In the Season Three finale , she became a vampire despite never wanting to be one. Elena had been struggling to live a normal life ever since her adoptive parents, Miranda and Grayson Gilbert , died in a car accident when she was seventeen years old. Her life also changed drastically as she and her friends are caught up in the supernatural world that surrounds them and are forced to face powerful supernatural enemies.
Elena was described as a star student. She was popular, sporty, smart, compassionate, empathetic, caring and friendly. She could be very vulnerable and a damsel in distress. Her actions and beliefs throughout the series have been most influenced by her on-and-off romantic relationships with the Salvatore brothers, as well as by her antagonistic relationship with Katerina Petrova. Elena and Stefan fall in love with each other.
However, not long after that, Elena discovers that both Stefan and his brother, Damon, are vampires. She also becomes aware of the existence of Katherine Pierce, the woman who turned the Salvatore brothers into vampires in , and to whom Elena bears a striking physical resemblance.
In the process, Elena discovers a shocking truth - she was adopted, and her real parents are John Gilbert , her "uncle", and Isobel Flemming , Alaric 's wife. Because of this, an Original Vampire , Klaus , wants to use her in a sacrifice to break an ancient curse.
Despite Elena's and her friends' best efforts, the sacrifice takes place. Her biological father, John, sacrificed his own life to keep Elena alive and human. However, Klaus killed Elena's aunt Jenna , after turning her into a vampire, leaving Jeremy her only blood relative left alive. After Jeremy's death in Season Four , at Damon's command to ease her pain, she turned off her humanity so she wouldn't have to feel all the guilt.
