Follow TV Tropes

Following

Characters / The Vampire Diaries Universe Mystic Falls Gang
aka: The Vampire Diaries Main Characters

Go To

    open/close all folders 

     Elena Gilbert 

Elena Gilbert

Portrayed by: Nina Dobrev

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/elena_gilbert.jpg
"I don't question why everyone tries so hard to save me. You shouldn't question why I try so hard to save everyone else."

One of the protagonists of the The Vampire Diaries. Elena Gilbert is a recently orphaned 17-year-old who lives in Mystic Falls, whose ordinary life is turned upside down when she discovers that the supernatural is real and how she is tied to it.


     Stefan Salvatore 

Stefan Salvatore

Portrayed by: Paul Wesley

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/s4_003.jpg
"I don't hurt people. I don't do that. I'm the good brother."

One of the protagonists of The Vampire Diaries and the narrator of the series. The youngest of the Salvatore brothers who has recently moved into Mystic Falls. Stefan is known to be the "good" vampire brother but he has many dark secrets in his long past.


     Damon Salvatore 

Damon Salvatore

Portrayed by: Ian Somerhalder

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/damon_salvatore.jpg
"It's cool not growing old. I like being the eternal stud."

One of the protagonists of The Vampire Diaries. The eldest of the Salvatore brothers who has recently moved into Mystic Falls. Stefan is known to be the "bad" vampire brother, but eventually becomes an anti-hero who grows close to the rest of the gang,


