Kat Graham facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Kat Graham
Graham at the Nita Mukesh Ambani Cultural Centre in 2023
Born	Katerina Alexandre Hartford Graham (1989-09-05) September 5, 1989 (age 35) Geneva, Switzerland
Nationality	American
Occupation	Actress singer dancer model
Years active	1998–present
Known for	Playing Bonnie Bennett on The Vampire Diaries
Spouse(s)	Bryant Wood ​ (m. 2023)​
Musical career
Also known as	Toro Gato
Genres	R&B pop hip hop soul dance
Instruments	Vocals
Years active	1998–present
Labels	A&M/Octone (2012–2013) Interscope (2014–2015) Sound Zoo (2015–present)
Associated acts	Perez Hilton, will.i.am

Katerina Alexandre Hartford Graham (born September 5, 1989), known as Kat Graham, is an American actress, singer, dancer, and activist. She is famous for playing Bonnie Bennett in The Vampire Diaries, a popular supernatural TV show that aired from 2009 to 2017. Kat has also appeared in many movies like The Parent Trap (1998), 17 Again (2009), and All Eyez on Me (2017). Besides acting, she has released several music albums and EPs.

About Kat Graham's Early Life

Kat Graham was born in Geneva, Switzerland, on September 5, 1989. She grew up in Los Angeles, California, in the U.S. Her father, Joseph, is from Liberia, and her mother, Natasha, is Jewish, with family roots in Poland and Russia.

Kat's father worked in the music industry. Her grandfather was a UN Ambassador for 40 years, working in countries like the Netherlands, Sweden, Romania, and Kenya. Both her maternal and paternal grandparents were refugees who had to leave their homes.

When Kat was 5 years old, her parents divorced. She has a half-brother named Yakov, who was born in Tel Aviv, Israel. Kat was raised in her mother's Jewish faith and went to a Hebrew school.

Kat Graham's Career Journey

Starting with Commercials and Dance

Kat Graham began her career in entertainment when she was just 6 years old. Over the next eight years, she appeared in many TV commercials for brands like Barbie, K-Mart, and Pop-Tarts.

When she was 15, a famous choreographer named Fatima Robinson noticed Kat. She was asked to dance as a background performer for hip-hop artist Bow Wow at the BET Awards. After that, Kat danced for other big names like Missy Elliott, Pharrell Williams, and Jamie Foxx.

At 17, Kat joined a national advertising campaign for Coca-Cola's Fanta soda. She was one of the "Fantanas" and was known as Capri or Strawberry. Kat has also appeared in many music videos for artists like Justin Bieber, Usher, Nelly, and John Legend.

Acting in TV Shows and Movies

Graham in June 2013

In 1998, Kat made her first movie appearance as a child in The Parent Trap with Lindsay Lohan. She played a camper named Jackie. In 2002, she made her TV debut on the Disney Channel show Lizzie McGuire.

After that, Kat appeared in many other TV series, including CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, The O.C., Malcolm in the Middle, and Hannah Montana. She also had important supporting roles in movies like 17 Again and The Roommate.

In 2009, Kat Graham got her big break when she was cast in The CW's supernatural drama series The Vampire Diaries. She played Bonnie Bennett, a young witch. This role became very popular and made her well-known. The show first aired on September 10, 2009. In 2011, Kat won the "Choice TV Female Scene Stealer" award at the Teen Choice Awards for her role.

In 2010, Kat was cast in the dance drama film Honey 2, a sequel to the 2003 movie Honey. The film is about a troubled girl who loves to dance and joins a dance crew. Even though the movie got mixed reviews, Kat's performance and dancing were praised.

In 2017, she played actress Jada Pinkett Smith in the movie All Eyez on Me, which was about the rapper Tupac.

Kat has also starred in several Netflix romantic comedy films, such as The Holiday Calendar (2018), Operation Christmas Drop (2020), and Love in the Villa (2022). She also appeared in the 2018 thriller How It Ends. Looking ahead, Kat is set to play singer and actress Diana Ross in the 2025 movie Michael, which is about Michael Jackson.

