Characters / The Vampire Diaries Universe Katherine Pierce

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Katherine Pierce (Katerina Petrova)

Portrayed By: Nina Dobrev

"Please I'm Katherine Pierce, I'm a survivor."

Portrayed By: Nina Dobrev

One of the main antagonists of the series. Elena's identical ancestor and ex-lover of the Salvatore brothers. She's one of the Petrova Doppelgängers, having turned herself into a vampire and a hardened survivalist to escape from Klaus.

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• Abhorrent Admirer: To Stefan. Stefan couldn't stand Katherine and wanted nothing to do with her in the earlier seasons. Part of the reason for this is because Stefan held a strong resentment towards Katherine for playing Damon and himself against each other and forcing them to keep Katherine's identity as a vampire a secret. On top of it, Katherine had lied, manipulated, fed on and compiled Stefan for a prolonged period of time and had even fed him her vampire blood against his will through compulsion so that Katherine would turn Stefan into a vampire (along with Damon, although no compulsion was needed for Damon to drink from her). Stefan also had fallen deeply in love with Katherine's doppelgänger and descendant Elena, mostly because she was nothing like Katherine according to him. This made Katherine extremely hateful, vengeful and jealous of Elena that in season two, Katherine made repeated attempts to kill Elena and harm Elena's loved ones. This furthered Stefan's anger and resentment towards Katherine. However, this became subverted in season five. It seems as though Stefan was still holding onto some minor resentment towards Katherine regarding the things she had done to him in the past century, Stefan finally forgave her as she was dying, something that Katherine had been wanting from Stefan for over a century. Unfortunately, Katherine ruined her chances of Stefan truly and finally forgiving her for all of her immoral deeds when she decided to steal Elena's body and inhabit it as a passenger with the use of Traveller magic. Stefan discovered what she had done and although he was not overly furious at Katherine for what she did, he was still not too happy or pleased with it as it was her actions that caused chaos and destruction to ensue. Ultimately, to top it of, Stefan ends up being the one to kill Katherine with the use of the Traveller Knife, which can expel the spirit of a passenger from anybody that it inhabits.
• Acquired Poison Immunity: She made herself immune to the effects of vervain (which is poison to vampires) by dosing herself with vervain for the last centuries.
• Action Girl: One of the most notable action females in the series and something of a Combat Pragmatist as she often prefers sneak attacks than all-out brawls. Being a centuries-old vampire (who only gets Stronger with Age) makes her one of the strongest non-Original vampires in the story, and she can easily fight off both Stefan and Damon.
• Action Fashionista: Katherine is very trendy, chic, stylish, and is usually kicking ass in her most fashionable and trendy clothing.
  Katherine: [to Stefan] We both know I could rip you to shreds and do my nails at the same time.
• Action Mom: Katherine is discovered to have been the long-lost mother of Nadia. Katherine had given birth to Nadia at the tender age of 17 during the 1400's. Still, despite being a mother, Katherine was still badass and could kick major ass and they both work together as a mother and daughter evil team in season 5.
• Action Survivor: The reason why she's so dangerous and paranoid is mostly attributed to her spending five centuries on the run from the Original Vampires, which sharpened her survival senses. Even after she cures her vampirism and loses all associated vampire powers, she's still able to rely on her wits to survive.
• Actor-Shared Background: Nina Dobrev is Bulgarian in real life, as is Katherine In-Universe. This led to a misunderstanding on what we must assume was the writers' part: Nina Dobrev is sometimes referred to as "Nina Dobreva". In Bulgaria, the "a" at the end of her surname is a way to denote that she is a female member of the Dobrev family.
• Adaptation Species Change: In the books, Katherine (and Elena)'s mother was an angel, and she was a Half-Human Hybrid before becoming a vampire.
• Adaptational Nationality: She was German in the books, but became Bulgarian in the series to correlate with the fact the actress who plays her is also Bulgarian.
• Alas, Poor Villain: In season five, Katherine begins to age rapidly after consuming the cure at the end of season four. One can't help but feel sorry for her now that Katherine is dying, as she is seeking redemption for her past sins now. It is ultimately subverted when she tries to take over Elena's body in her deathbed via a Passenger spell but it's eventually discovered and killed by Stefan and she gets Dragged Off to Hell with no sympathy. When she makes her final return in season 8 as the Final Boss she's treated as an irredeemable villain.

