Lizzie Van Helsing

Lizzie Sullivan (née Van Helsing) was the former main female protagonist of The Vampyre Diaries. At the beginning of the series, Lizzie appears to be a regular human girl, but is then revealed to be a Pendragon doppelgänger. In the Season Three finale, she became a vampire despite never wanting to be one. In I'd Leave My Happy Home For You, she takes the Cure to become human again.

Elena had been struggling to live a normal life ever since her adoptive parents, Miranda and Luke Van Helsing, died in a car accident when she was seventeen years old. Her life also changed drastically as she and her friends are caught up in the supernatural world that surrounds them and are forced to face powerful supernatural enemies.

Elena was described as a star student. She was popular, sporty, smart, compassionate, empathetic, caring and friendly. She could be very vulnerable and a damsel in distress.

Elena is best friends with Bonnie Bennett, her sister-in-law Caroline Forbes, Matt Donovan, and her husband, Damon Salvatore. She was also close friends with her late brother-in-law/ex-boyfriend, Stefan Salvatore. Her actions and beliefs throughout the series have been most influenced by her on-and-off romantic relationships with the Salvatore brothers, as well as by her antagonistic relationship with Katerina Petrova.

In Season One, Elena was still coping with her parents' death when she meets a mysterious new student at Mystic Falls High School, Stefan Salvatore. Elena and Stefan fall in love with each other. However, not long after that, Elena discovers that both Stefan and his brother, Damon, are vampires. She also becomes aware of the existence of Katherine Pierce, the woman who turned the Salvatore brothers into vampires in 1864, and to whom Elena bears a striking physical resemblance. In the process, Elena discovers a shocking truth - she was adopted, and her real parents are John Gilbert, her "uncle", and Isobel Flemming, Alaric's wife.

In Season Two, Elena learns that she is Katherine's Doppelgänger, which explains their identical appearance. Because of this, an Original Vampire, Klaus, wants to use her in a sacrifice to break an ancient curse. Despite Elena's and her friends' best efforts, the sacrifice takes place. Her biological father, John, sacrificed his own life to keep Elena alive and human. However, Klaus killed Elena's aunt Jenna, after turning her into a vampire, leaving Jeremy her only blood relative left alive.

After Jeremy's death in Season Four, at Damon's command to ease her pain, she turned off her humanity so she wouldn't have to feel all the guilt. Vampires in rare cases form a sire bond to the one who turned them, based on how strong their human feelings were before transitioning. After a brief time, she was finally able to regain her humanity after a surprising plan was carried out by Damon and Matt.

During the events of Season Five, Elena's body was also possessed by Katherine, who was attempting to escape her fate caused by the effects of the cure. It took a while for Elena's friends to discover Katherine's deceit and when she died, she left a 'little present' in the form of infecting Elena's body with a deadly virus, but this was later cured. She and Damon got back together near the end of the season, but it was short-lived. After Stefan's shocking death, in order to bring him and others back from The Other Side, Damon, Elena and Caroline devised a plan, involving Olivia Parker performing a spell that the Travelers had used to bring back their leader, Markos. However, the spell was interrupted before Damon could pass through the Anchor, Bonnie, and as the Other Side began to disintegrate, Elena and her friends were left heartbroken by their impending deaths.

During Season Six, in an effort to cope with Damon's death, Elena turned to abusing drugs to hallucinate him. However, these drugs enhanced her blood thirst and she decided to resort to a different mechanism which involves erasing her memories of loving Damon.

After the memories of their relationship were erased, she began to see him as the selfish and arrogant person who killed her brother. Soon after, Damon came back to life and she decided to give him a chance. She began to fall for him again after seeing his acts of attempting to rescue Bonnie from the prison world, and they start their relationship anew. She later learns of the cure that Bonnie brought back from the prison world and takes it, in the hopes of having a family again and a future with Damon to look forward too.

Things go well until Kai ruins Jo and Alaric's wedding and casts a sleeping spell on Elena, linking her life to Bonnie's. She makes a sacrifice to let Bonnie live out her life until it is her turn. She bids goodbye to her friends and loved ones before parting ways but knows that she will see Damon, Stefan and Caroline again one day.

For most of her life, Elena lived at 2104 Maple Street, in the Gilbert family house. During the fourth season, she briefly moved to the Salvatore Boarding House, when her brother, Jeremy, became a member of The Five and developed an uncontrollable urge to kill vampires, making it impossible for them to live together. Later in the season, after Jeremy's death, Elena burned down the Gilbert house. After that, she lived in the Salvatore Boarding House for several months, before moving to the Whitmore College dorm.

She attended Mystic Falls High School from Seasons One to Four, where she was a cheerleader, honor student, and one of the most popular girls in the school. Elena wanted to become a great writer and she has a diary in which she writes everything that happens in her life. She was originally turned in this direction by her adoptive mother, who gave Elena her first diary when she was ten. In Season Five, she began attending Whitmore College and in Season Six, she majored in pre-med, wanting to become a doctor.