  • Adaptational Nationality: Stefan and Damon were from Renaissance Italy in the original novels. In the series the Salvatore family is one of the town's founding families and the two brothers are now Italian Americans from the civil war era.
  • The Ageless: He's stopped aging since he turned into a vampire 200 years ago, and looks like someone around his mid-twenties.
  • Always Second Best: Damon always feels this way when it comes to his brother Stefan. Growing up, Stefan was the favorite son and was well respected by the town of Mystic Falls. Stefan also got a lot of female attention, especially from the girls whom Damon was in love with, including Katherine and Elena. The favoritism towards Stefan since humanhood has made Damon always feel like he is incompetent and second best, living in the shadows of his brother, which is why their Sibling Rivalry feels much more bitter to him.
  • All Girls Want Bad Boys: Damon, being The Casanova, is extremely popular with girls. However, it turns out the girls he really falls in love with (Katherine and Elena) prefer his nice brother Stefan over him. It's only after he pulls a Heel–Face Turn that he and Elena become the Official Couple.
  • All Love Is Unrequited: He dedicated most of his unlife to Katherine, waiting a century to try to free her from the tomb, only to find out she was free the whole and simply didn't care that much about him.
  • Aloof Big Brother: Damon isn't as warm and compassionate as his brother Stefan. He's rather emotionless, sinister, cold and doesn't show his true feelings all that much.
  • Arbitrary Skepticism: Despite being a vampire and knowing about that other supernatural beings like witches are real, his kneejerk reaction is that werewolves aren't real when they become relevant in season 2.
  • Badass Boast: Damon often brags that he can kick anyone's ass whenever he wants.
  • Beauty Is Bad: Damon is a jerk most of the time but he's also so good-looking that no one truly hates him and he's forgiven many things.
  • Being Good Sucks: According to him. This is why Damon doesn't bother following the rules and he doesn't much think about the concept of morality.
  • Belligerent Sexual Tension: He had this in spades with Bonnie throughout season six. They would constantly bicker and argue with each other, but they had plenty of Aw, Look! They Really Do Love Each Other moments too. Kai even noticed that Bonnie and Damon had some sexual tension when they were all stuck in the dimension together.
  • Big Brother Instinct: He may enjoy screwing with Stefan, but he's the only one allowed to do so, as the tomb vampires painfully learn.
  • Bigger Is Better in Bed: He's Implied to have a Gag Penis given Elena, Andi and Bonnie have an impressed Reaction Shot when they see him naked.
  • Blue-and-Orange Morality: At times he genuinely doesn't seem to comprehend that Elena might be upset because he murdered someone she didn't even know. Even when he attempts to kill Jeremy, he seems to class it as bad because it made Elena upset, not because he understands that it is morally wrong. It's because he has the mindset of a vampire. A vampire is a predator, so really stuff that's considered morally questionable like drinking blood and snapping necks is part of their nature, and Damon feels that you need to embrace it and get enjoyment out of it or you will never adapt. It's what he preaches in trying to help Elena transition when she is turned into a vampire.
  • Brutal Honesty: Damon is blunt and often speaks whatever is on his mind, not caring if it will offend the person he's talking to or not.
  • Byronic Hero: Damon hates most of the characters around him, has great panache, is very cynical, certainly has a Dark and Troubled Past, is sometimes redeemable by his love for Elena and to top it all of, he is a vampire.
  • The Casanova: Especially when doing his 'flirty eye thing'. He's had romantic involvement with Katherine, Caroline, Rose, Mary, Charlotte, Elena - just to name a few!
  • Character Development: Though he'll beat the shit out of people for pointing it out, Damon seems way better now rather than the ruthless villain he was in the beginning of his journey.
  • Cock Fight: He has been in a Sibling Triangle with Stefan twice over the affections of Katherine and Elena, and he's always the one to pick a physical fight with Stefan over it due to his insecurities.
  • Deadpan Snarker: Damon tends to be extremely snarky and sarcastic. He always has the best humorous quotes and provides several funny moments even in a show like this.
  • Depending on the Writer: Is Damon a guy who's had a really tough life and just happens to be humanity's natural predator, does he only present a soft side to manipulate people, or are vampires so unlike humans that it's impossible to determine his motivations? It can vary from episode to episode.
  • Evil Is Petty: Damon's "evil monster" persona would be a lot more threatening if he didn't throw a temper tantrum when someone doesn't do exactly what he wants, such as killing Jeremy when Elena rejected him.
  • Familial Foe: Damon has spent about seventy years seeking revenge on the family of a Mad Scientist who experimented on him, sparing a survivor in each generation to give birth to a new generation of Whitfields for him to kill.
  • Fire and Ice Love Triangle: Stefan and Damon fit this trope in their Love Triangle with Elena. Stefan is the Fire, who is warm, kind, compassionate, caring, and loving and Damon is the Ice, who is uncaring, arrogant, cold, unsympathetic, and impulsive.
  • Fool for Love: Devoted years of his life to "save" Katherine, who unbeknown to him didn't even need saving, never truly loved him and only used him as a pawn in her games.
  • Forgot About His Powers: His abilities to extend his influence and senses via a tame raven and making a fog appear to confuse his victims seem to have been written completely out of the show. While Damon himself kills the raven out of a desperate need of blood, the fog thing is just sort of forgotten, and is never brought up again.
  • The Friend Nobody Likes: For the first few seasons, when he hanged around with the main characters despite nobody truly liking him, and some (like Caroline) outright despising him. As the show went on and he became a better person, he began to have better relations with everyone.
  • Fully-Embraced Fiend: Unlike his brother, Stefan, who hates being a vampire, Damon embraces being a vampire and feeding on innocent humans. Feasting on humans is like a party or celebration for him.
  • Heartbroken Badass: Despite his tough badass vampire exterior, Damon is a heartbroken man on the inside. First, Katherine tells him that she never really loved him; that she had always loved Stefan, despite the fact that Damon spent over a century waiting for Katherine to come back to him. And then Elena tells him that it would always be Stefan that she loves, despite the fact that she does care about Damon.
  • The Hedonist: He fully embraced all the perks of vampire life and enjoys partying, living in luxury, and to have a lot of sex.
  • Heel–Face Revolving Door: Starts on the villainous side. Every time they start him on a redemptive arc, he turns around and does something evil when he doesn't get his way. By season four, he is definitely Face.
  • Heel–Face Turn: Slowly goes through one during the show. Originally he was The Heavy of Season 1 and became a Token Evil Teammate for the Mystic Fall gang in the next seasons, usually for the sake of helping Elena or his brother. Eventually, he fully integrated with the team and the town, and was just as willing to protect everyone as Stefan was.
  • Hell-Bent for Leather: Damon is always seen sporting a black leather jacket. It is practically his trademark. Appropriate for a badass vampire.
  • Heroic Sacrifice: In the Season 5 Season Finale Home, Damon sacrifices himself in order to save Stefan from The Other Side, and ends up being stuck in The Other Side himself with Bonnie. They get brought back by season 6.
  • Hopeless Suitor: Towards Katherine. He devoted decades of his life to trying to bring her back after he thought she got stuck in the tomb in Mystic Falls, only to learn she wasn't stuck there and didn't even bother to contact him or ever wanted his help, and never really cared that much about him in the first place, as she preferred Stefan.
  • Hot-Blooded: Extremely impulsive, hot-tempered and never thinks about the consequences of his actions.
  • I Hate You, Vampire Dad: Complicated because the vampire conversion process being... is somewhat complex. Both Katherine and his brother Stefan were involved in his turning. Damon loves Katherine dearly, but hates Stefan; he actually chose to die instead of completing the conversion, but Stefan talked him out of it and created the monster Damon we know today. It's only been touched on briefly, but all signs are that Damon deeply resents the whole affair. Then Katherine gets back and says that Damon is only a byproduct of her obsession with Stefan...
  • Icy Blue Eyes: He's a dangerous vampire and his steely blue eyes give him a very piercing stare.
  • Insecure Love Interest: Despite his bravado, Damon actually feels very insecure compared to Stefan in the Sibling Triangle, especially after Katherine makes it plain to Damon she only truly cared about Stefan, and Damon fears the same will repeat with Elena.
  • Life Drinker: Damon is an immortal vampire, capable of living forever without physically aging. Although he physically looks 24, he is 171 years old. He lives off blood.
  • I Want My Beloved to Be Happy: To Elena when he tells her he loves her, then compels her to forget it so it won't ruin her relationship with his little brother.
  • Jerk with a Heart of Gold: Damon is an ass, but he's capable of showing affection and caring. He displays his softer side to Elena Stefan, Rose, Alaric, and Jeremy, though.
    Damon: When people see good, they expect good. And I don't want to have to live up to anyone's expectations.