• All Love Is Unrequited: For Stefan and Damon, after both claim to prefer Elena over her. However, Katherine's love for Stefan was stronger and she spent over a century stalking and pining for him.
• All Women Are Lustful: Katherine is a highly sexual individual and she often uses this to get her way.
• All Women Love Shoes: Averted. While it hasn't been shown that Katherine has an actual shoe obsession, it is obvious that Katherine loves her high heels and stilettos. This comes with being The Fashionista.
• Aloof Dark-Haired Girl: Katherine is an attractive and beautiful brunette who is smart, chic, composed, sexy and aloof.
• Always Second Best: She resents how her Love Interestss tend to find her Doppelgänger, as its the case with Elena for Damon and Stefan, and Tatia for Elijah and Klaus.
• Ambiguously Evil: Katherine's morality seems to be in the morally grey area. while Katherine has done many immoral deeds and acts, she does show that she has some humanity buried inside somewhere, considering how she helps the Salvatore brothers from time to time.
• Ambition Is Evil: Katherine has proven that she can be rather ruthless when it comes to getting what she wants.
• Anti-Villain: Katherine has been Driven to Villainy due to the fact her blood makes her precious to the Originals, and she has been running from Klaus since her youth, and she was forced to do all sorts of dirty tricks, ruthless betrayals and manipulations in order to survive with the Originals breathing down her neck. Given both The Originals, Silas and the Travelers are all much bigger threats than her, she often works together with the Mystic Falls Gang. This gets Subverted in the final episode when she comes Back for the Finale as the queen of hell to be the Final Boss of the series, and is portrayed more are irredeemably evil.
• Arch-Enemy: Elena and Klaus. Katherine hates and resents Elena for getting the chance at a happy life she never did. In regards to Klaus, Klaus slaughtered her entire family out of revenge and Katherine has been running from Klaus ever since.
• The Atoner: Katherine wants forgiveness and redemption now that she is dying in season five. Subverted when she takes over Elena's body and returns to her old ways.
• Awesomeness by Analysis: Like Damon, she has the ability to get under other people's skin by accurately reading their body language. Has a perfect moment of this with Rebekah in 4.18.
• Aw, Look! They Really Do Love Each Other: With Elijah, Stefan, and even Damon. Although all three men have claimed to either hate or resent Katherine, it is obvious that they all harbor a hidden affection or attachment to Katherine.
• Axe-Crazy: Subverted. It may seem so in the beginning, but flashbacks and interactions with other characters make it perfectly clear that Katherine is very much sane, just really obsessed with saving her skin from Klaus.
• Badass Boast: Katherine has a large ego and does her fair share of bragging, often before she does something badass.
  Katherine: [to Stefan] We both know I could rip you to shreds and do my nails at the same time.
• Badass in Distress: Katherine becomes this in the fifth season as she becomes a human after being cured of her vampirism. Because of consuming the cure and being mortal, she becomes significantly more vulnerable and finds herself in trouble more often.
• Badass Normal: Katherine is shown that she can still hold her own as a human even after she gets her vampirism cured. She has proven to be capable of using the environment around her to her advantage to boot.
• The Baroness: Katherine is a Femme Fatale w is selfish, ruthless, and domineering. Katherine is of the Sexpot flavor.
• Bavarian Fire Drill: Good at doing this when impersonating Elena. In fact, Katherine has managed to trick Bonnie, Stefan, Matt, and Damon into thinking she is Elena and even admits that she has gotten really good at it.
• The Beautiful Elite: During the flashbacks during the 1400's and 1864, Katherine acted like a blue blood socialite because she had good looks and the fashion sense to pull it off.
• Beauty Equals Goodness: Subverted. Katherine may be physically beautiful but she is very manipulative, vain, cold, and selfish by nature. See Beauty Is Bad.
• Beauty Is Bad: Katherine may be physically beautiful but she can be very manipulative and immoral.
• Belligerent Sexual Tension: In modern times, she has a hostile and argumentative relationship with Damon and Stefan who's often dripping with sexual tension. She also has this dynamic with Klaus and Elijah at times.
• Betty and Veronica:
  • Katherine/Stefan/Damon with Katherine being the Archie for Stefan's Betty and Damon's Veronica.
  • Stefan/Elena/Katherine with Stefan being the Archie for Elena's Betty and Katherine's Veronica.
  • Later Stefan/Katherine/Caroline with Stefan being the Archie to Caroline's Betty and Katherine's Veronica.
• Big Bad: She's the primary antagonist of Season 1 (in the background) and the start of Season 2.
• Big-Breast Pride: In contrast to Elena, Katherine always dresses in outfits with ample cleavage to show off her assets and acts smug about it when it catches the eye of men.
• Birds of a Feather: With Damon. In terms of outlook and personality, Katherine and Damon have a lot in common and are quite a bit alike.
• Bitch in Sheep's Clothing: Katherine comes across as playful and harmless, but she is manipulative and cunning.
• Blessed with Suck: Katherine is a Petrova Doppelgänger, meaning that she was basically a human blood bag when she was a human and that she was destined for a life of pain, tragedy, and suffering. She spends most of her long life running away from Klaus due to her lineage.

• Break the Cutie: Katherine was a sweet girl before losing her daughter and being forced to run from Klaus. The girl who once said life without believing in love was too cruel has become a manipulative, selfish woman.