As Elena was placed in a sleep by Kai Parker, she would have remained that way until Bonnie died. However, Bonnie later found a way to wake her, and she reunited with her friends. Elena said her goodbye to a dying Stefan, before living a long and happy life with Damon, whom she married. Elena achieved her dream of being a doctor, before she died of old age and found peace, reuniting with her adopted parents, Grayson and Miranda, her aunt Jenna and biological father, John.

Elena is the last living member of the Petrova Family, and a member of the Gilbert Family.

Early life

 * -|1990s=

Elena was born on June 22, 1992, in Mystic Falls and lived there peacefully for 17 years, with her parents, Miranda and Grayson Gilbert, as well as with her brother, Jeremy. They led a quiet small town life, free of the supernatural. However, in Season One Elena learns that she was adopted and her biological parents are John Gilbert, her uncle, and Isobel Flemming. John's brother Grayson and his wife Miranda, who desperately wanted to have children but were having difficulties conceiving, adopted Elena following her birth. Because Grayson was a doctor, he was able to tamper with the birth records, making himself and Miranda appear as Elena's biological parents on her birth certificate. If anyone ever became suspicious, they would have the birth certificate as documentation proof. Later on, Elena also finds out that her parents were well aware of the existence of vampires and witches, and that, in fact, her father was part of the Augustine Society at Whitmore College, and even experimented on vampires in the basement of his Mystic Falls clinic. In fact, in 1999, when Elena was seven, she almost witnessed one of her father's experiments.

On December 22, 2007, Elena was fifteen years old and a freshman at Mystic Falls High School and was helping her town prepare for the Mystic Falls Lighting of the Tree Ceremony. While she was making hot chocolate, Bonnie threw a snowball at Elena and revealed that her father was taking her on a trip, meaning that Bonnie would miss Christmas with her friends. Caroline also got excited when Elena revealed that she was going to convince her parents to let Bonnie stay for the holidays as they had never spent a holiday away from each other.
 * -|2007=

During her sophomore year, Elena had a relationship with Matt Donovan, her oldest friend with whom she formerly shared a crib. At a bonfire, the two of them get into an argument where, afterwards, she calls her parents to pick her up. While waiting to be picked up, she meets Damon Salvatore who originally confuses her with Katherine. He tells her she wants a love that consumes her as well as passion, adventure, and even a little danger when she admits she doesn't know what she wants. Damon then compels her to forget their meeting. Elena's parents then arrive to pick her up.
 * -|2008 - 2009=



After Elena's parents pick her up from the bonfire, their car unexpectedly drives off Wickery Bridge. Stefan Salvatore, who is nearby, hears the crash and saves an unconscious Elena at Grayson's insistence. Stefan's unable to save her parents and takes Elena to the shore where she's found, with everyone believing Elena somehow made it out of the car and made it to shore. Afterwards, she breaks up with Matt and she and Jeremy begin to live with their aunt, Jenna Sommers, who became their legal guardian.



After her parents death Elena shut Jeremy and everyone else out to deal with her parents' deaths. She and Jeremy moved into Elizabeth Forbes house for a awhile as Jenna wasn't up to the task yet. Liz took her and Jeremy to school as well as tried to cook for them but wasn't good at it, just like Elena's adoptive mother/aunt Miranda.

Unseen, during the events of Season One and December 22, 2009, Elena would be aware of vampires at this point and would have also known about Bonnie's witch heritage. She and Bonnie were watching Elizabeth Forbes speech during the annual Tree Lighting Ceremony, until Caroline revealed the disappointing gift that Stefan gave her.

Throughout The Vampire Diaries Series

 * -|Season 1=


 * -|Season 2=


 * -|Season 3=


 * -|Season 4=


 * -|Season 5=


 * -|Season 6=


 * -| Season 7=

In Hello, Brother, Damon is revealed to holding on to Elena as anchor to humanity during his first few months of serving Sybil until she figured out his resistance.
 * -|Season 8=

In Today Will Be Different, Sybil erases Elena out of Damon's memories and makes herself the lead female role in Damon's head.

In You Decided That I Was Worth Saving, Elena appears in a flashback caused by Sybil. This flashback, however, is altered, and Elena dies along with her parents in the crash on Wickery Bridge. Damon believes Elena to be lost, therefore falls under the impression that the two never actually had a relationship.

In I Was Feeling Epic, Elena was first seen after Bonnie's heart stopped laying in a bed. She awakens and hugs her, but then realizes that the reason she can see Bonnie is because Bonnie is dead. Bonnie reassures her that she is ready to die, but Enzo says it isn't her time yet and sends Bonnie back. Bonnie tells Stefan and Caroline that she saw Elena and Stefan along with Damon race to the boarding house. They find Elena's casket empty, but then Elena comes around the corner. However, it turns out to be Katherine pretending to be her who informs them that she hid Elena's body which is still in the sleeping coma. Eventually, Stefan finds her in the boiler room at the school and tries to take her body out of the room but finds she's spelled in there.