  • Kick the Dog: His horrible treatment of Jeremy which includes threatening him and taunting him after snapping his neck and his abuse of Caroline whom he turns into a Sex Slave and treats like dirt for fun. He never even pretends to be remorseful about either.
  • Ladykiller in Love: He's The Casanova who enjoys casual sex and seducing women, but always saved his heart for Katherine for most of his life. When she rejected him, his love eventually transferred over to Elena.
  • Lovable Rogue: He breaks the law and costumes all the time but he is charming enough for the audience to root for him.
  • Love Hurts: He became extremely distraught at the incident that led to him losing Katherine, and broke all ties he had to Stefan due to his part in it. When he learns a century later that Katherine was never lost, she never truly cared about him, he's completely heartbroken.
  • Love Makes You Crazy: Almost all of Damon's insane or out-there actions have been either over Katherine's or Elena's sake. With Katherine, it was a case of Love Makes You Evil (all his evil schemes in season 1 to have Katherine freed from her tomb) while with Elena it's a case of Love Redeems (all the times he risked his life for Elena or her friend's sake over the course of the series).
  • Love Makes You Evil: He used to be a better man before he fell in love with Katherine and she encouraged all his worst impulses. His actions as The Heavy in season 1 are also all fueled by the desire to get her back, and when Katherine rejects him he goes off the deep end and becomes self-destructive. Elena rejected his first Anguished Declaration of Love also leads to his biggest Kick the Dog moment of him killing Jeremy.
  • Mayfly–December Romance: As is normal for vampire-centric due to them being The Ageless, there is a huge age gap between him and his two Love Interests, with Katherine being 400 years older than him while Elena century and a half younger than him.
  • Missing Mom: Damon's mother died when he was a young child.
  • The McCoy: Damon is this of the main trio between himself (The McCoy, Id), Stefan (The Spock, Superego) and Elena (The Kirk, Ego). Damon is the overly emotional one of the trio. He is more impulsive, hot-headed, dangerous, selfish, and reckless.
  • Moral Myopia: He can do whatever he wants to anyone with no conscience. But even the slightest offense committed against him is treated as unforgivable. This is illustrated when Bree and Lexi's old lover want Revenge on him for killing Lexi, and after Elena convinces Lexi's lover to spare Damon, Damon still hunts down Bree and kills her for ratting him out, uncaring he was the one to start the feud by killing Lexi.
  • Mr. Fanservice: Enjoys wearing low-neck shirts and walking around shirtless.
  • Murder Is the Best Solution: A bad case. The number of their current, potential, and former allies that Damon has killed or tried to kill for very little reason is quite staggering, and greatly exceeds the number of definite enemies he's killed. He has killed more people than anyone in the show, even the villains.
  • The Nicknamer: Damon often comes up with nicknames for many of the characters. Examples include his nicknames for Caroline (Blondie, Vampire Barbie), Rebekah (Barbie Klaus), Elena (Buffy, Warior Princess, Scaredy Cat, etc.), Stefan (Shady Stefan, Saint Stefan, Stefan the Hero, Superman etc.), Bonnie (Witchy, Judgy), Vanessa (Hottie), Matt (Busboy, Quarterback), Professor Shane (Professor Creepy) and much more.
  • No Sense of Personal Space: Damon loves to unnerve people by getting in their face.
  • Psychopathic Manchild: He is cunning, clever, charismatic, and badass as well as self-obsessed, irresponsible, petty, and cruel.
  • Really 700 Years Old: He was turned into a vampire when he was 17 and has been stuck like that for around 200 years.
  • Really Gets Around: Damon is willing to screw every single chick that he encounters. Hell, he has slept with almost every single female character that has occurred on the show with the exception of Bonnie: they include Caroline, Rose, Rebekah, Andie, Bree, and later Elena who resisted him before; and the list goes.
  • Rebellious Spirit: Damon prefers to live by his own rules.
  • Romantic Vampire Boy: He's a vampire who serves as one of the two main Love Interests to the heroine Elena. Compared to Stefan's Friendly Neighborhood Vampire persona, Damon is the seductive "bad boy" type of vampire.
  • Sex God: He's a skilled lover even by [[vampire standards]], with Bree joking how a one night stand with Damon "ruined her for other men" and Rebecca being so dazed and sated after sleeping with him that she let her guard down and Sage was able to read her mind. Justified since his vampire Evil Mentor Sage was specialized in using her sexual prowess. Damon even lampshades that this is why he's such a Chick Magnet:
    Silas: Look, I get why you like her. I mean, I have a soft spot for brunettes, too. What I don't get is why she likes you.
    Damon: That's because you haven't had sex with me.
  • Shameless Fanservice Guy: He doesn't really care about modesty, and even walked around naked in front of Elena and Bonnie. When Alaric once complained about Damon walking around in just a Modesty Towel, Damon just responds by taking the towel off and throwing it at Alaric's face.
  • Sibling Rivalry: Stefan has had a sibling rivalry with his brother Damon going back to their human years. It seemed to have heated up after Stefan and Damon met Katherine and a Sibling Triangle started.
  • Sibling Team: Damon occasionally teams up with his brother Stefan, usually to save Elena or when it's in Damon's interests.
  • Sibling Triangle: Their Sibling Rivalry relationship is built from this trope. They've both been in love with the same girl twice (Katherine and Elena) in the past century and a half, and the resulting Love Triangle has made their relationship sour.
  • Sibling Yin-Yang: With Stefan. H and Damon are polar opposites in terms of personality, outlook, values, goals and beliefs. Stefan and Damon are often referred to as the "good brother" and the "bad brother" respectively.
  • Silly Rabbit, Idealism Is for Kids!: He doesn't value and often outright mocks Stefan and Elena for their idealistic outlooks, such as trying to be a Friendly Neighborhood Vampire or a Vegetarian Vampire.
  • Smug Smiler: Due to his enormous ego and charisma, he's often smiling and grinning in a smug manner, often while mocking and taunting people.
  • Stepford Snarker: Often uses sarcasm and humor to cover up his insecurities and inner turmoil.
  • Straight Man and Wise Guy: He's the Wise Guy to his brothers Stefan's Straight Man. Damon is openly humorous, snarky, and sarcastic while Stefan is more aloof, serious, and stoic.
  • Superpower Lottery: Damon is a vampire, therefore, he possesses several superhuman abilities. They include Super-Speed (he can move much faster than normals), Super-Reflexes (he can react much faster and quicker than people), Super-Strength (he's able to carry or lift heavy objects with ease), Mind Manipulation (he can control the mind of any human, influencing their thoughts and their actions; the only way to prevent Damon from mind-influencing someone is for the human victim to have vervain on them), Healing Factor (he can get stabbed, shot or wounded and he will heal immediately), and Super-Senses (Damon's sight, smell, taste, touch and hearing have become clearer, stronger and heightened).
  • Taking the Heat: As a child, Damon purposedly took the blame for everything that Stefan did in order to take the brunt of Giuseppe's physical abuse, which quickly made him into his father's The Unfavorite.
  • Tall, Dark, and Handsome: Like Stefan, he's dark-haired and dark-skinned and he's one of the most handsome guys of the series.
  • Tall, Dark, and Snarky: He's a tall brunette known for his sarcastic quips.
  • Token Evil Teammate: Especially in season 1, Damon is always the most amoral of the main characters and only ever does the right thing to please Stefan and/or Elena. Character Development kicks in on later seasons and he gets more of a moral compass.
  • Troubled Abuser: Damon is known to be abusive towards people in general. This can be because during Damon's human years, when Damon was younger, he was physically and emotionally abused by his father Giuseppe.
  • The Un-Favourite: His father heavily favored Stefan over him and actually abused poor Damon.
    Giuseppe Salvatore: All I have from you is disappointment.
  • The Unfettered: Damon lacks a guilty conscience and most definitely lacks morals. He doesn't care if he hurts others, as long as he gets what he wants.
  • Vampires Are Sex Gods: Out of all the characters in the show, he's the one that uses his vampire powers for sex and seduction. Justified since his vampire Evil Mentor Sage was a henonist and a Sex Goddess who specialized in seducing her prey and giving them pleasure while she feed, as that cause far less trouble than dead bodies.
  • Viral Transformation: Damon became a vampire by drinking Katherine's blood and dying after being shot in the chest.
  • Vitriolic Best Buds:
    • Despite the tense Sibling Rivalry he has with Stefan, they're grown to become each other's best friends and always look out for each other.
    • As the series progresses, Alaric becomes Damon's closest friend, despite how their relationship started out antagonistic. They are seen often drinking together and taunting each other and bickering, but Alaric is still the only one in the Mystic Falls gang that has called Damon a friend and doesn't see him as just the Token Evil Teammate.
    • He and Bonnie's relationship is at first antagonistic but over time they do become more friendly towards each other, especially in the final three seasons. This still doesn't stop them from arguing and snarking at each other.
  • Worf Effect: He tends to be the one who gets beaten up a lot by older vampires or other supernatural beings, to illustrate how much of a treat they are.

