Nina Dobrev biography, age, boyfriend, net worth, height, family 2025

The Biography of Nina Dobrev

Nina Dobrev (née Nikolina Konstantinova Dobreva) is a Canadian actress of Bulgarian origin. In the past, she was a gymnast and a model. She's best known for the series "The Vampire Diaries," and also for movies like "The Roommate," "The Perks of Being a Wallflower," "Let's Be Cops," and "Flatliners." She's won seven Teen Choice Awards and three People's Choice Awards (as of 2018). Net worth: $11 million.

Childhood and Family

Nina Dobrev was born on January 9, 1989, in Sofia, Bulgaria. Her father, Konstantin Dobrev, was a programmer, and her mother, Michaela Dobreva (née Radeva), was an artist. Nina had an older brother, Alexander. When she was two years old, the family emigrated to Canada and settled in Toronto.

As a child, she was an active and artistic kid with a vivid imagination. Later, she said: "When my mom would eventually meet some people, she'd find that I'd given them a fake name, a fake background, a fake everything. I was creating characters from when I was tiny. I thought it was fun to see how far I could go in convincing someone of something that wasn't real. I found pleasure in it."

The little Nina Dobrev and her brother, Alexander

During her school years, Nina studied ballet and jazz dance and also competed successfully in rhythmic gymnastics competitions. She wanted to become a professional athlete, but wisely abandoned her career in competitive sports:

And then I reached the age when you pass the point of no return. I realized that I couldn't make it to the Olympics - it's a different level of competition. So I had to make a choice.

Sports built her character and helped her later in her acting career: a rigorous regime, a habit of self-restraint, and perseverance. She graduated from Wexford Collegiate School for the Arts and entered Ryerson University in Toronto studying sociology, but in 2008 she dropped out to pursue an acting career. For acting training, she attended Bill Armstrong's Studio in Toronto.

Acting Career

Nina Dobrev's first major acting role was in the teen television series «Degrassi: The Next Generation», where she filmed from 2006 to 2009. She appeared in 52 episodes total. Released in Canada, this series was shown in more than 140 countries around the world, but it became the most popular in the US. Meanwhile, Nina took on several small film roles («Playing House», «Away From Her», «How She Move», «Too Young to Marry», etc.), as well as leading roles in TV movies, such as «Never Cry Werewolf» (2008) and «The American Mall» (2008).

The shot from the series "Degrassi: The Next Generation"

In 2009, Nina left «Degrassi: The Next Generation» and accepted a US offer to play a major role in another series that would make her widely known — «The Vampire Diaries», based on Lisa Jane Smith's novels. She got one of the key characters — Elena Gilbert.

Nina Dobrev in an image of Elena Gilbert

Nina filmed the series from seasons one through six (2009 to 2015), with seasons seven and eight continuing without her. The series had deservedly high ratings and won many awards. Also, Nina Dobrev won the Teen Choice Award in the category «Choice TV Breakout Star – Female» in 2010, in the category «Choice TV Actress – Fantasy/Sci-Fi» every year from 2010 to 2015 and in the category «Choice TV: Liplock (with Ian Somerhalder)» in 2015. In addition, she won the People's Choice Awards in the category «Favorite TV Drama Actress» in 2012 and in the category «Favorite On-Screen Chemistry (with Ian Somerhalder)» in 2014 and «Favorite TV Duo (with Ian Somerhalder)» in 2015.

Nina Dobrev on the set of "The Vampire Diaries"

Later, Nina spoke fondly about the experience: «When we started filming, all the actors, crew and I had this instant connection and understanding of each other — the feeling that everything was going right. I just knew everything would be fine and that it would last a long time. My gut wasn't wrong.»

But the year 2009 brought the young actress not only a starring role in «The Vampire Diaries», but also a participation in the wonderful psychological drama «Chloe» with thriller elements. The film also starred Liam Neeson, Julianne Moore, and Amanda Seyfried.

Nina's next major film role was in the independent action movie «Arena» (2011), which critics deemed unsuccessful despite starring fan-favorite Samuel L. Jackson. Her next film proved much more successful. It was the drama «The Perks of Being Wallflower» (2012) with Logan Lerman, Ezra Miller, and Emma Watson. Though Nina didn't have a leading role in the film, critics praised her performance.

Nina Dobrev at the "The Perks of Being Wallflower" premier

Nina Dobrev scored an even bigger hit with the comedy "Let's Be Cops" (2014). The film raked in over $138 million worldwide. On set, Nina got to develop her waitress character's personality and quirks, which she found incredibly fulfilling. The actress says her character shared many of her own traits, like "the habit of sniffing and awkwardness."