After Katherine and Stefan die, Elena sees Stefan in her head in the school and he says goodbye to her one last time and whispers to her something. Bonnie breaks the curse Kai placed on her, and Elena wakes up. She is heard narrating a diary entry and it is seen that she pays her respects for Stefan at his memorial. She reunites with Damon and they share a kiss. Elena puts the talisman necklace that Stefan gave her all those years back on his memorial.

Elena then reflects on her life with Damon in another diary entry and they are seen walking down the street together where Elena's house used to be. It is revealed that Elena went to medical school, got married, and lived a happy life with a Damon. She sees her old house in the afterlife and sees John, Grayson, Miranda, and Jenna, and hugs them all accepting her death and finding peace.

Human
"Your compassion is a gift, Elena."
 * -|1st Time=

- Elijah to Elena in All My Children

As a human, she's the sociable popular girl in school and the girl next door. She's compassionate, caring, empathetic, kind, intelligent, beautiful, friendly but she can also be pushy, judgmental, selfish, at times prying into other peoples' business, Elena is also athletic and a cheerleader. Her favorite hobby is writing in her journal and says that she's always wanted to be a writer. Elena's "dark side" from the books as a human is never explored because it "didn't ever feel like a characteristic" the show wanted for their heroine. Elena's actual dark side is her "deep, deep connection to other people". Elena's always surrounded by drama. She's always helping around in her community events and Caroline calls her the mothering type.

Like her mother before her, Elena believes in family, honor, loyalty and community. She is shown to be consistently polite, calm and composed, though prone to great anxiety and panic. Despite being something of a skeptic, she has a vivid internal life. She is extremely introverted. She is brave and self-sacrificing, though much of her willingness to save others seems to come from survivor's guilt over her parent's death. She has a strong back bone and never displays a sense of inferiority. However, Elena can also be a hypocrite, and gradually becomes more and more self-absorbed as the seasons continue, but undergoes several huge changes due to trauma, stress, loss and finally healing. She is flawed; not always able to treat her friends with proper respect, and acting in a smothering, if not controlling, manner toward her brother, Jeremy. Elena exalts personal choice and is known for her forgiving nature.

Before her parents' death, Elena used to be "way more fun" and "into everything, very busy".

"I wanted to be human from the day I became a vampire."
 * -|2nd Time=

- Elena to Caroline in I'll Wed You in the Golden Summertime

Elena became human again by drinking the cure to vampirism because she missed it since the day she became a vampire. Elena wants to have a life with Damon, being married with him and have children, grow old together and die, all that a human life can give to her. Sometimes she misses being a vampire because she liked her powers and abilities but she enjoys being a human more.

Vampire
"She already is like me!"
 * -|With Humanity=

- Damon to Bonnie about Elena

As a vampire, Elena's personality is amplified. In some ways, Elena is considered to be the opposite of Katherine. In terms of blood consumption, Elena wants to live on a diet of animal blood, like Stefan, in an attempt to avoid hurting someone. However, after she is unable to keep down animal blood, human blood from a blood bag or vampire blood, she begins to feed from Matt. It is discovered that her inability to consume other sources of blood was unintentionally due to her sire bond with Damon, and eventually begins to live on a diet of blood bags from a human blood bank. Now that Elena is a vampire, her feelings are magnified, including her feelings for Damon, and they're much harder for her to ignore and push aside.

She also struggles with magnified grief from the loss of so many family members, and anger towards those who put her remaining friends and family in danger. As she's learning to live as a vampire, she begins to learn that she has more in common with Damon than she does with Stefan, and while it scares her, it also makes things more exciting and opens her eyes a bit. These feelings eventually lead to her break up with Stefan as well as the discovery of the sire bond, which pushes everyone to find the cure, hidden with Silas in a tomb. Elena has now accepted being a vampire. With her humanity back, she becomes more determined than she wants, she goes back to being tearful in situations of pain and suffering. And more determined to discover mysterious situations making use of their gifts of compulsion.

Elena had gone through a drastic change after Damon's death.


 * -|Without Humanity=

Physical Appearance


Physically, Elena is a very beautiful and attractive young woman with an oval face, light olive complexion, almond-shaped brown eyes which are sometimes described as doe-eyes, and long dark brown hair. Her height is 5'6"(168 cm), and she has a slim, slightly athletic physique. Elena has an uncanny physical resemblance to her ancestor and doppelgänger, Katerina Petrova, who often poses as Elena in order to trick others. However, even though Elena and Katherine look exactly the same in terms of physical appearance, there are some slight differences between the two in terms of fashion and style, and especially personality.

