Katerina Alexandre Hartford Graham, born on September 5, 1989, is a multifaceted American actress, singer, dancer, and activist, best known for her role as Bonnie Bennett on The CW’s The Vampire Diaries (2009–2017). Her film career includes roles in The Parent Trap (1998), 17 Again (2009), The Roommate (2011), Honey 2 (2011), Addicted (2014), and All Eyez on Me (2017). As a musician, Graham has released two EPs and four studio albums, showcasing her talents beyond acting.
Graham was born in Geneva, Switzerland, and raised in Los Angeles, California. She comes from a richly diverse background: her father, Joseph, is of Americo-Liberian descent, while her mother, Natasha, is Jewish, with roots in Poland and Russia. Her father was a music executive and later worked as a journalist under his own father, who served as a UN Ambassador in multiple countries over four decades. The experiences of her grandparents, who were refugees from the Holocaust and Liberia, have significantly influenced her humanitarian work, including her role as a Goodwill Ambassador for UNHCR.
After her parents divorced when she was five, Graham was raised primarily by her mother and brought up in the Jewish faith, attending Hebrew school during her childhood. She also has a half-brother, Yakov, who was born in Tel Aviv, Israel. Drawing on her multicultural heritage and family history, Graham has built a career that reflects her artistic versatility and deep commitment to global advocacy.