In 2022, Kat competed on The Masked Singer as "Robo-Girl." She performed well before being eliminated.

Kat Graham's Music Career

Kat Graham

In 2002, Kat wrote a song called "Derailed," which was used in a movie with the same name. By 2006, she decided to focus on her music career. She got her first big music opportunity in 2007 when she was featured on two songs, "The Donque Song" and "I Got It From My Mama", from will.i.am's album Songs About Girls. This led to her touring the world with The Black Eyed Peas.

In 2010, Kat released her first single, "Sassy," and a music video for it. She also released covers of songs by artists like Janet Jackson and Paula Abdul. Paula Abdul even praised Kat's cover of her song. Kat also sang a cover of the Garbage song "Only Happy When It Rains" for The Vampire Diaries soundtrack.

In 2012, Kat signed a record deal with A&M/Octone Records. She then released the song "Put Your Graffiti On Me", which got good reviews and reached number 5 on the US Billboard Hot Dance Club Songs chart. She performed the song on The Ellen DeGeneres Show, which was her first time singing on TV. On the same day, she released her first EP (Extended Play) called Against The Wall.

Kat released her first full studio album, Roxbury Drive, in 2015. Her second album, Love Music Funk Magic, came out in 2017. In 2018, she released The Dance Collective, a series of short dance videos for her songs on YouTube.

In 2021, Kat introduced a new music identity called Toro Gato. This project helps her explore her West African culture and family history. She released the EP Toro Gato as part of her NFT collection. She continued this project with Toro Gato Pt. II in 2022, which included unreleased songs and short films.

On June 3, 2022, she released her fourth album, Long Hot Summer. She also announced her first solo world tour in partnership with GLAAD, an organization that supports the LGBTQ community. In 2023, she announced the TIME World Tour for 2023-2024, where she plans to perform songs from her entire career.

Other Projects and Activities

On August 31, 2011, Kat Graham released her first book, The Blue Sky Chronicles, which is a collection of poems.

In 2019, Kat co-founded a wellness company called Modern Nirvana with Frank Elaridi and Bryant Wood. This company focuses on well-being. In 2022, they released The Modern Nirvana Oracle Deck, a set of cards and a guidebook to help people awaken their intuition.

From 2019 to 2020, she co-hosted The Consciousness Collective Podcast with Deepak Chopra, a well-known author and speaker.

On June 7, 2023, Kat announced her upcoming self-help book called Seasons of You, which was released later that year in November.

Kat Graham's Artistic Style

Kat Graham says that artists like Tupac Shakur, Destiny's Child, The Beatles, Janet Jackson, Madonna, and Prince have influenced her music. She describes her own sound as "vintage 90's with a modern twist."

Kat Graham's Personal Life

Because she grew up speaking different languages, Kat Graham can speak English, French, and Spanish. She also knows some Hebrew and Portuguese.

Kat Graham was engaged to actor Cottrell Guidry from 2012 to 2014. Later, she was in a relationship with producer and director Darren Genet from 2017 to 2023. In October 2023, it was announced that Kat had married her business partner, Bryant Wood, in Los Angeles.

In a 2023 interview, Kat shared that her mother had recently passed away.

Kat has been a vegan since 2012, meaning she does not eat any animal products. Before that, she was a vegetarian.

Since 2017, Kat Graham has lived in Atlanta, Georgia. She used to live in the Hollywood Hills area of Los Angeles.

Kat Graham's Filmography

Movies

Television Shows

Kat Graham's Music Albums

Studio Albums

Extended Plays (EPs)

Singles (Main Artist)

Singles (Featured Artist)

Music Videos (Main Artist)

Music Videos (Featured Artist)

Concert Tours

• The Fantanas (2004–2006)
• The Black Eyed Peas Black Blue & You Tour (2007)
• The Vampire Diaries Tour – Q&A With The Cast (2010)
• 2012 National Promo Tour (2012)
• Long Hot Summer World Tour (2022)
• The TIME Tour (2023–2024)

Awards and Nominations

See also

In Spanish: Kat Graham para niños