In terms of fashion sense, while Elena's human, she's much more casual, sporty and "girl next door" and doesn't wear a lot of make up or favor fashionable clothing unless attending a formal event. Elena favors wearing dark blue jeans with t-shirts of various colors and Converse sneakers. Elena primarily wears fashionable clothing or dresses up for special occasions or formal events. Katherine's fashion sense or style, on the other hand, is much more high maintenance, expensive and trendy. Another distinct difference between Elena and Katherine's physical appearance is that Elena always wears her hair straight with a middle part in which Katherine doesn't like, while Katherine wears her hair curly. However, Katherine often straightens her hair in order to fool people when she's posing as Elena. Elena wore a special necklace containing the herb vervain in it as a human, which is really Esther's talisman, which cannot be destroyed; it was given to Elena by Stefan to protect her from compulsion.

Elena as a newly turned vampire wears a small lapis lazuli daylight ring made by Bonnie in order to protect her from the sunlight. Elena has a slightly more sophisticated look and trades her usual jeans and t-shirts to dresses and boots. Since Elena now has the freedom to accessorize, she dips into her jewelry box more often. Elena is seen wearing more chain necklaces in season 4. After she abandons her humanity, she becomes more womanly in the way she looks. She gets red streaks in her hair and curls it. She also begins to wear skirts and belts. When Katherine possessed Elena, she removed the red streaks.



In American Gothic, Elena impersonates Katherine for the first time. As she has now changed her style, she's able to temporarily fool Elijah of her identity. As Katherine's wardrobe is much more adult, Elena switches her comfortable boots for high heels, casual denim jacket for slim fitting leather and took Katherine's sparkly eye catching jewelry including earrings, bracelets and her watch. To pass for Katherine, Elena also applies more make up, particularly dark eye shadow and eyeliner to a much more "sluttier" degree, as said by Rebekah. At first glance, Elena and Katherine are identical yet their personalities, mannerisms, style, and makeup differ greatly and are generally aspects which give away their identity.

In Season Five, Elena starts to wear more skinny jeans, low-heeled boots, low heels, combat boots, sleeveless blouses, leather jackets, short skirts and super short shorts, varied dresses, makeup, and plunges more in her jewelry box.

After returning to a human towards the end of Season Six, she stops curling her hair and goes back to her original straight hairstyle.

In Season Eight, after awakening from her magically induced coma, Elena is seen in black floral-print dress, combat boots, and a red sweater as she attends Stefan's Memorial.

Powers and Abilities
She possesses fighting abilities to defend herself against vampires as she trained under Alaric and Damon. She knows how to stake vampires and also the traits of a vampire hunter.
 * -|Human=

Currently Elena is the cure. Her blood, if every bit is drank by a person affected by Qetsiyah's immortality spell (and subsequently Esther's variation); (Original vampires, non-Original vampires, Augustine vampires, True Immortals, and Hybrids) then the recipient will be made the cure (effectively human) and Elena will return to life, aging to her appropriate human age, since this is that of a normal human, Elena by definition possesses an extra life so long as she dies by blood loss within her normal lifespan. Elena also possesses the abilities of the doppelgängers, meaning her blood can be used for various spells, particularly the magic stripping spell.

Elena is also a Doppelgänger which means her blood in an unlimited (while she's alive) source of power for witches and siphoners as well.

Elena possessed all the standard powers and abilities of a non-Original vampire.
 * -|Vampire=

Weaknesses
Elena possesses all the typical weaknesses of a human.
 * -|Human=

Elena had the typical weaknesses of a non-Original vampire.
 * -|Vampire=

Jeremy Gilbert
"Look, Elena. You're my sister and I love you, no matter what you choose."

- Jeremy to Elena in Graduation

Jeremy is Elena's biological cousin/adoptive brother. Although Jeremy and Elena are biological first cousins, they've been raised together as siblings. After their parents died, they wanted to help and protect each other. Once the two of them became more aware of the supernatural activities and entities of Mystic Falls, Elena and Jeremy worked to keep each other and their other loved ones safe. Although they sometimes were led apart, they still seemed to retain their closeness as siblings. They love each other and are always willing to risk their lives to save one another. They have a bond that no one could ever break. After becoming a vampire, he still loves her regardless of what she is. They continue to protect each other seeing that they are what they have left each other. Losing her younger brother crushes her and causes her to turn her emotions off. But thanks to Bonnie, he was brought back to life.

Damon Salvatore
"I don't have a choice, baby. You are, by far, the greatest thing that has ever happened to me in my 173 years on this Earth. The fact that I get to die knowing I was loved not just by anyone, but by you, Elena Gilbert. It's the epitome of a fulfilled life. It's never gonna get any better than this. I peaked. I love you, Elena. Bye."

