Early life

Graham was born in Geneva, Switzerland and raised in Los Angeles, California. Her father, Joseph, is of Americo-Liberian descent, and her mother, Natasha, is Jewish (from a family from Russia and Poland). Graham's father was a music executive and the godfather of two of Quincy Jones' children. Her paternal grandfather was a UN Ambassador, serving for 40 years in the Netherlands, Sweden, Romania and Kenya. Her parents divorced when she was five. She has a half-brother, Yakov, born in Tel Aviv, Israel. Graham was raised in her mother's Jewish religion and attended Hebrew school.

Career

Commercials and dancing

Graham began her career in the entertainment industry at age six. Over the next eight years, she appeared in various commercials, including those for Barbie, K-Mart, Pop-Tarts and Edison. At the age of 15, Graham caught the eye of choreographer Fatima Robinson, and was asked to perform at the BET Awards as a background dancer for Bow Wow. Graham followed her BET Awards appearance with work as a background dancer for Missy Elliott, Pharrell, Jamie Foxx, and choreographers Hi-Hat and Michael Rooney. At age 17, Graham participated in a national marketing campaign to advertise Coca-Cola's soft drink Fanta. Graham appeared in the marketing campaign as a member of the "Fantanas", known as Capri, also known as Strawberry. Graham has appeared in various music videos, including Akon's "Lonely", Christina Millian's "Dip It Low", Justin Bieber and Usher's "Somebody to Love (Remix)", 112's "What If", John Legend's "Used to Love U", B2K's "Why I Love You", Musiq Soulchild's "B.U.D.D.Y.", and Nelly's "Just A Dream" and Diddy - Dirty Money with Usher's "Looking for Love".

Television and film

In 2002, Graham made her television debut on the Disney Channel teen sitcom Lizzie McGuire. Graham went on to appear on various television shows, including CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, The O.C., Malcolm in the Middle, Joan of Arcadia, Grounded For Life and Greek. In 2008, she appeared in three episodes of the Disney Channel sitcom Hannah Montana playing the role of a girlfriend to the character Jackson Stewart. Graham has also had notable supporting roles in films such as 17 Again and The Roommate. In December 2008, Graham began filming sci-fi dance film Boogie Town in Los Angeles, California. Filming on the film was put on hold that same month due to payroll issues with background performers. In April 2009, principal photography was stopped due to schedule conflicts with some of her cast mates and other projects. The film is set in a futuristic New York City in 2015 where dance battles are permanently banned. Graham plays the role of Ingrid. The film was set to be released in theaters worldwide October 2011, however it was set to be originally released in June 2009.

In March 2009, Graham was cast in The CW supernatural drama The Vampire Diaries based on the book series of the same name. Graham portrays the role of Bonnie Bennett a teenage witch and is considered her breakout role. The series premiered on September 10, 2009 to 4.91 million viewers and received praise for the series progression from critics. In May 2012, the series was renewed for the shows fourth season. In 2011, Graham won "Scene Stealer Female" at the Teen Choice Awards for her role on the show. In August 2010, The Hollywood Reporter announced Graham was cast in the Universal Pictures Dance Drama film Honey 2. The film is a sequel to the 2003 film Honey. The film follows a troubled teenager and aspiring dancer whom joins a dance crew. The film was released theatrically in selected countries for a limited release and went on to make over $8 million worldwide. In June 2011 the film was released Straight-to-DVD in North America to negative reviews from critics though Graham's performance and dancing was praised. That same year Graham starred in another Dance film this time a Kung Fu Dance Action film called Dance Fu in which Graham appeared as the female lead. On January 12, 2016, she was cast as Jada Pinkett Smith in the upcoming Tupac biopic All Eyez On Me.

Music

In 2002, she wrote a song entitled "Derailed", which was featured in the Jean-Claude Van Damme film of the same title. In 2006 Graham pursued a career as a musical artist. Graham found her break in 2007 when she was featured on "The Donque Song" and "I Got It From My Mama" on singer/rapper will.i.am's third studio album Songs About Girls. The move saw Graham embark on a world tour with The Black Eyed Peas as a supporting act for the Black Blue & You Tour. In April 2010, the song "My Boyfriends Back" released on YouTube and got over 1 million views In October 2010 Graham released her debut single "Sassy". A music video for the song premiered that same month, but the track performed poorly and it failed to chart. She then went on to release covers of artists such as Janet Jackson and Paula Abdul which garnered Graham the attention of Paula who praised her cover. Graham contributed a cover of the Garbage song "Only Happy When It Rains" to The Vampire Diaries soundtrack. The song premiered in December 2010 in an episode of the series titled "The Sacrifice". In March 2011, Graham released another single titled "I Want It All". The music video premiered in May 2011.

