The Vampire Diaries: 7 Unforgettable Guest Stars Who Stole the Show
The Vampire Diaries was a hugely popular teen drama that catapulted several actors into the public eye. But is also featured a whole host of famous faces that you might have missed:
Hayley Kiyoko
Singer and actor Hayley Kiyoko famously portrayed Velma in the TV movie Scooby-Doo! The Mystery Begins and appeared as Raven Ramirez in CSI: Cyber. But she also had a part in The Vampire Diaries. In season 5 episode 1, Kiyoko played Megan King who was a roommate of Elena and Caroline when they first went to college.
Seeing the former Disney Channel star appear on-screen, fans would have been forgiven for thinking she was, at the very, set to be a recurring character. Alas, she was killed by a vampire almost as soon as she'd made her one and only appearance on the show.
Stephen Amell
Best known for his role as Oliver Queen in several Arrowverse shows, Amell had a short but memorable stint on The Vampire Diaries. He appeared in two episodes as Brady, an underling to Jules, and spent his time torturing Caroline, shooting Stefan and trying to kill Elena back in season 2.
Since 2021 he's starred in the wrestling drama Heels, and he's also appeared in WWE as himself.
Courtney Ford
Courtney Ford was pretty much done with acting before her career got the boost it needed when she landed the role of Vanessa Monroe in The Vampire Diaries. She only appeared in one episode (in season 2) but went on to star in The Good Doctor before playing Nora Darhk in Supernatural.
In between, she had bit parts in The Big Bang Theory and Hawaii Five-0. Since 2022, she's been a recurring character in The Rookie: Feds, playing Tracy Chiles.
Gabby Douglas
That's right. Olympic gymnast Gabby Douglas appeared in an episode of The Vampire Diaries. And that's not the only time the 2016 gold medallist was in a TV show. She also featured in Disney XD's Kickin It, was Cotton Candy on The Masked Dancer in 2020 and dressed up as a gym owner for an episode of Undercover Boss in 2018.
Bianca Lawson
The Pretty Little Liars actor has had roles in plenty of other big shows, including Buffy: The Vampire Slayer, Bones and Teen Wolf. She also appeared in seasons 1, 2 and 5 of The Vampire Diaries as Emily Bennett.
Taylor Kinney
Best known for playing Lieutenant Kelly Severide in Chicago Fire and its spin-offs, Kinney also played Mason Lockwood, a recurring character in seasons 2 and 3 of The Vampire Diaries. He also spent a year engaged to Lady Gaga.
Allison Scagliotti
While her recent acting CV has included mainly short films and bit parts on TV, Scagliotti had a main role in Warehouse 13 as Claudia Donovan and a recurring role as Mindy Crenshaw in Drake and Josh. And she played Georgie Dowling in four episodes of The Vampire Diaries in 2016.