In the comedy "Let's Be Cops" Nina plays a waitress

The slasher comedy film «The Final Girls» (2015) with Nina Dobrev is less well known to the public. It went straight to DVD, skipping theaters entirely. However, her next film proved to be a major success – an action film «xXx: Return of Xander Cage» (2017), the third part of the franchise «xXx» with Vin Diesel and Ruby Rose as starring.

Vin Diesel, Nina Dobrev and Ruby Rose on the set of the 3rd part of "xXx"

For this work, the actress was nominated for the Teen Choice Awards in the category «Choice Movie Actress: Action», but lost to rising star Gal Gadot for "Wonder Woman."

The shot from the movie "xXx: Return of Xander Cage"

In 2017, Nina's name hit movie posters again with the sci-fi psychological horror "Flatliners" – a film about medical students who attempt to experience clinical death. In this remake of the same title movie (1990), Nina played a leading role in the company of young actors Ellen Page, Diego Luna and James Norton.

Nina Dobrev in the movie "Flatliners"(2017)

Unfortunately, critics savaged the film, calling it "dead on arrival." However, the box office numbers told a different story – the film was relatively successful. It earned $45 million against a $19 million budget. Nina considered it her first truly serious, adult film role.

In 2018, Nina Dobrev worked in three films: the drama «Departures», together with the star of the «Game of Thrones» Maisie Williams; the thriller «Lucky Day» and the romantic comedy «Dog Days». She also participated in the fourth part of the franchise «xXx».

Personal life of Nina Dobrev

In 2011, Nina Dobrev started dating her co-star from the series «The Vampire Diaries» Ian Somerhalder. In an interview, she admitted that she hadn't planned to start a relationship with any of her colleagues, but Ian just swept her off her feet: «At that time, I was honestly sure that I shouldn't date guys from work because it's unprofessional. But sometimes you just can't help it".

Nina Dobrev and Ian Somerhalder had been dating

In 2013, the couple broke up, and journalists called this breakup «the healthiest in Hollywood». Nina commented on their breakup:

We didn't break up because something bad happened or because there was no love or friendship between us. I adore him, and we're still best friends. I think he's a wonderful person and he means a lot to me ...

After that, Nina had a brief fling with «Dancing with the Stars» pro Derek Hough, but their relationship ended in October 2013.

From 2015 to 2016, she dated actor Austin Stowell before they broke up. The reason for their split was conflicting schedules due to intensive filming in different locations.

Ex-boyfriend of Nina Dobrev – Austin Stowell

In 2017, rumors swirled that Nina was dating television actor Glen Powell, but there were no official confirmations. In November 2017, photos surfaced online with publicist Gary Mantoosh, who may have become her new boyfriend. The couple broke up later that year.

On the picture: Nina Dobrev and Gary Mantoosh

In March 2020, the media reported that Nina Dobrev had a new boyfriend - snowboarder Shaun White. In May of the same year, the actress confirmed this information and began to appear publicly with her new boyfriend. Nina speaks fluent English, French and Bulgarian. She loves domestic animals: for 18 years she lived with her cat Lynx, whom she called her «soulmate». After her cat died in March 2017, Nina was devastated, but later got a small dog she named Maverick - in honor of the character of the Tom Cruise in the cult film «Top Gun». «Maverick brought me back to life,» the actress said.

Nina's pets: the cat Lynx and dog Maverick

Nina leads a healthy lifestyle, regularly swims, dances, and does yoga. As a model, she is the official face of the brand «Reebok».

Nina Dobrev Now

In 2020, a new film starring Nina Dobrev was released - Run This Town, which chronicles the final days of Rob Ford as mayor of Toronto.

Like many other celebrities, she spent quarantine in the spring of 2020, periodically sharing updates and telling subscribers about her life in self-isolation.

Christine Carroll

As far as I know, now Nina is the brand ambassador for Reebok. In my opinion it`s strange combination...

2021-04-26 16:23:41
Richard Evan Patterson

Long time I didn`t see Nina on the screens, I`m interested if she is working now on something or not.

2021-04-24 08:48:34
Leo Adkins

All the roles of Dobrev in a row what she played are pretty girls. But a serious and decent role she didn`t have.

2021-02-16 20:15:57
Amanda Young

I remember like all the girls wanted to look like Dobrev during The Vampire Diaries :)

2021-02-11 16:33:01
Alice Rodriguez

Only because of The Vampire Diaries Nina is famous, otherwise she couldn`t be popular.

2021-02-06 22:34:21

Photos: Nina Dobrev

The Biography of Nina Dobrev

Childhood and Family

Acting Career

Personal life of Nina Dobrev

Nina Dobrev Now