Ian Somerhalder

Somerhalder was born in Covington, Louisiana, and was raised there by his mother, Edna, a massage therapist, and his father, Robert Somerhalder, a building contractor. He attended Saint Paul's School, a private school in Covington, and grew up with interests including boating, swimming, fishing, horseback riding, sports, and local theater.

He began modeling at age 10, spending summers working in New York. He later modeled in European cities including Paris, Milan, and London. At 17, he shifted his focus toward acting, studying in New York and later working with acting teacher William Esper.

Somerhalder began appearing on television in the late 1990s and gained an early leading role as Hamilton Fleming in the WB series Young Americans, a spin-off of Dawson's Creek. He played Paul Denton in Roger Avary's 2002 film adaptation of Bret Easton Ellis's novel The Rules of Attraction, alongside James Van Der Beek, Shannyn Sossamon, and Jessica Biel.

His breakthrough came in 2004 with Lost, in which he played Boone Carlyle. Boone became the first major character to die on the series, but Somerhalder returned for additional episodes between 2005 and 2010, including the finale. He shared a Screen Actors Guild Award with the Lost ensemble in 2006.

In 2009, Somerhalder began playing Damon Salvatore on The CW's The Vampire Diaries. The series ran from 2009 to 2017 and brought him several Teen Choice Awards and a People's Choice Award. He also directed three episodes, became a producer near the beginning of the eighth season, and was recognized alongside co-stars Paul Wesley and Nina Dobrev with a Young Hollywood Award for the show's cast.

Somerhalder played Dr. Luther Swann in Netflix's science-fiction horror series V Wars, which ran from 2019 to 2020. He served as an executive producer on the series and directed one episode. His later production work included the documentaries Kiss the Ground and Common Ground, which focus on regenerative agriculture, and he has said that he continues to work in producing after leaving acting.

Somerhalder helped clean oiled wildlife after the Deepwater Horizon disaster in 2010 and participated in public-service announcements about relief efforts. He also supported the St. Tammany Humane Society and hosted its Bash on the Bayou fundraiser in Covington, where a donation from The Vampire Diaries fandom was presented for his birthday project.

On his 32nd birthday, he launched the Ian Somerhalder Foundation to promote environmental protection and animal welfare. He has supported the It Gets Better Project with The Vampire Diaries co-stars Candice Accola and Michael Trevino, and has campaigned for RYOT, a cause-focused media company.

His environmental interests have included opposition to genetically modified foods and factory farming and support for ecologist Allan Savory's approach to regenerative grazing. Somerhalder visited Savory in Africa and discussed making a documentary about his work. He has also supported Mardi Paws, a parade and organization held in his hometown.

Somerhalder dated his The Vampire Diaries co-star Nina Dobrev from 2010 to 2013. He began dating actress Nikki Reed in 2014, and they married in Malibu, California, on April 26, 2015.

Somerhalder and Reed have two children. Their daughter, Bodhi Soleil, was born in 2017, and their son was born in 2023.

In 2020, Somerhalder and his former The Vampire Diaries co-star Paul Wesley announced the launch of Brother's Bond Bourbon. The brand draws on the actors' association with the series, in which Somerhalder played Damon Salvatore and Wesley played Stefan Salvatore.

The collaboration extended a professional association that began during The Vampire Diaries. Somerhalder has remained close friends with Wesley, and both have discussed the bourbon project in interviews.