Nina Dobrev has been flexing her entrepreneurial muscles with her company Fresh Vine Wine (via Forbes), along with putting her best fashion foot forward at multiple fashion dos. Fans love to see her in her many roles, but the role of Elena Gilbert in The Vampire Diaries will forever be the pinnacle of her illustrious career.
Elena was loved the most when she was human, but her fragility and doppelgänger status meant that she had a lot to fear in a harsh world full of menacing Originals and witches after her blood. There were enemies she was afraid of, and her emotional connections with her friends and family kept Elena up at night.
10 Elena Was Afraid Of Burdening Her Friends With Her Grief
Throughout the six seasons she mainly featured on The Vampire Diaries, Elena went through some terrible moments; the biggest of which was losing her entire family (both adoptive and biological). As a teenager, she was weighed down by grief and sorrow, and she was afraid to share her sadness with her friends, who were always there for her.
Elena could have taken up space, but she chose not to. To her, burdening her friends and being dependent on them was petrifying, even though objectively, it was not a scary thing to do at all.
9 Elena Was Worried Something Bad Would Happen To Caroline And Bonnie
One of Elena's best traits was the love and protectiveness she felt for all of her friends - especially Bonnie and Caroline. She even wanted to safeguard new acquaintances, like Aaron Whitmore, but her supernatural friends and love interests never really left her buddies alone.
It is a valid concern to have, but Bonnie and Caroline were a lot more powerful than Elena ever was, even as a vampire. Caroline's vampiric speed and strength, and Bonnie's magic were enough to protect them. However, there were a few instances where Elena was right to trust her gut since she did give up her life to protect Bonnie.
8 Elena Was Petrified Of Getting Into Another Accident On Wickery Bridge
This particular bridge was notorious for the bad luck it held for Elena, and the bad news it meant for the Originals. Made of White Oak and the place of several accidents for Elena, she subconsciously feared this spot where her parents had died, where she had become a vampire, and where Stefan threatened to kill her with his humanity off.
She never spoke of her reluctance about the bridge, but the horror was clear in her eyes when she saw Rebekah on it, and when Stefan lost control while driving. Too many people took advantage of her tragic past and accident, which was so sad and horrific to see. It was not the scariest thing, but to her, it held too much previous significance.
7 Losing Damon And Stefan
The Salvatore brothers and Elena had a deep, star-crossed connection, and they became a big part of her life very quickly. Elena loved both Stefan and Damon, and they were extremely important to her. So, their death was something she feared constantly, especially since they also protected her from various villains on the show.
For Elena, losing Damon or Stefan was hard for her as she struggled to find a love connection that was just as deep as the ones she had with them. However, given their vampiric powers, strong intelligence, and great team chemistry, they seemed to pull through in the end. Nothing could keep these three apart.
6 Jeremy Getting Into Trouble With The Supernatural
Elena and Jeremy were the only family the other had left, so it was natural that Elena feared for his life - especially after she became acquainted with vampires. She never wanted him to even know about the supernatural, which was why she compelled him several times for his own good (which was one of Elena's worst decisions, ethically).
This was a legitimate fear, as people like Damon, Katherine and Silas always used Jeremy as a collateral to blackmail Elena. She wanted him to stay away from all of it to prevent just that, but her nightmares came true as Jeremy was killed, made a Hunter, and tortured to no end by everything big and bad.
5 Forsaking Her Humanity And Innocence
To Elena, her humanity was paramount. There were many great things Elena did as a human, of which forgiveness, compassion, humility and love were the best parts. She wanted to hold on to her innocence as much as she could, especially in a world which was dark, cruel and full of supernatural creatures who killed for fun.
She wanted to stay on the good side for her whole life, and feared becoming hardened and callous like the people she was surrounded by. This change was too great for her and induced a lot of guilt for her when she lost her humanity.
4 Losing Her Family
Family is important for everyone, and the idea of harm befalling them is horrific enough to freeze people in their tracks. The same applied for Elena, who loved her family desperately, but, sadly, all of them were taken away from her, thus making her biggest consternation come to life.
She was left alone at a young age, and even John and Isobel, her biological parents, died in front of her eyes. Jeremy was her only family left, so she was fiercely protective of him so that she wouldn't lose him either.
3 Getting Caught By Klaus
Elena had the misfortune of being a doppelgänger, so her blood was the key to many things, like Klaus' wolf side. Klaus was intent on first killing her, and when that did not happen, making her his personal blood bag to create more hybrids for his army.
If she were to fall into Klaus' clutches permanently, Elena would no longer lead a free life. Everything in her existence would be curbed and she would be his pawn to play with. Losing her freedom was indeed a scary outlook, which was why Elena did whatever she had to to stay away from Klaus.
2 Becoming A Vampire
The allure of becoming an immortal, all-powerful being did not affect Elena, as she knew that vampires were largely predators. She always wanted to stay human, which would give her the ability to raise her family and not want to kill people for survival.
She also knew that she was always in danger of turning because vampire blood was always in her system, thanks to life-threatening injuries during their battles. Changing of species was a serious matter, and a life-changing event, which did happen to Elena eventually. It was one of her greatest fears, and when it came true, it led to the end of her relationship and life as she knew it.
1 Katherine Body Swapping With Her
Katherine and Elena were longtime enemies, and Katerina was always envious of Elena's life with the Salvatores. She wanted a slice of her life, which was why she impersonated her all the time. Elena had stated that it was her greatest fear that one day, Katherine would swap bodies with her and nobody would be able to tell.
It would mean that none of her loved ones would even know that Elena was dead, or gone, and Katherine would succeed in taking over her life. This prospect chilled Elena to the bone because of how insidious and lonely it was. It was her greatest fear, and with good reason.
The Vampire Diaries is available to stream on HBO Max and Peacock.