     Bonnie Bennett 

Bonnie Sheila Bennett

Portrayed by: Kat Graham

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/bonnie_bennet.jpg
"You saw what I was able to do tonight. I know who I am now. If Damon spills one drop of human blood, I'll take him down."

Bonnie Bennett is Elena's best friend and confident, who discovers that she is a witch born from a line of witches, and spends the series training her powers to protect her friends and her town.


  • Belligerent Sexual Tension: She has this in spades with Damon throughout season six. They would constantly bicker and argue with each other, but they had plenty of Aw, Look! They Really Do Love Each Other moments too. Kai even noticed that Bonnie and Damon had some sexual tension when they were all stuck in the dimension together.
  • Best Friend: She's Elena best friend and closest confidant, being the only person Elena trusts completely.
  • Blessed with Suck: She's a witch, but apart from mind-whammying Damon, using any of her other powers mainly seems to cause her to lose consciousness. Even when she gets better at it, her witch powers still make her a target for all sorts of supernatural threats.
  • Broken Bird: Bonnie fit this trope after Bonnie's Grams died in season one. She became more cynical, distant, and withdrawn, even pushing Elena and all of her friends away.
  • Chaste Heroine: Until season 5, Bonnie was a virgin and of the three main female leads, is the least sexually active and cares about hooking up the least.
  • Cursed with Awesome: Bonnie is a witch with extraordinary powers and abilities, although initially, she is overwhelmed by her powers and doesn't want anything to do with witchcraft or being a witch.
  • Determinator: Bonnie is the most determined character on the show. When she sets herself a goal, she will never give up. She displays this determined behaviour in regards to her friends and family and she will do everything to keep them safe, even if she puts her life in danger.
  • Driven to Suicide: While trapped in the prison world, Bonnie contemplated killing herself out of fear she would never be reunited with her friends.
  • Ethnic Magician: Bonnie is a witch of non-European descent and the only black girl among the main characters.
  • Flirty Stepsiblings: Bonnie has a romance with her step or adopted brother, Jamie in season three.
  • Go-Getter Girl: Bonnie is the epitome of a multi-tasker. She goes to school as a high school student, but also takes care of the problems of everyone else and she protects the town of Mystic Falls.
  • Heterosexual Life-Partners: She's best friends with Elena and Caroline since their childhood as they have a sisterly bond.
  • Hot Witch: She's a very powerful witch and she's one of the most beautiful characters on the show.
  • Hypocrite: Bonnie gets mad at Caroline for being a vampire, when she is the reason Caroline is a vampire. She A: refused to dispel the device which caused the accident, B: Urged Damon to give her his blood to heal her, and C. Told Katherine about said deed. She also gets upset at Caroline for killing someone when not dispelling the device killed Mayor Lockwood.
  • Little Miss Badass: She's the shortest one of the main female trio between her, Caroline and Elena. She's also the most powerful and dangerous due to being a powerful witch.
  • Love Triangle: In season two, between her, Luka and Jeremy. She chooses Jeremy and Luka ends up dying.
  • Mind Manipulation: Happens to her in season four. First, she's manipulated into practicing an extremely dark and dangerous form of magic by Professor Shane. Then, he hypnotizes her so that when she loses control of her powers, he's the only one who can get her under control. In 4x15, she's unknowingly being manipulated by Silas, who appears to her as Professor Shane, into 'lifting the veil between this side and the other side,' i.e resurrecting every single supernatural creature that has ever died.
  • Nice Girl: She's a kind girl and kind friend. She's extremely loyal, selfless and known for having many heroic tendencies as well, namely, being repeatedly ready to sacrifice herself for her friends.
  • Pragmatic Hero: Although Bonnie has good and moral intentions, she will do some morally questionable things for the greater good. In season three, Bonnie preserves Klaus in Tyler's body in order to keep all of her vampire friends and family from dying (they are all dead, but dying-dying and being killed-off-for-real).
  • Psychic Nosebleed: Bonnie often suffers from nosebleeds when she over-exerts herself during spells and magic.
  • Race Lift: Bonnie was originally a redhead of Scottish descent in the novel series. She's African-American in the show.
  • Raised by Grandparents: Her mother left home when she was just 5 years old and her father was frequently absent, so she ended up being raised by her grandmother.
  • The Reliable One: She's usually the one character turn to when they have a problem, either needing her advice for life problems or her magical expertise for supernatural problems.
  • Sassy Black Woman: She's strong, outspoken and defends her opinion fiercely.
  • The Smart Girl: Bonnie is always resourceful, uses her magical powers to help everyone and generally serves as the Hypercompetent Sidekick.
  • The Spock: Bonnie is this within the trio of herself (The Spock, Superego), Elena (The Kirk, Ego) and Caroline (The McCoy, Id). Bonnie is practical, reasonable, smart, and logical. She is the brains of the trio.
  • Squishy Witch: Bonnie packs a great deal of magical firepower but has the durability of a normal human.
  • Took a Level in Badass: Starts the series as a helpless girl, but as she learns to control her powers, she quickly becomes the strongest member of the main cast.
  • Vitriolic Best Buds: Her and Damon's relationship is at first antagonistic but over time they do become more friendly towards each other, especially in the final three seasons. This still doesn't stop them from arguing and snarking at each other.

     Jeremy Gilbert 

Jeremy Gilbert

Portrayed by: Steven R. McQueen

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/s4_007.jpg
"Why does everyone keep dying on me?"

Jeremy Gilbert is Elena's younger brother. A troubled teen with self-destructive tendencies.