In February 2012, Graham signed a recording contract with A&M Octone Records which was marked as her first major label signing. In March 2012, Graham released "Put Your Graffiti On Me". The song itself received positive reviews from critics. That same month, the official music video premiered and as of October 19, 2012 has reached 4,843,458 views on YouTube. The song peaked at #5 on the US Billboard Hot Dance Club Songs chart. On May 29, Graham performed the track on The Ellen DeGeneres Show. This was marked as her first televised musical performance ever. On that same day Graham released her first EP Against The Wall which debuted at #54 on the iTunes Music Album Chart. Graham is currently in the process of recording her debut album. The second single taken from her debut EP is the track "Wanna Say". The music video was directed by Benny Boom and produced by London Alley. She also appeared on the song "Dog Day Afternoon" from the Ras Kass & Doc Hollywood free collaborative digital album Spit No Evil. On June 25, 2013, Graham gave the opportunity to five fans to release the name of her new single on Twitter, and released the single premiere of "Power" at Billboard.com the next day. "Power" is said to be the lead single from her debut album, which currently does not have a release date. As stated on Billboard.com, Graham also released a new single titled "1991" on March 10, 2015.

Influences

Graham cites Tupac Shakur, Mariah Carey, Jennifer Lopez, Shakira, Rihanna, and Nelly Furtado, as music influences. In addition, her other music inspirations include Destiny's Child and The Beatles. Graham also cites the Spice Girls as influences on her work and aesthetic. She describes her sound as "vintage 90's with a modern twist."

Personal life

Graham speaks English, Spanish, and French, as well as some Hebrew and Portuguese.

Graham started dating Cottrell Guidry in 2008 and got engaged to him on October 28, 2012. They split and called off their engagement on December 12, 2014.

Filmography

Film roles

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1998	The Parent Trap	Jackie
2004	Johnson Family Vacation	Dancer
2009	17 Again	Jamie
2011	Dance Fu	Chaka Lovebell	Straight-to-DVD
2011	The Roommate	Kim Johnson
2011	Honey 2	Maria Ramirez	Straight-to-DVD
2012	Boogie Town	Ingrid
2014	Addicted	Diamond
2016	Muse	Muse	Short film
2016	All Eyez on Me	Jada Pinkett	Post-production

Television roles

Year	Title	Role	Notes
2002	Lizzie McGuire	Posse Member #2	Episode: "You're a Good Man, Lizzie McGuire"
2003	Strong Medicine	Ashley Collins	Episode: "Degeneration"
2003	Malcolm in the Middle	Actress	Episode: "Watching the Baby"
2004	Joan of Arcadia	Angela	Episode: "No Bad Guy"
2004	Like Family	Girl	Episode: "Romancing the Home"
2004	Grounded for Life	Laura	Episode: "Psycho Therapy"
2006	The O.C.	Kim	Episode: "The Undertow"
2006	CSI: Crime Scene Investigation	Tisha	Episode: "Poppin' Tags"
2007	Greek	Dancer	Episode: "The Rusty Nail"
2007	Hell on Earth	Felicia	Television movie
2008	Hannah Montana	Allison	3 episodes (plus one never-aired episode: "No Sugar, Sugar")
2008	Our First Christmas	Bernie	Television movie
2009-present	The Vampire Diaries	Bonnie Bennett	Main role; 3rd official main role from Season 7 onward
2012	Ridiculousness	Herself	Episode #2.12
2012	Oh Sit!	Herself	Episode #1.10
2013	The Show with Vinny	Herself	Episode #1.7
2014	Whose Line Is It Anyway?	Herself	Episode #10.1
2015	Stalker	Christine Harper	Episode: "Love Kills"

Discography

Studio albums

Title	Year
Roxbury Drive	Released: September 25, 2015 Label: Sound Zoo Records Formats: CD, digital download

Extended plays

Title	Year	Peak chart positions
		US Heat
Remixes	Released: July 26, 2011 Label: Perezcious Records Format: Free digital download	—
Against the Wall	Released: May 29, 2012 Label: A&M/Octone Records Formats: CD, digital download	4

