Kat Graham Biography

Kat Graham is an American actress, singer, dancer, and activist best known for playing the role of Bonnie Bennett in CW’s The Vampire Diaries from 2009 to 2017. She has also appeared in films like The Parent Trap, 17 Again, The Roommate, Honey 2, Addicted, and All Eyez on Me. Besides acting, she has marketed two extended plays and four studio albums.

Kat Graham Age

Graham was born Katerina Alexandre Hartford Graham on September 5, 1989, in Geneva, Switzerland. She is 35 years old as of 2024. Graham celebrates her birthday on September 5th.

Kat Graham Height

Graham stands at an approximate height of 5 feet and 2 inches.

Kat Graham Family

Graham was born to Natasha and Joseph Graham in Geneva, Switzerland. They raised her in Los Angeles, California, United States. Joseph has Americo-Liberian roots while Natasha is Jewish from a family from Poland and Russia. Natasha and Joseph split when she was 5 years old. Graham grew up Jewish and studied at a Hebrew school.

Her father worked as a music executive and was the godfather of two of Quincy Jones’ children. Paternally, her grandfather worked as a UN ambassador, working for 4 decades in the Netherlands, Sweden, Romania, and Kenya. During an interview, she revealed that her father left the music industry to serve the UN as a journalist.

Both her maternal and paternal father were refugees from the Holocaust and Liberia. She says that this has been an inspiration for her work, serving UNHCR as a Goodwill Ambassador. Graham has a half-brother named Yakov who was born in Tel Aviv, Israel. During a 2023 interview with Kelly Clarkson, she revealed that her mother had passed away from an undisclosed sickness.

Kat Graham Husband

Graham exchanged vows with married her business partner, Bryant Wood, in Los Angeles. News of their marriage was shared in October 2023. The couple founded the wellness company Modern Nirvana in 2019 alongside Frank Elaridi. She has lived in Atlanta, Georgia since 2017 after living in the Hollywood Hills neighborhood of Los Angeles. She became a vegan in 2012 after being a vegetarian.

Before Bryant, Graham was in a relationship with Darren Genet. They started dating in 2017, got engaged in 2022, and broke up in 2023. Darren works as a producer and director. She was in a relationship Cottrell Guidry with before dating Darren. They began dating in 2008 and got engaged in October 2012. The relationship in 2014.

Kat Graham Net Worth

Graham has an estimated net worth ranging between $1 Million – $5 Million which she has earned through being an actress, singer, dancer, and activist.

Kat Graham The Parent Trap

Graham debuted on film with a role in the remake version of The Parent Trap in 1998 opposite Lindsay Lohan. In the film, she plays the role of Jackie, a camper at Camp Walden.

Kat Graham The Vampire Diaries

Graham had a breakout playing the role of Bonnie Sheila Bennett in the CW’s The Vampire Diaries from 2009 to 2017 opposite Nina Dobrev, Paul Wesley, and Ian Somerhalder. Bonnie is the best friend of Elena and a friend of Elena Gilbert and Caroline Forbes who discovers that she’s a powerful witch descending a long line of witches known as the Bennett family. Her grandmother, Sheila Bennett, taught her how to harness her powers. In 2021, she took over as the lead female role when Nina Dobrev left for the 7th season. In 2011, she won the Teen Choice Choice TV Female Scene Stealer Award.

Kat Graham Ethnicity

Graham has Liberian and Polish/Russian Jewish roots.

Kat Graham Natural Hair

Graham talked about her journey with natural hair, more so, while she was starring as Bonnie Bennett in the CW’s The Vampire Diaries. She said that she struggled with her hair and had to opt for straightened or styled looks over natural textures as per the industry standards. Even though she wanted Bonnie to have more natural hair with curls or textured hair, she was forced to wear wigs and other styles since the show’s producers rejected the idea.

Graham said that her hairstylist, Rachel Lee, pushed her to accept her natural hair. During an interview with Vogue Beauty Secrets in 2020, she shared how her appreciation for natural hair and highlighted her change to accepting her curls. Further, she has commented on the significance of showing diverse hair types in media, saying the absence of representation of natural Black hair restricts opportunities for actors with textured hair.

Kat Graham Career

Graham kickstarted her career in the entertainment industry when she was 6 years old. By the time she was 14, she had appeared in many TV commercials such as advertisements for Barbie, K-Mart, Edison, and Pop-Tarts. At 15, choreographer Fatima Robinson noticed her and asked her to perform as a background dancer for Bow Wow at the BET Awards.

After her appearance at the BET Awards, Graham appeared as a background dancer for Pharrell Williams, Jamie Foxx, Missy Elliott, Hi-Hat, and Michael Rooney. When she was 7 years old, she partook in a national advertising campaign to market Coca-Cola’s soda brand, Fanta. There, she appeared as a member of the “Fantanas” publicized Capri/Strawberry.

Aside from TV commercials, Graham has made appearances in several music videos for B2K’s Why I Love You, Akon’s Lonely, Musiq Soulchild’s B.U.D.D.Y., Christina Milian’s Dip It Low, 112’s What If, John Legend’s Used to Love U, Justin Bieber and Usher’s Somebody to Love, Nelly’s Just A Dream, and Diddy – Dirty Money with Usher’s Looking for Love.

TV and Film

Graham debuted on film with a role in the remake version of The Parent Trap in 1998 opposite Lindsay Lohan. In the film, she plays the role of Jackie, a camper at Camp Walden. She debuted on TV with a role in Disney Channel’s Lizzie McGuire in 2002. She then appeared in several TV series including CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, Malcolm in the Middle, The O.C., Joan of Arcadia, Greek, and Grounded For Life.

