Candice King

Biography:

Candice Accola was born on May 13, 1987, in Houston, Texas, to Carolyn Clark Accola, an environmental engineer, and Kevin Accola, a cardiothoracic surgeon. Both of her parents are originally from southern Illinois—her father from Carbondale and her mother from Herrin. She was raised in Edgewood, Florida, where she attended Lake Highland Preparatory School in Orlando, and she has one younger brother.

In December 2006, Accola independently released her debut album, It’s Always the Innocent Ones, in the United States. She co-wrote 12 of the album’s 14 songs, with the remaining tracks consisting of a cover of ’Til Tuesday’s “Voices Carry” and a female-adapted version of American Hi-Fi’s “The Breakup Song,” retitled “Our Breakup Song.” The album was later reissued in Japan in 2008, where it found greater commercial success.

Accola also toured as a backing vocalist on Miley Cyrus’s Best of Both Worlds Tour and appeared as herself in the 2008 3D concert film Hannah Montana & Miley Cyrus: Best of Both Worlds Concert. In February 2011, she showcased her musical talent again by performing a cover of The Bangles’ “Eternal Flame” on The Vampire Diaries.

Her acting work includes guest roles on television series such as How I Met Your Mother, Supernatural, and Drop Dead Diva. In 2009, she starred in the horror film Deadgirl, which follows two high school boys who discover an immortal woman in an abandoned asylum. That same year, she also made a small appearance in The Hannah Montana Movie.

Accola rose to widespread recognition in 2009 when she was cast as Caroline Forbes in The CW’s supernatural drama The Vampire Diaries, based on the popular book series. Her performance earned her two Teen Choice Awards. In 2012, she joined the second season of the web series Dating Rules From My Future Self, playing Chloe Cunningham, a skeptical romantic who receives dating advice from her future self via text messages.

She later reprised her role as Caroline Forbes in the final season of The Originals in 2018 and again in the concluding season of Legacies in 2022. In August 2019, Accola was announced as part of the cast of the romantic sequel After We Collided, released in 2020.

Outside of acting, Accola has been active in advocacy work, supporting the It Gets Better Project alongside her The Vampire Diaries co-stars Michael Trevino and Ian Somerhalder, helping raise awareness around suicide prevention for LGBTQ+ youth.

Accola began dating musician Joe King of The Fray in 2012 after being introduced by her co-star Nina Dobrev. The couple became engaged in 2013 and married in October 2014 in New Orleans. Through the marriage, Accola became stepmother to King’s two daughters. She later welcomed two daughters of her own, born in January 2016 and December 2020. In May 2022, she filed for divorce but chose to keep the surname King.

In December 2023, Accola confirmed that she was in a relationship with actor Steven Krueger. The couple announced their engagement in May 2025, and in December 2025, Accola shared that she is expecting her third child.