• Broken Bird: Katherine's tragic life began after Klaus murdered her entire family back in Bulgaria.
• Brought Down to Badass: In the fifth season, Katherine may have lost all her vampiric superhuman abilities due to being cured of her vampirism and becoming human, but she was still majorly kick ass when she has to.
• Brought Down to Normal: In the season four finale, Katherine becomes human again once Elena force-feeds her the cure.
• Brutal Honesty: Katherine will never hesitate to tell anybody exactly what she thinks, even if it's hurtful.
• Buxom Beauty Standard: Her large breasts and cleavage-baring clothes tend to draw the attention of guys. Even Chaste Hero Stefan, who knows better than to be attracted to Katherine, gets distracted by her the sight of her cleavage or sideboob on a couple of occasions.
• Byronic Heroine: Katherine has a dark past and has committed many immoral acts. At the same time, Katherine could be viewed as a tragic character.
• Came Back Wrong: After the cure was drained from Katherine's bloodstream, her 500 years of vampirism have started catching up to her at an accelerated pace.
• Catchphrase: Although she doesn't use it that often, "better you than I" has been coming up a lot.
• The Chessmaster: Katherine is cunning, strategic and manipulative. She always has an agenda.
• Chronic Backstabbing Disorder: Katherine has zero issue with backstabbing others in order to get what she wants. Subverted with Elijah. She was going to betray him but couldn't because she honestly fell in love with him.
• Cleavage Window: Katherine often wears clothing that shows off her upper assets.
• Clingy Jealous Girl: Oh so much towards Stefan. In fact, she is more of a Yandere for him as she has spent over a century being obsessively in love with him to the point that she stalked Stefan and has both atempted to kill and actually killed people that Stefan loves and cares about, including Elena. She visibly shows that she is very jealous of Elena because Stefan was in love with her and always chose her over Katherine.
• Coquettish Lip Biting: Biting her lips is one of her Character Tics, but while she uses it to look seductive, she also uses it when she's nervous.
• Consummate Liar: Katherine is very good at lying and manipulating others in order to get what she wants.
• The Corrupter: Katherine did this to both Salvatore brothers, but especially Damon, who used to be a much better man until she encouraged all of his worst instincts. When she reunites with Damon, she even reminiscences how innocent and naive he used to be when they first met, and how she enjoyed turning him into the cynical and hedonist mess that he is.
• Costume Porn: Katherine's dresses and outfits during the 1400's and the 1864 flashbacks. Some of them exhibit traits of Impossibly Cool Clothes, Pimped-Out Dress and Gorgeous Period Dress.

• Covering Up Your Gray: After Katherine is cured of her vampirism and the process is screwed by Silas, her body starts suffering from Rapid Aging to compensate for the 700+ years she has been alive, and the first physical difference that she notices is some of her hair turning grey. She starts dying her hair, wearing hoodies and baseball caps to hide it, but given she was previously The Fashionista and a Proud Beauty who would never wear such outfits, the rest of the cast quickly catches on.
• Crazy-Prepared: Always has a backup plan.
  Katherine: [to Damon] Do you honestly believe that I don't have a plan B? And if that fails a plan C and a plan D. You know how the alphabet works don't you?
• Cultured Badass: Seems to have been born into a wealthy Bulgarian family and was portrayed as being a Woman Of Wealth And Taste in the 1400 and 1864 flashbacks. And despite her frail-looking clothing she's still a very old and dangerous vampire who can rip anyone to shreds.

• Cynicism Catalyst: One could argue that Katherine became the cold, selfish, vengeful and manipulative person she did is because of Klaus and the fact that he murdered her entire family all to get back at Katherine for running from him and trying to stay alive. The murder of Katherine's family could have been the moment that Katherine became a much darker person who lost her innocence.
• Dark Action Girl: Katherine is a vampire and therefore, she has superhuman abilities which can assist her in combat and fighting. She knows how to kick ass when she has to. She is probably the strongest female character in the series next to Rebekah, who is an Original vampire and Qetsiyah, who is known to be one of the most powerful witches of all time. Katherine is the most kickass female character and she can even take down many of the male characters including both of the Salvatore brothers. She is also on par with other female vampires, such as Elena and Caroline for example. Katherine has shown that she is immensely stronger and more powerful than Elena due to the fact that Katherine has over five centuries on Elena in regards to age and being a vampire. Katherine has taken down plenty of male characters other than the Salvatore brothers such as Silas and Jeremy for example. In the fifth season, Katherine had become a human and had therefore lost her superhuman abilities as a vampire. She still showed that she was a very capable individual in terms of survival and she knew how to defend herself when she had to despite being significantly more vulnerable than she was before. Although, when Katherine became a human, she became more of an Action Survivor more so than an Action Girl.
• Dark and Troubled Past: She was banished by her family from her home in Bulgaria as a teen for having a child out of wedlock, with her daughter being given away without Katherine being even able to hold her. In England, she was sought after by Klaus due to being a Petrova Doppelgänger, since he planned to use her as a Human Sacrifice to break his hybrid curse. She was forced to become a vampire to have the strength to run away from him. In revenge for her escape, he came back to Bulgaria and slaughtered her entire family, and still kept pursuing her, forcing Katherine to remain on the run for her entire life.

