Name: Ian Somerhalder Date of birth: December 8, 1978. Birthplace: Covington (Louisiana, USA)
Childhood, youth and modeling career
Ian Joseph Somerhalder (full name of the actor) was born on December 8, 1978 in the small town of Covington, located in the US state of Louisiana.
Shortly after the birth of Ian, the Somerhalders moved to a slightly larger Louisiana city - Mandeville, where he grew up with his older children - sister Robin and brother Bob.
The boy's family had nothing to do with creativity, his mother Edna worked as a masseuse, and his father Robert was a builder, but his son was named after the literary genius Ian Fleming.
As a child, Somerhalder, like other children in the city, spent a lot of time in nature, loved fishing and riding horses.
Somerhalder's parents have not only American, but also English, French, Irish and even Indian roots, which affected Ian's very impressive appearance.
Already at the age of ten, the boy got into the modeling business. First, he conquered the American catwalks, and later began to appear on European fashion shows.
As a teenager, Ian was already a star model, at various times he collaborated with, in particular, such popular brands as Calvin Klein, Versace, Dolce & Gabbana and Gucci.
Ian Somerhalder in his youth
Early life and first film roles
At the age of 17, Somerhalder decided that it was time to try himself as an actor. The young man moved to New York, where he had repeatedly visited for modeling work, and began to go to auditions.
Fortunately, the young man had not only talent, but also some experience - he knew how to behave in front of the cameras, and had also previously worked in a theater studio.
At first, Ian starred in episodes of television series and took part in a couple of films, but several times it happened that the scenes with Somerhalder were cut out during editing, so they did not reach the viewer.
In the late 1990s and early 2000s, the young actor appeared on the screens in the TV movie "Anatomy of a Crime" and in a number of TV series, including "New Orleans" and "Young Americans", as well as in the films "Life is like a house", " Sweet couple” and “Rules of sex”.
Thanks to the last project of those named, the young man was finally noticed and invited to the TV show "Lost", which soon became a top one.
Ian Somerhalder in the TV series Lost
Interestingly, the character of Ian was quickly taken out of the script, but after receiving ratings, the creators of the series found a way to return Boone in some episodes in the following seasons.
However, by that time, Ian was already a TV star, so he received numerous offers from directors, including cinema, however, in the end, these were not the most popular projects.
In 2005-2009, about ten of Somerhalder's works appeared on the screens, in particular, Marco Polo, Treasure Hunters, Survival Tournament, Awakening and Random Witness.
"The Vampire Diaries" and the heyday of a career
Ian pulled out a lucky ticket when he got on the set of the fantasy series The Vampire Diaries. The charismatic handsome man played the vampire Damon Salvatore, and literally after the release of several episodes, towards the end of 2009, he woke up famous.
The show was successfully broadcast for eight seasons (the last one was released in 2017), and his character, by the way, negative, tough and cynical, enjoyed constant success with the audience, and Yen gained hundreds of thousands of new fans every year.
For the role of Damon, the actor was awarded the Teen Choice Awards in the nomination "Best Villain".
Ian Somerhalder in The Vampire Diaries
Girls and women all over the world literally went crazy from Ian's "signature" smile and squint. In 2013, Somerhalder visited Moscow as part of the creative workshop of Ivana Chubbuck and caused a stir among Russians that did not arise even during the visits of some of the top Hollywood film actors.
TV presenter Ivan Urgant even had to call on Ian fans on social networks to unblock the entrance to Ostankino. On the set of the program “Evening Urgant”, Ivan took a photograph of Ian and posted it on Instagram with the comment “Here it is, the reason for the pandemonium of Ostankinsky.”
It can be said that the television saga The Vampire Diaries did for Ian the same thing that Twilight did for Robert Pattinson, Kristen Stewart and a number of other actors who played in them, albeit on a slightly smaller scale.
However, Ian did not want to be called an actor of one role, so even during the demonstration of The Vampire Diaries, he began to try himself in other projects. In particular, these are television and film pictures "How to make love to a woman", "Caught on film" and Anomaly.
Ian Somerhalder at present
Despite the fact that The Vampire Diaries has been dead for a year, Ian's success does not come to naught. He still has millions of enthusiastic fans in the US, Russia and many other countries.
For the coming years, two projects with Somerhalder's participation have been announced so far. These are the thriller "Cradlewood" and the drama "Time Doesn't Endure". In both films, Ian got the lead roles, but the release date of the films has not yet been announced.
Other activities
In 2010, the actor established the Ian Somerhalder Charitable Foundation, and in 2012 he became a UN Goodwill Ambassador.
The artist is actively involved in charity work and participates in a number of programs to protect the environment. Some journalists call his activities in this area "eco-style life." Personal life
At the dawn of his career, at the beginning of the 2000s, Ian met with designer Sarah Maleista for several years. After that, Somerhalder had short romances with actress Kate Bosworth (they starred together in The Young Americans) and socialite Nicky Hilton.
In 2006, the media reported that Somerhalder was dating his Lost co-star Maggie Grace, but the actors later denied this information.
The next darling of Ian was the TV producer Megan Old, with whom they agreed on the background of participation in charity. This relationship lasted almost three years, after which Somerhalder did not get on the radar of the paparazzi for some time in connection with his personal life.
In 2011, a couple of years after the filming of The Vampire Diaries began, Ian began dating his co-star Nina Dobrev. A vivid romance lasted about two years, and the relationship of the actors experienced ups and downs, for a while they even parted, but then converged again.
After the final breakup of the couple, Dobrev left the television project so as not to reopen the wounds - the end of the relationship was so difficult for her - and not to meet Ian on the set. However, Ian was also very worried and did not spin novels for some time.
In 2014, Somerhalder drew attention to actress Nikki Reed, who is ten years younger than Ian. It turned out that they have similar lifestyles and many interests, in particular, both love animals and protect nature.
The relationship of the couple developed very rapidly: a short time after the meeting, the actors got married. Then Ian admitted on Instagram that "from the minute we said yes to each other, I became the happiest person in the world."
Ian Somerhalder and Nikki Reed
Two years later, Ian and Nikki announced that they were expecting a child, and in 2017 the couple had a daughter, Bodhi Soleil Reed-Somerhalder.
After Ian became a dad, he could not resist another heartbreaking confession on social networks, saying that "until now, I have never experienced a stronger and more beautiful feeling."
By the way, later Somerhalder and Dobrev forgave each other past insults and became good friends. Nikki does not mind this, periodically they can be seen three together at various events.
Ian Somerhalder, Nikki Reed and Nina Dobrev
Interestingly, Reed has already released two original collections - a jewelry line made of gold recycled from obsolete motherboards, and an eco-line of accessories.
Ian not only supports his wife in these endeavors, but also literally screams in social networks about how proud he is of his wife and her work.
