Candice King (, born May 13, 1987 ) is an American actress. She is best known for her role as Caroline Forbes in The CW supernatural drama series The Vampire Diaries and her recurring role as the same character on the spin-off series The Originals and Legacies.

Early life

Candice Accola was born in Houston, Texas, the daughter of Carolyn Clark Accola, an environmental engineer, and Kevin Accola, a cardiothoracic surgeon, respectively. Her parents were natives of southern Illinois, her father from Carbondale and her mother from Herrin. She grew up in Edgewood, Florida, and attended Lake Highland Preparatory School in Orlando. She has one younger brother.

Career

Music

In December 2006, Accola released her debut album, It's Always the Innocent Ones, independently in the United States. She co-wrote 12 of the 14 tracks on the record. The remaining tracks were a cover of 'Til Tuesday's hit "Voices Carry" and American Hi-Fi's "The Breakup Song" rewritten in a female version as "Our Breakup Song". In 2008, the album was re-released in Japan and achieved greater success. Accola toured as a backing singer for Miley Cyrus's Best of Both Worlds Tour. She appeared as herself in the 2008 3D concert film Hannah Montana & Miley Cyrus: Best of Both Worlds Concert. In February 2011, Accola performed a cover of "Eternal Flame" by The Bangles on The Vampire Diaries.

Acting

Accola had guest appearances in a number of television series such as How I Met Your Mother, Supernatural, and Drop Dead Diva. In July 2009, she starred in the horror film Deadgirl which centers on two high-school boys who discover an immortal woman in an abandoned asylum. That same year, Accola had a bit-role in The Hannah Montana Movie. In 2009, she was cast in The CW supernatural drama series The Vampire Diaries, an adaptation of the book series of the same name. Accola plays the role of Caroline Forbes, one of the main characters of the show. Her work garnered her two Teen Choice Awards. In June 2012, she joined the second season of the web series Dating Rules From My Future Self, as Chloe Cunningham, a 26-year-old woman who believes love does not exist. The series centers on a girl receiving romance advice from herself ten years in the future by text message. In 2018, Accola reprised her role as Caroline in the final season of The Vampire Diaries spin-off The Originals. In August 2019, it was announced that Accola was cast as Kimberly in the 2020 romance sequel After We Collided. In 2022, she reprised her role as Caroline again in the final season of Legacies.

Personal life

Along with her The Vampire Diaries co-stars Michael Trevino and Ian Somerhalder, Accola supports the It Gets Better Project, an organization that focuses to prevent suicide among LGBT youth. Accola started dating musician Joe King of The Fray after they met at a Super Bowl event in February 2012. Her costar Nina Dobrev introduced them. They became engaged in May 2013, and married on October 18, 2014, in New Orleans, Louisiana. Accola became stepmother to King’s two daughters from his previous marriage. In January 2016, Accola gave birth to a daughter, Florence May. In December 2020, Accola gave birth to their second daughter, Josephine June. In May 2022, Accola announced that she had filed for divorce. In December 2023, Accola confirmed she was dating American actor Steven Krueger.

Filmography

Film

Television

Awards and nominations