  • Adaptation Dye-Job: In addition to being aged up to teenager and turned into a guy, Jeremy is also turned into a brunette like Elena.
  • Annoying Younger Sibling: To Elena of course. There are many instances of Jeremy doing things which annoy Elena, such as drinking when he shouldn't or smoking pot at school. Elena constantly has to set Jeremy straight due to his rebellious ways.
  • Age Lift: The character in the book is significantly younger. He's a teenager on the show. Elena in the book had a little sister.
  • Back from the Dead: Twice, Jeremy has died and came back to life. The second time he came back to life, he became a medium, which is a human that sees dead people, spirits and ghosts.
  • Badass Adorable: Jeremy is a very strong and powerful hunter but he's very cute, adorable and endearing.
  • Badass Normal: He's a human among vampires and other supernatural creatures, but he shoots a hybrid in the back with a crossbow then decapitates him without flinching. Jeremy is also a vampire hunter and part of The Five of vampire hunters.
  • Betty and Veronica: He's the Betty to Luka's Veronica for Bonnie's Archie in season 2. Jeremy is infatuated with Bonnie but Bonnie is hesitant to get into a relationship with him because he is Elena's younger brother. Bonnie eventually reciprocates Jeremy's affections. She meets a warlock named Luka and finds common ground with him due to both practicing witchcraft. Bonnie chooses Jeremy over Luka and Luka ends up dying. In season three, he becomes the Archie to Bonnie's Betty and Anna's Veronica. Jeremy still has unresolved feelings for Anna, his girlfriend in season one. She died after his uncle John killed her, but he never got over Anna. She comes back as a ghost and haunts Jeremy. Jeremy's feelings for Anna come creeping back but he's very conflicting because he's with Bonnie in a relationship. Jeremy technically cheats on Bonnie with ghost Anna, but eventually Bonnie finds out and breaks up with him. The triangle is resolved when Anna finds peace with her mother Pearl and Jeremy rekindles his relationship with Bonnie.
  • Brilliant, but Lazy: He almost never studies, but he's far from stupid. He also seems to have a knack for history and he is a very good artist.
  • Butt-Monkey: If something absolutely horrible is going to happen, there is a very good chance it will be to him. Before the series started, he tragically loses both of his parents in a car accident. He becomes addicted to drugs to help cope with his grief. He loses the girl he likes Vicki after she is turned into a vampire and staked by Stefan. Jeremy's memories of witnessing Vicki's death are mind wiped by Damon. He falls in love with Anna, only for her to be killed by his uncle John. His sister dies int he same way his parents die and she becomes a vampire. He discovers that he is a supernatural hunter meant to kill vampires and immortals. He is killed by Silas after he snapped his neck, but is eventually brought back to life by Bonnie. However, he loses Bonnie as as a result. Nothing good ever happens to Jeremy and when he manages to salvage some form of happiness, it's always swiped away from him.
  • Cartwright Curse: Lampshaded: "You know I don't have the best of luck with girlfriends." All of his girlfriends that he's been with end up tragically dying. Vicki ends up dying after she is turned into a vampire and staked by Stefan right in front of him. Anna, a vampire he falls in love with, is killed by his Uncle John and then haunts him as a ghost. He develops a relationship with Bonnie but she ends up dying over and over again throughout the series. Jeremy is very unlucky in love and any girl who gets with him is signing their death sentence.
  • Deadpan Snarker: He has his moments. Its usually the only way he stays sane. He's quite the smart-ass to characters that he doesn't like or trust. Most of his snarky comments are aimed at Tyler and Damon.
  • Despair Event Horizon: After Anna is killed, he attempts to kill himself in order to turn into a vampire and thus turn off his emotions.
  • Disney Death: This apparent death happens to Jeremy frequently.
    • In the season two premiere, Jeremy comes back from the dead after Damon snaps his neck. His magical Gilbert ring saves him.
    • In the season two finale, Jeremy is shot and dies, but after Bonnie pleads with the witch spirits, Jeremy comes back to life though he doesn't come back normal. He becomes a medium, a person who sees spirits and ghosts.
  • Doom Magnet: Lampshaded in one of the very first episodes. He seems to lose everyone he cares about.
    Jeremy: Why does everyone have to die on me?
  • Driven to Suicide: In the season one finale. He is so depressed that he ends up taking an entire bottle of pills after drinking Anna's blood, so that he can become a vampire and take his inner pain away.
  • Fatal Attractor: His love life is... messed-up to say the least. He attracts some girls who are rather unstable. Vicki was an unstable drug addict who couldn't get her life straight. She eventually turns into a vampire who almost kills him. Anna is a vampire who becomes a bit of a Stalker with a Crush towards Jeremy. She dies but ends up creepily haunting him as a ghost when he's in a relationship with Bonnie.
  • Foolish Sibling, Responsible Sibling: The Foolish to Elena's Responsible. Elena is more level-headed, practical, logical and thinks things through. Jeremy, on the other hand, is more impulsive, reckless, rebellious and does things without thinking which results in him getting into trouble and finding himself in many murky situations.
  • Gender Flip: Elena has a little sister in the books named Margaret, but instead is a male character on the show, Jeremy.
  • Headphones Equal Isolation: Jeremy often listens to music with headphones when he tries to avoid or ignore Elena from lecturing or harassing him.
  • Hulking Out: In 4x12, Jeremy "hulks out" when he screams loud and rips off his shirt, revealing his pronounced muscles and of course, the growing mark or tattoo on his body as a result of killing Kol (plus thousands of vampires of Kol's lineage). In addition, Jeremy has a tendency to hulk out in Unstoppable Rage whenever he's in the presence of a vampire. He had an urge to kill Bonnie's mother Abby because she was a vampire but Bonnie stopped him.
  • I See Dead People: He is a medium who can see spirits. It seems to be a side-effect from him coming Back from the Dead at the end of season two.
  • Killed Off for Real: In "Down The Rabbit Hole". In 4x14, he is killed when Silas snaps his neck while feeding on his blood. Subverted in that he's brought back to life by Bonnie at the end of the season.
  • Mr. Fanservice: Jeremy is a very physically attractive young man and he becomes more manly and handsome as the series progresses. By season four, he's got a Heroic Build due to being a supernatural hunter and a Brother of The Five.
  • Neck Snap:
    • In 2x01, Damon snaps Jeremy's neck in a fit of rage after Elena rejected him. Luckily, Jeremy is still wearing his Gilbert magic ring and doesn't die.
    • In 4x14, Silas snaps his neck. This time it's permanent and he's dead for real.
  • Parental Abandonment: Both his parents died before the beginning of the series. He's still a teenager. His Aunt Jenna takes over as his legal guardian.
  • Put on a Bus: Jeremy is sent away by Elena in season three in order to protect him from danger. She does this by compelling him to leave town. He eventually comes back to town at the end of season three.
  • Stalker with a Crush: He falls for Vicki Donovan in the first episodes and starts stalking her in the name of love. According to Vicki, Jeremy has been obsessed with her for a long time, even when Elena and Matt (Jeremy's sister and Vicki's brother, respectively) were dating.
  • The Stoner: He's a drug dealer and uses the drugs himself.
  • Troubled, but Cute: He's a troubled teen whose parents died and who takes and deals drugs and whose sister is a magnet for vampires and other supernatural beings. Many girls find him cute, including Vicki, Anna, Bonnie.
  • Vampire Hunter: Jeremy is destined to be a vampire hunter. It gets revealed in season four that Jeremy is a member of The Five hunters. A group of hunters who have been hunting vampires since the 11th century. Connor Jordan is also a member of The Five.

