Elena Gilbert
Elena Gilbert, portrayed by Nina Dobrev, is the series' female protagonist. Elena lives with her younger brother, Jeremy Gilbert, and her aunt, Jenna Sommers, who became her legal guardian after her parents died in a car crash. Her best friend is Bonnie Bennett, who later discovers she is a witch, and she is also friends with Caroline Forbes. Before the beginning of the series she was in a relationship with Matt Donovan, who still carries a torch for her in the beginning of the series. She later begins a relationship with Stefan Salvatore, whom she discovers is a vampire. Stefan's brother Damon also falls in love with Elena. At the end of season one, Elena discovers that her parents aren't actually her biological parents, but that she is actually the daughter of John Gilbert, who she thought was her uncle, and Isobel Flemming, who was turned into a vampire by Damon Salvatore. In season two she learns that she is a Petrova doppelgänger, just like Katherine Pierce, which means that she has to be sacrificed to release Klaus' werewolf side. The sacrifice later happens, but Elena is saved, because John sacrificed himself for her after being put under a spell by Bonnie. However, her aunt Jenna is turned into a vampire and, as part of the sacrifice, is killed by Klaus, leaving Elena without a guardian. In the season two finale, while Damon is dying due to a werewolf bite, she forgives him for forcing her to drink his blood and kisses him with the thought that it might be Damon's last day, however Damon gets cured by drinking Klaus' blood. In season three, Elena does everything in her power to make Stefan get his humanity back, which was turned off by Klaus. Meanwhile, she grows closer to Damon while working together on saving Stefan and trying to defeat Klaus, eventually even sharing a kiss. She later admits to Stefan that she has feelings for Damon as well but that she never stopped loving Stefan. While in Denver together, Elena kisses Damon, later telling him that she doesn't know how she feels about him. It is eventually revealed that Elena met Damon the night of her parent's death, though he compelled her to forget. She eventually chooses Stefan in the season finale but before she can tell him, Elena drowns while having vampire blood in her system.