Hollywood actress Nina Dobrev has opened up about her struggles with pay disparity on the sets of The Vampire Diaries. She revealed that she never earned as much as her male co-stars Ian Somerhalder and Paul Wesley, despite carrying heavy responsibilities on screen. Nina Dobrev faced this pay disparity throughout multiple seasons of the show.
In Samantha Highfill’s book I Was Feeling Epic: An Oral History of The Vampire Diaries, Nina shared her experience. She said that in the first two seasons, she and co-stars Candice King and Kat Graham were the lowest-paid regulars. Nina, who played both Elena Gilbert and Katherine Pierce, explained that her workload doubled. She spent extra hours on set and had to memorize twice the lines, yet she still received less pay.
When negotiations began in Season 3, Nina received a raise but still earned less than her male co-stars. The studio only agreed to pay her separately when she played Katherine and later asked the creators to reduce Katherine’s role.
Nina Dobrev recalled working long eighteen-hour days and nights, giving her heart and soul to the series. Yet, she felt the studio undervalued her efforts, which left her deeply hurt.