• Dating Catwoman: Katherine's relationship with Stefan and Damon back in 1864 was not considered to be appropriate considering that she is a vampire.
• Deadpan Snarker: She has a quick wit and gets a lot of the show's one-liners whenever she's around.
• Death Equals Redemption: Averted as Katherine hasn't died. However, when Katherine discovers that she is dying, she has been trying to seek forgiveness from others and wants redemption for all of her past actions. The person she seems to want forgiveness from the most is Stefan. Katherine feels that Stefan caring for her means he considers her worthy of forgiveness.
• Defrosting Ice Queen: She is selfish, cold, manipulative, and vain. She is described to be cold-hearted and will use people in order to get her way without feeling any guilt afterwards. Around Stefan, Damon or Elijah, Katherine's humanity seems to come through.
• Demoted to Extra: In season 3, she appears sporadically for the first half of the season, then takes off after "Homecoming". Returns to a significantly more important role for seasons 4 and 5.
• Desperately Craves Affection: Being constantly paranoid and on the run her most of her long life has left Katherine longing for true affection, which is why she has a particular weakness for Stefan, the first man who she really felt connected to, and why she bonded so easily with her long lost daughter Nadia.
• The Determinator: Katherine NEVER gives up or quits and she is known for being a survivor. She has spent over 5 centuries running from Klaus, messing with his plans, and trying to kill him because he murdered her family.
• Did Not Get The Guy: In regards to Stefan, despite dedicating herself to him many times her ruthlessness and manipulative side pushed him away.
• Disc-One Final Boss: This happens in season 2 when most people thought Katherine was the Big Bad. It was actually Klaus.
• Don't You Dare Pity Me!: Katherine dislikes talking about her tragic past because she hates it when others feel sorry for her.
• Doomed Hometown: After she escaped Klaus' attempt to use her as a Human Sacrifice, he traveled back to Bulgaria and got his revenge on her by murdering her entire family.
• Doppelgänger: Katherine is part of the Petrova line, which have naturally occurring humans born physically identical to the first two Immortals, in her case Amara. She's Amara's second known Doppelgänger, after Tatia and before Elena.
• Dragged Off to Hell: Unable to pass through Bonnie who's the Anchor to the Other Side and is dragged off to a dark world. Word of God says she's never coming back... which ended up being a lie, as she returns as the Queen of Hell and the Final Boss of the series.
• Driven by Envy: Much of her attacks against Elena and her loved ones in the second season were driven by Katherine's jealousy of Elena, who she saw as replacing her. Towards the end of Season 2 however this abated, but returned in full force from season four and forward.
• Driven to Villainy: Katherine could have been a normal girl with an ordinary life, but Klaus killing her family and pursuing her all over the world made her adopt a selfish survivalist outlook that had her doing all kinds of amoral things to survive.
• Dude Magnet: Katherine appeals to many different male characters including Stefan, Damon, Elijah, Mason Lockwood, and Trevor.
• Entitled Bitch: Katherine can be very selfish and a Spoiled Brat when she doesn't get her way. Katherine has felt like she deserves the life that Elena has.
• Eternal Love: Katherine hoped to spend an eternity with Stefan. However, Stefan has fallen deeply in love with Elena, her doppelganger.
• Every Proper Lady Should Curtsy: Katherine does a lot of curtsying during the 1400's and also during the 1800's in the flashbacks.
• Everything's Sparkly with Jewelry: Katherine has always had a penchant for accessories, her daylight amulet is even a necklace (and later a bracelet).
• Evil Counterpart: She is Elena's evil Doppelgänger and counterpart, with their personalities contrasting all through the series. Where Elena is kind, compassionate and self-sacrificing Katherine is cruel, bitter and selfish.

• Evil Is Petty: While many of Katherine's evil actions are driven by her need to survive, she does have a petty side when it comes to Elena due to her jealousy towards her, often doing little cruelties or going out of her way to taunt Elena just to satisfy her pettiness.
• Evil Wears Black: She tends to wear black or dark clothing to contrast with Elena's outfits, which are usually lighter in color.
• The Fashionista: Katherine has a penchant for expensive clothing and fashion takes a lot of pride in her appearance. She's often seen wearing a combination of trendy pants, skirts, and dresses, she usually wears high heels or stilettos and always wears an abundance of jewelry and lots of makeup. She always styles her hair, normally in soft body waves unless she is impersonating Elena (then she straightens her hair bone straight). Even back in flashbacks, she's seen as a Girly Girl who was into frilly and fashionable dresses.
• Faux Affably Evil: Katherine can be polite when she wants to be, and sometimes even acts as a Friendly Enemy and teams up with the heroes, but she's usually planning something devious and can turn on anyone at the drop of a hat.
• Femme Fatale: Katherine is a beautiful, seductive woman who often uses her charms in order to get what she wants. And if she doesn't she's still dangerous enough to dispatch her victims without much trouble.
• Fetishized Abuser: Especially to Stefan in 1864. Not only did Katherine basically bite Stefan against his will and feed from him, but she also continuously compelled him to not be scared of her after he discovered what she truly was and to drink her blood against his will. Subverted with Elijah.
• Final Boss: Katherine comes out of left field to be the final villain in the series as the Queen of Hell at the very last episode.

