Elena Gilbert

Elena Gilbert

Elena Gilbert, played by Nina Dobrev, was a head-strong 17-year-old high school student from Mystic Falls, Virginia, who seemed to have it all. Not only was she a star student, she was also a beautiful, popular cheerleader, with a jock boyfriend and two best friends, Bonnie and Caroline. But all that changed one day in May 2009 when she was in a car accident that killed her parents, Grayson and Miranda Gilbert, and left her and her brother, Jeremy, orphans.

They moved in with their aunt, Jenna Sommers, who as Miranda’s younger sister, was thrust into the role of legal guardian. She didn’t appear to be old enough (or experienced enough) to handle the responsibility and oftentimes seemed to rely on Elena to help out, particularly with the troubled, Jeremy. Elena became increasingly withdrawn and the normally cool-headed girl who had it all together was now prone to outbursts.

The series picks up when the new school year starts at Mystic Falls High. Elena is struggling to comprehend the sudden and tragic loss of her parents and drags herself through her high school days. She is at odds with her brother, who has turned to drugs to deaden the pain. She has quit cheer leading, broken up with her boyfriend, and has given up all the things she previously enjoyed.

But one day a mysterious new student arrives at school. She avoids him at first, but when Elena meets the handsome, sullen, brooding Stefan Salvatore, there is an instant chemistry and a connection too deep to deny.

Elena slowly emerges from her dark depression and finds herself falling for Stefan. Their tumultuous relationship is made even rockier by Stefan’s constant elusiveness and Elena’s nagging curiosity about the details of his strange, puzzling life.

Eventually the truth surfaces that Stefan and his brother Damon are centuries-old vampires who secretly walked among the living in Mystic Falls during the 1800′s. The siblings were romantically involved with the same woman, Katherine Pierce, who looked remarkably like Elena. Local townspeople killed all of the vampires living in the area forcing the brothers to flee from their home. They have now returned in part drawn by Elena’s resemblance to their long lost love, Katherine.

Upon finding out the Salvatore brothers’ secret, Elena struggles with the unbelievable revelation and breaks up with Stefan. But the two are drawn together despite the danger that their situation leaves her in and end up staying together, working as a team to battle the seemingly insurmountable odds.

While she is falling in love with Stefan, Elena also develops an adversarial relationship with Damon. Stefan is a good vampire trying to acclimate to life among humans, but Damon is the embodiment of the evil bloodsucker, feeding on people whenever possible with blatant disregard for the consequences.

Elena and Damon are often at odds over his callous attitude, but their mutual—though on Damon’s part unspoken—love for Stefan keeps them connected. They have a cold but civil relationship and while Elena wants to hate Damon, she can’t help but feel a mild attraction. She sees his vulnerability hidden deep down under his hardened shell and she oftentimes ends up coming to his rescue or joining forces to fight a bigger cause.

In the episode called “Bloodline,” Elena finds out she was adopted and that Grayson and Miranda Gilbert were not her real parents. It is also revealed that Elena’s striking resemblance to Katherine, may be because they are, in fact, somehow related. She eventually discovers that her birth mother’s name was Isobel who was only a teenager when she became pregnant with Elena, so she agreed to let the Gilberts adopt the baby.

Elena has vowed to find out everything she can about her birth mother, who she believes Damon killed many years ago. What she does not know yet, is that Damon did not kill Isobel. He turned her into a vampire and her return to Mystic Falls is inevitable.

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