sees him, and Rumplestiltskin prepares to kill him, but he cannot bring himself to do it after the healer doesn't try to resist. Seeing Rumplestiltskin's desperation to save his son, Fendrake gives him the antidote and asks for his second-born child. Rumplestiltskin agrees, not wanting Baelfire to have a murderer for a father, and returns to Milah with the potion. He explains the deal to her, which she is horrified at, accusing him of selling the future they could have had. She then storms out, headed for the tavern, where a certain pirate captain by the name of Killian Jones is awaiting her.

As the years pass, Milah grows more and more disillusioned and unhappy with the life she has with Rumplestiltskin. Unbeknownst to him, she keeps company with Killian and his crew at the tavern. Rumplestiltskin comes by to bring Milah home, to which she mocks him for his reputation as a coward. Only when Baelfire comes in asking for his mother, does Milah depart for her son's sake. At home, she tries to persuade her husband that it's possible for them to have a better life in another place where he doesn't have to live in the shadow of his reputation and they can travel the world. Instead, Rumplestiltskin pushes her to make the marriage work for Baelfire. She reluctantly agrees, but the next morning, he hears word that his wife has been kidnapped by Killian. Rumplestiltskin attempts to rescue his wife, but is turned away by Killian when he is too cowardly to duel with him. Regretfully, he returns home to tell Baelfire a lie that his mother is dead.

When the kingdom resorts to using children as soldiers in yet another ogre war, Rumplestiltskin and his son flee into the forest, only to be found and bullied by royal knights. After the knights leave, Rumplestiltskin and Baelfire are approached by a mysterious old man who offers them help in exchange for a small amount of food and company. After Rumplestiltskin explains his reason for running away, the old man has a better idea and steers him towards stealing a magical dagger from the Duke's castle. As holder of the dagger, Rumplestiltskin can control the Dark One, a terrifying entity with unmatched magical powers who is the most feared being in all the land. He decides to steal the dagger with the hopes of protecting Baelfire and turning the Dark One into a force of good. However, Rumplestiltskin can't see himself keeping the Dark One as a slave as he is terrified of him. Convinced he has no other choice, Rumplestiltskin sets fire to the Duke's castle and makes off with the blade. Afterwards, he meets Baelfire in the forest and sends him home. 

Once alone, Rumplestiltskin summons the Dark One and cowers at the being's presence. When the Dark One taunts him about Baelfire not truly being his son, Rumplestiltskin stabs the entity in a fit of blind rage. Shockingly, he discovers the Dark One is the old man who told him about the dagger. The man briefs on all the horrible deeds he was forced to do as the Dark One and states death is welcome release, and ominously warns Rumplestiltskin that "magic always comes with a price." Then, Rumplestiltskin's own name replaces Zoso's on the dagger, and he gains the powers of the Dark One, altering his appearance in the process. Relishing over his new-found status, he returns home to humiliate and kill the knights who harassed him and his son, using his dagger and strength while Baelfire looks on in terror.

Transformed into the Dark One, Rumplestiltskin becomes a being of immense magical power and growing menace. He is now immortal, and capable of immense magic and power. But his greatest weapon is not brute force—it's deal-making. Rumplestiltskin operates through cunning bargains, always emphasizing that “magic comes with a price.” These deals often trap desperate people in cruel twists of fate, reinforcing his control over others while maintaining the illusion of fairness. He walks a fine line between a feared villain and an occasional savior. He slays the ogres, ending the war, and is hailed as a hero by some. Yet his addiction to power drives him to manipulate monarchs, train young sorcerers like Regina in dark magic, and influencing events across entire realms. His driving factor through all of his actions is Baelfire, rooted in a desperate need to reunite with and protect his son, something he believes he is only able to do with his immense powers. But the more power he gains, the more it alienates Baelfire who only wants his father to give up on his powers, creating a cycle of loss and self-destruction.

Eventually, Rumplestiltskin manipulates Regina into casting of the Dark Curse, which brings all fairytale characters into the real world, specifically into a town called Storybrooke. There, they are cursed to live without any memories of their previous lives, only false memories of miserable modern lives without a happy ending. In the cursed town of Storybrooke, Rumplestiltskin becomes Mr. Gold, a shrewd pawnbroker and essentially the owner of the town, who pretends to have lost his memories like all the rest, while secretly continuing his quest to find Baelfire—now Neal— to reunite with his long lost son.

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