Nina Dobrev

Nikolina Kamenova Dobreva, known professionally as Nina Dobrev, is a Canadian actress. Born on January 9, 1989, in Sofia, Bulgaria, she is best known for starring as Elena Gilbert and Katherine Pierce in The CW's supernatural drama series The Vampire Diaries. Throughout her career, Dobrev has appeared in a wide variety of television series and feature films, including Degrassi: The Next Generation, The Perks of Being a Wallflower, and XXX: Return of Xander Cage.

Dobrev was born to Kamen Dobrev, a computer specialist, and Michaela Dobreva, an artist, and has an older brother named Alexander. Her family relocated to Canada when she was two years old, raising her in Scarborough, Toronto, where she attended Vradenburg Junior Public School. At age 10, she moved back to Bulgaria with her mother for two years before returning to Toronto. She later attended J. B. Tyrrell Sr. Public School, taking ballet and jazz classes and competing in rhythmic gymnastics, before studying acting at Armstrong Acting Studios and attending Wexford Collegiate School for the Arts. She enrolled at Ryerson University, now Toronto Metropolitan University, majoring in sociology, but left before graduating to focus on acting.

Dobrev began her acting career playing minor screen roles before landing her breakout role as Mia Jones on the teen drama series Degrassi: The Next Generation, appearing on the show for three seasons starting in 2006. In the mid-2000s, she appeared in feature films including Fugitive Pieces and Away from Her in 2007. She also starred in several television movies, including Sci Fi Channel's Never Cry Werewolf, MTV's The American Mall, and two Lifetime original films.

In 2009, Dobrev left Degrassi to lead the cast of The Vampire Diaries as Elena Gilbert. During her time on the series, she also played the 500-year-old doppelgänger Katherine Pierce and the original immortal Amara, and made a crossover appearance as Tatia on the spinoff series The Originals in 2014. Dobrev left the show after six seasons in 2015, returning as a guest star for the series finale in 2017.

Dobrev's feature film career includes roles in Atom Egoyan's Chloe in 2010, The Roommate in 2011, The Perks of Being a Wallflower in 2012, Let's Be Cops in 2014, and The Final Girls in 2015. In 2017, she co-starred as weapons specialist Becky Clearidge in XXX: Return of Xander Cage, which grossed $346 million worldwide, and appeared in the Flatliners remake. Her later projects include the films Dog Days, Then Came You, Lucky Day, Run This Town, and Love Hard, as well as a leading role as Clem in the CBS sitcom Fam in 2019. In July 2020, it was announced she would star in and executive produce a television adaptation of Woman 99.

Outside of performing, Dobrev is a dual citizen of Bulgaria and Canada who speaks English, Bulgarian, and French. She co-owns Fresh Vine Wine alongside Julianne Hough and has invested in beverage companies. Dobrev supports charitable causes including Project Pink, Hunger Bites, the Elton John AIDS Foundation, and the WE movement, having traveled to Kenya on a volunteer trip to help build a school.