- Damon to Elena in Home

Damon Salvatore is Elena's best friend, husband, soulmate and Stefan's impulsive older brother. Elena met Damon at the Salvatore Boarding House when she went to look for Stefan. After a while, she started to view Damon as self-centered, violent, sociopathic and cruel, especially when she found out that he continuously abused and used her close friend, Caroline Forbes against her will. Originally, Damon disliked Elena and was rather apathetic about whether Elena lived or died. Damon was drawn to Elena, mostly due to the fact that Elena bears an uncanny resemblance to the object of his obsession for over a century, Katherine. Although Damon and Elena often bicker and don't get along, Elena began to slowly warm up to him as she got to know him, befriending him in the process. But she still kept her distance due to Damon's constant immoral and impulsive behavior. Damon and Elena's friendship deepens with time and the two become closer, Damon fallen for Elena and Elena developing feelings for Damon. As opposed to Stefan, Damon is seen to be extremely selfish when it comes to Elena, willing to put the life of Elena's before anyone else's, including Elena's loved ones. But throughout the series, he has grown and changed, protecting not only Elena, but her family and friends as well. Elena and Damon became closer than ever, and the sexual tension between them increased as Elena's emotions were heightened. During Season Four, Stefan ends his relationship with Elena because of her no longer fighting the feelings she has for Damon. Elena admitted to Damon that he was the reason for her breakup with Stefan and with Jeremy trying to kill her, Elena was forced to move into the boarding house with Damon. Stefan moved out when she moved in because of the awkward situation and relationship between her and Damon. Damon and Elena made love for the first time and became a real couple the night she moved in with him. During their romance, Damon has never given any indication that Elena would "lose" him, under any circumstances really. Quite the opposite, he promised never to leave her again. The passion they share is hard to define. Damon once again had the opportunity to prove his worth and show Elena his humanity. She brings out the good side of him — that he doesn't have to kill for fun and drink blood from innocent people. This humanity makes it only harder for Elena to hide her true feelings for Damon. She cares very much about him. Throughout, she maintains a rocky relationship with him but they manage to overcome anything. She once again confessed her love for him after the sire bond was broken in the season finale. At the start of Season Five, having had the perfect summer together they were determined to make their long distance relationship work while she attended college. Their happiness was short-lived, however, as Elena and Damon's relationship was repeatedly assailed by a seemingly endless number of difficulties. They had to come to terms with Stefan's summer-long imprisonment and the revelation of Bonnie's death, all the while having to deal with Silas and Qetsiyah's struggle for dominance. Things were further complicated by the Augustine Society and a vengeful Katherine Pierce's machinations as well as the threat posed by the Travelers and their leader, Markos. These events among others had devastating emotional impacts on Damon and Elena and led them to question the wisdom of their relationship. Despite all this and having numerous arguments, separations, breakups and reconciliations, they never denied their love for each other. Ultimately, their love and the notable support of Stefan allowed them to come back together once again before the season's end. After losing her soulmate, Elena has currently been struggling with the empty void in her life that Damon should fill. Resorting to drug induced hypnotism and selective memory loss has proved to be a dangerous and heartbreaking coping mechanism for Elena. She later compels away all the good memories of Damon through Alaric. To her surprise, Damon is brought back to life and she felt nothing towards him, not believing she was ever in love with him. However, Damon's efforts to bring back Bonnie impress her and they rekindle their love for each other.

Stefan Salvatore
"You know the life that we had, I mean that was amazing too. It wasn't a spell or a prophecy, it was real. We fell in love on our own.  We had ups and downs, we fought... we changed, both of us.  We grew apart, but that is real; I mean that's life... I'll always love you, Elena."