     Caroline Forbes 

Caroline Elizabeth Forbes

Portrayed by: Candice Accola & Mckenna Grace

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/caroline_forbes.jpg
"So you're saying now I'm an insecure, neurotic control freak... on crack?"

Elena's other best friend. She's a bubbly girl who's a descendant of one of the founding families of Mystic Falls.


  • Action Girl: After she gets turned into a vampire, she becomes the most active female combatant in the cast.
  • Action Survivor: Before she was turned into a vampire. Though she was a regular human, she was able to survive being amongst all the supernatural beings around her. She upgrades to an Action Girl once she becomes a vampire in season two.
  • Adaptation Dye-Job: In the novel series, Caroline has auburn red hair but on the show, Caroline is a blonde.
  • Adaptational Nice Guy: In the novel series, Caroline is an Alpha Bitch whose relationship with Elena is much more antagonistic. In the show, she has shades of being an Alpha Bitch in season one, but quickly develops and becomes one of the nicest characters.
  • All Girls Want Bad Boys: Has a tendency for falling for dangerous men, like Damon, Tyler and Klaus.
  • Always Someone Better: Felt this way about Elena in season one, as she considered herself to be in Elena's shadow, due to Elena always getting all the attention from people.
  • Amicable Exes: She and her ex Matt are on good terms.
  • Back from the Dead: Katherine kills her, but since she still has Damon's blood in her system, she turns into a vampire and becomes immortal.
  • Badass Adorable: She's the lovable, ditzy, blonde girl... who has been able to kick vampire Damon's ass.
  • The Big Girl: Caroline is tall and is constantly having her strength played up. She is constantly out-muscling other characters, lifting them out of wells, even lifting a heavy stone door requiring both brothers in another scene. Even her ethics have become more Chewbacca-like, with a valuing of courage and loyalty to friends rather than the more complex Hero and Heart ethics of Stefen and Elena.
  • Catchphrase: "Seriously?" She says this quote every time she questions someone when they are going to do something questionable.
  • Character Development: She has become more interesting and tolerable since she is turned. Her vampire "life" suits her.
  • Clingy Jealous Girl: Caroline was jealous over Stefan. She didn't understand why Stefan paid Elena more attention than her. However, this later changes as she becomes the biggest Stelena supporter ever. Caroline does become very clingy and jealous in regards to both Matt and Tyler though. However, she reverts back to her clingy and jealous side in regards to Stefan in Season 5 and she takes those jealous and clingy feelings towards Stefan up a notch in later seasons.
  • Cursed with Awesome: She adapted fairly well to being a vampire, after she got a handle on her urges, and fully embraces becoming a Friendly Neighborhood Vampire.
  • Defrosting Ice Queen: In season one she was somewhat shallow and self-absorbed, but after enduring hell through Damon and Katherine, she ended up becoming more humble and nice.
  • Disappeared Dad: Caroline's father Bill abandoned his family (her and her mom Liz) when Caroline was younger. He's actually gay. He reveals himself in season 3.
  • The Ditz: Caroline can be quite ditzy at times but in an endearing way. She has plenty of Dumb Blonde moments but she's also rather intuitive as well.
  • Dude Magnet: Biggest one on the show. Matt, Tyler, Klaus, Stefan, and Alaric fall in love with her. She also used to date Damon in season 1, has a boyfriend named Jesse in a few episodes, and Enzo flirts with her in his early appearances.
  • Dying Declaration of Love: While she's dying at the time, she declares Klaus' feelings for her instead of the other way around, which affects him so much that he heals her from the werewolf bite he inflicted on her.
  • The Fashionista: Caroline is one of the most stylish and fashionable characters in the series. She's very conscious about her outfits and how she looks.
  • Friendly Neighborhood Vampire: Caroline turns into a vampire in season two and she becomes a significantly kinder and nicer person than how she was as a human.
  • Genki Girl: Caroline is energetic and bubbly.
  • Girly Bruiser: The most feminine of the three girls and also physically the strongest.
  • Girly Girl: Caroline is ultra-feminine and girly. She is probably the most girly girl between herself, Elena and Bonnie. Though she is tough and badass, she's very fashionable, emotional, romantic and sensitive.
  • Hair of Gold, Heart of Gold: She has blond hair and she's very goodhearted.
  • I Hate You, Vampire Dad: It is Damon's blood that turned her. Not that he meant to, but she already had very good reasons to hate him, given he raped her and tried to kill her several times in season 1. She never quite gets over her dislike for him.
  • The Leader: Caroline is the leader or captain of the Mystic Falls High cheerleading squad (The Lady Timberwolves).
  • Life Drinker: Caroline is a vampire, a living dead person. She feeds on blood.
  • Love Interest: Villainous Klaus is romantically interested in her.
  • Mama Bear: She's very protective of Lizzie and Josie. It's perfectly played in season 8, episode 6, "Detoured on Some Random Backwoods Path to Hell".
"Let me be clear, Stefan. If Damon gets in between me and my girls, I am going to kill him. So no, you cannot come with me."
  • The McCoy: Caroline is this within the trio of herself (The McCoy, Id), Bonnie (The Spock, Superego), and Elena (The Kirk, Ego). Caroline is more emotional, impulsive, energetic and hot-headed than Elena and Bonnie.
  • Morality Pet: She's this for Klaus. Whenever Klaus is in her presence, he becomes a much kinder and nicer person and she manages to keep the impulsive and reckless Klaus in check.
  • Mystical Pregnancy: When Jo Laughlin gets killed while pregnant, the twins survive due to a spell performed by the Gemini Coven. The twins end up in Caroline's womb.
  • The Pollyanna: Caroline is one of the most optimistic characters on the show, with her life motto being "Be Positive!".
  • Really Gets Around: Caroline is very boy crazy and goes for any guy that pays attention to her, especially in season one.
  • Shipper on Deck: Caroline ships Stefan and Elena and she's the biggest "Stelena". She often advocates for their relationship whenever she can, especially if Stefan and Elena break up or face issues in their relationship. She always says things to Elena about how Stefan is her epic love, how they're cute together, that he's her soulmate and so on.
  • Sugar-and-Ice Personality: Caroline can be nice to some people but cold and aloof towards others. It depends on who she is interacting with. She could be nice and snappy to Elena, especially during the early seasons.
  • Tomboy and Girly Girl: She's the Girly Girl to Bonnie's Tomboy. Caroline is very feminine and loves dressing up in fancy clothes, wearing makeup and styling her hair. Bonnie, though feminine, has a tendency to be more tomboyish in her sense of style.
  • Took a Level in Badass: Upgraded to vampire in the beginning of season 2 and it seems to agree with her as she's kicking the crap out of the resident hunky werewolf dude by punting him ten feet into a tree after kneeing him in the vitals. Moments later she's saving the day by chomping on the local deputies' necks in front of her mother. As her mother is the sheriff and a prominent member on the local anti-vampire committee it probably won't end well. At least there's always handy vampire mind control to set things right again because Status Quois God .

