At the core, Alex Vause is driven by a Basic Fear of being harmed or controlled by others, and a Core Desire to be self-reliant and in control of their own life. This motivational tension can be seen in how they approach both success and vulnerability — shaping the arc of their personal development. Both Alex and Piper betray each other for personal gain, despite their feelings for each other. Alex relies on Piper just as much as Piper relies on her, but she uses her hard demeanor to hide it all, only showing weakness on rare occasion to close friends such as Nicky. Alex has good survival skills, is very smart and calm and usually has a good sense of humor when facing problems. Physical Appearance: Alex Vause is a tall (1,78 m), slender woman. In "Thirsty Bird" Piper, incorrectly, states that Alex is 5'9, usually wearing dark eyeliner and her eyebrows plucked. She wears glasses with thick black frames (described as secretary glasses by Piper). She has a penchant for dark lipstick when seen in flashbacks. She is a fan of tattoos and displays quite a few proudly. She has a salt shaker tattoo in the back of her left shoulder, big red rose tattoos on her right shoulder, a tattoo on her right wrist, small tattoos on her left arm, a large tattoo on her right, a shooting star down her side and a large tattoo on her thigh. She has long black hair which previously had blue streaks in it (as seen in flashbacks). Before Litchfield Alex is the daughter of Diane Vause and Lee Burley. Vause was raised by her mother solely, as her father, a "rock star", wasn't aware of her existence. Alex's mother worked four jobs to support them; nevertheless, they still struggled financially and Alex suffered bullying from her peers (notably Jessica Wedge) due to this. Her mother tried to console her, pointing out that her father was famous and she could use this knowledge to remain strong in the face of torment. When she was older, Alex tracked down her father and, facing bitter disappointment at finding him an underwhelming, drug-taking washed-up old star whose life still revolved around his former glory, struck up a friendship with his drug dealer Fahri. He subsequently became her industry contact in a drug cartel led by kingpin Kubra Balik. Alex then worked as a smuggler and dealer for many years. She later took a sexual interest in Piper Chapman after meeting her in a bar. Alex was living with her girlfriend Sylvia at the time, but Alex eventually broke up the relationship and began dating Piper. Alex gradually integrated Piper into the drug trade while they traveled the world living in luxury. Vause once convinced Piper to smuggle cash through customs at an airport in Europe, the crime for which Piper is doing time. Vause specifically named Piper during her testimony, which is what led to Piper's later arrest. After Piper broke up with her, Vause began using heroin (she was sent to rehab by Kubra to get clean shortly after). She appears to have moments of depression, telling Nicky that she can no longer "get past the swirling darkness in her brain long enough to land on anything" and mentioning to Piper that upon entering prison, she was on anti-depressants, which she now trades for black eyeliner. Vause's mother died from an aneurysm during Vause and Chapman's relationship; Alex finds this out just as Piper is preparing to leave her. Alex presumes that the break-up will be on hold whilst she deals with her death and attends the funeral, but Piper abandons her, refusing to stay around for support even though she is the only real friend that Alex has. Alex cites this as the reason she later named Piper, as that was the last time they had seen each other and Alex still felt betrayed. During Kubra Balik's trial, Alex goes out to a bar. She is seen drinking when a French man reads her tattoo "love is pain" which she says she got in response to Piper's. She states love is not beauty. He asks if it is her girlfriend and Alex replies ex and that she is purely gay and would not sleep with him ever. She asks if he wants to hear the rest of the story, to which he replies yes as it will distract him from his own love-pain. He orders a drink for himself and Alex. She says her love pain is worse than his love pain. He says pain isn't a contest. She also says that Piper broke her heart, but she messed up and acknowledges she ruined Piper's life (gave her name) by saying she went nuclear. She refuses to tell more info as her drink is laid down. He tells his story of how his wife was having an affair with a butcher, which led him to have an affair with a flight attendant, and then she responded with an architect, him a history teacher, Jazz singer, secretary, and two waitresses in response. He states he is now alone as she is with the architect. She revealed that she gave Piper's name and incriminated her more, in return for less time. This was six years after their breakup. Later, Alex is with a girl and receives a call from Piper and sends it to voicemail, thinking that Piper knows about Alex naming her.