Ian Somerhalder

Biography:

Ian Somerhalder was born on December 8, 1978, in Covington, Louisiana. His mother, Edna Somerhalder (née Israel), is a massage therapist of Choctaw and Irish ancestry from Mississippi, while his father, Robert Somerhalder Sr., is a self-employed building contractor of Cajun descent. He is the middle child in his family, with one older brother and a younger sister.

He completed his schooling at Saint Paul’s School, a private institution in Covington. Somerhalder began modeling at a young age, working between the ages of 10 and 13. After his parents divorced when he was fourteen, he lived with his mother. By seventeen, he shifted his focus to acting and trained under renowned acting coach William Esper.

In 2000, Somerhalder appeared in the short-lived WB series Young Americans, a spin-off of Dawson’s Creek, where he played Hamilton Fleming, the dean’s son at an elite boarding school. Two years later, he portrayed Paul Denton in The Rules of Attraction, a film adaptation of Bret Easton Ellis’s novel directed by Roger Avary.

His major breakthrough came in 2004 when he was cast as Boone Carlyle in Lost. Although his character died during the first season, he returned in multiple later episodes, including the series finale, making Boone the first major character death on the show. Somerhalder later described his time on Lost as one of the most meaningful experiences of his life.

In 2009, he appeared in the action film The Tournament and featured in the photography book About Face by John Russo. That same year, he began playing Damon Salvatore in The Vampire Diaries, a role that brought him global fame. The series debuted with record-breaking ratings for The CW and remained one of the network’s top performers. Somerhalder’s portrayal received widespread praise, earning him multiple Teen Choice Awards and a People’s Choice Award. He later expanded his role behind the scenes, directing episodes from season three onward and becoming a producer in the final season.

He later appeared in the short film Time Framed and starred as Dr. Luther Swann in the Netflix sci-fi horror series V Wars, which ran from 2019 to 2020.

Somerhalder also shifted toward documentary filmmaking, serving as executive producer on Kiss the Ground (2020), which focuses on regenerative agriculture, and its sequel Common Ground (2023). In a 2024 interview, he revealed that he had stepped away from acting after moving to a farm outside Los Angeles, choosing instead to concentrate on producing and environmental advocacy.

He has long been active in humanitarian and environmental causes. Following the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill, Somerhalder participated in wildlife rescue efforts and recorded public service announcements. He supports the St. Tammany Humane Society and hosted a charity fundraiser for the organization later that year. Alongside his Vampire Diaries co-stars Candice Accola, Michael Trevino, and Paul Wesley, he backed the It Gets Better Project, which works to prevent suicide among LGBTQ+ youth.

On his 32nd birthday in 2010, Somerhalder founded the Ian Somerhalder Foundation, dedicated to environmental protection and animal welfare. He actively campaigns against factory farming and GMO foods and supports ecologist Allan Savory’s work on sustainable grazing to combat climate change. He also serves as a celebrity advocate for RYOT, a Los Angeles–based cause-driven media company.

In his personal life, Somerhalder dated his Vampire Diaries co-star Nina Dobrev from 2010 to 2013. He later began a relationship with actress Nikki Reed, whom he married in April 2015. The couple have two children—a daughter born in 2017 and a son born in 2023.

During his time on Lost, Somerhalder and co-star Maggie Grace rescued and adopted a feral cat named Roo, an experience that further reflected his deep commitment to animal welfare.