• Fool for Love: In regards to Stefan, especially in season five. Instead of actually focusing on developing a relationship with her long lost daughter Nadia (who has been searching for her for 5 centuries and even became a vampire all so she could find her mother), Katherine is much too busy obsessing with Stefan. Katherine was so desperate for him to love her that in 5.11, she goes to extremes by stealing Elena's body and possessing it using a Travellers spell, all so that Stefan would think she is Elena and fall for her again. When it comes to Stefan and her love for him, Katherine is extremely irrational.
• Freudian Excuse: Katherine became the ruthless person she is because of her very tragic backstory, which included having her baby daughter taken away from her after she was born, Klaus chasing her in order to have her killed and sacrificed and murdering her entire family as a punishment for running from him.
• Friendly Enemy: To Stefan and Damon on occasion, especially when working together against The Originals. Katherine will help out the Salvatore brothers from time to time, but she often seeks to get something out of it in return.
• Giant Poofy Sleeves: Many of her outfits during the 1864 flashbacks had giant sleeves.
• Girly Bruiser: Katherine is very feminine but she can still kick major ass when she has to.

• Grand Theft Me: In season five Katherine possesses Elena's body using a Traveller's spell on her deathbed, in an attempt to both cheat death and steal Elena's life so she can be with Stefan again.
• Green-Eyed Monster: Katherine has a jealous streak, especially in regards to Stefan and Damon. See Clingy Jealous Girl.
• Heartbroken Badass: In regards to romance and her family. Katherine hasn't had any luck with romance and men. Her family ended up being killed because she ran from Klaus after learning that he was going to sacrifice her in order to break his hybrid curse.
• Heel–Face Revolving Door: It's really hard to tell which side Katherine is on sometimes.
• Hell-Bent for Leather: Katherine's version of practicable clothing is usually a black leather jacket and leather pants, which give her a more imposing look than her chic outfits.
• Hereditary Curse: Katherine is descended from a line of Petrova Doppelgänger's. She has passed down the doppelgänger curse to her children and as a result, the Petrova doppelgänger lineage continues every 500 years. Katherine is the doppelgänger of Tatia while Elena is the doppelgänger of Katherine. She's pursed by Klaus due to this, as a Petrova Doppelgänger sacrifice is needed to break his curse.

• Hope Bringer: Characters speak of her as a legend or as a way to show that it is possible to defeat or evade Klaus. She's also used as a threat against Klaus by Damon in Season 4.
• Hot Witch: Katherine is actually a descendant of the Travelers witches and possesses magic, although spending most of her life as a vampire made her unable to practice it, until she got Brought Down to Normal in season 5.
• Humiliation Conga: Has been going through a big and rather well-deserved one in season five when she begins to die via Rapid Aging.
• If I Can't Have You…: Katherine threatened Stefan that if he didn't break up with Elena, she would kill Elena and her loved ones. Stefan of course did NOT react well to this at all, in a Beware the Nice Ones way. She even says again it word for word in episode 5x15 — yet again it regards Stefan: If she can't have him, then no one else will.
• I Just Want to Be Loved: This could be one of the major reasons as to why Katherine is desperate for Stefan to love her. Katherine has most likely always suffered from a degree of loneliness and feeling unloved or unworthy of love due to her troubled past.
• I Love You, Vampire Son: Katherine loves Stefan and Damon. She turned them both in order to be with them forever.
• I Will Wait for You: Katherine has repeatedly said that she will wait forever or for an eternity for Stefan to love her since the second season.
• Immortals Fear Death: Katherine is absolutely terrified of dying and will do just about anything to prevent it. This has formed her arc in season five as we see her succumb to the effects of age and realize she can't save herself any longer.