     Matt Donovan 

Matthew G. "Matt" Donovan

Portrayed by: Zach Roerig

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/matt_donovan.jpg
"I get it, this is your life now. But you know what my life is, Caroline? My life is an absentee mom, and a bunch of bills to pay, and school, and a job, and it sucks sometimes, but it's my life and I think that I just want to live it without all this."

Elena's childhood friend and first boyfriend. Starts to get involved in the supernatural side of Mystic Falls once his sister becomes one of the first victims.


  • Adaptation Name Change: Matt's last name is Honeycutt in the books.
  • Alcoholic Parent: His mother Kelly drinks and is very irresponsible and erratic. He has to look after her.
  • Amicable Exes: He and Elena break up. He's willing to give Elena space after the death of her parents, but he hopes they might get back together. He manages to be friends with her.
  • Disappeared Dad: His father is completely out of the picture for the majority of the show, although they are reunited in the last season.
  • Dogged Nice Guy: To Elena. Elena breaks up with him after her parents tragically die, but he still has unresolved feelings for her and tries to get her back. He's unlucky because Elena is attracted to Stefan and starts dating him.
  • Foolish Sibling, Responsible Sibling: The Responsible to Vicki's Foolish. Vicki is his older sister, but he's way more mature and level-headed than her. He's the reliable one, while Vicki is a stoner.
  • The Generic Guy: Unlike everyone else, he doesn't seem to have any interesting trait, or character development or particular storyline. He's just the Token Human Nice Guy.
  • Genre Savvy: He's the one who points out that they live in a town full of supernaturals, so anyone who has knowledge of anything in that area is 'creepy until proven otherwise' and that Atticus Shane is not to be trusted. It helps that he investigates the explosion that took out the Council, and discovered that Pastor Young was constantly in touch with Atticus, calling him ten times on the day of the explosion.
  • Hair of Gold, Heart of Gold: Matt is blond and good-hearted. He's one of the more moral characters of the series amongst many supernatural creatures. Plus, it helps that he's pretty much the only truly human character.
  • Innocent Blue Eyes: His eyes are a very calming blue color. They go along to match his Hair of Gold, Heart of Gold.
    Katherine: His eyes are so blue!
  • I Want My Beloved to Be Happy: Despite being very jealous of Stefan and his relationship with Elena, he tries to become friends with him and really tries to reconcile with the fact.
  • Lovable Jock: He's the quarterback of the Mystic Falls High School football team, but, unlike Tyler, he's not a Jerk Jock but a nice and considerate guy.
  • The Mole: Although Caroline believes she removed his memories of the supernatural at his own request in "Know Thy Enemy", he is on vervain (antidote) at the time, and he starts working with Sheriff Forbes as a spy.
  • The Nicknamer: Has a habit of calling people by the first syllable of their names, and so Jeremy becomes "Jer", Caroline becomes "Car", Bonnie becomes "Bon", Tyler becomes "Ty", Vickie becomes "Vick" etc.
  • Non-Action Guy: Matt is the Token Human of the series and therefore, can't always hold his own against the supernatural beings who are significantly more powerful than him.
  • Only Sane Man: In his family. His sister was a drug addict who's life was messed up. She was turned into vampire and eventually killed. His mother was a deadbeat mom who always screwed things up and abandoned both off her kids.
  • Parental Abandonment: His alcoholic mother eventually leaves him and his sister alone and nothing is known about his father.
  • Platonic Life-Partners: Seems to become this with Elena. They're certainly still very close friends despite the breakup.
  • Related in the Adaptation: In the books, he and Vicki were not siblings.
  • Sensitive Guy and Manly Man: He's the Sensitive Guy to Tyler's Manly Man. Matt is more sentimental, empathetic and emotional. Tyler is more aggressive, hot headed and impulsive.
  • Token Human: The only cast member with no supernatural elements or special abilities.

     Tyler Lockwood 

Tyler Lockwood

Portrayed by: Michael Trevino

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/tyler_lockwood.jpg
"I have no one else to tell. I'm sorry about earlier. It's just, I'm alone with this. What's gonna happen to me? I'm gonna turn on the next full moon, and I won't be able to stop it. I'm scared."

Matt's best friend. A hotheaded guy and one of the descendants of one of the founding families of Mystic Falls.