- Stefan to Elena in Resident Evil

Stefan Salvatore is Elena's close friend and ex-boyfriend, as well as Damon's younger brother. Stefan is a 168 year old immortal who is described as handsome, athletic, mysterious, brooding, kind, compassionate and thoughtful. After returning home to Mystic Falls after years of being gone, Stefan unexpectedly "met" Elena on May 23, 2009, after he heard Elena and her parents' car accident while he was out at Wickery Bridge. The Gilbert's car had submerged deep into the water under the bridge, where Elena and her parents were facing death by drowning. It was then that Stefan miraculously saved Elena's life, although unfortunately, Elena's parents, Grayson and Miranda, didn't survive the tragedy. After the accident, Elena spent months wondering how she made it out of the accident and believed that her survival was a "miracle". For the next four months, Stefan remained in Mystic Falls, while studying Elena's background from afar. Stefan investigated Elena's background in order to find out whether or not Elena was really Katherine Pierce due to Elena's uncanny physical resemblance to her. Stefan eventually discovers through the info that he has researched and gained, that Elena is not Katherine and Stefan is relieved by this. He slowly starts to fall for her from afar and he stays in Mystic Falls because he has to know her. Elena fatefully and unexpectedly meets Stefan for the first time at the beginning of the new school year outside of the Men's washroom. Elena is undeniably drawn to Stefan and the two have an instant, deep and indescribable connection. Stefan and Elena begin to bond and slowly start to develop a romantic relationship. They both realize that they share many qualities, hobbies, traits, values and beliefs in common. As Elena and Stefan start falling deeper in love with each other, Elena unexpectedly discovers Stefan's deep, dark secret: Stefan is a century old vampire with a mysterious past. Although Elena is at first scared of Stefan and what he is, Elena eventually accepts Stefan's vampire-ism. As opposed to Damon, Stefan is known to respect Elena and honor her choices and wishes, even if he doesn't agree with them. Stefan and Elena no longer have a strong love and connection. There have been many different obstacles over the course of the series that have tried to come between them. Some of these obstacles include Stefan's brother, Damon, Stefan's blood addiction issues, the unexpectedly events in Mystic Falls, Klaus, Rebekah, the Originals, Katherine Pierce, John Gilbert, Stefan's Ripper phase and most recently, Elena's new found vampirism. When she reveals she is in love with Damon. After her transition, Elena admitted she was no longer in love with Stefan because of she felt he treated her like a project and looks at her like a broken toy and that she can't be with someone like that. Later on, they are able to establish a good friendship and have claimed that they will always love each other. Stefan and Elena both struggle during the months after losing Damon. However, after Damon is resurrected, these two continue to help each other until Elena is forced into a coma, due to Kai Parker's revenge against Bonnie. They shared a heartfelt goodbye before the Salvatore brothers placed her body in a coffin to rest until Bonnie died and Elena woke up. They shared a brief heartfelt reunion as Stefan passed away and found peace inI Was Feeling Epic, after sacrificing his life.

Alaric Saltzman
"You're going to think that the pain will never end, but it will. But first you have to let it all in. You can't fight it. It's bigger than you. You have to let yourself drown in it. But then eventually you'll start to swim. And then every single breath that you fight for will make you stronger. And I promise you, you will beat it."

- Elena to Alaric in I'm Thinking Of You All The While

Alaric is Elena's step father and guardian. They became close when Alaric started dating her aunt Jenna. Alaric was also her history tutor. Alaric taught Elena how to protect herself from vampires and how to fight. Alaric became the legal guardian of Elena when her aunt Jenna was killed by Klaus. As Elena didn't have much family left, Alaric was there for her and Jeremy. Alaric along with Damon, protected Elena from the dangers that surrounded them. Elena was devastated when Esther turned Alaric into an Original resulting into him not completing the transition. But Esther took control of Bonnie and made her feed him her blood so that the transition would complete. Alaric then took Elena hostage so he could lead Klaus there to kill him. Elena realized that their lives are connected meaning if she dies, he dies. The moment Elena had died, Alaric died in Damon's arms and Elena came back as a vampire. During season four, she had mourned him and amends were then made. She was reunited with him when he was brought back to life in the Season Five finale, due to Damon and Bonnie's sacrifices.

Bonnie Bennett
"I know you think now, that you can't have a normal life, that you need to be here for everyone, but you don't. Everyone will find their way."

- Bonnie to Elena in For Whom the Bell Tolls

Bonnie Bennett has been best friends with Elena since childhood. Bonnie is also a close friend of Caroline Forbes. Bonnie has mentioned that she and Elena are so close they're like sisters, and she would die for Elena in an instant without hesitation. Throughout the series, Bonnie is protective of Elena, even risking her life to ensure Elena's safety and protection. Elena used to joke about Bonnie's "supernatural" or psychic powers until Bonnie eventually discovered she is descended from a long line of powerful witches, inheriting the gifts herself. Although Bonnie has always been supportive of Elena, after Elena began a relationship with Stefan Salvatore, a vampire, Bonnie and Elena begin drifting apart. Their friendship was strained when her Grams died after being weakened by a preforming a powerful spell to help the Salvatore brothers release Katherine Pierce. From the episode "Isobel" and onward, their friendship has remained relatively consistent and the two remain best friends. Ever since Jeremy died and Elena turned off her humanity, Elena ruined her friendship with Bonnie by almost trying to kill her. When Elena got her humanity back, she and Bonnie are now back to being best friends and have a strong friendship. They are also roommates with Caroline in college. However, the Other Side began collapsing which to its destruction and taking down Bonnie as well. Bonnie died with Damon who was still trapped on the Other Side and Elena was greatly devastated. They are reunited in I Was Feeling Epic.

Caroline Forbes
"I'm really glad that you're here."

- Caroline to Elena in I Know What You Did Last Summer

Although Elena and Caroline had been friends since childhood, Caroline's constant insecurities as a human, which made her jealous of Elena at times, had created and maintained a friendly rivalry between the two. When Caroline became a vampire, her insecurities went away, and their relationship improved a lot as a result. When Elena became a vampire herself, however, she broke up with Stefan and started dating Damon instead. And because Caroline could never accept this, as she never liked Damon and always saw Stefan as the better brother, their friendship degraded considerably. Later, it further degraded after Elena turned her humanity off, to the point that they are were enemies: Elena tried to stake Caroline, and will do everything that she can to ruin the prom dance that she carefully planned.She also almost killed Caroline's mother, Liz. That problem seems to be fixed in the latest episode. Now they are back to being best friends and has upgraded tremendously. They were roommates in college.