• It's All About Me: Katherine has been shown to be very selfish, self-indulgent and narcissistic. She is all about self-preservation and looking out for herself, even at the expense of others.
• Jerkass: Katherine is so incredibly obnoxious, selfish, sarcastic and arrogant that many of the characters who interact with her often find her intolerable.
• Jerkass Has a Point: When she, as Elena, refused to get back together with Damon and cited all of the reasons they are a bad couple and she didn't want to be with him, it's exceptionally hard to find a single flaw in her logic. She can even come off as the Only Sane Man.
• Jerk Justifications: Katherine does immoral acts out of self-preservation thanks to her past. She had her baby taken away from her, was exiled from her own him, was chased by Klaus for centuries and had her entire family slaughtered by Klaus as a punishment for running from him.
• Jerk with a Heart of Gold: Katherine brought Damon the cure instead of running in Season 2. She also tanked a brilliant plan to kill Klaus in order to protect Damon and bring back Stefan's humanity at the same time. The woman multitasks. And in season four, she gives the cure for vampirism to Elijah. This is the only weapon/advantage she has against Klaus, and she willingly and unselfishly hands it over to Elijah because he's the only person who still believes that she has some good in her somewhere.
• Jerk with a Heart of Jerk: In season 5, she starts to age rapidly when Silas sucks the cure out of her system and her imminent death garners sympathy from the rest of the cast and Katherine seems to mellow out. Then she takes advantage of Elena sympathy to possess her body.
• Joker Immunity: Katherine is a very popular character within the fandom. So, although she isn't featured on the show all that much, the writers have chosen not to kill her character off for good. Instead, she is a recurring character that comes and goes in every season. Can't hurt that she shares an actor with one the main characters, making bringing her in very easy.
• Kicking Ass in All Her Finery: Katherine is often seen being badass in her expensive and chic clothing.
• Kick the Morality Pet: Katherine claims to love Stefan so much for over a century, yet she has repeatedly done things that have both indirectly and directly hurt Stefan and those that he loves and cares about. Even when she does these things, Katherine expects Stefan to reciprocate her feelings when she really hasn't done anything to earn Stefan's love, affection or concern.
• Killed Off for Real: She's finally killed for good in "I Was Feeling Epic" when Stefan holds her down while Bonnie destroys hell and they're both consumed by the hellfire.
• Kiss of Death: Katherine kisses Stefan before he stabs and kills her with the Travellers Knife.

• Lack of Empathy: Katherine is a Long-Lived and self-absorbed survivalist who doesn't show compassion or remorse over the evil things that she had to do to survive Klaus.

• Life Drinker. Katherine is a vampire, i.e. a living dead person. She drinks human blood in order to survive. She has the ability to live forever without physically aging. Although Katherine physically looks like she is 18, she is actually over 500 years old.
• Light Feminine and Dark Feminine: Katherine is the Dark Feminine to Elena's Light Feminine. They are polar opposites in personality, despite being physically identical. Although now that Elena is a vampire their personalities are balancing out more.
• Living MacGuffin:
  • Katherine was one back in the 1400's for Klaus as she was the Petrova doppelgänger that was going to be used as a sacrifice to break Klaus' hybrid curse. She's been on the run from him for centuries to avoid this fate.
  • She was one for Silas for a time because she is human after ingesting the cure for immortality in the season four finale and Silas wanted the cure running through her veins. Katherine even humorously refers to herself as a "moonstone".
• Long-Lost Relative:
  • Katherine was revealed to be Elena's distant maternal ancestor in season two.
  • It was revealed in 5.05 that Katherine is the long lost mother of Nadia.
• Love at First Sight: According to flashbacks in 5.10, Katherine had seen Stefan before she had physically met him and she found herself instantly and strongly drawn to him.
• Love Hungry: Her obsession with Stefan has reached Qetsiyah levels of obsession and craziness. In regards to Stefan, especially in season five

• Love Makes You Dumb: Despite being a pragmatic survivalist for centuries, she makes a ton of mistakes due to her falling in love with Stefan and wanting to be with him. Most notably after stealing Elena's body in 5x11, instead of taking Nadia and leaving Mystic Falls with her, Katherine decides to stay in town so that she could get Stefan back. The Mystic Falls gang does end up founding out Katherine's secret, which only resulted in Stefan finding out, her daughter Nadia dying, and Katherine being killed by Stefan himself..
• Love Redeems: Bits and pieces of her humanity and softer side come out, especially in regards to both Stefan and Elijah.

M-Y

• Manipulative Bitch: Katherine will manipulate, scheme, play mind games and will toy with others emotions in order to get what she wants without guilt. This is best shown during her flashback scenes in season one, where she manipulates the entire Salvatore family against each other in order to obtain the moonstone.

• Mayfly–December Romance: With both Stefan and Damon in 1864, Katherine was already a 350+ year-old vampire while Stefan was a 17-year-old human and Damon was a 24-year-old human.
• Meaningful Name: The name Katherine means "pure". Ironically, Katherine represented innocence, naivety and purity before her life changed and turned into a tragedy. Her last name is Pierce. She does a lot of "piercing".
• Missing Mom: She's a Missing Mom to her daughter Nadia. Nadia had been taken away from Katherine by her father immediately after she had given birth to her. In season five, Katherine is finally reunited with Nadia after 500 years.

