CACrown ArchivesThe cinema collection
Menu
Research dossier · General Reference

List of The Vampire Diaries characters

Wikimedia list article

Cross-disciplinary reference desk with index cards, atlas, dictionary and catalogue
General referenceInterpretive dossier study · Crown Archives visual atlas
Record originEnglish Wikipedia
Text licenseCC BY-SA 4.0
Source revisionAug 23, 2026
Entity authorityQ13443098 ↗
Source-derived summary

The Vampire Diaries is an American fantasy-drama television series which was first broadcast on The CW from 2009 to 2017, airing 171 episodes over 8 seasons. Kevin Williamson and Julie Plec adapted the television series from L.J. Smith's novel series of the same name. Some of the characters appeared in the spin-off series, The Originals and Legacies.

Main cast

The following is a list of series regulars who have appeared in one or more of the series' eight seasons. The characters are listed in the order they were first credited in the series.

Key

Main cast

Recurring cast

Guest cast

Elena Gilbert

Played by Nina Dobrev

Starring seasons: 1–6

Voice only role season: 7

Guest starring season: 8

Katherine Pierce

Played by Nina Dobrev

Starring seasons: 2-5

Recurring seasons: 1

Guest starring season: 8

Katherine Pierce (based on Katherine von Swartzschild from the novels) is the main antagonist of the series, being a major antagonist in the first, second, fourth, fifth and eighth seasons of the show and a minor antagonist/anti-hero in the third season. She is the ancestor and doppelgänger of Elena Gilbert and the doppelgänger of Tatia and Amara. Katherine Pierce, born as Katerina Petrova on June 5, 1473, to a Bulgarian family but was disowned after having a child out of wedlock. She fled Bulgaria and reached England, where she met Klaus Mikaelson and his brother Elijah, members of the Original Vampire Family. She was attracted to Elijah but was horrified when she found out that Klaus planned to sacrifice her for a ritual.

Editorial summary

Begin with the source’s own compact description: “List of The Vampire Diaries characters” is wikimedia list article. The dossier treats that line as a proposition to test through List, Vampire and Diaries, not as a finished interpretation.

Editorial reviewA dependable orientation record for establishing vocabulary, names and a first evidence trail. The current lead gives the account dated anchors—2009, 2017, 1473—that can be checked directly. The selected authority fields contribute no independent date. For this dossier, List, Vampire and Diaries is the immediate research focus.
Editorial analysis

Why this record matters

The phrase “wikimedia list article” supplies a clear boundary for inquiry. It also exposes the unanswered questions: who defined that boundary, when it became stable and which sources sit outside it.

Evidence profile

Vocabulary and entity names are the principal evidence signals here, because they determine the precision of every later search. The source revision retrieved here is dated Aug 23, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q13443098. None of the 0 selected statements returned an explicit reference. The first chronological checks are 2009, 2017 and 1473.

Critical limits

The absence of detail may reflect summary conventions rather than a lack of surviving documentation. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.

How to read it

Use the entry as an orientation point, then follow its citations and revision history. Names, dates and institutional relationships should be checked against the original record.

Best used for
  • Subject orientation
  • Search vocabulary
  • Locating named sources
Verify next

The closest primary source, responsible institution and strongest cited specialist reference.

Three-step research path

  1. Establish the record: confirm the title “List of The Vampire Diaries characters”, its source revision and the description used here.
  2. Expand the search: follow List of The Vampire Diaries characters primary sources, List of The Vampire Diaries characters archive and List research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
  3. Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.

Questions for further research

  1. Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “List of The Vampire Diaries characters”?
  2. What terminology or title could unlock a more precise catalogue search?
  3. Which cited source is closest to the event, object or claim?
Subject index

Search terms from this dossier

Source & attribution

This entry incorporates text from “List of The Vampire Diaries characters” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.