Other Relationships
Petrova Family, Gilbert Family, Saltzman Family, Salvatore Family, Mystic Falls Gang, Mystic Falls High School, Whitmore College, Augustine


 * Elena, Jeremy and Jenna (Former Family Bond/Jenna died)
 * Elena and Jenna (Adoptive Maternal Aunt/Good Friends)
 * John, Isobel and Elena (Parents and Daughter/Frenemies)
 * Elena and John (Biological Father and Daughter)
 * Elena and Isobel (Biological Mother and Daughter/Frenemies)
 * Elena and Katherine (Maternal Ancestor/Enemies)
 * Stefan, Elena, and Damon (Former Love Triangle)
 * Elena, Caroline and Bonnie (Best Friends)
 * Damon, Elena and Alaric (Best Friends)
 * Elena and Matt (Ex-Boyfriend/Best Friends)
 * Elena and Tyler (Friends/Former Allies)
 * Elena and Vicki (Former Enemies)


 * Elena and Elijah (Friends/Former Enemies/Former Allies)
 * Elena and Klaus (Enemies)
 * Elena and Rebekah (Enemies/Ex-Friends)
 * Elena and April (Ex-Friends)
 * Elena and Silas (Enemies)
 * Elena and Aaron (Former Friends)
 * Elena and Liv (Former Allies/Frenemies)
 * Elena and Luke (Friends/Former Allies)
 * Elena and Jo (Friends/Former Allies)
 * Elena and Kai (Enemies/Former Allies)
 * Elena and Liam (Friends/Exes)

Appearances
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The Vampire Diaries
A Darker Truth
 * Part 2 (archive footage, uncredited)

Season One
 * Pilot
 * The Night of the Comet
 * Friday Night Bites
 * Family Ties
 * You're Undead to Me
 * Lost Girls
 * Haunted
 * 162 Candles
 * History Repeating
 * The Turning Point
 * Bloodlines
 * Unpleasantville
 * Children of the Damned
 * Fool Me Once
 * A Few Good Men
 * There Goes the Neighborhood
 * Let the Right One In
 * Under Control
 * Miss Mystic Falls
 * Blood Brothers
 * Isobel
 * Founder's Day

Season Two
 * The Return
 * Brave New World
 * Bad Moon Rising
 * Memory Lane
 * Kill or Be Killed
 * Plan B
 * Masquerade
 * Rose
 * Katerina
 * The Sacrifice
 * By the Light of the Moon
 * The Descent
 * Daddy Issues
 * Crying Wolf
 * The Dinner Party
 * The House Guest
 * Know Thy Enemy
 * The Last Dance
 * Klaus
 * The Last Day
 * The Sun Also Rises
 * As I Lay Dying

Season Three
 * The Birthday
 * The Hybrid
 * The End of the Affair
 * Disturbing Behavior
 * The Reckoning
 * Smells Like Teen Spirit
 * Ghost World
 * Ordinary People
 * Homecoming
 * The New Deal
 * Our Town
 * The Ties That Bind
 * Bringing Out The Dead
 * Dangerous Liaisons
 * All My Children
 * 1912
 * Break On Through
 * The Murder of One
 * Heart of Darkness
 * Do Not Go Gentle
 * Before Sunset
 * The Departed

Season Four
 * Growing Pains
 * Memorial
 * The Rager
 * The Five
 * The Killer
 * We All Go a Little Mad Sometimes
 * My Brother's Keeper
 * We'll Always Have Bourbon Street
 * O Come, All Ye Faithful
 * After School Special
 * Catch Me If You Can
 * A View to a Kill
 * Into the Wild
 * Down the Rabbit Hole
 * Stand By Me
 * Bring It On
 * Because the Night
 * American Gothic
 * Pictures of You
 * The Originals
 * She's Come Undone
 * The Walking Dead
 * Graduation

Season Five
 * I Know What You Did Last Summer
 * True Lies
 * Original Sin
 * For Whom the Bell Tolls
 * Monster's Ball
 * Handle with Care
 * Death and the Maiden
 * Dead Man on Campus
 * The Cell
 * Fifty Shades of Grayson
 * 500 Years of Solitude (Body controlled by passenger Katherine Pierce at the end)
 * The Devil Inside (Body partially controlled by passenger Katherine Pierce)
 * Total Eclipse of the Heart (Body permanently controlled by passenger Katherine Pierce)
 * No Exit (Body permanently controlled by passenger Katherine Pierce)
 * Gone Girl (Freed from passenger Katherine's control at the end)
 * While You Were Sleeping
 * Rescue Me
 * Resident Evil
 * Man on Fire
 * What Lies Beneath
 * Promised Land
 * Home

