CELEBRITIES

Ian Somerhalder

Credit: Taylor Hill/FilmMagic

BIO

As an actor, model and producer, Ian Somerhalder -- born December 8, 1978 -- is a multi-talented star. Raised in Louisiana, he began modeling the age of 10; seven years later, Somerhalder branched out into acting.

In 2000, Somerhalder starred in the short-lived WB series Young Americans, a spinoff of Dawson's Creek. Two years later, he teamed up with Creek's James van deer Beek in the big screen adaptation of Bret Easton Ellis' novel The Rules of Attraction, where he played a bisexual troublemaker named Paul Denton.

Somerhalder's big break came in 2004 when he was cast as Boone Carlyle on ABC's Lost. Though his character died in the first season, he returned in a handful of flashbacks througout the series.

The actor currently stars in The Vampire Diaries, opposite real-life girlfriend Nina Dobrev. In addition to his acting work, Somerhalder is a supporter of the St. Tammany Humane Society and the It Gets Better project.