Why Nina Dobrev Doesn't Go By Her Real Name

May 2024 · 1 minute read

A-list actor Nina Dobrev hasn't always been living in Hollywood, impressing fans with her impeccable acting skills. In fact, the "Degrassi: The Next Generation" and "The Vampire Diaries" star was actually born in Bulgaria with the name Nikolina Konstantinova Dobreva, according to People. Dobev's family immigrated to Canada when she was 2 years old and she said, at one point, her family "lived with another family in a one-bedroom apartment" because of her parents' years-long financial struggles. Dobrev noted that her mom even nicknamed the local thrift store where her family shopped for their clothes at "Versace," according to Harpers Bazaar. Of course, as an icon for fashion and beauty, Dobrev is a now a regular attendee, who can be seen at "an actual Versace fashion show in the front row." 

Although she was proud of her background before starting her acting career as a teen, Dobrev changed the spelling of her stunning — but long! — Bulgarian name to make it easier for people to remember, spell, and pronounce. And with a strong fan base around the globe and more than 25 million followers on Instagram, it appears making the major change before her rise to fame paid off.

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