• Motor Mouth: Even Damon thinks she needs to shut up at times.
• Ms. Fanservice: Katherine is a Head-Turning Beauty who often wears revealing and skimpy clothing that shows off her assets and appeals to both the male characters and the male audience. She has plenty of fanservice heavy scenes, like shower, lingerie and bathtub scenes.
• Murder the Hypotenuse: Katherine loves Stefan; Stefan loves Elena. In season two, Katherine threatens to kill Elena (and everyone she cared about) if Stefan doesn't stop being with Elena.
• Narcissist: Katherine is very vain, proud and selfish. She thinks a lot of herself and always believes that she is one step ahead of everyone else.
• Noble Demon: Katherine has her moments of taking the moral high ground although this is a rarity and this has only happened a few times with a few people (i.e. Stefan, Damon and Elijah, for example).
• Not Good with Rejection: Katherine didn't take it too well when Stefan told her that he hated her.
• Of Corsets Sexy: As part of Katherine's wardrobe during the flashbacks (1400's and 1800's), Katherine was seen to wear many corsets as part of her outfits. Being a vampire, she also avers Of Corset Hurts as she has no need to breathe.

• Passive-Aggressive Kombat: When she is not resorting to kicking ass and fighting her opponents, she is good at making a point with her words, being very blunt and never holding back.
• Pet the Dog: Katherine has a few of these moments, such as mourning Stefan's death in a flashback, or bringing Damon his cure in the season finale. And in 4x18 she shows her love and gesture of trust towards Elijah.

• Pimped-Out Dress: Wore plenty of fancy dresses during the 1800's and in the 1400's as well.
• The Pollyanna: As a human girl, Katherine seemed to be rather idealistic, naive, optimistic and romantic by heart in the 1400's flashbacks. This changed when she became a vampire and suffered tragedy over the centuries.

• Psycho Ex-Girlfriend: Katherine is this way in regards to both of the Salvatore brothers due to the brothers being in love with Elena. Katherine herself only really cares about Stefan and is quite willing to Murder the Hypotenuse.

• Purple Is Powerful: If Katherine isn't seen wearing black clothing, she is often seen wearing purple from time to time. Good colours for a murderous, vampiric Action Girl who comes from a family of witches.
• Rapid Aging: She swallowed the cure for vampirism she got Brought Down to Normal, and when Silas pursued her and drained the cure out of her blood, she began developing a slower but still deadly version of this trope for immortals. With her hair has been turning grey, her teeth are falling out, and being only estimated to live a few months longer. She even tried to make a deal with Qetsiyah to get it fixed, but she refused. Her recently found daughter offers her own body for Katherine to Body Surf into using Traveler magic, but as ruthless as Katherine is she is above ruining her daughter's life to save herself... however she isn't above stealing Elena's life and body, so she and Nadia plan to use Elena's body to host Katherine, but the plan ultimately fails and Katherine passes away.
• Really Gets Around: Katherine is a seductress has been with many men throughout the centuries, mostly to manipulate and use them.
• Red Oni, Blue Oni: Katherine is the Red (passionate, impulsive, strong) to Elena's Blue (logical, calm, empathetic).

• Related Differently in the Adaptation: There was no concept of doppelgangers in the book series; the reason Elena and Katherine looked so much alike was that they were half-sisters (born a long time apart) with the same mother and a Strong Family Resemblance.
• The Resenter: Towards Elena. Katherine has always been jealous of Elena and has resented her because Elena has the normal life that she always wanted and also gained the love of Stefan.
• Retcon: In Season 5, it's revealed that Katherine comes from a family of witches.

• The Runaway: Katherine has been running from Klaus for 500 years.
• Sensual Slavs: Katherine is a seductive Head-Turning Beauty that is originally from Bulgaria.
• Sex Goddess: Out of all characters in the show, she's the one that takes full advantage of the natural sexual prowess that vampires have. Especially notable in her early relationship with the Salvatore brothers, where they were constantly seen in bed and she made plenty of use of the Kiss of the Vampire.

• Shameless Fanservice Girl: She's hardly modest when it comes to her body. In "Dinner Party", she's unperturbed about Damon walking on her showering and just casually stands naked in front of him while asking for a robe, although she does seem to take a perverse pleasure in his confusing gawking.
• Show Some Leg: Katherine often uses her sexy appearance to get what she wants.

• Smug Smiler: Due to her arrogance and teasing demeanour, smiling in a smug or coquettish fashion is one of Katherine's signature expressions.
• Smug Super: Katherine brags that Bonnie's witchy ju-ju migraine doesn't work on her since she has been around for a long time. Not to mention that she lords it over Stefan that she is immune to the effects of vervain since she has been dosing herself with vervain for the last century.
• The Snark Knight: Katherine is very sarcastic and has a wicked and dry sense of humor, usually making jokes that no one else but her can even appreciate.