In 2008, Graham guest starred as Jackson Stewart’s girlfriend in Hannah Montana for 3 episodes. She also starred in recognized supporting roles in 17 Again and The Roommate. In December of that year, she began filming Boogie Town in Los Angeles, playing the role of Ingrid. However, the filming was halted because of payroll problems with background performers. In April 2009, the film’s chief photography was halted because of scheduling conflicts with some of her co-stars and other projects.

2009 to present;

In March 2009, Graham secured a spot in the cast of The CW’s The Vampire Diaries. She plays the role of a young witch named Bonnie Bennett, the role is considered to be her breakout role. In 2021, she took over as the lead female role when Nina Dobrev left for the 7th season. She won the 2011 Teen Choice Choice TV Female Scene Stealer Award.

The Hollywood Reporter reported that she landed a role in Honey 2 in August 2010. She played the role of the female lead in Dance Fu later that year. In 2017, she portrayed Jada Pinkett Smith in All Eyez on Me. Next, she starred in The Holiday Calendar, How It Ends, Operation Christmas Drop, and Love in the Villa. 

In 2022, Graham competed as Robo-Girl in SN 8 of  The Masked Singer. In the show, she defeated Maize(Mario Cantone) and Mermaid(Gloria Gaynor) on Andrew Lloyd Webber Night. She was eliminated on Muppet Night alongside Beetle( Jerry Springer). She is slated to portray Diana Ross in Michael in 2025.

Music

Graham wrote the song, Derailed, in 2002, a song which was featured in the Jean-Claude Van Damme film of the same name. 4 years later, she pursued a music career and got her big break in 2007 when she was featured on The Donque Song and I Got It From My Mama Will.i.am’s third studio album, Songs About Girls. She then toured with The Black Eyed Peas as a supporting act for the Black Blue & You Tour.

In April 2010, Graham’s My Boyfriends Back was released on YouTube and garnered more than 1 million views. In October of that year, she marketed her debut single Sassy. Sassy‘s music video premiered that same month, however, the song performed poorly and didn’t chart. Next, she released covers of artists like Janet Jackson and Paula Abdul, attaining Paula’s attention and praise.

Graham was a contributor to the cover of Garbage’s Only Happy When It Rains to The Vampire Diaries soundtrack. Premiering in December 2010, the song was featured in the episode, The Sacrifice. In March 2010, she marketed the single, I Want It All, with the song’s music video premiering in May 2011.

Graham has her first major label signing, signing a recording contract with A&M/Octone Records in February 2012. In March of the same year, she marketed “Put Your Graffiti On Me and its music video. As of October 19, 2012, the song has over 4.8 million views on YouTube, peaking at #5 on the US Billboard Hot Dance Club Songs chart. She performed the song on The Ellen DeGeneres Show on May 29, 2012, marking her initial televised musical performance. That same day, she marketed her initial EP entitled  Against The Wall, debuting #54 on the iTunes Music Album Chart.

2013 to present;

Benny Boom directed the video of her second single, Wanna Say, while London Alley worked as the producer. Graham made an appearance in Dog Day Afternoon from the Ras Kass & Doc Hollywood free collaborative digital album, Spit No Evil. She gave her fans the chance to market the name of her new single on Twitter on June 25, 2013. The next day, she marketed the single premiere of Power at Billboard.com. According to Billboard.com, she also marketed 1991 on March 10, 2015.

Graham released her first studio album, Roxbury Drive, on September 25, 2015. On June 2, 2017, she released her second studio album titled Love Music Funk Magic. In 2018, she marketed  The Dance Collective, a chain of short dance videos for old songs including some unfulfilled songs on her YouTube channel.

On September 10, 2021, Graham debuted as Toro Gato, a fresh identity welcoming her West African culture and roots, as a part of her NFT collection. She uploaded a separate music video of her first single, Swim, on YouTube under the same name as her EP. On January 28, 2022, she marketed Toro Gato Pt. II. The previous day, she released a music video for White Flag. That same day, she released the full album Toro Gato: Part II (Deluxe Edition) in 3 versions including unreleased songs, short films, vinyl, cassettes, and exclusive merchandise.

On June 3, 2022, Graham marketed her fourth album, Long Hot Summer. She also announced her first solo world tour in collaboration with GLAAD. She announced the TIME World Tour 2023/2024 on September 13, 2023, intending to perform songs from her whole career.

Artistry

Graham said that her music influences include Tupac Shakur, Janet Jackson, The Beatles, Gwen Stefani, Grace Jones, M.I.A. Madonna, Spice Girls, Destiny’s Child, and Prince. She describes her music as vintage 90’s with a modern twist.

Other ventures

Graham published her book, The Blue Sky Chronicles, on August 31, 2011. The Blue Sky Chronicles is a collection of Neruda styled poems. She founded the wellness company Modern Nirvana in 2019 alongside Frank Elaridi and Bryant Wood.

Graham published The Modern Nirvana Oracle Deck: Awaken Your Intuition and Deepen Your Awareness -50 Cards & Guidebook on October 18, 2022. She worked on the book with Jennifer Sodini, Frank Elardi, Bryant Wood, and Illustrator Natalee Miller.

From 2019 to 2020, Graham worked as a co-host of  The Consciousness Collective alongside Deepak Chopra. She revealed that she would release a self-help book titled Seasons of You on June 7, 2023.  Seasons of You was published on November 14th of that same year.

Kat Graham Movies and TV Shows

Graham has starred in several movies and TV shows during her career such as

• Johnson Family Vacation
• The Roommate
• Addicted
• Muse
• Where’s the Money
• Robot Chicken
• The Poison Rose
• Cut Throat City
• Emperor
• Trolls: TrollsTopia
• Operation Christmas Drop
• Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Movie
• Heatwave
• Love in the Villa