Born in Sofia in 1989, Nina Dobrev is a Bulgarian-Canadian actress best known for portraying Elena Gilbert and Katherine Pierce in the supernatural drama series The Vampire Diaries, broadcasted on the CW channel from 2009 to 2015. Relocating with her family to Scarborough, Toronto, when she was 2 years old, Dobrev was raised in Canada, where she trained in ballet and dance while competing in rhythmic gymnastics, joining both Senior and Junior World Championships in 2005. While she enrolled in post-secondary studies specializing in Sociology at Ryerson University, her acting career quickly took over. Her first major acting role came in 2006 with the series Degrassi: The Next Generation, where she played Mia Jones for three seasons. She also appeared in several feature films, TV shows and two Lifetime original movies before taking on the protagonist role in The Vampire Diaries, a performance that won her several Teen Choice Awards. Other significant performances include her role as Candace Kelmeckis in the film adaptation of The Perks of Being a Wallflower (2012), co-starring Emma Watson, and the American psychological thrillerThe Roommate (2011).