• The Sociopath: Lying, murdering, and manipulating are as natural as breathing to her. Subverted in that she does care about some people.
• Spanner in the Works: In "Down the Rabbit Hole," she steals the vampirism cure that everyone has been looking for, and assures Silas' awakening.
• Stalker with a Crush: Katherine has kept tabs Stefan for centuries after he turned into a vampire and she faked her death and was on the run from Klaus.
• Start of Darkness: In Season 2, we learn what made Katherine become more cold, selfish and immoral. Klaus had been obsessed with finding her after she ran from him, because Klaus wanted to sacrifice her life so that he could break his Hybrid Curse. After Katherine committed suicide and became a vampire, she fled to her hometown. It was there that she discovered that Klaus got to her entire family and murdered them all in revenge. This devastated Katherine and ever since then, Katherine became a darker, more selfish person, only looking out for herself and basing her immortal life on self-preservation.
• Stripperific: Some of Katherine's outfits and clothing can be raher provocative and revealing.
• Sugary Malice: Katherine is very good at appearing sweet and polite to others when she needs them to further her agenda.
• Supernaturally Young Parent: To Nadia. It was revealed during the fifth season that Nadia is Katherine's long-lost daughter. Katherine had Nadia when she was seventeen years old. Katherine has also been a vampire for over 500 years, therefore, she has not physically aged because she is immortal. Katherine has been physically eighteen years old for over 500 years. Nadia is also a vampire, but actually looks older than Katherine; this could be because Nadia was turned at an older age than when Katherine was turned. Katherine was turned at the age of eighteen while Nadia was turned at the age of thirty, hence Nadia is physically 12 years older than Katherine in regards to physical age. However, both Katherine and Nadia are over 500 years old.
• The Tease: Katherine's specialty is teasing and flirting with the opposite sex, sometimes she just does it for fun and sometimes to manipulate them. Once, when sharing a hotel room with Stefan, she pretended she forgot her Modesty Towel after showering just so she could make Stefan pick it up and bring it to her while she was naked in the bathroom. Then she purposely left the door slightly ajar as she finished drying herself, letting Stefan have a peek at her Toplessness from the Back.
• Teen Pregnancy: Katherine had a daughter out of wedlock when she was seventeen, and the child was given away since her parents were ashamed of her having children out of wedlock. That child ends up being Nadia, who spent most of her life trying to track down Katherine.
• Took a Level in Badass: After Katherine tricked Rose into turning her into a vampire, she became much more powerful and thus a much more difficult target for the Originals.
• Tragic Villain: Katherine became a much colder, ruthless person due to her tragic past where Klaus had her entire family killed out of revenge for Katherine running from him and still pursued her ever since, leading her to value self-preservation above all. Even Elena manages to sympathize with her for it
  Elena: I forgive you. You weren't born evil. Life made you that way.

• Vanity Is Feminine: Katherine's one of the few major female antagonists in the series and has narcissistic vanity as one of her major character traits.
• Villainesses Want Heroes: While she's The Vamp who constantly uses her sex appeal to manipulate men into doing her bidding, the one man whom she truly fell in love with, is Stefan, who is actually heroic. Ironically to her, his morals is why he's unwilling to be with her.

• Villainous Breakdown:
  • Goes through ones when trapped in the cave by Damon and Stefan and when Damon plans on feeding her to Silas.
  • Season five has seen a slower and steadier one as she realizes she can't fight off her Rapid Aging and will soon be dead.
• Villainous Rescue: Occasionally Katherine will save the day or help out the Salvatore brothers, usually because there is something in it for her in return or because they share a common enemy.
• Villainous Valour: Katherine's a massive bitch with little morals, but her determination to survive no matter what is always portrayed as a positive trait, and one that characters admire In-Universe, even when they don't like her.
• Walking the Earth: That's something you gotta do, when you are getting chased by powerful enemies for centuries. As a result, she never really had a normal life, as she had to abandon everything the minute Klaus or Elijah got too close to her location.
• Wicked Cultured: Katherine comes from a wealthy and noble family. She is highly sophisticated, clever and manipulative.
• Woobie, Destroyer of Worlds: In 2.09, "Katerina", we find out that she gave birth out of wedlock; wasn't even allowed to hold the baby before it is given away; and then she gets sent away to England ( keep in mind that she most likely was all alone when she first came); then she meets and falls for Klaus, and has feelings for/trusts Elijah, only to find out that they both wanted to kill her; and then she tries to kill herself in order to stay away from Klaus, only to have vampire blood forced into her system; then she uses that to kill herself and become a vampire; and when she returns home, her entire family, along with anyone else that she loved, and most likely, the whole village is dead, killed by Klaus.

• Yandere: In regards to Stefan. Katherine was very obsessed with Stefan for over a century, so much so that she spent most of Stefan's immortal life stalking him, killing people that are close to him (including Elena), and obsessively going to extreme lengths to be with him, save him or protect him. She has repeatedly gone the route of Murder the Hypotenuse by killing or trying to kill women that were romantically involved or interested in Stefan. She is also known to become Axe-Crazy whenever Stefan rejects her, chooses Elena over her, ignores her or shows no interest in her. In Season Five, she is so obsessed with him that Stefan has literally become the major reason for Katherine wanting to live. While she is dying and on her death bed due to old age and the effects of the cure, Katherine manages to manipulate Elena into stealing her body against her will with the use of a passenger spell so that she can inhabit her body and live as Elena. Just so that she can get Stefan to fall in love with her again with the belief that he's falling in love with Elena.

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