  • Character Development: He is an annoying bully and a Jerk Jock in season 1 but develops into a Jerk with a Heart of Gold who really cares about Caroline.
  • Dirty Coward: He's good with threats but when Jeremy actually challenges him to a fight, he backs away.
  • Freudian Excuse: He's not a nice guy, but his father is a womanizing, abusive jerk who forces him to fight Jeremy "like a man".
  • Hair-Trigger Temper: Justified, it's a side-effect of his latent lycanthropy. He has a penchant for getting into many physical fights and ponce he starts hitting people, he has trouble stopping. He confesses to Mason that he sometimes has black outs when he loses his temper.
  • Hidden Depths: He's quite a good artist. Jeremy compliments him on his artistic skills.
  • Hot-Blooded: Tyler is reckless, hotheaded, impulsive and has serious rage issues. Most of it is due to his werewolf gene and when his temper is triggered, he has difficulty calming down.
  • Parental Abandonment: Both his parents are dead. Considering how horrible they were — good riddance, especially his father.
  • Romantic False Lead: To Vicki, in early season 1. It seemed as though Vicki and Tyler were going to be together but Tyler treated her terribly and she ended up getting with Jeremy instead.
  • Sensitive Guy and Manly Man: He's the Manly Man to both Matt and Jeremy's Sensitive Guys. Tyler is more aggressive, reckless, impulsive and not prone to showing too much emotion. Both Matt and Jeremy are more empathic, sensitive, intuitive and have no issue with showing plenty of emotion.
  • Star-Crossed Lovers: With Caroline. Much of this has to do with how many obstacles come between them. There's also the fact that they are warring species: Tyler is a werewolf and Caroline is a vampire. If Tyler bit Caroline, she could easily die.
  • The Stoner: At first, but less than Vicki or Jeremy. He's often seen smoking weed, even at school.

     Alaric Saltzman 

Dr. Alaric J. "Ric" Saltzman

Portrayed by: Matt Davis

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/alaric_saltzman.jpg
"I was a little too distracted by my dead vampire wife to ask any questions."

The newly-arrived history teacher in Mystic Falls. He is actually a vampire hunter with connections to the Salvatore brothers.


  • Actually Not a Vampire: When he's introduced there are several hints that he knows about the paranormal world, with several hints that he's a vampire, but he turns out to actually be a vampire hunter.
  • Adults Are Useless: Subverted. He's one of the only adult figures in the show that is actually able to help the main cast deal with their supernatural problems. He ends up becoming a Parental Substitute to Elena and Jeremy after Jenna's death and overall being a Team Dad to the rest of the cast.
  • The Alcoholic: After Jenna's death. He's always been a huge drinker to begin with and Damon is his drinking buddy. His drink of choice is bourbon.
  • Ax-Crazy: His alter ego is a Serial Killer. He blacks out and kills people whenever his alter ego takes over and he's unaware of what he's doing. When Esther turns him into a vampire, he becomes extremely blood thirsty and has a strong desire to kill.
  • Badass Normal: History teacher by day, vampire hunter by night. Skilled one at that.
  • Big Bad: Alaric does a Face–Heel Turn after he is turned into a vampire in the last episodes of season three. He is set on killing everyone in sight and causing major trouble for the Mystic Falls gang. He has a desire to kill all of the Original vampires, which would kill every single vampire from their bloodline.
  • Came Back Wrong: He has repeatedly died and come back due to wearing the Gilbert Ring. The Gilbert Ring has the ability to bring humans back to life when they have been killed by a supernatural being. As a result of repeatedly dying and coming back to life, he develops a psycho-killer alter-ego intent on killing people. He will black out during this episodes, completely unaware of his actions.
  • Character Death: In the season three finale, he dies when Elena drowns, for their lives have been linked by Esther.
  • Cool Teacher: He's a replacement for a history Sadist Teacher. Unlike him, he's a very likable person and actually takes time to help his students.
  • Deadpan Snarker: Alaric is very deadpan and snarky in his sense of humor. Most of his deadpan, snarky comments are aimed towards Damon or whenever he is irritated.
  • Face–Heel Turn: Alaric becomes the Big Bad in the final episodes of season three after being turned into a vampire. He becomes a blood thirsty killer intent on killing everyone in his path, including Original vampires and the Mystic Falls gang.
  • Grand Theft Me: Alaric ends up on the receiving end of this in season two when Klaus takes over his body without his knowledge. Klaus uses a witch to transfer his spirit to Alaric's body temporarily before he's able to get the witch to put his spirit in his original vessel.
  • Heterosexual Life-Partners: Becomes this with Damon. They start out as enemies, then they become frenemies and then they become best friends. They are each other's drinking buddy and they have a shared love of alcohol.
  • Hot Teacher: Alaric is a high school teacher and he's very physically attractive and youthful-looking.
  • Love Hurts: Alaric hasn't had much luck when it comes to love. First, his wife dies and becomes a vampire. Then his big love Jenna dies.
  • Red Herring: When he is first introduced, there are many exceedingly obvious hints that he is a vampire and it looks like he has been behind recent murders. His true identity as a vampire hunter is revealed when he kills the vampire that was actually behind those killings.
  • Serial Killer: During his blackouts. He racks up quite the body count when his psychotic alter ego takes over. However, Alaric is completely unaware of what he's doing. His psychotic alter ego is a result of being killed and brought back to life repeatedly by the Gilbert Ring.
  • Team Dad: Being the only adult, he often serves as a father figure to those high school vampire supernatural kids, especially to not-supernatural vampire-hunter-to-be Jeremy.
  • The Unpronounceable: Alaric Saltzman seems to be a mouthful. He himself humorously says his name is difficult to pronounce. Most people just call him Rick.
  • Vampire Hunter: Alaric's side job apart from being a history teacher is vampire hunting.
  • Vitriolic Best Buds: With Damon Salvatore. Damon may have killed him and turned his wife into a vampire, but they have this weird friendship going on that even the writers love. They are seen often drinking together and taunting each other and bickering, but Alaric is still the only one in the Mystic Falls gang that has called Damon a friend and doesn't see him as just the Token Evil Teammate.
  • You Killed My Father: You Killed My Wife. He originally comes to town to kill Damon Salvatore because he believes that Damon killed his wife.

Alternative Title(s): The Vampire Diaries Main Characters

Top