Elena Gilbert

At the start Elena is a Mystic Falls student trying to get back to life after her parents’ death in a car crash. She is compassionate and brave and puts the people she loves above herself – which keeps putting her in danger.

She is a doppelgänger of the Petrova line and identical to Katherine Pierce, which makes her blood valuable for Klaus’s ritual. Between Stefan, who gives her security, and Damon, who challenges her, she finally chooses Damon. After her death in season 3 she becomes a vampire and must learn to live with the thirst.

With season 6 Elena leaves the show for a while: a curse keeps her asleep as long as Bonnie lives. In the finale she wakes and lives a long human life with Damon. Nina Dobrev also plays Katherine and other doppelgängers.