Singles

As lead artist

Title	Year	Peak chart positions		Album
		US	US Dance
"I Want It All"	2010	—	—	Non-album singles
"Sassy"		—	—
"Cold Hearted Snake"		—	—
"Put Your Graffiti on Me"	2012	—	5	Against the Wall
"Wanna Say"		—	25
"Power"	2013	—	—	Non-album single
"1991"	2015	—	—	Roxbury Drive
"Secrets" (featuring Babyface)		—	—

As featured artist

Title	Year	Peak chart positions		Album
		US	UK
"I Got It from My Mama" (will.i.am featuring uncredited vocals by Kat Graham)	2007	31	38	Songs About Girls
"One More Chance" (will.i.am featuring uncredited vocals by Kat Graham)		—	97
"The Donque Song" (will.i.am featuring Snoop Dogg and uncredited vocals by Kat Graham)		—	—
"Dog Day Afternoon" (Ras Kass with Doc Hollywood featuring Kat Graham and Dirt Nasty)	2012	—	—	Spit No Evil

Music videos

As lead artist

Title	Year	Director(s)
"Boom Kat"	2009	Adam Forstadt
"My Boyfriend's Back"		Kevin Boston
"I Want It All"	2010	Lance Drake
"Sassy"		Adam Forstadt and Paul Hogan
"Cold Hearted Snake"		Kevin Boston
"Put Your Graffiti on Me"	2012	Benny Boom
"Wanna Say"	2013
"Power"		Kat Graham
"Power"		Byron Atienza
"1991"	2015	Dano Cerny
"1991"		Laurence Shanet and Morgan Miller
"Secrets"		Darren Genet
"Star F*cker"	2016	Roi Hernandez by Electric Giant Limited

As featured artist

Participation in music videos as actress, dancer, singer, etc.

Title	Year	Other artist(s)	Director(s)
"Slacker"	2002	Tech N9ne	Ben Mor
"Why I Love You"		B2K	Erik White
"Wanna B Where U R (ThisIzzaLuvSong)"	2003	Floetry featuring Mos Def	Nzingha Stewart
"No L.O.V.E."		Jhené Aiko	None
"Salt Shaker"		Ying Yang Twins featuring Lil Jon & The East Side Boyz	Nzingha Stewart
"The Way I Am"		Knoc-Turn'al featuring Snoop Dogg	Gil Green
"Used to Love U"	2004	John Legend	Ben Mor
"Lonely"	2005	Akon	Gil Green
"What If"		112	Fat Cats
"What You Want (When U Want It)"	2006	The Frontline	Rock Jacobs
"B.U.D.D.Y."	2007	Musiq Soulchild	Sanaa Hamri
"One More Chance"	2008	will.i.am	Scott Speer
"Siempre Ausente"		AKWID	Sam Ketay and Zosimo Maximo
"Somebody to Love (Remix)"	2010	Justin Bieber featuring Usher	Dave Meyers
"Just a Dream"		Nelly	Sanji
"Looking for Love"	2011	Diddy & Dirty Money featuring Usher	Colin Tilley
"Broken Down"		Kevin Hammond	Tim Nackashi
"Black and Jewish (Black and Yellow Parody)"		Kali Hawk and Kat Graham	James Davis and Rachel Goldenberg
"Really Don't Care"	2014	Demi Lovato featuring Cher Lloyd	Ryan Pallotta

Tour

• 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)

Awards and nominations

Year	Award	Category	Work	Result
2010	Teen Choice Awards	Scene Stealer Female	The Vampire Diaries	Nominated
2011	Teen Choice Awards		The Vampire Diaries	Won
	Youth Rock Awards	Rockin' Actress (TV)	The Vampire Diaries	Nominated
2012	Teen Choice Awards	Actress Fantasy/Sci-Fi	The Vampire Diaries	Nominated
2013	Teen Choice Awards		The Vampire Diaries	Nominated
2014	Teen Choice Awards		The Vampire Diaries	Nominated
	Black Women in Film Association	Creative Award	Contributions in the industry	Won
2015	MTV Fandom Awards	MTV Ship of The Year (with Ian Somerhalder)	The Vampire Diaries	Nominated
2015	Teen Choice Awards	Choice TV: Chemistry (with Ian Somerhalder)	The Vampire Diaries	Nominated
2015	Teen Choice Awards	Choice TV: Scene Stealer	The Vampire Diaries	Nominated

[ Source: Wikipedia ]