Season Six
 * I'll Remember
 * Yellow Ledbetter
 * Welcome to Paradise
 * Black Hole Sun
 * The World Has Turned and Left Me Here
 * The More You Ignore Me, The Closer I Get
 * Do You Remember the First Time?
 * Fade Into You
 * I Alone
 * Christmas Through Your Eyes
 * Woke Up With a Monster
 * Prayer For the Dying
 * The Day I Tried To Live
 * Stay
 * Let Her Go
 * The Downward Spiral
 * A Bird in a Gilded Cage
 * I Never Could Love Like That
 * Because
 * I'd Leave My Happy Home For You
 * I'll Wed You in the Golden Summertime
 * I'm Thinking Of You All The While

Season Seven
 * Day One of Twenty-Two Thousand, Give or Take (Mentioned)
 * Never Let Me Go (Mentioned)
 * Age of Innocence (Mentioned)
 * I Carry Your Heart With Me (Mentioned)
 * Live Through This (Mentioned)
 * Best Served Cold (Mentioned)
 * Hold Me, Thrill Me, Kiss Me, Kill Me (Mentioned)
 * Hell Is Other People (Mentioned)
 * Things We Lost in the Fire (Cameo/Hallucination)
 * Postcards from the Edge (Mentioned)
 * This Woman's Work (Mentioned)
 * Moonlight on the Bayou (Mentioned)
 * I Would for You (Mentioned)
 * Days of Future Past (Mentioned)
 * I Went to the Woods (Mentioned)
 * Somebody That I Used to Know (Mentioned)
 * Requiem for a Dream (Silhouette/Mentioned)
 * Gods and Monsters (Archive Footage/Voice)

Season Eight
 * Hello, Brother (Archive Footage)
 * Today Will Be Different (Archive Footage)
 * You Decided That I Was Worth Saving (Archive Footage)
 * An Eternity of Misery (Mentioned)
 * The Next Time I Hurt Somebody, It Could Be You (Archive Footage)
 * The Simple Intimacy of the Near Touch (Archive Footage)
 * Nostalgia's a Bitch (Mentioned)
 * What Are You? (Mentioned)
 * The Lies Will Catch Up To You (Mentioned)
 * It's Been a Hell of a Ride (Archive Footage)
 * We're Planning a June Wedding (Mentioned)
 * I Was Feeling Epic

}}

Legacies
Season One


 * There's a World Where Your Dreams Came True (Mentioned in Wish Reality)

Season Three


 * Salvatore: The Musical! (Mentioned)

Novels
Elena's character in the novels is quite different from her character in the TV series, both in appearance and in personality. While in the TV series Elena has dark hair, brown eyes and an olive complexion, in the novels she has an 'angelic' physical appearance, with golden hair, blue eyes and fair skin. In the novels, Elena and Katherine are not doppelgängers, but are merely very similar in appearance, although there are slight physical differences between them. Elena is taller and has lighter colored hair and darker eyebrows and eyelashes.

Elena was born July 5, 1974, in Fells Church, Virginia, to Thomas Gilbert and Elizabeth Gilbert (née Morrow), who were tragically killed in a car accident years back. Elena is 17 at the beginning of the very first book, and she is the most beautiful, popular girl at Robert E. Lee High School (mainly called the Queen).

Elena sees herself as beautiful; therefore, she is quite proud and vain. Personality wise, Elena is described as loyal, protective, caring, strong-willed, determined, popular, sociable, and active. However, she is also selfish, self-absorbed, spoiled, childish, and headstrong.

Elena's life changes forever when she unexpectedly encounters a handsome, mysterious, foreign boy, Stefan Salvatore. Elena is deeply, passionately in love with her soul mate Stefan (to whom she is connected and bound to by a "silver cord"), but she also has deep feelings of desire for Damon (Stefan's dangerous, malevolent elder brother). Elena dies several times in the series, going from a regular human, to a vampire (after she consumes enough vampire blood from both Salvatore brothers), to a ghost/spirit of the afterlife, to a supernatural human with special powers and abilities.

Most recently, Elena has discovered that she is a Guardian on Earth, a very rare species. Guardians are said to create balance between good vs. evil on Earth and are destined to fight all darkness and evil vibes on Earth, restoring good on Earth as much as possible.

Name

 * Elena is a feminine first name of Greek origin ‘Ελενη (Elene) or ‘ελενη (Elene) which means "torch". The meaning of Elena is "the shining light", "the bright one", or "light". It is a variation of the name Helen. This likely means Elena and Katherine are based on Helen of Troy and Clytemnestra, twin sisters, Helen being the most beautiful mortal in the world and Clytemnestra, a less beautiful version.
 * Gilbert, which is Elena's surname, is a surname of Germanic origin. The English-language surname is derived from Giselbert, a medieval personal name composed of the following Germanic elements gisil ("pledge", "hostage", "noble youth") and berht ("bright", "famous").