Candice King Bio
Candice Accola King (born May 13, 1987) is an American actress whose career has spanned more than fifteen years across television, film, and music. She is best known for her portrayal of Caroline Forbes on The CW supernatural drama The Vampire Diaries, a role she later reprised on the spin-off series The Originals and Legacies. Beyond acting, King has also pursued a music career, releasing an independent album and performing as a backing singer on a major concert tour. She is recognized for combining dramatic work with a steady presence in the young-adult television space.
Early Life and Background
Candice Accola was born on May 13, 1987, in Houston, Texas, the daughter of Carolyn Clark Accola, an environmental engineer, and Kevin Accola, a cardiothoracic surgeon. Her parents are natives of southern Illinois, with her father from Carbondale and her mother from Herrin. Although born in Texas, she grew up in Edgewood, Florida, where she was raised alongside one younger brother.
She attended Lake Highland Preparatory School in Orlando, Florida, where she developed an early interest in performance. The combination of a demanding academic environment and exposure to the cultural life of central Florida helped shape her ambition to pursue a creative career. Her family background, rooted in science and engineering, offered a steady foundation as she explored acting and music during her teenage years.
Path to Acting
King began her professional career in 2006, initially focusing on music. In December 2006, she released her debut album, It’s Always the Innocent Ones, independently in the United States. She co-wrote twelve of the record’s fourteen tracks, with the remaining songs being a cover of ‘Til Tuesday’s “Voices Carry” and a reworked version of American Hi-Fi’s “The Breakup Song.” The album was re-released in Japan in 2008, where it found greater success.
She also toured as a backing singer for 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. During this period, she secured guest appearances on television series such as How I Met Your Mother, Supernatural, and Drop Dead Diva, building a résumé that would soon lead to her breakthrough role.
Candice King Career
Early Career (2006-2009)
King’s earliest screen work included a small role in The Hannah Montana Movie and guest spots on established network series. In July 2009, she starred in the independent horror film Deadgirl, which centers on two high-school boys who discover an immortal woman in an abandoned asylum. The role demonstrated her willingness to take on darker material outside the family-friendly projects she had previously been associated with.
That same year, she was cast in The CW supernatural drama series The Vampire Diaries, an adaptation of the book series of the same name. The casting marked a turning point in her career, as the series would go on to become a defining young-adult television drama of its era and provide her with her most recognized role to date.
Breakthrough (2009-2015)
The Vampire Diaries premiered in 2009, and King played Caroline Forbes, one of the show’s main characters. Her performance as the once-bullied cheerleader who evolves into a strong, compassionate vampire earned her two Teen Choice Awards. The role introduced her to a global audience and established her as a prominent figure in supernatural television.
In June 2012, she joined the second season of the web series Dating Rules From My Future Self, playing Chloe Cunningham, a 26-year-old woman who believes love does not exist. The series, which centers on a girl receiving romance advice from her future self via text messages, allowed King to showcase a lighter comedic side. In February 2011, she also performed a cover of “Eternal Flame” by The Bangles on The Vampire Diaries, blending her musical talents with her on-screen persona.
Notable Works and Milestones
King’s signature work remains The Vampire Diaries, a series that defined a generation of supernatural drama and earned her two Teen Choice Awards. She later expanded the character across the franchise by reprising the role in the final season of The Originals in 2018 and again in the final season of Legacies in 2022, cementing Caroline Forbes as a recurring presence in the broader television universe.
Candice King Award Nominations
King’s career has been recognized by the Teen Choice Awards, where her work on The Vampire Diaries earned her two nominations across the years she appeared on the show. These nominations reflected the strong fan following she built through her portrayal of Caroline Forbes and the popularity of the series among young audiences.
Candice King Awards Won
King won two Teen Choice Awards for her performance as Caroline Forbes on The Vampire Diaries, a notable achievement that highlighted her connection with viewers of the supernatural drama. The wins remain among the most recognized honors of her career.
| Award | Wins | Year |
|---|---|---|
| Teen Choice Award | 2 | 2010s |
Candice King Family
King is the daughter of Kevin Accola, a cardiothoracic surgeon, and Carolyn Clark Accola, an environmental engineer. She has one younger brother and grew up in a household with strong professional roots in science and medicine. Her parents, originally from southern Illinois, supported her early interest in the performing arts as she pursued opportunities in Florida and beyond.
Personal Life
King began dating musician Joe King of The Fray after they met at a Super Bowl event in February 2012, introduced by her Vampire Diaries co-star Nina Dobrev. They became engaged in May 2013 and married on October 18, 2014, in New Orleans, Louisiana. She became stepmother to Joe King’s two daughters from his previous marriage, and together they welcomed two daughters of their own, born in January 2016 and December 2020. In May 2022, King filed for divorce but retained the surname King.
In December 2023, King confirmed she was dating American actor Steven Krueger. The couple later married in a private ceremony, and in 2026 they welcomed their first child together, a son, marking King’s third child overall. Along with her Vampire Diaries co-stars Michael Trevino and Ian Somerhalder, she supports the It Gets Better Project, an organization focused on preventing suicide among LGBT youth.